Free resources
Free guides for builders who pick their own plans.
Printable checklists for choosing a spec plan and deciding what to build on a lot. Cited sources, no sales pitch inside.
Guide · 7 pages · printable checklists
5 Mistakes Builders Make When Choosing a Spec Home Plan
What goes wrong between the catalog and the closing table, with a checklist for each mistake and a one-page pre-purchase check.
Workbook · 9 pages · fill-in worksheets
How to Evaluate What Type of Home to Build in Your Market
The numbers to pull, where to get them legally, the formulas, and how to turn them into a go/no-go and a plan spec.
What's inside
Checklists you can take to the lot.
Guide · 7 pages · printable checklists
5 Mistakes Builders Make When Choosing a Spec Home Plan
- 01Picking from the catalog photo instead of the comps
- 02Buying a thin set: the sheets a builder-ready set should have
- 03Ignoring the lot: width, setbacks, slope, sewer depth
- 04Assuming the plan will pass where you build
- 05Buying the wrong license
- 06A one-page pre-purchase check
Workbook · 9 pages · fill-in worksheets
How to Evaluate What Type of Home to Build in Your Market
- 01Define the market area and time window
- 02Demand, pricing and velocity, with the formulas
- 03Product fit: the mix gap index
- 04Competition and buyer affordability
- 05Cost, returns and a sensitivity run
- 06Go / no-go, getting the data legally, and red flags
- Every real statistic is cited and dated
- Made-up example numbers are labeled as examples
- General information, not legal, financial or appraisal advice
Want us to run the numbers on a real lot? See spec home research.
Prepared by a person who is not a licensed architect or professional engineer.