Building a custom home

Don't we have a few custom home builders on here? My wife and I are seriously considering building our next home as the market here is horrible for buying.

What sort of questions should I ask when interviewing a builder? We've spoken to 1 so far and he said that his prices can range from $150-$215 sq ft depending on what we want. What are some things I should make sure they do/don't do?

thanks!

 

150-215! Wow..I'm at 300-400 in my neck of the woods..

 

Mother of god. California. I knew it was expensive but wow.

 

Spray foam!
I insulated interior wall with fiberglass on bedroom walls to keep down sound when they go to bed.
36” doors
I’m not a fan of trendy lighting I like simple can/recessed light all on dimmer switches.
I moved my kitchen and here’s what I did:
Over cabinet lighting (cathedral ceiling)
Under cabinet lighting
Kitchen island with lots of outlets!
My kitchen/dining/family room is 600 sq ft and I have 20 can lights.
I can’t stand no lights.

Run gutter downspouts underground to catch basin. Most contractors don’t care about water run off.

Plan for outdoor living covered outdoor patio connected to house.

Big garage lots of concrete = less mowing!

Some of this depends on really where you live there are a lot of variables here.

A family friend is a contractor he built his house around his basement gun safe room.
A lot of random stuff I just said
It only takes money to get what you want!