Corie Adams
Lending Team
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Specialty

Construction Budget Planner

The number a builder quotes is rarely the number a build costs. Between the lot, site work, permits, allowances, upgrades and the contingency every honest builder recommends, the finished figure is usually meaningfully higher than the base contract.

This planner assembles the whole budget in one place, then shows the financing that has to cover it, including the interest-only payments during construction that many buyers forget to plan for.

Your numbers

$120,000
$215

Production builders in Central PA often land lower; custom work runs higher.

$45,000
$40,000

Five to ten percent is the range experienced builders plan around.

Your results

Total project cost

$821,940

Lot, construction, site work, upgrades, soft costs and contingency

Hard construction cost
$516,0002400 sq ft at $215
Soft costs
$43,260
Contingency reserve
$57,680
Cash or equity required
$123,291
Construction loan amount
$698,649
Interest during construction
$21,105About 10 months of draws
Highest monthly interest payment
$4,221Near the end of the build, when the full balance is drawn
Permanent payment after conversion
$4,416Principal and interest only
LineAmountShare of project
Lot$120,00014.6%
Construction$516,00062.8%
Site work$45,0005.5%
Upgrades$40,0004.9%
Soft costs$43,2605.3%
Contingency$57,6807%

What happens if you change this

Your finished project lands near $821,940, and the base construction contract is only $516,000 of it. Financing $698,649 at 7.25% through a 10-month build costs roughly $21,105 in interest, with the heaviest month around $4,221 once the full balance is drawn. After conversion the permanent payment settles near $4,416 in principal and interest. Trimming $20,000 of upgrades would lower the permanent payment by about $126 a month.

Keep these numbers

Your results are yours already. If it helps, send them to yourself, or have Corie look at the same scenario and tell you what she would change.

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Keep learning

Questions people ask

Do I make payments while my home is being built?
On most construction loans you pay interest only on the funds drawn so far, so payments start small and grow as the house goes up. A one-time-close structure rolls into a permanent mortgage at completion without a second closing.
How much contingency should I budget for a build?
Plan five to ten percent of the project. Change orders, allowance overages and site surprises are normal rather than exceptional, and a reserve keeps them from becoming a financing problem mid-build.

Estimates for education only, not a loan approval, rate quote, or commitment to lend. Actual figures depend on credit, property, program guidelines, and market conditions at the time of lock. Corie Adams · NMLS #1875205 · Network Funding, LP · NMLS ID #2297 · Equal Housing Opportunity.

In plain English

It assembles every line of a build, from lot to contingency, into one honest total.

When to use it

  • You are early in planning a build and need a real number
  • You are comparing a builder's base price against the finished cost
  • You want to know what the construction period itself will cost you

Common mistakes

Budgeting the base contract only
Site work, allowances, permits and upgrades routinely add ten to twenty-five percent.
Skipping the contingency
Five to ten percent is normal, not pessimistic. Every experienced builder plans for it.
Forgetting interest during construction
You pay on drawn funds while the house goes up, often while still paying rent or a current mortgage.

Recommended next steps

  1. 01Price your design center selections
  2. 02Talk With Corie

Turn the estimate into real numbers.

A pre-approval replaces the assumptions above with your actual income, credit, and the terms available to you today.

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Other numbers worth running.

After the math

Where this number leads.