0) Decide on your budget

1. Find a land.
   2) Establish that it is build-able. Verify septic, possibility basement, code, covenant requirements, utilities.
   3) Buy the land.
   4) Establish style and a plan(s) that you like. House is a compromise of an interior and exterior designs.
   5) Talk to your builder and find references.
   6) Align fiances. Establish draws, mid goals. Get Appraisal
   7)To apply for a construction loan you need a lot of documents, including plans and finishes.
   8) Have plans drawn.
   8a) finalize electrical, finishes, allowances
   8b) contact codes, planing department, tax assessors (to ensure you are will not be taxed $$$$$$$).
   9)If you are using GC decide how will he be compensated. COST+, FIXED, etc. Check if you are required to buy materials from you GC "preferred" places.
   9a) Determine max feedback, deadlines. Should the issue arise GC must respond within 24 hours. Structure expected to be finished < 12 month.
   9b) Predictable cost overruns, allowances, bids disclosure/True cost disclosure cost+)
   10) Sign contract and have your attorney looked over prior to signing.
   
   =============================================================================
   If you are own GC:
   1) Handle permts, temp utilities, port a potty, insurance, standard bids and contract forms.
   2) clear lot, install temp drwy, Install utilities power 15 ft.
   3) stake, excavate, stake.
   4)....

============================================================================

That's good advice from Brian. There's a whole lotta stuff in line ahead of the "fun" stuff. If you build a house, curtains vs drapes and countertop selections are not Tier 1 decisions. They matter, but not yet.

Do you have a site? Don't go too far down the design path before considering that. You can tie yourself in knots "tweaking" an existing generic design if it is incompatible with your site.

Your total project budget should include the cost to purchase the land, design and construct the home, design and install landscaping and probably some level of interior decorating, too. Before purchasing land, you'll need to ensure that the overall project objectives can be achieved within your intended budget. I've seen too many people overspend on land and not have enough left for the other components of the project.

The cost to construct a particular home plan will vary depending on site-specific conditions (e.g., contour, proximity to utilities, clearing and excavation required, length of driveway, etc.) so you will be well served to consult your builder before purchasing any land.

A lot of advice is given, but rarely taken. I know, because I was one of the ones who didn't believe what people were telling me. It's all good, because what are we going to do with the money anyway...take it with us? I don't think so...

OK then...what GreenDesigns says is 100% correct.

Lets just stipulate you have enough money to basically get what you want (that is, you are not hopelessly naïve). Here's what I found to be the order from least expensive option to most expensive option for someone with some money who wants a lot of bang for their buck.

Existing home - move in ready but its not up to today's standards for what people want.

Existing home - somebody already remodeled it to the current tastes of the majority of people who are out there looking for homes in that price range.

Existing home - Fixer-upper - you budget the new floors, new kitchen, new bathrooms, and whatever else and fold that into the purchase price of the home to determine its value to you. Note that budgets can go out of control here so really this option could come after Spec home below.

Spec home - new home built on speculation to appeal to the majority of homebuyers.

New development - you get some choices, you can have this color tile or that color. You can choose from a set number of floorplans. These builders are in the business of giving people what they want today. You get some customization but costs are controlled.

Semi-custom - design build firm, plans off the internet you modify, etc.

Custom. Custom homes are very expensive. A lot of what people think are custom homes aren't really custom homes. You buy the land, you interview architects, you shop for builders, etc.

I chose the custom home because I thought I could do it at a price near a spec home price. Boy was I wrong.

Almost 100% wrong...which is exactly what GreenDesigns says above.

Like I said, it didn't kill me. I am always a bit tight with my money. But the cost sure has been an eye opener. And my best efforts to contain costs have given me many sleepless nights. Literally sleepless nights. I haven't had those in many, many years.

If you are up for it, go for it. But beware.

Good luck!

jn3344, good to hear someone come back here and state that the advice given was correct. I suspect (and correctly I am certain) that greendedigns is correct more often than not but most people will not come back even on anonymous forum and admit they were incorrect.

I would be extremely skeptical of a builder who claims you can build custom for the same price as buying an existing house. Maybe if you're looking at a high end home with a bunch of upgrades you don't want, vs a more modest house?

Window treatments are not part of the cost of building a house. Hardwood, appliances, and built-ins do increase the cost, but only by an insignificant amount compared to the cost increase of going custom in the first place.

Besides the cost of doing one-offs, you also have the option of doing thicker walls, upgrading the insulation, deeper basements, insulating the basement, better windows, radiant heating vs forced air, upgraded roof materials, etc. These are the kinds of things you go custom for, and you don't seem to really care about those.

If you think you want a custom house because you want to select the finishes, get an existing home that needs some cosmetic updates and save yourself a lot of money and grief.

Or, maybe you're looking at a new development, and you've stumbled into a hive of freshly bitten custom homeowner/builders. :D

If you're asking where to start on buying a new development home, then you start by looking at showhomes and sales offices. At the same time, you talk to your bank and see what you can afford. See what floorplans the builder offers. Ask what upgrades are available, and what the cost is. Assume EVERYTHING you see in the showhome is an upgrade. And look at multiple builders showhomes. Also, talk to local people about their build experiences with various builders. Some are better than others when it comes to the final product. And it's almost impossible to see that from the showhomes.

Lots of great info.. Many things to think about and consider

i agree totally with jn 3344 we got exactly what we wanted for probably 40 percent more than we originally thought we'd pay first there's the lot, then the clearing of the lot, the electricity, how far from the house do we want the detached garage? do we want the garage plan or fancy, how much driveway do we want? how big should the shop be? is the well water good? no it tastes and smells gross (passes the "health test" with flying colors" add softener, chlorinator and declorinator another couple of filters, reverse osmosis wonderful water a last....the finishes, we're 62 do we want what we want or do we settle? landscaping? how much?
screen the porch or not? on and on but in the end, we're very happy

We were looking to buy a fairly new home or a slightly older one and updating it. We could not find one that fit our specs, so we got the brilliant idea of building a house:/ by the time the house is completed it will be a year since the mere thought enters our heads. Lots of waiting, even more decisions and $$. Would I do it again? You betcha!!

We are building our retirement home, we chose plans that our builder had from a half dozen large plan books and then customized it somewhat. We were given a base price and our customization (aka wants) added about 15% to the base price. You know how that goes, oh yes, we need a screened in porch off the kitchen and we need that beautiful fireplace and oh yes, we certainly need.... LOL.