I would like to start my own home building business, one man show. Maybe build one to two a year. What kind of profit margins are possible. Any good books worth reading.
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Try searching here for Spec house, or wait for Boss Hog to send you the address.
Profit margin is generally 50%. Or zero. Or less than zero. Or a lot less than zero.
You best be doing a lot of research before you venture off into the unknown.
Joe H
If Boss Hog does see this, he will tell you that he had a stellar experience with his spec house.
It was so profitable, he was able to buy all the John Deere tractors he wanted...
Seriously, the "spec house from hell" thread would be a good read.
Try these also:
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=35470.1
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=20924.1
http://forums.taunton.com/tp-breaktime/messages?msg=21601.1
Jon Blakemore
Dumb question, but who is Boss hog?
Whaddaya mean, who's Boss Hog ???..........................(-:
I'm one of the old timers on this board. The resident truss guy, king of tag lines, and the definitive expert on how to lose your a$$ building a spec house.
I had a long thread here about the "Spec House from Hell". But as I was telling Jon, it got kinda trashed.Sexism hurts everyone - Especially broads.
My "Spec House From Hell" thread got seriously truncated by Prospero, so I won't bother linking to it anymore.
One of these days I'll re-create it and re-post it. It seemed to be a popular one to refer to/poke fun at.Grow your own dope, plant a man.
Build your own first before venturing into others..
building can't be learned from books, it can't be understood from comversations on boards such as this, it is really something that needs to be done before understanding it..
Just for example I sold a forklift yesterday to a builder who can from start to finish build a complete house in three weeks.. Three weeks from the first dirt being dug to handing over the keys to the new owners..
(granted it was a basic home nothing complex about it) Three man crew and subs did it in three weeks..
can you do that? Do you expect to achieve that level? If you can and fill the year completely with houses built that fast you'll make a nice profit (about $200,000 or so) if you can't then your costs will multiply.. every week longer means that you will be paying interest without any increase in the value of the home you build,.
I know a lot of builders who try to build a couple of Mc Mansions ($400,000 to $1,000 000) and wind up at the end with little to show for their efforts.. I see a whole lot of builders profit and loss sheets every year. The ones who are most profitable do only one thing and they do it fast and well.. They may frame or they may do siding etc. The easiest way to lose money is to try to do everything yourself.
The easiest way to lose money is to try to do everything yourself.
That is absolutley true! I started out thinking I could, and would, do some of everything. General handyman, furniture maker, gardening even. Now, all I do is design, make and install kitchen cabinets. I don't even do countertops. My earnings have increased substantially.
John
that is the first time i ever heard that statement, and i guess it makes sense for most, but i like to think i am the exception. after a lifetime working for others in construction two years ago i went into business for myself, and decided that building my own house was the best way to start, and get an idea of what everything would cost, and how long it takes, the basis for estimating. now first of all i started as an apprentice carpenter building tract houses in so cal in 1976. working on a remodel job for a small contractor that was my neighbor in about 77-78 i was given the advice to learn another trade."the best thing you can do to be a better carpenter is to learn another trade", "we are always opening a wall and having to relocate a pipe, wire, etc."
i went to work for a heating and appliance repair co in 81. it was winters only for first couple of years, not much call for heater service in so cal in summer. got sent to classes for repair of intermittent ignition systems, this job encompass many areas of construction. plumbing(water heaters), electrical(new circuit for new furnace, electronic troubleshooting etc) sheet metal/ductwork, piping( my favorite part of the job was repiping old underground supplies). i did carpenter work in summer untill it went full time and then...
in 86 went to work for fire protection contractor, underground pipeline, mostly water supply, some sewer, some overhead(sprinkler heads).
88 went back to carpentry, lots of structural concrete formwork, medium to large union public works projects, bridges, creeks, major foundations.
94 welding school, work in retrofit for bridges, as well as fabricating temporary shoring for cut and cover jobs(like the big dig in boston)
00 switched unions and went full time with structural ironworkers (political move, and personal acheivement - the ironworkers hate the carpenters, and for good reason. to be able to make the transition was a big time challenge/accomplishment. worked all of 01 at disney concert hall in downtown LA, detail crew, repair for raising gang # 2.
02 designed and built my own house, 1800 sq ft ranch, detached garage, all cathedral ceilings, did all of the labor myself save finishing of drywal mud, finishing of hardwood floors, and installation of carpet. cost was less than $50,000 for all materials and subs, and i had about 3000 man hours. this is in an area where similar houses on 1/2 acre lots sell for $750,000 quick. as a married couple my wife and i get a $500,000 exemption from capital gains on the selling of our PRINCIPLE residence of 2 of the last 5 years. whatever we make(amazing how many write offs you can find) over that we pay taxes on. downside is we have to move every 2 years, of course we get to keep our secondary "summer" home to have some sense of stability, of course we don't actualy own that summer home, we rent. hey i didn't make the rules, i just play the game.
kinda the opposite of the spec house from hell, as well as the opposite of specializing in just one phase of construction. by not competing against other contractors for a phase of the work, and by eliminating the bidding and dealing with customers (except at sale time) i get to spend my time on what i enjoy, building houses, and since i'm not doing the same thing all the time i don't get bored. i have to carry the project for 3 years, 1 for construction, 2 to qualify for capital gains exemption. but once you get on the upside of this $250,000 per year before taxes avg works for me. plus all the write offs, big truck, hummer, tools and equipment etc, i love the republicans!
it took a lifetime of busting my hump, and throwing myself into new areas to expand my knowledge/skills to accomplish this. it has been a conscious effort for over 20 years but IMHO very doable for any hardworking thinking person
"of course we get to keep our secondary "summer" home to have some sense of stability, of course we don't actualy own that summer home, we rent. hey i didn't make the rules, i just play the game."
There is no reason that you can't own the 2nd house. It is just that you need to keep the "main" house as your principle residence. You can screw that up even if you don't own the 2nd house.
There is no defined test for principle residence, but typically they would look at where you are registered to vote, where you cars are registered, where you have bill sent to, etc.
There is always the exception that proves the rule.. I have looked at too many fincial statements and seen too many tax forms to accept it as the wisest course of action..
I'm not even following my own advice regarding building my own home.. I'm doing everything! But then I don't have a client who's bugging me to move in (I'm already in) and since I live here the interest doesn't matter I'll pay it no matter how long it takes (My goal is to make the final house payment, finish the house and collect the last check before I retire on the same day)
If you do the build a house move in and start building another and your time frame is every 3 years have a new house done, all you need is the cash flow to support you for those three years..
It has been done profitably and it has failed too, the big if is what the market for homes will be 3 years from now.. if the large deficiet doesn't drive up interest rates, if the inflationary trend in housing doesn't drive the cost of home ownership out of reach, if the loss of milions of jobs doesn't depress the housing market you may wind up very successfull. it's been done before as I said, it's also gone bust before.. Ya pays your money and takes your chances. good luck,
It depends on your area and how much you can sell for. An average spec home 1200 sq ft sell for $65000 here but it cost $55000 in material no labor, this was before plywood increse. Custom homes do not really sell well here
The best employee you can have but you wouldn't want him as a neighbor " He the shifty type"
Wow! $65,000 for a 1200 sq.ft. house.. One can only wish! Here in Minnesota the numbers start at almost twice that.. and that's in outstate Minnesota where you can still hire a carpenter for 12 or 15 dollars an hour and grunts average 7
In the metro area $150,00 will buy you a town house in the real outlying areas.. small and almost no yard but.... Carps in the metro area average over 25 an hour with grunts that show up around 17 or so cheap single homes are in the 230,000 area..
yes there are pitfalls aplenty, yet as you point out, you yourself are not following the advice. the reason it works i think, is because we need a place to live. where i live median house prices are $450,000 (petaluma area, just north of san francisco) houses in the country(just outside the cluster of homes in town) are higher. a spec house becomes a lot less risky when just to sign a mortgage indebts you for half a mil on a tract house in a suburb
i believe that real estate will do nothing but go up for quite some time before there is a correction. several things are fueling this, the stock market is risky, and rigged for the insiders, the net worth of wealthy americans is increasing-they need to put the money in something-as more and more invest in real estate the price goes up. this was the same scenario for stocks in the 90s, the more money people made and invested the higher the market went-there was no place for the money to go but up.
there is a book i read several years ago entitled "the millionaire next door". lots of good advice in that one. a study of who has the money, and what they spend it on. for the first time in history medium to nicer homes appreciate at a greater percentage than starter homes, as the number of americans with a net worth of over 1 million dollars increased dramatically over the last few years. maybe even more than doubling. also excellent advice on spending habits- its defense that wins championships, which means the tighter you are the better to accumulate wealth whether or not you make a lot of money.
i think there will always be microclimates where it is better or worse than the norm, and eventually there will be a correction. do your homework, and don't overextend.
well there are a couple of things wrong with your statement
Not that I want to pick on you but I can see both sides of the coin..
first while it is true that realestate is going up it is also true that there is an upper limit to everything.. when that upper limit is reached there will be an adjustment..
It's happened in the past especially in California..
Lot of builders lost their shirts when things went bust..
the net worth of Americans is in a large part totally dependant on the economy.. We need a strong economy. Economy to provide the jobs at a pay scale that makes homes priced like that affordable.
Remember this a jobless recovery.. the stock market is going up without the attendant jobs being created.. when that happened in the past.. well can you say 1929? I'm not pridicting that level of disaster.. although many of the safety nets that were created in the past to prevent it from happening have been removed recently. Instead the net worth of Americans has increased mainly because of the value of their homes..
The baby boomers who are driving this building boom are getting close to their retirement.. when that happens there wil be a glut of those giant barns/Mc Mansions when the following generations are unable to pay for their purchase and maintinace..
In a sense it's a case of musical chairs. when the music stops there will be those left without a place to land..
In the short term this president wants to get relected. He seems willing to mortage our future to ensure that so while he is seeking that relection I suspect that things will remain fairly stable.. after the election is when I expect the next serious economic downturn.. (no matter which party wins office)
On the other hand..
(told you I can see both sides of the coin.)
What is driving the housing market to ever higher numbers is the fact that as rapid as we are building houses it is still estimated that the nation builds about 1.1 million fewer homes than there is demand for. We are very far away from full housing or surplus housing. The average sale of any home is taking around 60 days or less in most parts of the country.. since closing and moving typically takes much longer then that. the demand will continue into the forseeable future..
In addition based on the affordability index the average home is more affordable now than any time in our past.. while home ownership as a percentage of the population is at all time highs it is still less than the goal set by institutions such as Fanny Mae.
rental property ocupancy is still near peak thus we do not have a housing market at the cost of rental property indicating further growth potential..
I can reconize your stlye of posting without even reading the name at top.
The best employee you can have but you wouldn't want him as a neighbor " He the shifty type"
from the mispelt words?
Jobless claims have hit new low marks as of year end.
Carefull about numbers like that..
that seems to imply that people are being hired.. It is not saying that! what it is saying is that that fewer claims are being filed. seasonal adjustments haven't been felt nor are we going to have any real surge in employment in the retail sector..
According to reports this christmas was a disapointment to retailers, sales were flat or disapointing..
fewer claims could be filed because business has already pared back to the bone and further cuts will damage output too much.. remember the giant number of people who don't have a job now that had one a few years ago.. what is it, six million fewer jobs now than three years ago? that doesn't even account for the population growth..
In addition the jobless numbers never include the "discouraged worker" someone who's exhausted benefits and no longer goes into the office to file for work..
Micro economies tend to be rather misleading.. one area may have real high employment while another area is suffering. Seldom is it practical for someone to sell their home and move to another part of the country to seek the unknown job.. Thus if one company shuts down or just has a serious layoff, the ripples from that shut down are really damaging. Fathers used to earning a nice salary may be forced to drive bus or work in fast food places to meet ends or attempt to meet ends. Mothers who may have stayed home to raise their children need to get a job and the children left at home without supervision can get into further trouble.. technically the jobless numbers are the same or even reduced but the reality is much differant..
Or, there are lots of folks like myself that while technically unemployed from our 'real' jobs can no longer apply for unemployment. Folks are dropping off the unemployment rolls and therefore the downward trend merely follows the prior 6 month and 12 month spikes in unemployment.
(man I gotta read faster, this showed up way beyond the post it was directed to..)
Edited 1/14/2004 11:04:08 PM ET by Wilburn Hancock
that is one of the problems with the governments unemployment numbers.. they may list it as say a six percent unemployment rate but the real numberis probably closer to 12 percent and even that doesn't relect all the underemployed or people working three jobs just to make ends meet..
I spoke to a lead carpenter today.. his orginal "real" job disappeared two years ago.. since then he's made do with several jobs in an attempt to keep his house and his daughter in college. he works 8 to 10 hours a day as a lead carpenter making 11 bucks an hour with no benefits, and at night works for minimum wage for another 6 hours a night (again no benefits) His wife works for the school as a lunch room lady and sundays plays organ for three churches.
all four jobs are less than half of his prior salary..
In europe numbers like that are factored in.. so if a man works two jobs but it still pays less than he earned hoistorically he maybe listed as as 3/4 employed or something.
that is one of the problems with the governments unemployment numbers..
Why don't you guys stick to "the Tavern" and keep this thread for spec houses.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
I am in engineering by trade. I have a complete wood working shop, and have been honing my skills for the past 12 years. I have completly rebuilt two houses, and can agree with others that remodeling is more time consuming and expensive than building new.
I want to start an side business part time and than transition to a new career when I retire, approx 11 yrs. I Thought building a spec house might work, while not relocating the family at this time. I don't plan on doing all the work myself. Thought of subing the large jobs out and doing all the finish work my self.
where do you live tlipa? again i encourage you, i see it as a can't lose situation if the housing prices in your area support it.
to frenchy i agree there are two sides to the story, and that several years ago there was a downturn in cali where overextended builders went bust. but in rebut to what you said about the jobless recovery, read the book "the millionaire next door". most people with a net worth of over a million in this country are small business owners driving 6 yr old F-150s. the people that are buying houses for over $500,000 are not working for wages. there are no wage jobs in this country that pay that much. the jobless recovery is in part due to a greater efficiency, getting more done with less labor, causing even greater profits for those small business owners on the topside of the curve.
also while there may be vacant mcmansions, properties (land with nice homes) in desireable areas will always continue to appreciate. location3, they aren't making any more beach, those properties will always be a premium-if you can see the water-its going up. country properties, there is more and more urban sprawl, counties in california regularly encourage development in towns and cities, and go to great lengths to discourage it on what was formerly agricultural/livestock land. this causes the "country" homes to escalate just by the government making them scarce/difficult to develop. yet little by little you see houses going up there, 1 by 1, and the profit margin is much greater on these homes. it is for just these reasons that people with money will invest in them, thereby driving prices even further up.
I also am thinking along the lines as TLIPA is (i.e. one house per year, do everything). I have written a business plan, done market research, built costing models, etc. but haven't jumped in yet.
skids alludes to location as a key element of success. But I think another key to success is doing more of a niche house. I don't believe I can build an uninspired tract home cheaper than the production builders, nor do I want to. So I have been developing house designs and researching building materials and methods that I believe will set the house apart. Think "Not So Big" Usonian/Greene and Greene designs, house siting, passive solar management, self finishing materials (e.g. colored concrete floors), radiant floor heating and cooling (yes, I do believe it can work), icynene insulation, house ventilation and dehumdification, pex plumbing, etc. In the right locations, I think there would be tremendous interest in this type of house.
As mentioned, I believe you should build your first house for yourself to understand how you get it all together including elec / plumb / HVAC. After that, you can start to sub selected jobs as fits your skills, interest, profit, and timing plans.
"I have been developing house designs and researching building materials and methods that I believe will set the house apart. "
That's exactly what I did in the Spec House from Hell. And I think I was 100% wrong.
I also wanted to build a house that set itself apart from the others. I did a sunken living room, used extra nice wood trim and doors throughout, etc. And almost no one was interested.
The sunken living room in particular was a mistake. A lot of the folks who have looked at the house are older people looking to mve back into the area and retire. And they don't want to deal with the step.
I was WAY too idealistic about the whole house building thing when I did that spec house. And some of the others here have echoed the same sentiment based on their own experiences.
I'm convinced that people talk a lot about wanting a quality home, but aren't willing to part with the bucks it takes to buy one. And most of them don't know the difference.I wonder if Adam ever said to Eve, "Watch it! There are plenty more ribs where you came from."
"every other house" ... looks like every other house...
because that's what sells in that area.
Sounds like you may be starting out to make a big mistake.
common and everyday ... are common and everyday for a reason.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Artistry in Carpentry
Be careful, I just fixed a roof across the street from a house the builder was disgruntledly living in as no one wanted his 'special' design. When we moved here 3 years ago and it was being built, drove by and went "Yuck what an ugly place" Guess we weren't the only ones....
Not saying you can't create a special house and it sell at good profits and quickly. Just don't build the only stucco 'maxi-villa' in the neighborhood!
You are correct in that there are two sides to every story.. I do think that it is possible to make a profit and have a great life doing what you enjoy doing.. I tried it and failed but that certainly doesn't mean that everyone will fail.. Just that a realistic appraoch needs to be taken,, if you fail (and I think we both have to agree that it is possible) alternative answers will need to be sought..
I met today with a guy who wanted to frame houses for a living.. he wanted to work for himself and while that is a good thing, in this case it was a serious mistake..
He didn't have any start-up capital (not always a problem in that I frequently fund guys with a lot more ambition then money) but he was going into it for the wrong reasons,, "when I want to go fishin' I don't want to have to ask for the day off" and, "I hate it when the weather is brutally cold and I have to go out there and pound nails." In addition rather than making contact with builders and seeking work, he wanted to have the equipment available when (and if) he got a framing job on his own..
I regularly see P&L staements and tax returns I realize that there is money to be made in this industry.. Yet I also see some guys struggle for decades because of a few mistakes early in their career..
my whole point about location was that if standard tract homes (not new) are selling for over $400.000 like they are in my neighborhood, and thats where the houses are close to each other on small lots (Petaluma California area about 40 mi north of San Francisco) it is hard to lose money on a spec build that you will live in.
when you spend $250,000 on a lot (1/2 acre) and spend $150,000 on construction you have something worth 5-6 hundred thousand just because of location, but the last thing you want to do is overbuild, and i would imagine thats a lot easier in less expensive real estate markets.
just like in a tract, a person with skills should buy the cheapest smallest most run down house in the neighborhood for the greatest increase in value for the money and labor invested, and don't overbuild!
Sound advice especially the don't overbuild part..
Too often the builder wants to build something to please himself, say an Italian villa style home.. that is fine untill you realize that at that level buyers won't settle, they want Normandy French or nothing.. I see it on a regular basis,, home buyers wonder thru a nice home and make negative comments, Oh I don't like those drapes,, sheezz don't they have any taste, you just don't put that molding up in this style house.. etc.. their eagerly awaited offer is low to reflect their tastes and acceptance of it means the builder will show little or nothing for his efforts, while rejection means the bank will be back on his back in the morning wanting to get repaid for a loan that is overdue..
One very high end home near me was rushed thru to get on the market for prime selling season.. since the rush started with the trim carpenters that's where the mistakes occured.. trim that wasn't nice as it could have been given more time etc..
Come open house and the traffic was massive.. eagerly awaited and desperate to sell the builder sat and listened while many of his ideas were trashed and loud complaints about the level of finish. Nights he worked frantically to correct trim errors and by day he sat and listened to his dream being picked apart.. The builders show was for 14 days and I gotta give him credit because he went there every day and worked every night, but by the end of the builders show it did look pretty respectable..
In spite of a really interesting floor plan and a well made home on a great location he wound up declaring bankruptcy in a desperate attempt to salavge something for his 2 years worth of work.. Last I saw him he was working for another builder..
Thought I'd jump in with some notes from the very hot SoCal market. It's almost impossible to find buildable lots in some parts of LA, so remodels are big business.
I routinely do work for an architect who turns around houses on the side. He buys in the $450K-750K range, puts in 80K-150K and sells for $800K-1.4M. Very lucrative. After four projects with him, I've learned some important lessons.
1. Research your market
He works closely with the same agent to buy and sell each house. The agent knows which houses are good buys and how much a buyer will pay for a remodeled home. This tells him what his budget will be and helps to project a profit before he buys the house.
2. Build for the buyer's taste - not your own
We usually move a few walls and concentrate on complete kitchen and bath remodels. He knows that the buyers in his price range want Viking and Subzero so he gives it to them. They get whirlpool tubs, granite counter tops, travertine floors, etc. because that is what they are looking for. He adds a healthy dose of style, but never enough to turn-off a potential buyer. And he always adds at least a half bath where possible.
3. Most buyers don't know what they're looking at
He never shows the house before it's completed. The finish details might be exquisite, but if the carpeting hasn't been laid yet, that's what the buyer will notice. He always gives the buyer something to focus on, whether it's stainless and granite in the kitchen or floating cabinets in the bath or a tiled wall in the entryway. They never seem to notice run-of-the-mill MDF baseboards or the fact that the kitchen cabinets are from Kraftmaid or American Woodmark.
4. Curb appeal is very important
All of his projects require significant landscape work. A well-planted home with fresh paint and a new stucco wall along the driveway means more to the buyer than old single pane windows or a lack or skylights. Once again, he knows where he gets the most bang for the buck.
5. Most buyers can't design - they want to buy the home turnkey
We install lots of new lighting, built-in cabinets, soffits, etc. Walls get painted colors that are "designer" without being too strong. Interesting tiles for backsplashes and slightly unusual bath and kitchen hardware (faucets, sinks, drawer pulls, etc.) contribute to the designer look.
6. All projects take longer than you think
Even with all of his experience, most of his projects run long. This results in increased carrying costs and other expenses. But he never takes on a project unless it has a large potential profit and he can comfortably absorb additional expenses.
Hope some of this was useful.
so you want to start a house building business
First spec house
climb up a 20 foot lader with a 5 pound sledge.
throw it in the air and let it hit you in the head
drop to the ground and land on your back. get up and stumble over to a rake tines up and have it swing up and hit you in the face
your mouth now numb and a few teeth feeling loose,blinded you step back on to a board with a 20 penny sticking straight up, and now into your foot
pull the board off your foot and walk over to your truck for the first aid kit
find keys are locked in the truck
hop over to the tailgate and sit down
friend pulls up and says how is it going and hands you a beer
you pause , not bad , ready to start another spec, it can only get better
( well thats how my first spec seemed to go, but not everyone can be that lucky)
TLIPA,
It looks like you and I have allot in common. I too, am an engineer (large aerospace firm), but my passion has always been making money on my own through trades. I started a custom cabinet making business about nine years ago and shortly after that got my state contractors license (CA).
I got allot smarter over the years in cabinetmaking and learned how to work smarter and not harder. I almost always employ the help of a friend and sometimes more (they're just paid cash per my accountant's instruction). Together, we've branched off to doing complete kicthen and bath remodels and then doing simple single story framing jobs. I learned to become more efficient on each job and it's been pretty good supplementary income.
My ultimate plans are to retire from engineering and continue the cabinet business. When the opportunity comes up, I'd like to invest in property an re-hab them- maybe sell, maybe keep as rental property. Also, I'd like to take it further and build a spec home. I'm not at all discouraged or worried about some of the replies you've gotten.
Someone said it earlier where they mentioned location. I read the books on buying foreclosures and even got listing sof them for my area that were going up for auction. Of course, the great buys are on houses in undesirable to very undesirable areas. The few foreclosures in the decent areas had starting auction prices almost at regular market value.
My issue now is a cash flow to begin this house building venture. It will come soon, but for now my wife stays at home to raise the kids and I have my own house to build (tear down and rebuild) this year. And yes, I will be doing the lion's share of the work along with helpers (framing, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, finish carpentry and paint).
Good luck on your venture!
Am new to the forum and this is my first time responding. Six years ago started into home building as full time profession after selling my business for a less stressful living. I live in a small mtn. comm. that has seen a large population influx being only a hour north of Atlanta. When I started I had been involved in residential cons. since high school and pretty much self taught in a lot of my experience as well as a sponge for anything related to home building especially FHB info. I had seen to many of what I call the same crap different lot houses being built by everyone and when I asked why not build something different I got the age old story "because thats what selling". Henry Ford used to say you could have a model T in any color you wanted as long as it was black. Then someone said lets offer a different color and see what happens.Thank God.
I took that approach and still continue to so. I build 1 to 2 specs a year and do side work in between. I'm a hands on builder and have yet to build the same identical plan. I refuse! I try and build functional homes but add as much eye candy from the curb as well as to the interior. Most of the people around here building dont care about setting themselves apart. there only in it for the money on the most part and take the easiet route buy building the same plan " because thats whats selling" and really dont care about quality or eye appeal. My argument to that is" Yeah thats what selling when its the only thing being offered." Look at cars now. You dont know what you'll drive next untill its offered to you. Thats called product deveolopment and home building is basically the same way. Take whats selling but put a new twist to it. I like to think outside the box and do unusal things or incorporate things that you dont sometimes find in your standard homes ex. Urinal in the master bath, thats the true since of a his and hers bath.
Go slow, ask lots of questions, read every thing you can on building, BUY A CODE BOOK!!!! and read it front to back for your benift as well as putting a bay the inspectors that are on their power trip. From my experience you will go thru a learning curve and will learn from your mistakes. I still do. good luck. If I can give any more insight let me know.