We're dealing with the same issue here in Central Ohio. We own our land, have financing lined up, already have our plans and know exactly what we want. It's a straightforward design - classic American farmhouse, simple, clean lines. Everything is in place, have the necessary permits for our septic and well. Our price range is $300,000 - $350,000 for the house alone, without factoring in site improvements. I know what I want and I'm choosy, but I'm not excessively fussy or anal and I don't sweat the small stuff. We're on our secord round of interviewing builders. We've already talked to many and thought we had found our guy twice now. The first one started out wonderful and I was thrilled with him, thinking he understood keeping within a budget and what I was after. We worked with him for over 3 months tweaking stuff. When we got to the final review of the numbers and the specs, we came to find out that he had changed the design and changed the materials without our input to maximize his profit. When I questioned him about it, he proceeded to tell me what I should "settle for" instead of carrying out my wishes. we had his numbers run by someone else and found out he had seriously low-balled the original estimate and couldn't possibly deliver the house with my requests at that price, so he made the subs to lower quality materials and hoped I wouldn't notice! Needless to say, we walked away immediately. It was sad because if he had been honest with us in the begnning and had quoted an accurate estimate, we would have gone with him because it would have been in our comfort zone. The second one we walked away from also was great in the beginning - did excellent work and was highly recommended. His problem soon became evident when he took us to see some of his prior builds - all way over our price range with none to show anywhere close to what we can comfortably afford. He took us to see a multi-million dollar house he'd built and constantly talked about how the owners "Just turned him loose" without regard to costs. It became pretty clear that he wasn't used to sticking to a budget. So now we're seriously talking to one that we passed over in the beginning. Why? Because as we've talked to more and more of his clients, most of them in less costly houses than we're building, the same point has been made by all of them - he does things right the 1st time and he stays on whatever budget he's given. He's been in business a long time and has built every kind of house imaginable, from million dollar mansions to starter tract homes. He listens to and respects his clients and does fabulous work. He doesn't have to solicit work because he's always in demand by referal. And they all say he's worth waiting for. So keep on plugging and don't settle for what you don't really want. Make sure whoever you pick listens to you and is easy to discuss things with. It's your house and you deserve to get it done the way you want it. ...

Gibby ~ I am pretty sure that you have already answered this question for yourself, but in case you are still looking...I live in Kansas City (Lee's Summit to be exact) and have found that the real estate market is fabulous for buyers here! Prices never got crazy here when things were booming, so they didn't fall through the floor when the bust happened. Houses are still selling although maybe not as quickly as before. There are a decent number of "deals" out there that you can get a seriously great price on a house, and the Northland is a great place to do that. Lots of newer construction and nice neighborhoods! If you are still looking and need a great Realtor, I have a great one that I have used on more than one occasion and recommend her without hesitation when I know someone looking. She is a treasure for sure! Message me and I will give you her info! Good luck and welcome to KC!

I get wanting storage... I live in a rural area, also. It’s a 20 minute drive to our small-town grocery store, and an hour to a decent one or someplace like Costco. And we are a family of 6. The problem with a corner pantry is that you are losing 10-12” of space, just by adding walls in each side. You also need to account for clearance for a door swing. That angled wall alone takes up roughly 9sf of your kitchen. Do you feel like your kitchen has that to spare? Be honest: how often do you need to access 12 rolls of paper towels at once? Or use more than 2-3 cans of cream-of-something soup? If you’re like most people, the answer is hardly ever. Build yourself a large pantry-storage area somewhere else, and add a few full-height pantry cabinets in your new kitchen. You can store so much in those, especially if you have pullouts/drawers! You can store all of your day-to-day foodstuff there, and have backup stuff in the pantry. If it was me, I’d put the fridge at the end of the counter run, closest to the dining area. I’d slide the cooktop down toward the lower wall. And I’d turn the whole bottom wall into full-height pantry storage. I’d extend the island both directions... looks like you have a solid foot available next to the dishwasher. Once the angled pantry wall is gone, you won’t need a 4.5” aisle, so you could probably even go 18” there... a 36” aisle seems perfectly respectable since it’s not a work area. That gives you almost 9’ of island... plenty of prep space, and probably 5-6’ on the counter behind, between the fridge and range. A 12’ run of wall pantry cabinets will store probably triple what that corner pantry would. It will give you a better workflow, more countertop prep space, and look better to boot.

Try to find local historical preservation groups and ask homeowners of similar style houses about their contractors. In our local area, I know of a few homeowners who are very detail oriented and concerned with historically appropriate projects. Then start asking and if someone tells you it is out of their geographic area or not their speciality, ask them if they know anyone to contact. It might take several conversations before you get some names but eventually you will come across people who are interested in your type of project. Start by finding some completed projects which interest you and work backwards to find contractors and material sources. Local historical societies, historic homes tours, and high end realtors and specialist shops might provide some contacts. Municiaplities with historic districts probably have some person or committee that reviews projects. Old house junkies are passionate about their subject and if they have some time, most are happy to provide assistance with contacts and suppliers.