have your finalist give you a breakdown, let him set the amounts. then it will be easier to determine if his price for excavation, plumbing & electrical, plastering, etc. is competitive. I would insist on making the payments AFTER each stage is completed, not a minute before. If he/she doesn't have enough operating fund to go from stage to stage, I would be concerned about whether this is the PB for you. In the event things go south, at least you won't have paid for work not done. Stating the obvious, but please ck customer references and suppliers, ie his gunite source. See that the contractor relationships he claims are legitimate (as opposed to him calling from yellow pages) and he doesn't owe anybody for work they did for him but is outstanding. If he got payments from client, he shouldn't owe anybody, right? Outstanding issues are a big red flag.

@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.

why do you assume he wouldn't want to be educated and empowered? Personally, I would recommend an economics class in said education. Then point out that specialize and trade means that you create the most value by doing things that you are better at doing, and leaving the things that you are not particularly good at doing to others. Why stop at being your own contractor? You should also design your house, it really can't be that hard right, I mean architects do it all day long and they only need like five years of college and two years of apprenticeship. I mean if you want to be educated don't go half way, go for the works. Or you could spend that time going to your job, enjoying the fruits of the labor that you actually specialize in, and trade said fruits to other people who have others specializations. Which is how value is really created.

Hi - They are Stabil, Austrian company that promptly went out of business after I bought windows (a few years ago!) because of the lower cost Eastern European competition. They used to be located right outside the Black Forest, apparently, and made a great window - but couldn't command the higher price of manufacturing in Austria. I am super happy with them - and at least the glass is 'easy' - as I'd never get the frame profile to match again! I think it is time to get a game camera or 2 - maybe one down at the gate and one in the courtyard between the buildings.