re: Building a house at the end of next year

I dissagree to it. Building a new house right in front of your eyes beats buying something ready-made any day. You see the quality process from the ground up, and knowing exactly what's behind the drywall is worth every single dollar.

Yeah, dealing with banks and contractors is a horrible experience, but ours was the exception. We went with West Homes, spent about $450k for a 4-bedroom house, and it was worth every penny. Watching their crew build it properly and actually knowing what went into it made the whole headache totally worth it in the end.