If you want sticker shock come to a top rated school town in LA. Excellent schools and commute to downtown does not come cheap! We have a few short sales and very few foreclosures at lower prices, but nice resales are going for around $500/sq.ft.

The $2400 light fixture allowance is not going to go very far. Is this in addition to any can lights? If so, how many cans?

It is not in addition to any can lights but we get the builders price on all lights. I think its very doable considering I am not looking for anything fancy. Its 1% of the budget.

It all sounds a bit low to me. Especially that lighting package and the appliance package you mentioned in the Appliance Forum.

Building right now is about 120-140% of the cost of just buying something existing.

what do you think a reasonable light budget is? that is just for the fixtures. that is not not install them or for the switches or electrical work.

How many cans?
How many ceiling mount "plain" lights such as closets?
How many others: dining room, foyer, kitchen pendant, bathroom sconces etc.
Exterior lighting including garage, porches amd walkways?
Ceiling fans, bathroom ventilation?
Undercounter in kitchen?
If you let us know how many of each then it will be easier to say if it's possible.
I agree that builder price isn't a great thing. Most places will give anyone builder price when there is a discount offered.

we are building a 2000 sq ft ranch.
3 bedrooms
2 1/2 baths

This is what i'm thinking so far

two on the garage
one on the porch
1 foyer
1 dining room
3 closets
3 bedrooms
2 baths with vanity
1 half bath ceiling light
maybe one ceiling fan in great room
3 pendants in kitchen maybe 5 cans in here
maybe 3 or 4 cans in great room

My DH and I found the builder and lot we liked but the listed price was 30k over what we wanted to pay. We talked to the builder and he went through the list and went to lower grade options and came in at a new starting point which was 40k less then original. From there, my DH and I chose what we we wanted to have as upgrades, changed the allowances to be more realistic and decided what downgraded items we were ok with. We budgeted to spend 10k over the original contract amount (because I know myself) and are on track to still be under the original amount by 20k (wow, did I make this a convoluted equation, or what???).

Basically, it worked for us to ask for a price without all the bells and whistles and then really put thought into what was important to us and add those back in. This way I get lots of windows, a larger garage and soapstone countertops and still am walking distance to downtown.

Lights are incredibly variable. Go to Lowe's and see how low you can go. Obviously, you can buy a $20 vanity light but very few people here would do that. Same with a $10 surface mount light.

Be wary of builder's price. We did that and I am not suggesting the builder got a cut but he did use a local lighting store. The vanity's we got were $140. Flash forward 2 years, the vanity is now available on the internet and we used it in a different build - $60. Local lighting stores provide good service to builders but they can't compete with online. Oh yeah - retail price of vanity - $280. Our local lighting store does not have $10 surface mounts like Lowe's does.

Ceiling fans example - lowest builder price at lighting store - $120. Builder basic at Lowes - $35. I have both and the builder basic actually works fine.

So we just did a build at about $1700 for lights - 6 ceiling fans with lights, 4 bath vanities, 10 outdoor fixtures, 8 surface mounts and 1 chandelier (Pottery Barn). That did not include the 10 cans or so in 2100 sqft 5/4. Lowe's and internet can go a long way.

Also know that lighting allowance around here covers smoke detectors, any flood lights, florescent fixtures, door bell.

Ditto what david cary said. Our lighting budget was roughly the same as yours with an additional bath, laundry mudroom & staircase (upstairs is unfinished) and we went over by about $800 even with internet price matching.

Our can lights were included in the overall electrical (16 of them) and not the lighting allowance. You may want to double check that with the builder.

If you can use the builder's lighting supplier, great! But definitely check the price on the internet before making final decisions as many local shops will match an internet price. It can be the difference between being overbudget & on budget by $100s if not $1,000s. Same goes for plumbing, appliances, etc.

Also, make sure the price you are given by the builder's supplier for the items you choose are the actual prices to you as many builders add an additional percentage on top of the price they actually pay the supplier. You would hate to be on budget by the discounted builder price and then get a bill from the builder for his extra 10-20% cut.

Hope this helps!

Thanks David for letting me know its possible. We are allowed to buy our own and they will put them in. I've already eyed a few outside lights i like at lowes.

Everyone seems to be focused in on the lighting. $2400 is not unusual for a builder's spec home. Builder's usually do not provide any more lighting than is necessary, and they usually do not include many, if any, can lights. Also, when you provide the lights or plumbing fixtures or anything else, the subcontractors will most often not warranty those fixtures, so if there's a problem with them, it's on your own tab.

You say you're $30K over budget, but what is the total budget?

Seeding for $1800 is steep, unless that includes fill dirt & grading. Or if you have a lot of land.

When we built our house, we were also $30k over budget, and cut out wood floors in lieu of concrete, and eliminated the 3-car garage in lieu of a 2-car garage. I regret doing both of those, especially the 3-car garage, as we have 2 active boys and could use the 3rd space for all their stuff.

I will chime in and say that you should be able to do your own shopping - ebay, ikea, craiglist etc. I think having the opportunity to really make your own selections you will arrive at something you will be happier with.

total house budget is 250K. He thought we meant for the house. We meant for the land and house. Land is about 40K but we are hoping to get a few thousand less when we make an offer on it.

The land is almost an acre. So, quite a bit to seed.

Wow. I'd love to live at your cost of living. 250K all together, land included is fantastic. period.

So, that is my perspective, and I am no longer helpful for this post/cost recommendations.

:) Yeah, the cost of living is low here but so is the rate of pay. Our salaries are much less here.

The land we are looking for is around 40K for almost an acre. it would require well/septic.

My first quote was 239 for the house
My second was 219
That is a 20K difference so I need to figure out where that comes from so I can compare apples to apples.

For example, One quoted a 3rd car garage at 11K the other 8K. thats a big difference to me. Both use insulated garage doors(steel) and insulate.

The 219 guy gave us a 2200 lighting allowance so looks like he is doing the 1% too. Not a big difference there. Both use the same windows...etc.