I know not to feed the trolls, but I should at least clarify what I meant to say: I spent a lot of money on the Capital range, and I'm happy with it. I would spend that much on a range again, though I would look at Blue Star. I spent a fair amount of money on the Gaggeneau, but since it was discontinued, about half or less of what a new one would cost. If I had to, knowing what I know now, I would pay full price for a new combi-steam, as it fundamentally changes some of the ways I cook. The other appliances were mid-range, and they perform adequately. I would buy all of them again except for the dishwasher, but I would probably buy something in the same price range as the dishwasher, even another Bosch. I would just pay closer attention to the rack layout. So I don't think that any of them were overpriced duds, because I'm happy with them. If I had spent on the dishwasher what I spent on the range, I would think that it was a dud. But for what I spent on it, it's fine. If I had spent on the range what I spent on the dishwasher, I would be ecstatic. With most things, a doubling in quality commands more than a doubling in price. Whether you think that is reasonable or overpriced depends on how much you value that quality. Or maybe I'm just overpaid. Andrew

Waste..... Foaming the walls is a waste. Go to any green building forum and it is almost universally felt that foaming walls is a waste of money. The foam salesmen are about the only ones that disagree. In my east facing house with 2x4 fiberglass batts, the walls and attic only account for 20% of total heat gain (energy audit). You are going to spend $10k to make that 20% come down to 15%. I have a similar size house in NC and I spent about $20k on Carrier Infinity 15/16 with heat pumps and 90% NG furnace and zoning and humidifier. So I think the $36k is absolutely crap. But $11k is a bit ridiculous also given the specs. In fact- I just can't believe it. Manual J is required in NC by code - so I don't know what to tell you. It is standard around here for quotes/bids. Oversizing sucks. 2 stage helps compensate. An is an air quality thing more than anything else. It is rarely cost effective. Texas is big - what is your area and ideally what is your HDD and CDD? Here is what I would do - presuming you live in a 90% cooling area. - Build with 2x4s and sheath the house in 1 inch rigid foam. If it really hot, you could go to 2 inches of foam. - Focus on minimizing East and West windows. If you can't - then really focus on low SHGC windows. All windows are low-e nowadays but SHGCs vary considerably - there are basic windows at .2 and .45 - a rather huge difference. Overhang the windows as much as you can tolerate. Big deep porches. Do those things and you should be able to get down to 2 2ton units which you should be able to get for $10k for seer 15 or 16. Most people don't find it worthwhile to get seer 18 equipment. Usually with new construction, you can spend that $5k (or whatever) on shell improvements (windows, overhangs) and get a better permanent ROI. There is no disagreement anywhere that 2inches of rigid foam on a 2x4 wall filled with blown cellulose outperforms a 2x6 wall with spray foam (and does so at a lower cost). Lastly - why an unvented attic? Because the ductwork is there? The best practice is to get the ductwork out of the attic in the first place. It is cheaper and far more cost effective. My personal house (4000+basement) would cost $10k to spray foam the attic at a estimated annual savings of.... $70. How about that ROI....

@Rai Kai … I did learn so much!! Thanks for your contributions! @Beckysharp haha. I will be doing more research with the lawyer. I think overall my realtor was good—but I am not sure if overall we were the right fit. We will see if we stick with her. I know she put a lot of work and time into it --- so I do feel bad about us not going through with it. I will be doing more research and googling, and reading and using all my resources! Promise! @PitrateFoxy – I’ll probably be doing some research on a lawyer to have “on call” when we are at that point. You all were so right about all the other things – and I’m sure a few extra hundred bux (what like 500? ) will put me more at ease as I don’t like surprises unless they flowers, chocolate, or kisses :D @bellburgmaggie – isn’t that the truth. Alos.. Houzz app isn’t going anywhere! I love your story about finidng the right place! Man.. 3.5x your investment!! AWESOME!!! Were you ever concerned about over improving? That’s my biggest fear, especially if we buy very low… You know I always imagined buying the house with the crappy wall paper, shag carpet and pink or green tile in the bathrooms a horrible kitchen and then putting in my DREAM kitchen (or as im learning from houzzers, my 99% dream kitchen!). I think that’s something I was struggling with buying new. Even though I got to make a few selections… it wasn’t tailored to me really. So asking my husband in 3 years to redo the layout of the kitchen wasn’t going to fly :D Location location location is so hard for us. We are transplants – with family in the area, but are having a hard time finding the “right” home town. Everywhere we look is “safe” but I really want that neighborhood feel. I moved to Texas because I love saying yes sir, no ma’am, and I want to raise my kids like that. Sweet tea on the porch and waving to your neighbors. I want to make meals for new moms, or help out my grandparents when they need it. I may not have the Texas accent, and as the saying goes “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as soon as I could!” @jannicone – I’m not deleting Houzz!! Just Realtor, Trulia and Zillow :D It may only last a week, but I need some distance! But I will use it as a resorce to keep an eye on the market and see what really happens during “selling” season. Happy to be sorta liked! @Denita , I should know better. I’m a firm believer that EVERYTHING is negotiable and if you aren’t willing to make any changes (they may not have lost me if they let me go to the design center and let me have 2 extra days – would have cost them nothing) I’m not inclined to play ball. Especially in an industry where negotiation is nearly expected. Looks like I have some more homework and research to do! I may need to find a new realtor. Not that she wasn’t good. I felt like she was doing a good job – but I’ll never know if she asked the builder for things. She did make us feel like her only clients, and she was very attentive and listened to my concerns. But I did get a slight feeling that she was “building” up the home a little more than she should have. We signed a contract for 6 months with her. She led with “if at any time you are done with me, I’ll just rip it up.” Who knows if that will come back to bite me in the butt. But, also thought we were going to end up with the first house and it would all be over. Again, lack of experience on my part. I've done some research on how you should select a buyers agent... and I did kind of do it all wrong.

Thanks everyone! We've gotten a few quotes back and I'm still shocked at the price difference. I'm not entirely sure why our builder's flooring mark up is so remarkably high (a lot of others building in our neighborhood are choosing this same option). After doing extensive research this week, I found a reputable reference from a designer/contractor friend of mine. This company will demo, and install the SAME floor we picked out at the design center for less than half. They've done some really great work that we've checked into so we are so relieved! It's been a bit of a stressful process finding them but we are so happy to save nearly $20K! We plan on having the builder do the tile in the bathrooms and laundry. This quote isn't nearly as high as the Armstrong Laminate we need about 2000 square feet of. Thanks for your help! You've give me a lot of great things to think about. :) Glad there are others in the same boat.