What is the first thing you consider when you decide to look for a home?

The process of building a home is a much more lengthy process than people often imagine. From choosing whether to build from scratch or purchase a used home to the finishing touches of landscape design, it’s easy to get caught up in the big picture and lose sight of a main priority for most home builders: staying within budget.

When starting this home-building process, one of the first tasks should be deciding what budget range is appropriate for you. With the recent rise of home building/home remodeling shows on television, this popular culture often gives prospective home builders a false impression of what a typical budget should be (and what said budget includes!).

If you don’t have millions of dollars set aside for a home, you are not the only one. In fact, Home Advisor indicates that the cost to build a new home is typically $291,638 on average. With the average salary of individuals in Kentucky being $42,171, this number can still seem rather daunting.

If you are looking to cut costs, here are some potential options that may be right for you:

• Consider building a spec home. This alternative can cut up to 10-20% of house building costs.
• Consider energy-efficient alternatives. For example, Dirt Cheap Builder utilized a wood stove, sand-textured paint, etc. to cut costs.
• Consider using cheaper look-alike alternatives for interior design. For example, skip the granite or marble countertops (up to $250 per square foot!) and substitute look-alike laminate materials (average of $10-20 per square foot!).

As long as you are willing to work with an experienced building expert, or spend the time to work out all of the minor details before building, you are absolutely capable of building/remodeling a new home without going out of your budget.