The all-in number, not the sticker price

The advertised price is a starting point, not the home you will actually buy. It usually excludes the lot, most structural changes, and design selections. We start the worksheet here so every later number is added to a real base, not a marketing figure.

Premium homesites often add tens of thousands over the base. A preserve, water, or corner lot can be worth it or not, depending on how long you'll stay. We note the exact premium so it competes fairly against everything else you could spend that money on.

This is where budgets quietly blow up. Structural choices are locked early; design-center selections add up fast and rarely return dollar for dollar at resale. We list what you're actually choosing and flag which upgrades hold value and which are personal splurges.

A builder incentive tied to their lender can lower the rate but raise the price, or come with terms worth checking. We put the monthly payment and total interest side by side against an outside lender, so the incentive is measured, not assumed. Always compare a second quote.

Lender fees, title, taxes, and prepaid insurance and escrows are real money due at the table, and are often underestimated in a builder's rosy estimate. We use a realistic figure for St. Johns County so the cash you need to close isn't a surprise two weeks out.

Many St. Johns County communities carry CDD bond assessments on top of HOA dues, plus insurance and property tax on the higher new-construction value. These follow you every year. We fold the true monthly and annual carrying cost in, because that is what you actually live with.

We pull the builder's price sheet, the options and lot-premium list, the community's HOA and CDD disclosures, and the good-faith loan estimate. Real documents, not a salesperson's ballpark. Bring whatever a builder has given you and we work from that.

Recent closed comparables come from the MLS, CDD assessments from the community development district, and tax estimates from the county property appraiser. Where a figure isn't final yet, we mark it as an estimate and note when to confirm it, so nothing hides.

You leave with a one-page all-in cost sheet for the specific home: base, lot, options, financing, closing, and yearly carrying cost, ending in a single real number and monthly payment. It's yours to keep and to compare against any other home. That sheet is the proof, not adjectives.

Once every home is on the same all-in basis, the comparison stops being about the prettiest model and starts being about real dollars. Sometimes the pricier base wins; sometimes a rival builder or a resale does. The worksheet doesn't pick for you, it just makes the choice honest.

Write the sticker price here: $__________. Note what it excludes (lot, structural options, design selections), so every later line is added to a real base, not a marketing figure.

Homesite premium the builder is charging: $__________. Standard lot in the same phase: $__________. The gap is what this specific homesite is actually costing you.

Everything decided before framing (extra bay, extended lanai, room extensions, plumbing rough-ins): $__________. These are hard to add later, so they belong in the base decision, not the wish list.

Flooring, cabinets, counters, and fixtures above the standard allowance: $__________. Write the allowance you started with so you can see how much is truly extra: $__________.

Builder-lender rate and total interest over the time you'll hold: $__________. Outside lender's rate and total interest for the same terms: $__________. Get a second quote before assuming the incentive wins.

Lender fees, title, taxes, and prepaid insurance and escrows due at the table: $__________. Use a realistic St. Johns County figure so the cash to close isn't a surprise two weeks out.

Annual HOA dues: $______. CDD bond and assessment: $______. Insurance and property tax on the new-construction value: $______. These follow you every year you own the home.

Add lines 1 through 6: $__________. This is the true price of this specific home, the figure to set beside any other home you're weighing, builder or resale.

Monthly principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA, and CDD: $______ per month. Total yearly carrying cost: $______ per year. This is what you actually live with, not the sticker.