Читать книгу Building Your Custom Home For Dummies - Peter Economy - Страница 69

Kevin relates this experience from a custom-home project he financed in Northern California.

Ten newly divided lots were being sold for $200,000 in an established neighborhood. Frank Smith looked at one of the lots and was concerned because he thought the lot was too expensive. He was absolutely right. Maria Garcia came in the same day and looked at the same lot and quickly determined the lot was a great deal. She was also absolutely right.

How can they both be right if they’re talking about the same lot? The decision is all about the square footage. Frank wanted to build a 2,500-square-foot house, which was comparable to other houses in the neighborhood selling for $600,000. The total cost of the house including the land penciled out to $650,000, making the project too expensive to build on this lot. Frank wouldn’t be able to borrow enough money to build his house.

Maria’s house was going to be 4,500 square feet. Her cost per square foot was the same as Frank’s, so her total cost for the project including land would be $875,000. Houses of this size in the same neighborhood were selling for $950,000, allowing Maria a $75,000 profit on her house, which allowed Maria to borrow plenty of money to build it.

Your real-estate agent can show you the sales from the last year to evaluate the optimal house for your neighborhood, which can help you make sound choices for maximum value and the best financing.