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Breaking Budgets: Most Common Factors That Increase The Cost Of A Home Build

2023 St. Jude Dream Home

At MC Homes, we pride ourselves on providing an accurate as possible upfront quote, not one that increases as the project progresses.

A lot of times, what you get from an initial conversation with a contractor is an estimated quote based on standard materials. So, let’s say you get a bid for your new construction project. Your bid from company Z is for $750,000. But, that bid is going to generalize a lot of costs that are hard to generalize without a better idea of what the end result will be.

Let’s say you are hard set on having natural hardwood throughout your home’s two stories. Sounds great, right? Well, it would, however, the bid from company Z was estimated with a price for laminate flooring. Not hardwood. If you didn’t know, there is quite a big price difference in laminate vs. hardwood. So, now your $750,000 is roughly $785,000 with that detail now factored in.

But, that’s just the floor you were wanting to upgrade. Imagine if you want marble countertops over granite, custom cabinetry vs. standard “off-the-shelf” styles, and you’ve had this custom bathroom tile picked out since before you even knew you were going to build.

Now, all of a sudden, your initial $750,000 quote has just eclipsed seven figures once we have all of those details factored in. Not ideal!

How We Solve This Problem

This is a critical benefit to having an in-house design team working with you from our initial discussions, all the way through the materials selection process and then, finally, your build.

Our process is designed to work out these details before we give you an initial quote. And let’s face it, nobody likes sticker shock, and there is nothing more disheartening than having the expenses of your dream home pile up because your builder didn’t factor in how much of your style was going to be involved in your dream home.

Note: This is the primary reason we don’t like to give “price per square foot” estimates. It really depends on what you are putting in each square foot!

How We Solve This Problem

The Biggest Budget-Eaters

So, what are the common culprits that cause projects to go over budget? We’ve mentioned a couple already, but here’s a list of big ticket items you need to consider.

Flooring

First up, flooring. As we mentioned above, the easiest example to compare is the cost of laminate vs. hardwood. As a matter of fact, just about any option is going to be a fraction of what real hardwood floors will cost in your home.

That’s not to say that hardwood is better, by any means. There are so many excellent engineered hardwood flooring options out there these days, and many that have a great hardwood look. For this reason, they are a solid (pun intended) option for many luxury homes.

The primary difference is pretty simple: the price of wood isn’t cheap. For your home’s structure, it’s a necessary expense. But for a finish like hardwood floors, the cost of that material will add up quickly, because you’re going to need a lot of it.

It’s certainly not a dealbreaker, and the end result is going to be nothing short of stunning and will last a lifetime, but that elegance and longevity come with a price tag. And again, you can still achieve stunning beauty and luxury without the expense of hardwood. So, certainly something for you should take time to consider your best option vs. your ideal budget.

St Jude House

Cabinetry

Along the same lines, you are going to experience a similar issue when it comes to cabinetry. Especially if you are building a custom home and have something of a less conventional layout in mind.

The cheapest route to go when it comes to cabinetry is going to be prefabricated pieces. Since these pieces can be mass-produced in a similar style and size, you can get them at a budget price. However, many new builders would prefer something a little more unique.

Emily Abell and Heather Butterbaugh, your in-house design team at MC Homes, will be the first to tell you that the cost of custom cabinetry often ranks as the biggest “added” expense a homeowner doesn’t anticipate in their initial planning.

This will be even more true if your goal is to match the cabinetry throughout the entire house. So the more bathrooms you have, the more custom cabinets you are going to need to budget for.

2023 St. Jude Dream Home

Tile

The next item on our list of “you might not realize how much it costs” considerations is tile. Adding a nice tile to your bathroom floor or shower, or even in your kitchen as a backsplash is a perfect way to create a custom look that can take those rooms to the next level. The choices you’ll have to add a unique style to either, or both, spaces are practically endless.

But, as you might have guessed by now, these finishing flourishes can really start to add up. And it’s not just the price and size of the tile that makes a difference. Some tile, and the way they are designed, takes time and precision to install. The more intricate the pattern and the more “tile work” that needs to be completed will also factor into your total cost.

Abell Home
2023 St. Jude Dream Home

Furniture

Lastly, and perhaps more obviously, is the cost of the furniture you will be filling your new dream home with.

Some clients will bring some, if not all of their furniture with them from their previous home, so this expense can be omitted for them. However, one of the perks of working with MC Homes is the ability to let our in-house design team take the helm and fully furnish your new living spaces.

Of course, many will fall somewhere in between: having some elements they’d like to keep while being open to having portions of the home be designed and furnished for them.

No matter which category you fall into, our design team will work with you every step of the way, making sure that if you bring a master bedroom suit, your new bedroom is designed with that furniture in mind. In many ways, your home is going to be designed around the furniture you plan to fill it with, whether that is a family heirloom or a new post-modern piece.

That being said, the price of furniture can vary greatly for a number of reasons, so it’s certainly something to keep in the back of your mind before you begin your build.

Of course, we are going to work with you to make sure we can find a solution that will reflect your style while staying close to budget. Which is why this early step in our design process is so critical.

Furniture

How You Can Better Be Prepared

The good news is, if you’ve read this far along in the article, you are at least prepared for some elements of the “cost” conversation.

Additionally, you now have some topics to at least loosely discuss before you meet with our design team:

  • What pieces of furniture do I plan on bringing into my new home?
  • What are some of the things on my wish list related to the above categories?
  • Are there any definitive decisions you’ve made on materials you want your dream home to have?

 

The good news for you is that this is part of our process, so even if you don’t have those answers just yet, we can guide you for each one to help you feel confident you will be getting both the look and feel you’ve been dreaming of while sticking as close to your final budget as possible.

Want to Know More?

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  • June 20, 2024
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