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Principal + Interest + Taxes + Insurance (PITI) – that’s been the standard way of defining monthly housing cost and often been a factor in determining how large of a monthly mortgage payment you can afford. Today’s historically low mortgage interest rates in many...
Surging lumber prices have added an estimated $14,000 to the typical new home in just the last four months according to the National Association of Home Builders. While builders can do little about fluctuating materials costs, value-engineering the home – balancing...
It may seem obvious that the larger the home, the more it will cost. But there are other factors that affect the cost. Single-story vs. Two-story. Single-story homes typically cost more than two-story homes of the same square footage. The Bonham (plan #42239), below...
Aesthetics and Livability Let’s look at a few of the sometimes overlooked or underappreciated floor plan design factors that drive cost. Staircase design, construction, and materials run the gamut of pricing. One guideline often used relates to the staircase’s public...
Everything is designed. Look around you. Everything you see was designed. The ceiling, lighting, your chair, the wastebasket, the door. Design can make or break a business – just look at Apple’s outstanding designs and now defunct Oldsmobile for lack of design...
I first heard that truism more than 30 years ago, and home builders, real estate agents, and home buyers agree, it’s still true today. When looking to purchase a home, buyers often use the home’s exterior – and specifically its curb appeal – when deciding whether to...
We have been looking at the fallacies of comparing new homes on the basis of “cost per square foot” because it’s nearly impossible to get an apples-to-apples comparison. Here we look at another apples-to-oranges comparison – building your home using structurally...
Home plans in hand, you may think your next step is to get three bids. That makes sense, because you want to get a feel for how much you’ll be investing in your new home. But why three bids? Are you automatically going to take the low bid? And how did the low bidder...
If you are looking at a home’s cost per square foot and that cost includes the homesite, understand that building lot costs vary widely. The location of your building lot encompasses several factors. Neighborhood amenities such as walking trails, public spaces,...
Cost per square foot. Simple to calculate. Seemingly easy to understand. Until you realize what was included in the “cost” differs by builder! On floor plans, dashed (as opposed to solid) lines often indicate options. In keeping with its focus on affordability, the...
