The final budget...drumroll please!

We've been asked several times already how we did with the final budget on the house. Well...we did go over our intended final cost amount by about $15,000. However, we did not go over budget on any specific areas (cabinets, flooring, etc.). We just simply forgot to budget in several things and then we also hired out several things that we were planning on doing ourselves. And then there was the $2,000 retaining wall thrown on us at the end. I will say, however, that we managed to build the house for $100,000 LESS than it appraised for. I think that's quite the accomplishment for a couple of youngsters who have never done this before! We also finished it in a shorter amount of time than most! We go tomorrow to close on the refinance loan. When you build, you are given a construction loan and once it's finished, you refinance into a mortgage loan which has lower interest rates. So no more high interest payments from our construction loan! :)