camlan, good point about the huge MB and the tiny others. I know that we remodeled to add walk in closets, and now I keep all my clothes in there. I have an elfa drawer stack for undies and socks, and shelves for folded clothes that would have gone into drawers in another scenario. Yet I have an empty dresser and mirror in the room, since I need the surface for my jewelry box. And the room would look too empty without it. I do think that larger closets have changed what furniture is used for clothes storage. But I think bedrooms for adults have become more like student bedrooms with office/computer areas in them.

Jackie, You started in the right place. Ask questions on this board. There are a lot of resources available from the experts and those who have been on both sides of the hammer. We will tell you when it's something to really worry about. Respect is a two way street. Hire the best people that you can find. Let them do their job. Monitor what they do. Question things if you don't understand them. Ask if there is an alternate way of doing things. Be flexible. Trust, but verify. Understand that the really good professionals are always busy, but never too busy to answer a sincere question. If something doesn't seem right, ask about it. Don't be afraid to ask why? Question every one of your decisions by asking if there is a better way to complete something? When you are asked to make a decision, give it quickly and decisively. If you don't know the answer, tell them you don't know or don't understand. If you encounter something that you don't like, and you will, talk about it with the GC. Let your GC handle the subs. It's his job to yell at them, not yours. That's what they get paid to do. The GC gets paid to answer to your satisfaction unlimited questions. Try not to bother the subs too much. Always be friendly. A sense of humor will go a long way to get through this process.

options 1. find a builder who can work within your loan 2. borrow from another asset 3. pare the wish list.... cut items that dont impact appraised value. #3 is common. All the HGTV bells and whistles often cost $$$ and cannot be included in every new build while making budget. Lenders are limited by loan to value and loan to cost, whichever is lowest. owners make up the difference with cash. as homes get more expensive and more custom, equity requirements and percentages increase. Example: you want $60k in appliances but the neighborhood values are based on $15k kitchen packages... likely you would have to come up with $45k more cash. Pare the wish list or at least understand the impacts.

Some other advice... Do online shopping. There are so many options and great deals available, especially for fixtures I would advise using online pricing to negotiate better prices at local supply houses and shops. It is rarely worth the trouble to return and/or get warranty service on items purchased online. An installation of a defective item can destroy all your savings from online shopping. Many supply houses will match or give you some discount to make them a better choice. For items that are easily replaced such, such as lights, online shopping can be great as a defective light will have little collateral damage. Talk to local stores for bargain, discontinued stock, deals, clearing sale, etc This is great advice, but you must be ready to purchase when the items are available and have a means to store the item. I purchase closeout items for my rental properties that I don't currently need in anticipation of needing them. I have replacement faucets, toilets, etc waiting for breakage or lease end. Talk to the builder and get builder-discounts at some stores This should be nearly automatic. I get my painter's discount, my plumber's discount, and my electrician's discount for projects they are working on even when I buy the stuff (supply houses will usually just give me the discount even if they are not doing the stuff). Use basic standard stuff and upgrade later, especially appliances This is incredibly common bad advice. This is essentially the same thing as put your money in the toilet, but wait a few years to flush. There is only a marginal cost of upgrading today. Why in the world would you want to not only ignore the reduced cost, but increase cost by buying stuff you don't want? If you can live with cheaper stuff indefinitely, then buy cheaper stuff. Don't make your financial situation worse by buying cheaper stuff that you don't want to live with so that you can buy more expensive stuff later. Current mortgage rates are barely above inflation rates, you are not going to be better off by having a lower mortgage and deferring costs. A wild suggestion from a co-worker: Use no -interest-for-2-years credit card to buy some of the stuff instead of charging it to construction loan. Once you finish the project, then you get some time to make the credit card payment. This is not really saving anything for me. Just a suggestion to defer the initial burden. This is actually solid advice. In fact, for the last 10 years I have been carrying a zero percent credit card balance. I just balance transfer it to a different promotional card before the interest period kicks in. Interest free money is great. Even ignoring my investments over that time, every dollar I financed at zero percent interest back then is only 83 cents of purchasing power to pay off today. However, that debt should be factored into your loan app when you apply for credit. You can get in trouble increasing your debt while working out a mortgage loan.