The Cost of Building a Home

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Building your own home is an often exciting, sometimes exhausting experience. It’s also a perfect chance to have a home that’s designed the way you want it to look. But whether you’re hiring a general contractor or doing most of the work yourself, it takes a lot of forethought and planning. The sites highlighted in this Web guide can help you find inspiration to create the home of your dreams and get much-needed help to ensure you don’t miss one of the many details that accompany this endeavor.

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Steps to Building a Home

Home building may seem like a complicated process—and it is—but we’ve found some ... read more »

The Cost of Building a Home

The cost of building a home depends on a multitude of factors, including what type of home you want, how lavish you want the home to be, the contractor you use, and even interest rates on any financing you may require to build your home. The sites in this section offer cost calculators, show you how to set up and follow a home-building budget, and provide valuable information about obtaining loans to pay for your project.

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Remember that any cost calculators you use on the Web can provide only general estimates of what you might pay to build your home. Labor costs vary from contractor to contractor, and materials prices vary from state to state (or store to store). Many calculators rely on averages to develop their estimates.

If you require a loan to build your new home, your personal credit plays an important role in the financing you receive. For more information about understanding your credit, and how to improve it if need be, see our findingDulcinea Credit Web Guide.

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For help crunching numbers …

RealEstateJournal.com is part of The Wall Street Journal Network. Read this particular article to find a general price range for building a home, tips on the use of cost-estimating calculators, and a little advice regarding profit margins for contractors and the price cushion you should maintain for your overall building costs.

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Home-Cost.com offers an extremely helpful explanation of “finished square feet” and “constructed square feet,” an important distinction for anyone hiring a contractor. If you’re wondering whether to go with a finished or an unfinished basement, for example, this site can help you see what effects this decision could have on the construction costs for your home.

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Building-Cost.net has a calculator that helps you determine your approximate building costs. Answer a few questions about the details of your home, such as the number of corners it will have, the type of heating system you want to include, and where you’re building the home, and the site generates cost estimates for materials, labor and equipment.

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MSN Money offers some pointers about properly estimating the costs of home building before breaking ground. Also find tips to keep spending in check along the way.

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For financing information …

The Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) explains how to search for the best home loan for your situation. Use the section that describes adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) to learn what they are, how they work, the types of ARMs and what you should be aware of if you are considering an ARM.

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Bankrate.com explains what a home construction loan is, how one works and the interest rates to expect for this type of loan. Follow the helpful hyperlinks in the article to connect to explanations of some of the various terms you might encounter as you research this type of loan.

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HSH Home Plans features a “Construction Loan Primer” that discusses the importance of obtaining the right financing for a home build. This article is slightly different than the others we’ve recommended in that it contains some helpful side notes (highlighted in tan) about construction loans that may give you an edge in choosing the financing that will be most beneficial to you.

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The United States Department of Veterans Affairs provides home loans to eligible veterans. Read the “Frequently Asked Questions” page to learn about the program, and see whether you qualify at the “Am I Eligible for a Home Loan?” section.

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