Builder Recs for lot in Woodlands (Houston: for sale, appliances, custom home)

[Texascrude]

One of the neighborhoods we are looking at buyi in (lake creek forest) has a few lots for sale that we are considering. We've never even considered building a home before so don't have any idea where to start.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a builder or two we could get in touch with in that area? Also, any estimate of what custom homes are costing these days? Does $120 a square ft sound reasonable, or am I way off base?

[SuperPollito]

Not 100% sure, but my limited research would suggest $120/sq. ft. seems too low.

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by SuperPollito

Not 100% sure, but my limited research would suggest $120/sq. ft. seems too low.

Yeah, I'm trying to get a general ballpark to see if I can even swing it before hounding a bunch of builders for information. At the same time, I want to make sure to get some recommendations because I know experiences with this sort of stuff can really be hit or miss.

[colcat]

Originally Posted by Texascrude

Yeah, I'm trying to get a general ballpark to see if I can even swing it before hounding a bunch of builders for information. At the same time, I want to make sure to get some recommendations because I know experiences with this sort of stuff can really be hit or miss.

I don't rhink that contacting homebuilders for info would be considered hounding. Your question is kind of difficult to answer. I do however think that $120 per sq foot is low.

[Texascrude]

Mostly just trying to get some builder Recs at this point. I've seen Tilson mentioned several times on this forum, so I'll probably start with them. Any other recommendations?

[wstaffor]

When building homes, the land cost is always considered separately. With that in mind, $120-140/ft is standard in the Houston area for a very nice custom build. In that range, you should expect custom built on site cabinets, nice granite, upgraded (Viking, etc) appliances, nice mill/finish work, real hardwoods, etc. That cost is on top of whatever the lot costs, architect costs, etc.

[Texascrude]

Originally Posted by wstaffor

When building homes, the land cost is always considered separately. With that in mind, $120-140/ft is standard in the Houston area for a very nice custom build. In that range, you should expect custom built on site cabinets, nice granite, upgraded (Viking, etc) appliances, nice mill/finish work, real hardwoods, etc. That cost is on top of whatever the lot costs, architect costs, etc.

Thanks. That's about what I was thinking. I've called Tilson Homes and Trust Construction so far and a little concerned about the price discrepancy! Tilson was giving me quotes around $90 s sq ft, which is be skeptical of if they weren't so widely recommended on these forums. I realize that doesn't include any landscaping or even a driveway, so that's probably a big piece of the difference. They said it includes SS appliances, but certainly not Viking level is assume. I'll still plan on closer to $125 I think when I run my calcs to see if we can really afford it