Unpleasantly surprised

Well, the builder, John Harris answered our email and some of the news is not so good. First, it will cost $12,000 USD to clear and fill the land back 300'. This is the suggested size to clear and fill. The cost to build the well and power it to the house is around $5,000. On a good note, the septic tank is included in the cost to build :-). The other big cost is running the power line down. The worst case scenario is around $14,000. We have to weigh the use of solar panels against this cost. So, having this information now certainly took care of our decision on what to build first and where. The budget is driving this decision and it's one we're good with. Build a duplex with 2 self-contained units and leave the option open to do a 2nd storey later. We will not build down at the lagoon because we're reserving that for our ultimate final house which may not be for another 4 years!