This is a tough one. Many, many people would go for the one with the view. I love big trees. And small creeks. Can you get both? (Ha ha)

Go with the one with the view. You can always plant trees.

Asylum made my point.

I love trees and have planted them wherever we've lived, but we've also taken out a lot from disease and age. Although I've been able to create level terraces on a slope, sadly I've never been able to add a stream.

Choose for what you love and cannot add, and what you feel sure will endure. Not all views do, btw, (what could happen in future downslope?); but in most markets views are very much in demand.

Have both lots been approved for the septic, and will there be any restrictions based on the size/location of the septic that might impact your decision? If the septic is not a factor, I agree with hamamelis, choose what you love rather than for resale.

I would choose 1 as it sounds more private and that is very important to me. Also I like flat space for kids playing, gardening, etc. But the most important factor would be the light exposure. Does one of them allow for the back to face south?

In this case, I don't see any "better" lot, although personally I'd be drawn to the one with the creek. (Another person might think of the creek as a hazard for small children -- but I know someone who grew up next to a creek and is typing here right now to tell you that both my brother and I, as well as the 4 neighbor kids, thrived with that creek.) But both are good, once you check out omelet's suggestion above.

I would prefer the trees, creek and privacy. I think trees and nature make an awesome view. Also, I am currently in a struggle to get oak trees growing in my yard right now and I am so envious of people with shady yards with big oaks.

Oaks, mesquites and cedars - sounds like you're in Texas. Are the oaks large enough and able to provide your house with shade?

Which way does the second lot slope (away from or towards the house) and how much sloping is there? Depending on the way it slopes you could be in for large costs for grading and drainage. Our backyard slopes slightly towards the back of the house. When it rains hard the water runs down the slope and turns the grass at the bottom next to the house into a swamp. It then also pools on the concrete around the pool and sometimes floods the pool. The builders (we didn't build the house) then flattened the build site. The front of the house steeply slopes downward. The problem with that is that it become hard to water some areas of the front yard because the water wants to move down the slope in areas instead of soaking in.

Our new house will have a downward sloping front yard but we're solving the problem with a circular driveway and terrace beds with xeriscaping instead of a front lawn.

We chose the builder once we had narrowed down to a few lots and neighborhoods. He was instrumental in helping us choose our lot. He was able to offer lots of practical advice regarding pros and cons of building on different lots. We ended up choosing an unusual and challenging lot because he was able to tell us how it would be possible to build on a lot. Like the lots you mentioned it's heavily treed and has a creek bisecting it. He also took us to building sites of his on difficult lots and walked us through how he dealt with the problems.

Thank you all for your responses. Yep, I'm definitely in big and beautiful Texas! I tend to lean towards the view myself and I also had the thought that I could always plant trees. I'll check into the septic and consulting an architect and/or builder for advice. As far as the slope, the land would slope away from the house.

I've never built a house before. Do I just start interviewing builders to see what they offer? Do architects typically charge a consultation fee?

What part of Texas are you in? I'm building in the Fort Worth area. I made a bid list of wants and needs along with a budget. I then did research into local builders and visited the show homes for some of them. I also looked at the BBB reviews for them and spoke to my realtor for suggestions. I actually found meeting with them and looking at their websites to be very useful The design/build model is very popular for custom homes around here so the websites helped me learn about their style. Some of them built homes that were way too fussy for my tastes (what I call the Dallas chic) so I ruled them out.

Meeting with the builders helped me rule out builders very quickly. Some of them I just didn't click with and some of them seemed to be too cookie cutter. Another one didn't understand some of the basic things I asked him about such as build allowance and another one's rates were too high. I then narrowed it down to three builders and visited potential lots with them. This exercise was surprisingly illuminating. One of the builders tried to convince me that a truly awful lot (I could see a billboard) was the way to go. I later learned that his company owned the lot. Another one kept steering me towards really easy to build on lots that had no character. The one I chose had real vision. When I showed him the lot my dh loved but I was afraid wasn't buildable he got excited. He was able to tell me how he would be able to build on the lot and gave me a vision of a wonderful home with a master bedroom that overlooked the trees and a sweeping patio. When I expressed my concerns about how difficult that would be to accomplish he took my dh and I to some of his other build sites to show us how the foundation would be built and how it would address the problems with the site. I also liked the fact that he was a smaller builder so I felt like our house wouldn't get lost in the crowd.

Do you own the view? Choose lot 1, unless there is NO way more homes will be built, to block that lot 2 view.

Like LL, I'd be concerned with the zoning -- what can be built around these lots? Would you lose your view? Are there any places with commercial zoning nearby that could become eyesores or create noise, pollution? Will you be in the middle of a development that will have homes going up all around you for years? What is upstream of the creek? Are the trees healthy?

Have you spoken with the people at your city hall? Know what's permitted?

My DH and I talked to seven builders, in person. Five came to our lot. We hired and fired one 'architect' and found another who was licensed.