sweetwillie,

I think we all are nervous about the future and disappointed about the state of our economy. Dh and I started this "journey" when we put our house on the market almost 1 year ago (March 23). It took us until Aug. to sell but we had our plans and went "forward". I think if our house was still for sale or didn't sell we may have not built; we couldn't have.

As for the quality of the build we scaled down some; our master bath does not have tile and only a shower stall instead of tub and shower. As for the kitchen I wanted laminate because I don't care for the granite. But it is all things we can live with and our house still looks nice.
We will actually come in under budget which I know is not heard of very often! Yea!

Why freak? Just because the news inundates you nightly with bad news?

Seriously, look at YOUR personal financial and job situation and tune everything else out. Has anything changed from last July to now? Has your income gone down? Are your jobs "secure"? Have some savings built up? If everything is still the same, why worry?

The only things that changed for us is that our monthly fuel costs are half what they were from last July ($300/mo savings) and that we are still holding are breath for that 5% interest rate. Hopefully we'll see it when we finish our build in a few months.

Sweetwillie,

I felt the exact same way! We have been designing, obtaining permits, dealing with zoning issues for 3 years now. (we are building in the city) And now we are in the middle of building and I was stressing there for a little. My family was saying, "Things are bad out there... and you decide to BUILD A HOUSE?" My answer was, "YES! you still gotta live your life! and if you have the opportunity to build your house then do it! Feeling guilty was just making me worry and worrying never gets you anywhere. We may cut back on some minor things. But nothing major.

If you still can afford the things you want go right ahead and do them. You say you can change them later but you won't want to. And it will be more of a headache. Don't be scared! I say go for it! :)

Good luck!!

no... we're not changing our plans. the economic collapse was predicted long ago and we have waited for it in order to build the kind of house we wanted and can afford. why would you feel guilty now? there are always people with more and some with less. i'm not saying what has happened to our country is nothing short of devastating, but i wonder if what you're feeling would have occurred during a booming economy as well? building is stressful and yes, the economy has tanked but if nothing has changed for you or if you can be sure it won't than i wouldn't cut back. all conditions are cyclical. the current climate is no shock and while it will take a long time to recover from this, things will get better. good luck with your build!

We are mid stage as well and anxiety and sleepless nights get me a couple of times a week. We are not changing or scaling down just because we were building within our means to begin with. My husband has job security although mine is a little scary and every day we all hear about how bad it is but the bottom line is we are willing to tighten our belts and work extra hard to have our house that we have waited so long for.
I understand the guilt that you are talking about though and it is had to shop for fixtures and granite when people are losing their jobs but I look at it as though we are helping the economy by providing jobs for people in construction and spending money and not just putting it under our mattress.
Good luck to you and try and enjoy the journey!

I think no matter what the market - most think this at some point in time. I know I have...we are 1/3rd of the way in and I think you would be odd if you didnt.

Keep in mind - it is rough out there, but the media makes it seem worse than it likely is. Yes, some are losing jobs, but many are not. Some are going into foreclosure, but the VAST MAJORITY are not.

If you or I were not building - thats even less activity in the market and more construction folks looking for jobs. I look it as I am likely keeping some of these subs afloat while they work on my house.

I am quite anal and have been trying to keep the budget tight from the get go...but keep in mind, at rates where they are, 4.75 to 5.5 - that "extra" that you are trying to save is much less to carry know. When we started the thought of building 1.5 yrs ago, I had assumed we may be at a 7.0 or more rate - so I had always worked off that figure...well, we just locked in at no more than 5.25 - maybe less if they keep going down...so that is an amazing budget cushion I had not forecasted.

Overall, do what makes you feel comfortable...nothing worse than losing sleep over it.

I'm at the same stage in my build and had a little bout with "I'm spending how much money?!?!" today myself.

But I agree with the previous posters, this is about your personal financial situation not everyone else's. Build what you want and what you can afford. Be confident in your choices because they are based on your situation.

And yes, I take solace in knowing that I'm actually keeping people employed through my build.

We finished our build a year ago. when we started, our plan was to live in it a year and then sell it to build another. Unfortunately our old house didn't sell but it was paid for and has now become a rental property that helps pay for the new one. Kangell's comment about build what you want and what you can afford is fast becoming irrelevant. Here in Florida, real estate has lost at least 30% of it's value..even more in some areas. Our research has revealed to us the at least in our area, you can get FAR more home buying existing than you can building, even with the owner-builder strategy we followed. This scenario will no doubt become even more apparent as the market continues to deteriorate. Sorry to be so un-optomistic but I think that's the reality now. If not already, 'build what you can afford' will soon be synonymous with throwing money away. I just retired and I'm afraid that I'll be too old to be able to build another home by the time things recover. Obviously if you are already in the midst of a build, you don't have much choice but in my case, I'd not start another given the realities of the situation. People want to have 'exactly what they want' but if you have any realtor friends, have then show you the latest multiple listing book...there is soooo much on the market now at fire sale prices (probably soon to get worse) that 'what you want' (and even more) is certainly out there somewhere at a far lower price than building the same home. I hate being the voice of doom but if anyone can find a brighter scenario out there, I'd sure be willing to listen.

We too are in the middle of building and I think it is impossible NOT to feel anxious about borrowing and spending money when the economic news is so bad.

It is downright terrifying to be building a home when almost no one else is. It always FEELS safer to be traveling with the herd. But I was taught - as I'm sure you were - that the only way to really make money on the stock market was to buy when everyone else was selling and sell when everyone else was buying. In other words, economically, it is BETTER not to follow the herd.

I think the same thing holds true here. As all the economists and pundits keep telling us, part of the reason the economic news is so gloomy is that, after years of Americans having a "spend, spend, spend" mindset, so many people have gotten scared and have suddenly started to hold onto every penny they can. While the decision to start saving is great on an individual level, having the entire country start trying to do it all at once has helped to lock up dollars and contributed to the economic mess.

DH and I saved frugally through all the years when "spend, spend, spend" was the order of the day.

Now, even with the economic downturn and our investments taking a huge hit, we still have enough saved to purchase what we want. And, we getting better deals when we buy things for our house than we would have had we built a few years ago. So no, I don't feel guilty about spending the money we saved over all those years. Besides, as other posters have already pointed out, every penny we spend helps someone else keep a job!

Besides, since the government has decided to print and pump more dollars into the economy in an attempt to get money circulating again, I figure double-digit inflation is bound to hit us very soon. Whatever dollars one manages to save right now are going to become worth a whole lot less in the very near future. Better to invest my dollars in durable goods that won't devalue when inflation hits.

So rather than cutting back, DH and I have actually decided to borrow more than we otherwise would have...especially since we are able to qualify for very low interest rates on a thirty year mortgage. Rather than wait to do some upgrades later (as we had originally planned), we're doing them now because we're confident we'll be paying back the borrowed money with much cheaper dollars down the road.

But, does all my logic insulate me from feeling anxious sometimes? Nope! I still have my anxious moments. Guess herd mentality is hard-wired in. LOL.

Just my 2 cents.

I can relate, I started mine in June and finally closed this week. The scary part was that financing rules had changed (if you plan on shopping around for your permanent loan).
+1 on the comments regarding do what's right for you. If your building a home that is within your means, that is right for you. Things may indeed get very bad, but you can not live in fear of tomorrow. Prudent planning is important however. Get done quick, get closed and pay it off fast. Keep a SHTF cushion of food and money that will get you through the bad times. Good luck.