So it's May 2015 and I am just joining this conversation with the same plans to build with plenty of cash to do it without compromising our retirement and other investments. I have already gained some new insights by reading everyone's comments here so thank you! We also have our current house almost paid off which will be used to recoup some of our costs when it sells. And like several of you, we don't want to sell and move two times so we'll wait until new construction is near completion. But something just keeps nagging me about having some kind of safeguard in case something happens along the way. We know and trust our builder, but hey, anything can happen expectantly along the way. So I Googled Beth's original headline and came across another blog that revealed something very reassuring to me. Everyone knows about construction-to-permanent loans, but how about just taking out the initial construction loan and then paying it off in full at the end with no permanent loan? The lender assumes responsibility for getting an accurate appraisal, inspections, approvals for builder draws and final title. A 12-month construction loan would involve miniscule interest costs for the peace of mind in return. And what say you? An inquiring mind wants to know!

thanks for the responses. i have a mtg with a loan guy on monday. i'm just trying to weigh all the different options... the construction loan is the obvious choice, but the way i understand it is it's one loan (closing costs etc.) while you're building and then it rolls over (or into) a mortgage- potentially at a different interest rate and with other closing costs to bear. if it's a large amount, that may be the only way to go... but i thought a HELOC was worth asking about bc it seems to maybe offer more flexibility....

Chloe's Mom, I was joking about the ugly--the swivel is fine. But, yes, very dangerous. I've been plopped onto the floor by these several times. Swivel pedestal chairs would be cool! Very mid-century. We had them when I was little (Atomic age, but swivel). I thought of orange grout too! And nixed it for the same reasons. But also because I don't want to call attention to the floor. I had a really dynamic floor once and learned my lesson. If you have a really really great floor people will look at it. I want them to look up. :-) Kris, it's the perimeter that will have the pond. I flirted with granite that looks like river rock for the island, but wised up. It would have drawn all the attention, and I really don't like granite for kitchen counters. Hence the tile. :) The inspiration for the pond was really the tiles. The frogs. And waterlilies, vines, bamboo and ginko blossoms. I just loved them. And everyone has been giving me grief because the giant I painted where there are no upper cupboards is going away. This'll give 'em something to look at.

Dave, For years, when I was doing workouts I carried a portfolio of 125-130 loans at any given time. Now, in fairness, it was a mixed portfolio containing residential real estate, commercial real estate, & business loans. The larger commercial/business loans took more time but still...there's really no way a single loan officer can affectively manage 300-400 negotiations at a time. Hmmm, I also had to manage the properties, build-out unfinished properties, & sell them. If these loan officers do not have those tasks...maybe, maybe it's reasonable. I also handled the auctions & that was a LOT of work especially the construction loans. Still, it seems like at least 100 too many cases for one loan officer. I imagine they are still adding staff. It's very hard to take an underwriting officer & transform them into workouts. It's a mentality thing. I heard somewhere recently that Countrywide has hired 1,000+ people to concentrate on rewrites. I imagine they're getting only minimal training. I learned to do workouts slowly over a several year period of time. That's a luxury today. /tricia