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At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity, this post may contain references to products from our partners. Here's an explanation for how we make money. Bankrate logo The Bankrate promise
Founded in 1976, Bankrate has a long track record of helping people make smart financial choices. We’ve maintained this reputation for over four decades by demystifying the financial decision-making process and giving people confidence in which actions to take next. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. All of our content is authored by and edited by , who ensure everything we publish is objective, accurate and trustworthy. Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions an individual will ever make. Our real estate reporters and editors focus on educating consumers about this life-changing transaction and how to navigate the complex and ever-changing housing market. From finding an agent to closing and beyond, our goal is to help you feel confident that you're making the best, and smartest, real estate deal possible. Bankrate logo Editorial integrity
Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that we’re putting your interests first. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. Key Principles
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Bankrate’s editorial team writes on behalf of YOU – the reader. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy. So, whether you’re reading an article or a review, you can trust that you’re getting credible and dependable information. Bankrate logo How we make money
You have money questions. Bankrate has answers. Our experts have been helping you master your money for over four decades. We continually strive to provide consumers with the expert advice and tools needed to succeed throughout life’s financial journey. Bankrate follows a strict , so you can trust that our content is honest and accurate. Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. The content created by our editorial staff is objective, factual, and not influenced by our advertisers. We’re transparent about how we are able to bring quality content, competitive rates, and useful tools to you by explaining how we make money. Bankrate.com is an independent, advertising-supported publisher and comparison service. We are compensated in exchange for placement of sponsored products and, services, or by you clicking on certain links posted on our site. Therefore, this compensation may impact how, where and in what order products appear within listing categories. Other factors, such as our own proprietary website rules and whether a product is offered in your area or at your self-selected credit score range can also impact how and where products appear on this site. While we strive to provide a wide range offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. When you buy a home, you know upfront the square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms and finishes, and you agree to pay a set price. When , your bottom line can be a moving target, and you may not know what your all-in cost will be until the project is complete. With some advance planning, though, you can keep construction costs under control. Here are the best ways to save money when building a house. 5 ways to save when building a house
1 Get more than one quote — and negotiate
One smart way to save money when building a house is to shop around for vendors, including the builder, architect, designers and your lender. “The lender is a big one — is a lot riskier for the bank,” explains Bruce “Bo” Bochicchio, a real estate agent and broker of Bruce Bo Homes in Atlanta. “If you could get a builder to build the house first and just purchase it from the builder, you’ll be able to save money.” That method might be preferable to having your own , which comes with a higher interest rate than a common mortgage, Bochicchio notes. Some builders have a preferred or partner lender that may give you a break on and other fees. If you’re presented with this, it’s best to still shop around and compare the builder’s lender to others to ensure you’re getting the best deal. “Work out the numbers and find out the bottom line, including the APR instead of just the interest rate,” Bochicchio recommends. Bankrate’s can help. As you look for a builder to work with, consider the quality of their work in addition to cost. Sometimes, when a builder agrees to do the job for a cheaper price, corners are cut to make up the difference. Those seemingly small shortcuts could cost you in the long run. “There are a large number of loose ends [when building a home]. That’s where having a quality builder with a good reputation could be much more valuable than the cost itself,” Bochicchio says. 2 Consider the site and style
When building a home from the ground up, you can save money by being strategic about every decision, including the location and style of the home. If you’re considering to build your home on, for example, you might get more acreage, but if it like utility and water lines, you’ll need to pay to install them. On the other hand, you might spend more for a developed lot where water, sewer, gas and electricity lines are already set up, but you won’t have to worry about adding those in later. If you’re unsure where you want to break ground, it can be a good idea to compare the costs of both developed and undeveloped property and see where you can save. How your home is laid out can also be a money-saver. While an open-floor plan might sound like it could be cheaper to build (fewer walls!), that’s not always the case. “Because there are fewer walls, the span is longer, so the beam that holds that floor and ceiling up is much more expensive,” Bochicchio says. Likewise, a two-story home can be less expensive than a ranch-style home with the same square footage because it requires much less roofing and a smaller foundation. 3 DIY where you can
There might be areas of the project you can handle yourself, which can keep costs down. If you’re confident in making all of the selections for the home, from countertops to fixtures to flooring, you may be able to forgo hiring an — with the tradeoff being that a designer can help choose finishes that might boost resale value, and may be able to leverage manufacturer relationships for better deals on materials. Consider other projects you can do without the help of a professional, as well. Do you have an eye for ? Can you enlist a crew of friends to help you ? Certain , like installing (once a professional electrician wires the home), shelves and certain can be easy to do and hard to botch. 4 Ask yourself What can I do without
As your new home comes together, you may find you can downgrade or do without some components initially in order to save money upfront. “You could get cheap carpet for now because it might only last for four or five years anyway,” Bochicchio suggests. “So long as you have your drainage well-engineered and under control, you could add cosmetic landscaping later.” If you decide to forgo some things, you’ll have to coordinate with your builder to ensure anything you’d like to omit won’t jeopardize the home’s final inspection and your ability to get a . Some small fixtures that likely won’t impact the inspection include cabinet pulls and towel racks, which are easy to install yourself, and likely at a savings over what your builder may charge. 5 Avoid features that won t increase value
Just like in fashion, change quickly. Generally, design elements and items won’t hold their value as well as structural elements, so it’s best to spend your money where it’ll count. It can be better to invest substantially in higher-quality roofing and siding, which protect your home, rather than the flooring or light fixtures, which could fall out of style in a few years. For instance, consider building a basement (even if you don’t at first) versus a deck — you can always add a deck later. It can also be a better investment to upgrade the and siding, which protect your home, rather than the floors or light fixtures, which could fall out of style in a few years. If you’re not sure what to add or cut, ask your real estate agent for advice on the best uses for your money. Your agent can give you insight into what upgrades are likely to and what isn’t worth doing in the long run. SHARE: Jennifer Bradley Franklin is a multi-platform journalist and author, often covering finance, real estate and more. Troy Segal is Bankrate's Senior Homeownership Editor, focusing on everything from upkeep and maintenance to building equity and enhancing value. Related Articles