The decision library / Original worked example

The price of the home is the beginning.

Build a move-in budget that keeps the missing pieces visible.

By Ascendant Systems · October 13, 2026 · Illustrative inputs

$80,000 → $119,700

An illustrative known subtotal. Land, tax and financing still need answers.

Cost line	Illustrative USD
Home quote	80,000
Delivery	7,500
Site preparation	18,000
Permits and fees	2,500
Utility connections	6,000
Finish work	3,000
Known subtotal	117,000
Contingency on selected work	2,700
Known subtotal with contingency	119,700

Write the exclusions beside the price.

Start with a dated home quote and mark each cost as included, separately quoted or unknown. Keep the delivery address, home specification and intended use consistent. A price becomes useful when you know what it covers.

In this original example, the six cost lines add to $117,000. We apply 10% contingency only to site preparation, utilities and finish work: $27,000 × 10% = $2,700. The resulting $119,700 is a known subtotal. Land, applicable tax, financing and any unquoted work remain open.

Stop the double counting.

If site preparation already includes a utility trench, do not add the same trench again under connections. Ask the issuer to split the scope or mark it included. Treat an unknown amount differently from a confirmed zero.

Take three questions into your next call.

What is included in this exact specification, at this delivery location?
Who supplies, pays for and coordinates the work outside your quote?
Which figures are firm, allowances or still subject to a site assessment?

One real illustration of why exclusions matter: Indigo River’s planning tool lists delivery, specified transaction charges and finance costs outside its calculator. That is its own scope statement, not a rule for every builder. Checked October 13, 2026.

Watch the method.

Original illustration. Michael synthetic narration.

Read the video transcript

An eighty-thousand-dollar tiny home does not mean an eighty-thousand-dollar project. Here is an example, using made-up numbers so you can see the method. Add delivery, site preparation, fees, utility connections and finishing, and our known subtotal is one hundred seventeen thousand dollars. A contingency on selected site and finish costs adds another twenty-seven hundred. But stop here: land, tax and financing are still unknown. Do not quietly turn those blanks into zero. Get your actual quotes, check for overlap, and enter them in the All About Tiny Homes planner. Save the result before your next builder call.

Keep the useful part

Save the key points.

Three visual summaries for your planning notes. Download a PNG or open the full-size card. The figures are illustrative; use the worked example above and your own inputs for the next decision.