Jordan Smith of Smith House Company walks through one of the most overlooked budget items in new home construction: getting the lot itself ready to build. Using an active project near Lake Travis in Austin as a backdrop, Smith covers the real costs of running electrical from the road — poles, transformers, underground conduit — plus water access, fire hydrant proximity, and data connectivity. He also breaks down required site prep like erosion control, silt fencing, bull rock entrance pads, and construction netting. None of it is glamorous, and none of it is cheap — but it all has to happen before a single wall goes up.

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