Custom options possible in houses under $350,000
For some buyers, it just has to be a new home.
You want to select your own outdoor look and indoor finishes.
You don't want to pay to fix anyone's deferred maintenance or live with their old carpeting.
Dodging the mess, expense and chaos of a remodeling project to have the kitchen you want is not for you.
Perhaps this is your very first house. Or maybe you are moving up to your second or third home.
On the other hand, you could be looking for a smaller, single-level house because your family is raised.
The Daily Herald's Fall Home Show this week features houses with base prices of $350,000 or less.
Some homes begin as low as $160,000. Of course, the more you can afford increases the number of communities that can be considered.
In the upper levels of this price range are large family homes.
Modern Homes offers custom homes and customization with prices starting at $245,000 at Amber Shores in Lake Villa.
A buyer can submit a plan or modify one of the builder's, said Beth Van Dyke, sales manger.
In many of the company's communities in northern Lake County and southern Wisconsin, 30 percent of the homes are custom rather than built off the company's plans, she said.
"We seldom get a customer who doesn't make modifications," Van Dyke said.
Sales are just starting at Amber Shores, but homes will probably average $300,000 to $325,000.
Popular changes in other communities have included larger master bedrooms and screened porches or sun-rooms.
Amber Shores' lots are not large, she said, so that can limit the size of the homes built.
Buyers like the way they can get involved with the home-building process, Van Dyke said.
For example, buyers go to suppliers' showrooms and can visit their houses during construction.
At Apple Creek in Woodstock, buyers' personalization is important, too, said Janey Amidei, vice president of sales and marketing for Kirk Homes.
The company starts with a wide variety of plans from 1,650 to 3,678 square feet and encourages modifications, she said.
"We offer a wide range of homes to fit everyone's needs, time of life and lifestyles. We have a master on the first floor with large secondary bedrooms upstairs," Amidei said.
"We have lofts, extra bedrooms and some of the larger plans have guest suites. A lot of families have generations living together or relatives or in-laws who come and stay for months."
Buyers might choose a bigger family room or a loft instead of a fourth bedroom or expand their garage to hold three cars, Amidei said.
Fall Home Show
• Today: Single-family homes with base prices under $350,000
• Sept. 22: Adult communities
• Sept. 29: Attached homes with base prices under $250,000
• Oct. 6: Attached homes with base prices over $250,000