Deciding whether to buy or build is another important decision. If you buy a fixer-upper you may find that you have gotten more than you bargained for. For every one thing that is visibly wrong with a house there are ten things wrong that you can not see. Many times it is just as cheap or cheaper to build a new home than to totally renovate and older one. Another advantage to building is there is less of a chance that problems will arise in the near future.
Size is of course another factor to consider.
Everyone would like to have 2 extra bedrooms and one bath for every bedroom but maybe after seeing your budget you ll realize that this is not going to happen. Maybe instead of including a family room in your plan you could leave room in the lot for one to be added in the future. Also, avoid making rooms too large. As long as your table fits into the dining room you don t need to make it too large. Obviously some rooms need to be large to be comfortable like a kitchen or a living room.