Building a house

[rubu]

Hi All,

I have change my plans to build a home. Even though this is not a forum for question as such. I am sure as most of you have went through process I am hoping someone could guide me. I got the following standard features which will come free.

http://i.imgur.com/akV9ORK.jpg

Could some check following and let me know is these are normal features? Base price is 315K and addons will be on top. This is for 2800 SqF Colonial.

[tooleman694]

Laminate kitchen counters seems off for that price range.

[Autumnslight]

Those features are on par with or very slightly better than the standard features I've seen on new constructions around here. The new construction I'm looking at has almost the same features, except there's no fireplace, the foyer and bathrooms are sheet vinyl instead of ceramic, and the house doesn't come with any paint options (it's just white). The standard counters in the house I'm looking at are also laminate. High definition laminate and granite are additional upgrades.

Depending on the location, the base price may or may not be "fair". The house I'm looking at is a base of $210k in one development, but $310k for the same model in another development. That's all relative.

[rubu]

How did you guys select the builder? Reference? or just talking to builders and going with the gutt?

[Autumnslight]

I looked at what they offered, compared what the features were for the price, checked out people's experiences online, and just decided what I thought would work best for my family and our own particular situation and needs/wants. I found a floor plan that was perfect for us, at a price that could fit into our budget, and with a sales and construction process that seemed reasonable.

One bit of advice: compare the costs of any upgrades to how much it would cost you to do it separately. In most places, the total sales price of the house will affect your property taxes, plus you'll be paying interest on it for 15-30 years. We could upgrade to granite counters for another $4-5k, but there's no way in heck I'm going to have higher taxes and pay 30 years of interest for a countertop that I can install later for less money. Same thing with the $600 faucet upgrade, or the $400 ceiling fan. On the other hand, the finished basement works out to like $20/sq ft, which is cheaper than I could have it done for and really does increase the liveable spacec and value of the house..

[tooleman694]

I asked my Realtor who the best were and he gave us a list of who to check out.

We checked them out and built in the hood we liked.

Our home is 300k, 3200 SQ FT and we have Granite counter tops in the kitchen with custom kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors, Fireplace with stone and an oak mantel, 4 bedrooms gameroom office, giant extended covered patio, 8 foot fence with metal poles. Double Ovens upgraded dishwasher stainless steal everything. It is maxed

[rubu]

OK where do you live? I guess Texas?

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@Twelvemonth wrote:

I asked my Realtor who the best were and he gave us a list of who to check out.

We checked them out and built in the hood we liked.

Our home is 300k, 3200 SQ FT and we have Granite counter tops in the kitchen with custom kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors, Fireplace with stone and an oak mantel, 4 bedrooms gameroom office, giant extended covered patio, 8 foot fence with metal poles. Double Ovens upgraded dishwasher stainless steal everything. It is maxed

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[basballguy]

there's not really enough info.

Who's the builder?  Where are you building?

If you're building California then it's probably going to be pretty cheap.  If you're building in Oklahoma...then you're probably overpaying. 

You really need a realtors help for something like this unless you do your own homework. 

Take for example a builder like First Texas Homes.  You can build a house in neighborhood A for 260,000.  You can build the EXACT SAME HOUSE in an upscale neighborhood for double the cost. 

location, location, location. 

[rubu]

Great advice Autumnslight

I am doing the same. I am going to make sure base price of the house will be reported and the other upgrades will be paid out of my pocket. So could save a lot in taxes year over year. Also my builder is giving a 5% discount on paying it in cash . I think that is super cool..

Thanks.

[tooleman694]

Yup we are in Texas.