re: New construction house advice

Congrats on the decision to build. I think it is a good one. Especially for a young family.

We broke ground in October 2021 and moved in July 2022. Here are the things you should plan for...

1- Costs- Likely $200 a sft (house only) for moderate finishes. Things like brick (exterior) is difficult to change. Choose wisely. Please reconsider if you want to paint brick white. I think it is a fad and will look dingy in time.

2- Design- Unless you are looking for something very specific or different, I would find a tried and true plan off the internet instead of an architect. This will save you about $4000.00. Madden has nice plans. There are others. They all have been build and live in tested.

3- Get financing lined up. The deed of the property you are planning to build on has to be in a position for the lender to work with. I am not sure how that works but they likely won't lend you money to build on someone elses land. Not sure though.

4-Landscaping and lawn can be done by the builder but will cost you an extra 10% minimum. Maybe you set aside 10K for flower beds and some sod/seed for the yard.

5- Builders will never eat cost over runs. They may say they will with a turn key price but... I seriously doubt that. If they do, they are bidding everything high to counterbalance the project losses. We went with a cost plus 10% builder. I loved the experience. We went 25K over budget but... some of that was our choice to upgrade and materials/labor fluctuations. I have every invoice for our house build and know specifically where every dollar we spent went. If you go cost plus, make sure the builder has access to reasonable subs and can get materials at a better price than we can.

That's about it. Good luck.