Mortgage Calculators finance center calculatorsdictionarylink to uscontact
the people who'll put it all together.
realtorsbuildersmortgagesprogramsresources
BUILDERS - putting it together.

Custom home plans
Custom-home buyers frequently find attractive floor plans and home designs in magazines, books and on the internet. These plans can be an excellent starting point for the design of your new home. However, while buying a pre-packaged design along with the working drawings may seem cost-effective, you may not be able to use these plans as final working drawings for the possible reasons:
bullet
Building codes
Building codes can vary dramatically from area to area, which means a prepackaged design of plans will need to be redrawn to comply with local requirements.
bullet
Building materials
Building materials and construction techniques vary in all areas. That means a plan for a home in Florida or California might call for building methods or materials that aren't practical, customary or even possible in Texas or Alaska.
bullet
Home design
Home design necessities vary from region to region. For example, a screened-in porch may be sensible in a buggy area, but an unnecessary expense in the dry and bug-free Southwest.
bullet
Alterations
No matter how surefire a plan may seem, it almost always will need some modification. Even seemingly simple changes can necessitate redrawing the plan, and can turn out to be costly.
bullet
Building materials
Difficult sites can preclude using a packaged home plan. For example, a steep slope, rocky sub-grade or wet terrain.
Whether a pre-drawn plan will work for you depends in part on your needs and individual situation.