Source: https://sims-online.com/how-to-build-a-starter-home-sims-4/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 15:15:32+00:00

Document:
A starter home is a lot with the maximum price range of §20.000 including the price of the land you bought. This is the money you get when starting a new one person family. A small piece of land costs around §2.500 so try to keep the house itself below §17.500.
If you want to create a starter for more family members you will get §2,000 for each Sim beyond the first.
Where can you keep track of the lot value?
In build mode there is a house with an ‘i’ in it on top of your screen, if you click on it you will see the value of the house including the land. So you need to keep this price below §20.000.
Start building the outside of the starter home and put wall pattern on the walls because this will cost some money too. Divide the rooms and add doors and windows.
Think of a theme for your starter house. This can make it easier to decorate the different rooms with the right furniture and maybe spend some extra money on more expensive furniture to match the houses theme.
Try to combine the kitchen and the dining room to save more money you would spend on walls and an extra door. Changing the table with chairs for counter islands and barstools will save you some extra money and this is also better solution of you want to save some space. If you really want to place a table with chairs, some of the 2 tile tables are actually cheaper than the small tables.
Buy the cheapest appliances for the kitchen, you can always upgrade them later on in the game when your Sims have a job.
Decorate the kitchen with a cheap plant on the table and a ceiling lamp above the table to make it feel like home. Finish the room by adding wall coverings, this will make your room feel more luxury and real.
Place some basic objects you need like a sofa, bookcase or something else that higher your fun needs for your Sims.
To fill up the room you can decorate it with lights, plants and rugs. Create rugs with floor tiles to save some money and make the place less static.
Place the standard items in the bathroom and put a mirror on the wall, this will help your Sims to reduce negative emotions.
Don’t use floor tiles when you want an outside terrace, try to use the terrain paint because this option is free. Pick the cheapest objects to create a place for your Sims’ to sit. For only §195 you can get a table with umbrella and 2 wooden chairs to fill up the place!
Landscaping the garden with plants, trees and flowers can cost a lot of money, try to use the cheapest plants and trees possible. Most of the cheapest plants are rather small, if you want to make them bigger you can do this by using ‘Shift + ]’. You get bigger plants for the same amount of money you would have spend on smaller plants or flowers. Make it more realistic and place a very small amount of dirt beneath them, this won’t cost you extra.
Take your time to build the front of the house, this is the most important part if you want to show off your starter house in The Sims 4 Gallery because this is the first thing they will see.
You can change the time of the day to change the lighting on your starter house when you want to upload your Starter to The Sims 4 Gallery. For example, uploading your house when it’s nighttime and you don’t have outdoor lights is a bad idea.
You maybe want to place the lot more to the back of the lot to make the landscaping in the front more visible on the picture.

References: §20
 §2
 §17
 §2
 §20
 §195