Some random tidbits (we looked at building originally and even had some plans, but stumbled onto a house that we really liked and bought instead):

1) You may think you have enough kitchen cabinets. You always need more kitchen cabinets

2) Not sure what kind of house you're looking at. We have a log home, and one really annoying thing about exposed wood interior walls is that they are rough and hold dust. So it's REALLY hard to keep the inside clean.

3) Not sure if you're into it, but when we were looking at building vs buying, I was going to build in a home-theater room. It's often hard to take an existing room and make it a really good theater if it's not designed for it.

4) In the main room we have one side that is all windows. It's really hard to watch TV during the day because there is a huge glare. If you care about such things, be mindful of window placement

5) Take advantage of the sun -- position your house so you can use the sun to heat in the winter.

6) We have a geothermal heating unit in our house. It has pipes running under the ground where it is a constant 57 degrees so during the summer, air conditioning is close to free. It is more expensive to install, but if you're going to be in the house for a while, it will pay off. Plus it's kind of cool.

7) You can never have too many power outlets.

8) You should prewire network AND cable/satellite jacks. You'll probably want both.

9) Everyone I talked to who built vs bought said be prepared to pay 10% more than whatever you're quoted.

10) Double-check everything. A buddy of mine built a house and paid to have a particular networking package installed. It turns out the one they installed used cheaper cables/jacks than what he actually paid for.

11) Are you already in a house? If not, there's so much crap that you're going to have to buy. Just be prepared ... Lawnmowers, weed wackers, etc. I felt like every time I turned around I was buying something new for the first 6 months or so. It will end, but it feels like it won't.

ms