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HOUSE PLANS?

The most asked question we receive from our online visitors is, "How much does a certain plan cost to build?". I think it is wrong that some web sites actually charge you then give a cost to build a plan. How do they know the cost of how you want to build your home? There are Professional Estimating Companies (some in the advertising banner above) that can give you a close idea but with a lot of margin for error. This is a tough question to answer because construction cost varies so much from one geographic area to another. For example; a home built in San Jose, California will have a different cost than other areas of the country because of what has to take place to the structural construction due to the fact they sit on top of an highly active seismic zone. The same plan would cost differently being built in Fargo, North Dakota where the builder has to consider the extreme cold climate in the winter. Additionally, take the same home plan to Beaumont, Texas where we need to consider high heat humidity factor and an occasional hurricane. On top of all this, labor and material cost vary greatly from one area to another. I sold a plan to a customer who built his home in a ski resort town up in the state of Idaho. He told me that it was a two hour drive to the nearest lumber yard. Needless to say, his builder had to pay extra for construction materials delivery. The best answer I can give to this question is that the national average of construction cost range from around $95.00 to $135.00 (and beyond) per square foot*, and this all depends on how you plan to finish out your home. Do you plan to have your Kitchen counters built out of granite or plastic laminated (Formica) ? Do you plan to use a high grade roof material like slate or plan to build your roof with a light weight composition shingle? The questions are almost endless. A good number to start with is a construction cost of about $100.00 per square foot* of Living Area for most areas of the country. And of course, this does not include the cost of the land..

The best way to determine the construction cost of one of our plans is to consult with a Home Builder in your area. Your builder could have a speculative model home open to give you an example of the materials they prefer to use along with the cost per square foot it took to build that home. Feel free to print out a copy of the plan you like from our web site and take it to a builder. Most builders would be happy to discuss how much it would cost to build the plan.

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