I have sold many many custom built homes over the years- and Never even heard of such a thing. Most custom homes have the main plans set and You pick the "options" to Customize it to your taste. Most builders would not put a single water heater in a mansion-lol It is great to have a "design" program and noodle around- but you are Much better off picking a design that has been built before.

Little things like having your kitchen on the oposite side of your garage- people dont think about groceries ect- they just want to brag "we designed it ourselves" Great- but when you try to resale it- you can bet potential buyers will notice all the flaws as Dane describes.

I have also seen people go buy acreage thinking they will build their "dream home" but negect things like a water source, sewer, building codes, land usuage, taxes, electric and gas service- building in a flood plain, building on marshland or sandy earth that can wreck havoc on your foundation. Also consider cliff views- it gets pricey blasting away bedrock.

Best of luck! Most subdivisions will offer custom homes built to suit- based on proven designs. You pick all colors, flooring, ect. Believe me, you will be tired of choices by the time you are done. Pick wisely and think about the future. I had a lady that loved the color pink and her husband just went along- the whole house-EVERYTHING inside and out was pink- even the tubs and sinks. They were divorced a year later and that house sat on the market until it was finally bank owned and gutted.

Good luck!! :thumb:

6x9 kitchen-ROFL Did you guys design it yourselves? Well at least the repairs you are talking about are things you can get money back out or have saved you money. Adding circuits so your house doesnt burn down could never be a bad thing-lol Chances are you are money ahead then if you sold it and bought another project. :thumb:

Are you trying to tell me the Mods would do something like that-LOL ROFL

Typically, real estate prices are based on "comps"- comparable homes in the immediate area. If there is nothing comparable in the area, it usually devalues the home (even if the home itself is very nice). For example, even if you have a 5,000 square foot mansion with vaulted ceilings, custom cabinets and Italian marble throughout, that home will be devalued if the next largest homes in the neighborhood are only 2,500 square feet and have none of those features.

In short, if he wants to build something at $200 per square foot (good luck staying in budget!), he should build in a neighborhood where homes are comparable to his project and sell for at least $200 per square foot. Or he can live there forever or take it in the shorts whenever he sells.

The house was built in 1994 and we purchased in 2003. The kitchen is now much bigger (29 foot long) but that came with the expense of routing electrical and plumbing from the master bath a floor above and removing a load bearing wall and replacing it with massive glue-lam beams, concrete and steel. Hillside homes built in earthquake zones are built much differently than homes in the Midwest.

And the house was recently appraised at twice the purchase price, so we're all good. :thumb:

29 foot kitchen- holy cow!! Sweet! Yep sounds like you made a great investment!! I know where I want to stop buy and have some beers- with a hillside view when I am out that way-LOL Sounds like a cool place!

I would love to design my own home. Building it would be a pain, though.

Use AIDS tree lumber.