This is probably the most common question we’re asked.  What will my house cost per foot?  If only it were that simple.  Unfortunately, there’s no easy answer to that.  We’re currently building houses that range from $75 per foot up to $500 per foot.  A huge price difference right?  So what determines the cost of a house?  A lost of things, but we’ll try to address some of them here.

First, your house plans.  We’ve met with numerous people before they have plans who ask us if their budget looks good for a 1600 square foot house.  We’ll tell them that should be fine.  So they go meet with the architect to get their plans drawn.  When they’re done they come back with a 220o square foot house.  Then they get upset when the budget we give them is more than they wanted to spend.  Well, every square foot of your house adds up, so the bigger your house the more it will cost.  But what if its bonus space (cheap space)?  It still costs more.  A 2200 foot house is always going to cost more than a 1600 foot house.  Period.

The second thing that determines the cost of your house are the actual plans themselves.  There are definitely ways to draw plans that will save you money.  We call this value engineering.  This is when its good to get your builder involved.  We can look at your plans and help you and your architect see ways to save money without changing your basic floor plan.  This doesn’t mean you can go ahead and build that bigger house you want, but you can definitely save some money.

Probably the biggest thing that determines how much a house costs is what you pick to be in the house.  Plumbing fixtures, light fixtures, paint, counter tops, cabinets, floor coverings, siding, stucco, stone, etc.  You can’t decide you want top of the line house with the latest and greatest things in it and plan on spending what you would for an entry-level  basic house.  It just doesn’t work that way.

I realize that I’m not helping you know how much your house will cost.  Feel free to contact us at Jorgenson Builders for more help with this.  You can also refer to our previous post about budgets.  I will say this…Be realistic.  There’s nothing more frustrating for us as a general contractor or you as a home owner than trying to build a house when the budget just isn’t there for what you want.  We can still build you a really nice house, but don’t try to push more into it than you can afford.  Just like you can’t get the people at Honda to turn their cars into a Porsche for the same price, we can’t magically give you a million dollar house for $400,000.

Call us today and we’ll help you build the perfect house for you and your budget!