To Build or Not to Build... That is the question

After scouring the housing market for the last 2 months, we've become extremely frustrated in our findings. We've been pre-approved for a very generous amount, but are held to the confinements of childcare expenses... Leaving us with a strict budget. The ideal scenario would be a 4 bedroom 2+ Bath with at least 2000 sq ft, a nice big Back yard, 2+ stall garage, updated kitchen and finished basement/family room... in the East end of town. Doesn't sound so unrealistic right? Well apparently Duluth has this thing about setting your home so far back on your property that you have a bigger front yard than back, or maybe no back yard at all. And as for the rest of the house, curb appeal doesn't mean much to people around here, so although the inside is decent, you'd have to spend thousands on siding and landscape to make it look nice, inside and out. And then we've found newer homes (built less than 10 yrs ago) that have extremely outdated materials and fixtures inside??? Whatever the case is, with each home we've looked at we've easily come up with an immediate list of things that would need to be changed to call it home.
So we came across this house plan on the MLS listing and inquired what it meant... What we found was a builder who has already purchased a lot in a new development, in the perfect neighborhood, and these were the house plans for that lot. After we reviewed the blueprints and talked more about costs and closings its sounds very very doable. Not to mention we could be moved in by mid-October :-)
Its a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, Open floor plan, Split level with 3 stall garage, 2200 sq ft, nice yard, and its on a culdesac.
Although the house plan can't be changed at this point, we have deciding power on everything else about it. From shingles, siding and landscape to carpet, hardwood, faucets, fixtures, fireplaces and wall colors its up to us. Nice!! Of course with each upgrade comes additional cost, but this builder starts with stainless appliances, ceramic tile and hardwood flooring, so there would be very little if anything that we'd upgrade. As you can imagine this has me super excited... who wouldn't want to move into a nice new house, already looking the way you want it to.
Brad is doing some more checking into the development and the final costs of everything so we are sure to stay in a comfort zone before we sign on the dotted line. As for me, well I've already mentally moved in and started my search for color schemes :-) More to come!