http://www.modeltrainsoftware

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/model-builder.html

I use it for virtual trains:

The textures they supply are really great here is the shingles in HO scale:

Harold

And http://www.cgtextures.com

http://www.cgtextures.com provides thousands of free photos of building and terrain materials that can be used for walls, roofs, doors, windows, parking lots and roads, etc.  It is definitely worth a look!

The ModelBuilder textures

The ModelBuilder textures will stretch to cover an area.

Photo textures have to be manipulated.

If you have a 100x100 roof the textures will stay in scale and have no discernable pattern.

Great program

Harold

Free paper models

If you want to try your hand at some paper models here are some sources of great free ones.

First:  ILLINOIS HISTORIC BUILDING MODELS A bunch of cool buildings here, all associated with Lincoln. I have built a couple of these. If you do it carefully they could pass for background buildings or just to fill in until you get permanent buildings. You can also translate these plans into wood pretty easily. I have the structure for the "Berry Lincoln Store" cut out of sheet lap siding right now, need to get my lazy butt in gear and order some windows this weekend to finish that.

Second: Papermau This site has all kinds of cool paper things, not just buildings. All free.

Not my work here. Pretty darned convincing for a paper model. I might try this one myself.

Third: KartonModelle German paper model site. You can google translate the page, but there isn't really much you have to read. Lots of European style buildings here.

These buildings are fun. As far as modeling your own house from pictures, I think you can do that with sketchup, but you would have to include all of the construction tabs manually.

"and it would assist you in making a paper 3d model "

That sounds very useful , I hope someone comes up with the answer. .DaveBranum

Lance's Blog

Lance Mindheim discussed in his blog recently how he scales photos of structures using 3rd PlanIt

See "Scratch Built Structures, Plan, Prioritize, Build, April 28, 2013" in his Blog
http://www.lancemindheim.com/blog.htm

Sorry, there is no direct link to the article, you'll have to scroll down to it.

I do the same thing (or similar anyway!) using Corel Draw. I have done this for years when making decals or model plans.

Lance also discusses this concept in several articles in MRH & other mags.
For example, see page 60 of MRH January 2012

http://issuu.com/mr-hobbyist/docs/mrh12-01-jan2012-ol/60?viewMode=presentation&mode=embed

Thanks a lot

Hints and tips for building card buildings?

I've just found a company called Clever Models LLC ,so this thread is useful for other alternatives, anyone got any tips particularly the best printers and type of paper for good results. The Clever Models  buildings are card  kits but you have the option to buy CD rom's containing several buildings plus brick,roof types etc to self print. O N and HO many under $10 ,Oh well how many building can I get on a 10ft plank!

CAD and Textures

I have access to AutoCAD at work and was able to make my card stock model in full scale using textures from CG Textures.  I scaled it when it was printed.  I'm sure there are other CAD/Graphic programs that can be used.

In addition to the commercial

In addition to the commercial programs that can be used for paper modeling (Photo Shop, Auto Cad, Paint Shop Pro and I'm sure others), there some excellent free programs.  GIMP and Inkscape are probably the most popular free programs. 

As noted you can get free textures from sites like cgtextures (an excellent source).  Other sources of free textures are store, manufacture, and contractor web sites.