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I'm no expert, but I've often heard that the bathroom is the most expensive per square food, followed by the kitchen. If the complete house averages out to $100-125/sf, the "plain" living spaces (bedroom, den) are probably much cheaper.
That said, I'm less-than-convinced of the applicability of "industry average" costing; the $125/sf figure is probably accurate for fully-permitted code-compliant projects, but likely 2-3x the cost of a typical Puna jungalow.
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Like I say; "It's all in the plans and the specs". No experienced builder would throw out a price without them. So SoCal, who's jerking who around? or is that whom?
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The "finishes" on a home can often run 40% of the budget or more. The building department doesn't care about finishes but if it is in the plans they want to see it on final.
I recommend you concentrate on a lockable, weather-tight shell. Power one, water on. Basic fixtures: tub/sinks. At that point you have a house and can get your final. You can take your time turning it into a home. Watch for sales, get bids on the fancy stuff or do it yourself.
"Turn key" can mean anything unless you have a firm and comprehensive set of specifications.
Assume the best and ask questions.
Punaweb moderator
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DanielP -- This is a kit from HPM. The price is currently working out to about $106 per square foot -that's price/total square footage (including garage, lanai)and the price includes the lot rip, septic, etc. Plans are finally done, and the permit is in process. From what I'm seeing on this forum I guess this isn't too bad. The price was 'jumping' from things like the builder taking four tries to get the driveway correct (curved, not straight) and including cesspool instead of septic. I would assume that a builder would have known that this particular lot can not have cesspool.
To DrWho's original point about the price moving up on existing homes - I haven't noticed much of a rise in prices as much as I noticed a shrinking of inventory.
Thanks for all for the input.
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Correct. Most of the existing homes we have look at were in the 145-165 sqft range. Crazy!
