Another thing to keep in mind is that there will be 'cash' outlays, possibly during but definitely after the build. Depending on your contracts, you may pay separately for site clearing, tree/stump removal, driveway finishing (such as concrete/brick/aggregate to smooth out the ruts), retaining walls, overage on earthmoving (such as digging the foundation or shoving dirt for the driveway), wells/septic fields, fencing, insurances, handling fees [bank], landscaping, exterior finishes, drapes and blinds, and... more. Applying 33% of the expected cost towards the loan is good, but many times you will need another 25+% to cover all the stuff that isn't/won't be in the mortgage contract. Go on-line and learn the definitions and usages of terms such as ARM, discount, points, and amortization... all the jargonese to do with loans. You don't want to have a blank stare when the lender starts using those words. After you are comfortable with those terms, then do as dixiedoodle says, sit down and go over the figures - in detail -- with several different banks/loan institutions. This doesn't waste their time because you are showing responsibility in wanting to understand all the possibilities. BTW, get their figures in writing -- a mathematician or a loan officer might remember who quoted how much for what for how long after listening to a half-dozen different presentations, but the rest of us need to have hardcopy to study later. Be very aware that rates they quote for today may change tomorrow, but you will gain a feeling for the institution's attitude when it does its business, and how good its rates are when compared to others. As also said, a mortgage is an option to borrow [up to a certain amount], it's not cash into your hand. However, you will be expected to pay -with interest- all the monies that are disbursed to the various contractors and suppliers. The interest paid plus the assorted fees are how the bank makes its money... study carefully to see what is to be paid, and when, and how the interest is computed and on what and when. And keep in mind that interest compounds... every dollar you borrow is going cost you from three to twenty times as much to pay back.

We bought our counter depth Frigidaire Gallery FGHC2342LF model at Lowes for $1200 we love it. It's very attractive and works well. We like the in door ice and water dispenser. Previously we had a Samsung RSG257AARS at our previous condo (sold with the condo). It was similar in form and function but cost $2400. So far we are just as happy with the less expensive fridge but we have not owned it very long so I can't speak to longevity. For dishwashers, I will never again buy a Whirlpool or any line made by the same company (that includes now Maytag, Frigidaire, and Kitchen Aide, possibly a few more!). We had a Whirlpool "Gold" dishwasher in our previous home, the motherboard died at 13 months of age - only 1 month out of warranty! Whirlpool would do nothing for us, not even offer us a discount on a future appliance or the part. The replacement part was $250 plus installation labor. Apparently the same motherboard is used in all the dishwashers made by Whirlpool, Frigidaire, Maytag, KA, etc. and it is notorious for failing. We chose to replace the Whirlpool with an entry level Bosch SHE43P05UC dishwasher, on sale at a local specialty appliance store for $600. I loved that dishwasher, I wish we could have taken it with us when we sold the place! Stainless inside and out, beautiful, whisper quiet, and everything came out clean, even with very hard water, every time. The Bosch warranty is 1 year complete and 5 years for parts including electronics/motherboard (which makes me feel better about the quality of the electronics). So when we bought our current home it came with a cheap-looking Frigidaire. It's "stainless look" which next to real stainless just looks silly. Anyway it stopped draining and it appears the pump is dead, and the part and labor to replace it is not worth it for a dishwasher that was not great to begin with. So I am at home today awaiting the delivery of our new Bosch SHE3AR56UC, this time in white, but still stainless inside, where it counts. Our cabinets are white so with the stainless version costing about $150 more, we opted for white this time to blend in with the cabinets. We had a Whirlpool Gold range at the old place and the new place also came with a Whirlpool range. Ours is entry level and just OK. We'll replace it some day but Whirlpool ranges seem OK based on my experience. We have an LG washer again model WM2650HWA (we had LG also at the previous home - so happy with it we bought another) and a Hotpoint cheap dryer. I didn't want to pay more for a fancy matching dryer since we didn't need to stack it- this one dries just fine! But I did want the front loading water efficient washer for 2 reasons - it is on the second floor and if the washer ever leaks, FL's have much less water in them so a disastrous flood is not as likely. Also water is expensive in CA and saving water is important, and after the $150 in rebates the LG on sale was actually cheaper than a top loader. This model WM2650HWA has steam and gets things nice and clean, they also solved the issue of smelly washers by putting a magnetic seal on the door so that when not in use it stays slightly open to dry, without endangering children or pets. It seems to me that you can't just choose one brand for each appliance, few brands make quality items for different applications. So you may want to gather some info on each type of appliance and find the best deal/quality rather than looking for a matched set. They tend to look the same once installed as long as the finish is all real stainless (some are just "stainless look" which is metallic painted plastic and I'd rather have white than that!)

Hi, Your question relates to budget. The best way to answer it is for you to tour homes in your area that are similar to what you have in mind and ask the builder(s) what the cost would be to replicate the home on whatever lot and in whatever community you have in mind. Then add the cost of the land. Once you've confirmed that your budget is realistic for what you have in mind, you can decide whether to replicate a builder's model home or purchase a stock plan from a plan service or to hire a home designer/architect/design-build firm to design a home for you. To hire anyone to design a home without answering the basic "is my budget realistic?" question risks spending money on a design that won't get built. Order of operations! Best wishes for a successful project.

We didn’t get pre-approved for the exact reason you pointed out - I wanted to avoid an unnecessary hard credit check. We did; however, initiate discussions with a recommended mortgage broker to vet our plans (i.e. expected sale price, amount of earnest money payment, combined income, assets) and to make sure we understood what the process would look like at closing. Then we entered into a purchase agreement and put down our earnest money. This helped the seller obtain a better loan rate since the house was pre-sold, and will ultimately convert to our mortgage down payment. Generally speaking, if you know your financial history, income, and what the anticipated mortgage will be (I’d include a 30% contingency over base price), you should know whether you might face approval issues. We kept our max possible sale price well below what we should quality for, so the only concern now is whether the house will appraise! (Not really concerned, we’ve vetted and planned for this to the extent possible). I’m a fan of credit monitoring apps if you aren’t on them already. I would also recommend having an attorney review the purchase agreement as others have said. I would have hired one if I weren’t an attorney myself, or otherwise well versed in the custom build process (the terms “allowances” and “changes orders” might as well have been Greek to me before this adventure!).