Looking to Rebuild a house

I have been looking for a better place to live and found 3 1/2 acres on a watershed. It has a spring and a cistern. The well has no pump but was tested with a generator and a pump. I would need almost 4K to get the well system set up. It has a huge shop but no insulation no floor and only 2 man doors nothing big enough to get a vehicle in or anything else bigger. It has a creek in front but not on the property. It's surrounded by trees from the other land owner. It's at 1700 ft.
I'm trying to get my place ready to sell. If I moved there now I would need a place to live in and would have to buy a shipping container that now cost 5K for a 40 ft and $1200 to deliver it from the dock on Oregon. The house smells of mold and I see the floor is rotted. Other then that its peaceful and away from traffic cities etc.
Any ideas?

Susan Boyce wrote:I have been looking for a better place to live and found 3 1/2 acres on a watershed. It has a spring and a cistern. The well has no pump but was tested with a generator and a pump. I would need almost 4K to get the well system set up. It has a huge shop but no insulation no floor and only 2 man doors nothing big enough to get a vehicle in or anything else bigger. It has a creek in front but not on the property. It's surrounded by trees from the other land owner. It's at 1700 ft.
I'm trying to get my place ready to sell. If I moved there now I would need a place to live in and would have to buy a shipping container that now cost 5K for a 40 ft and $1200 to deliver it from the dock on Oregon. The house smells of mold and I see the floor is rotted. Other then that its peaceful and away from traffic cities etc.
Any ideas?

This is only me, but I would buy an old van and live in it.  I just bought one that I want to convert into a very, very basic camper.  I bought it from a government auction site.  It has 33,000 miles and I bought it for $485 with all the fees.  It was a postal van.  I could very easily live in it in a mild climate like the one in Oregon.  If you are living there alone, you could just put a humanure bucket system in the big shop.  If you have other people there, you could do the same and just build a small structure to house it.

If the house has structural damage, it may not be worth trying to repair it, and you may be better off starting over.  Depending on your goals, you could build a tiny house and move into that while you built something bigger, if indeed you need something bigger at all.  I have seen a number of people that didn't want to go into debt build a series of small structures, one at a time, and each became a "room", but no in one building.  So, a tiny house to live in that could be converted to just a bedroom after you get the next little building made, which may be a kitchen, or a bathroom, or whatever.  

Another option would be to start building and convert the shop into a house the same way, a little at a time.

Shipping containers work well for some people, but they come with their own issues that cost money in addition to the upfront cost.

I will have to gut the house and salvage what I can and replace what I have to over time. At least the roof is metal.
The shipping container would be for my stuff my furniture my tools my appliances all the stuff in my house that I will need. I have lumber too that can't get wet. The container would keep it dry and away from the mold in the house.
I have health issues and need to use a portable sauna everyday and it takes up a 3x3 space to use. A van may be way too small. I grow a lot of my own food and cook it. I never go out for food. So I would need a place for my freezers and whatever I use to cook as well as the fridge. What about showering? It would be me and my small dog living there. I was thinking of gutting it and enclosing the walls without doing much inside but building a big enough room for cooking sleeping and a bath to clean up. I have no problem using a composting toilet.

some photos with details would help us to comment.

I think I would build an apartment inside of the shop.
The tools and materials could be kept on pallets inside the shop, while the freezers stayed in the apartment with you, since freezers work best at room temperature.

I was thinking that also but I still need something to live in while I do the work for the room either in the house or the shop

A standard van might be a bit small, but have you considered a box van? They come in a range of designs from 10' to 20' length, and all should be a minimum of 6' headroom which hopefully allows you to stand up inside. Search "cutaway van" along with box van to see what you find. Brand new they are very expensive but I found one used from a construction contractor for under 7k. It's only a 12' box and has tool storage built in for other needs I currently have (google Supreme Spartan Service box) - but I imagine a UHaul style 15' - 20'  would be ideal for your situation. I stay 2 or 3 days out in mine sometimes and it gets the job done.

Shipping containers are pricey, believe me I know, I have a pair of 20' ones. They are worth it though for heavy duty storage and security. It would take some work to make one livable IMO though.

Truck scrap yards and individuals sometimes sell the boxes only off of larger trucks for much cheaper, and they can be nice, usually 20'+ and more like 8' high inside! You just have to get lucky on a search, craigslist, facebook, etc. I also have one of those mounted on a heavy duty trailer frame and got it for under 3k.