"I know two years is a long time, but with today's economy....I would hope that a builder would want to earn our business whether it was an immediate build or a future one. " The problem with that view aggie9597 is that it does not put food on the table for the builder now.....unless you are paying him for his time in prepping you a bid. Mind you he must have agreed to it or he would not have taken the plans? At least one would hope that was his intention, maybe he did not know what to say after your husband said it may be 2 years in the future. You definitly need to give him a call. Where I live builders will not prepare a bid for free, at least any I know. They have to be paid for their time otherwise how would they pay for their expenses. It sounds like you would be better off getting a ball park figure for now and then at least you know if you have enough saved and then once that is determined you can go ahead with the bid process, and will be able to reassure the contractor he is not wasting his time. When we requested a ball park figure, again the builder came pretty close. Most builders should be able to come up with some kind of a figure of what it would cost by just taking a quick look at the plans if they are experienced. I know I would be pretty upset with my husband if he spent a week away from the family working on something that he was not being compensated for. Especially as you say in this economy. I would prefer it if he was going to spend time working that he do something that paid the bills...lol.

I'm a DIY-er, and I tiled a 3'x4' shower (walls and ceiling) with 4x4s and 6x6's with a couple decorative bands and some inset glass tiles in about 20 hours total. I tiled the 8'x10' floor in 6 hours total, including laying the Ditra but not the grouting. I don't consider myself very speedy, particularly on walls. Is your guy working 8 hour days?

I'm sure your build is more complicated but our contractor is also our builder. It took him a while to get his other project framed up and we sat with foundation walls for a couple weeks... He told me when he brought his 3 man crew in they would get it done quickly. I wasn't prepared for what they did. They started and finished in less than two weeks. We are building a 2200 sq. ft. rancher. It has five gables and it's all hipped. They stick framed the rafters and framed up the downstairs as well. Windows and doors are all installed less our large windows in the cathedral ceiling of the great room. I'm pretty impressed with their work ethic and craftsmanship. It's educational and entertaining to see folks who are masters at their craft do what they do. All of the compound angles involved in the rafters was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Good luck with your build. I hope you can move on to the next phase soon. Saftgeek-

"We are currently buyers, and I can tell you that the buyers know what an unreasonable price is for a house. We have been watching the market, studying comps, etc. So when something is priced too high, we tend to chuckle and think It's too bad your Realtor is putting your house in this position." You know, after weve talked to our realtor further we feel that she initially priced it about right - for that week. The comps supported her suggested price and the average DOM was 34. We were the nervous ones. Unfortunately our neighborhood is suddenly seeing the effects of some of the surrounding areas. We're now at 195,000. As for "Who are they kidding?" we had a couple come by yesterday while we were over there finishing the pruning out front who asked to see the house. We let them in, left them alone while we went back to the yard work They looked around for quite a while. When they came out the husband said it was about time they found a house priced right for the area. Seems theyve looked at quite a few other homes pricier than ours but not in nearly as good shape. They said they were going home and calling their realtor, so well see. "I'd like to see a pic of the front of the house that is a bit more close-up" Our first pic was a close-up. Several people mentioned to us - and our realtor - that not showing the driveway (big for our neighborhood) and the front landscaping was a bad idea. That probably sounds silly to anyone in an area where things grow without a bit of work. (Id have thought the same thing when I lived in Ohio and Colorado.) But being the Sonoran desert, a lot of people around here havent bothered with much landscaping. People stop all the time and ask who our landscaper is or to comment on our yard. As it greens up more the front pic will be changed. "Why is a rocking chair all alone in the middle of an empty space? It looks like it is in the garage??" The chair is something to sit on since the house is empty and no, its not the garage. We wouldnt have bothered to lay 18 porcelain tile on the diagonal or carpeting in a garage. Its a view from the family room into the living room. "The all-white-painted brick walls looks very ... institutional. Consider hanging some temporary artwork to warm that stuff up so we don't feel like we're looking into a jailcell (sorry)." Hmmm - The white must be your monitor. Theres not a single white wall in the place. The color is actually sort of a tannish/pale peachy terra cotta -- popular for the southwest. And nope, were not going to put holes in freshly painted walls to hide anything. "Jailcell" because its brick? Its adobe, which everything in the surrounding area has. Remember - 1960 home in the desert. "This is going to sound picky, but nicer (and not brown) towels in the bathroom, please. Something clean-looking, like white towels, would be best." Lol -- Im sure that you mean well, but if someone decides not to look at my house because they dont like the color of towels I find that pretty funny. The towels are tan, not brown, with kokopellis embroidered on them - brand new and go with the kokopelli shower curtain. "Good luck!" Thanks!