A wet bar is not a resale item. How big is the house? And how much of the space will be unused? The other problem is if you're building a home, you can expect to have 10-20% overage costs so just cutting $3-5000 now may not be enough.

If you only care about the wet bar downstairs for resale, just make sure the plumbing is available through the concrete where you would need it, and don't do the rest. Same idea as a future bathroom. Although around here (Atlantic Canada) a wet bar wouldn't be a must have for a typical house. I can only think of one house out of my friends and family that had one, and that was a very 1950's basement.

Don't forget that you really must have a contingency or oops fund of 15-20%. They always come up........

Millworkman is correct. You WILL go over the actual cost they gave you and $3000 to $5000 does not sound like enough for that size of a house.

If this is just a basement, basement -- not walk-out, etc. -- skip the wet bar unless you also plan other plumbing there. I'd want a half-bath on any level you're going to actually use much.

Where are you in the building process? We might find something more major to cut if we could see the plans.

Seed usually makes for a better lawn...eventually. I wouldn't seed until early autumn -- certainly not in July! Do you have an irrigation system?

You can honestly get into one little thing with the foundation or sewer/septic or water and be out 3-5K on an overage. And you WILL have overages. I'd honestly think about the planning a lot more if you're only 5K away from a jumbo loan.

I also think that since you are in the planning stages, you need rethink how close you are to the jumbo loan. $3000-5000 is a negligible amount of money in the context of a 4000 sq foot project. You need a much larger cushion between the top end of your desired budget and the cut off for the jumbo loan if you really want to avoid that loan.

I'd put what you save on sod into an irrigation system -- for at least part of the lawn -- and seed it. You will probably want shrubs and flowers in places -- not solid grass. You'll go nuts dragging hoses around as you try to establish the landscaping. Don't plan to have your kids playing on that lawn until Summer 2017.

May we see the house plans? I'm worried you are not being realistic with your costs, but not knowing building costs where you live, we may be too high in our estimates for 4K sq ft. It's easy to get in over your head with the build, and then there are insurance, RE taxes, permits, etc. -- and landscaping!

Unless you've got six kids or have included a whole in-law suite for aging relatives I'd think about how to cut at least 1000 sf out of the house then retain some of the savings and use the rest to upgrade finishes, appliances, mechanicals, and insulation. I don't know anyone with a 4000 sf house (about average in my former neighborhood) who doesn't have whole rooms they never use. In our last move we went from 3200 to 2700 and most of our friends swear that our new house is bigger because it uses the space so much more effectively.

What's your aversion to a jumbo loan? In my neck of the woods rates are lower for jumbo loans (with well qualified borrowers). If you have excellent credit rating and can afford a jumbo banks view you as lower risk.

I agree with the above poster that you need to cut more than just this little bit. I've not heard anyone on this site say they stuck to a budget, so you really need to cut to below the point you want to be.

Yes, please share your plan! We can't really give any advice without it.

What's the aversion to a jumbo loan? Common sense. No debt is good debt, and pushing your limits is dangerous.

I'd ditch the sod in a new york minute. Seed if planted in the fall will grow quickly but we planted in August and within a month it did amazingly well - we have irrigation. It's now 2 months in and it's pretty darn good but yes next year will be even better. We lived without grass for 14 months - yes 14 months (due to other issues and it was all DIY) and it was trying but we are still alive. 2 boys and a dog here. No carpet except on stairs and in bedrooms and that was a lifesaver as we are a no shoes inside and no dog in bedrooms household. It wasn't fun per se and yes I swept up sand by the measuring cup regularly but even if you only had to wait a few months it can be done.

I totally agree that while the builder is certain your desires are within the budget - there are unforeseen things that will not be. Those are hard to budget - like excavation issues or well issues. Who knows - there is always something. It's just like a wedding, it will be great but there is always a hitch. What that hitch is and how costly - who knows!

rwiegand - we had the same experience going from about 3,300 sq ft in our last house to 2,700 sq ft in this house! We love that we actually use the space and that the floor plan is so efficient for our lifestyle. And the house doesn't feel any smaller (other than there aren't rooms that never get used). Our friends/family actually thought it was bigger, too.

While you're planning on building a large house, I still highly recommend The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka. It will give you gobs of wonderful info on how to cut down the house to a size that works well for your family, whether that's 2000 sq feet, or 4000 and not have wasted space. Too often as others said, we get sucked into the idea of the large house, (some here call them McMansions) without realizing that it's not the size, but how it's put together that is most important.

I've been in 1500 square foot homes that felt larger than 3500 square foot homes. Why? Because of how they were arranged and used.

I would not build again without irrigation and I live in Washington where it rains a LOT. It is a huge PITA to maintain a lawn without irrigation.

our build did stay within the budget things we chose to do that were not budgeted for that we paid for after the build were more than doubling the size of the driveway and putting brick on the porch and breezeway instead of concrete flooring

Krisim, just be sure that every single detail you want is in writing.

And what happens if it comes time to put the tile in and you look at the tile you picked and decide it's wrong? That's a change order and an additional charge. Even with everything spelled out, things happen. You would be very wise to still have a 15% contingency. The best conclusion would be that you don't need it and can then put it to some new furniture or a nice vacation.

If this is a development, yes, stick to what the builder is offering. You want to be same/same with other homes in the development when you sell.

I wouldn't call this 'semi custom' if you're using the builder's plans and his selection of 'ingredients', but it can work fine.

Are you doing any upgrades for flooring, kitchen cabinets, etc.?

What's included for landscaping? Seed and a 2" tree used to be pretty standard.