Wow, am I envious! I live in the Tampa Bay area and we are hoping to come in somewhere about $110-120/ft. Average prices are between $175-300/ft. The main thing to consider is that our building codes are probably some of the strictest in the country due to the hurricanes. The home is built to withstand 130mph winds. It is built from concrete block which definitely increases our cost substantially. As we are the GC, we did hire a manager to over see the entire project (he also did the slab/block/frame). But the money we are paying him to manage is definetly worth the peace of mind! He is very reputable in our area and has many many contacts so we are able to get his pricing. In the end, his management fee will probably wash with the savings. We are also going pretty high end with everything else from windows to appliances to flooring and so forth. In the end, it will all be worth it. However, our cost to build does not include what we paid for the lot. Land is NOT abundant here and you pay for it - ALOT. Our lot had a home which we initially wanted to add on to. But after talking with our architect and engineer, the cost was more to do that (by going up a floor) than it was to demo and start over. We went that route since then we are not limited to the footprint and could then have exactly what we wanted. Our new home is 4000 sq ft living/8900 sq ft under roof incl 1500 sq ft covered lanai/3 car garage/semi-detached 4 car garage. So, with all of this, in the end we should be about $450K (not including pool). For Florida, this is not bad at all.

I have a Keystoker Automatic Stoker Stove 105,000BTU. I've had it for 1.5yrs. I have it in my finished family room in the basement. I use it to heat both my first floor(1200 square feet) and my finished basement(700 square feet). This particular stove has no problem at all keeping both floors of my house at a cozy 75 degrees. I chose this stove because of the optional 6-inch top convection air vent. The stove has a blower which blows hot air out the front of the stove, but also has a 6 inch top vent that blows air out the top. I have 6 inch duct work hooked to the top vent, and vented to a register directly above the stove. Hot air blows 50/50 out the vents, but you can close either off to get 100 out of either vent. My only complaint is this: with my thermostat on the first floor and set at 74, the temp will rise and fall between 73 and 76. Downstairs, on the other hand, the temp will rise and fall between 65 and 80. It was a bad winter and I went through 5 tons of coal at 200/ton =1000. Would have spent 3000 in propane to heat my entire house at 75 degrees. My buddy has the same stove with same house size and heats the same way, only his duct work runs across the ceiling of his basement and into two seperate registers. I have no problem with using just the one.

It depends also upon what that particular property is worth to you. I've seen people let $5000 keep them from purchasing a home they really wanted, and end up paying the price it could have been purchased for a few months later, for a house they liked less. Market values fluctuate. There are the comps of what a house is worth on the market at this moment, and what it is worth to you. If you pay $5000 over market value today, but get the house, maybe that purchase price is the market value in six months. Does that matter in the larger picture for what is often a30 year mortgage, and the "value" bouncing up and down? Sure, you don't want to pay more than you have to. But increasing the odds of actually being able to purchase the house you want has a value, too. How badly do you want this particular property? If low-balling increases the odds that someone else will purchase the property instead, how much does that matter to you? That is a question only you can answer. Offering an amount closer to what you said you expect to have to pay, increases the odds of your being able to purchase the property. Not all offers must be made with negotiating in mind. We offered less than market for our house, but that was what we were willing to pay with consideration to the work needed. The owner wanted more, but it was easy to decline increasing our offer, because we had already established what we were willing to pay. Don't forget that most properties get appraised, and that can affect how much price wiggling is done during the negotiations for inspection repairs, closing costs, etc. Even if they accept your lower offer, if the house appraises much higher, they will then probably not going to concede additional money. If your offer is above the appraisal, you can renegotiate (per contract) and are more likely to get a roof replacement, or whatever. In the end, it could be a wash when it comes to the final price.

If you're thinking of this as investment, that looks different. The answer to your "which is better" question is "probably neither." If you build new, I can almost guarantee that you'll lose money on the resale. If you buy existing and renovate, you'll be lucky to break even. And don't forget that every renovation you spend your cash on represents cash you can't invest somewhere else. I'm not an expert on this, but based on what I've seen friends succeed and fail at, there are two ways I know of (there are no doubt others I don't) to make a profit on your personal home. 1. Ideally in a cool market, buy an existing, well maintained home with desirable design in a desirable neighborhood where homes are appreciating. Live in it and maintain it well. Don't attempt any renovations whatsoever. When values are approaching your profit goal and the market is hot, but before the decor and design you bought would be considered "dated," clean it, paint it, buy a new range and a big refrigerator, and sell it. Repeat. 2. Buy a distressed property (foreclosure, estate sale, similar) with fundamentally desirable design in a desirable neighborhood where homes are appreciating. Repair what's broken. Live in the home and maintain it well. When home values in the area are approaching your goal, no sooner, decorate and update based on what's then popular and what's selling. No layout changes, no wall teardowns, no major renovations. Sell when the market is hot. Repeat. Either way, if profit is your main motive, or even a significant one -- from the second you start house hunting, your house is never your home. It's always your potential buyer's home. Don't buy a house because you like it, buy it because your buyer will. Don't change things because you want them that way, change them because your buyer will. If you're thinking in terms of what you need or want in a house (main level bedroom/bath, open floor plan, brick facing, and so on), you're already on the wrong track. I watched that happen to a friend some years ago. She had loads of fun renovating her house, but she got almost none of her costs back when she sold it. She would've been better off to have spent the renovation money on a couple of fun vacations.