About to head out so will be quick but will pop back in.
Building is so much fun - stressful but fun. I cant wait to build again.
Have a look at builders that will build in your area. I know here in WA there are builders that specifically do rural areas - some of the bigger metro builders wont build in rural areas as it costs too much for them to get there IYKWIM. Go looking at display homes and see if there's anything you like. It is almost always cheaper to build one of the builder's pre-designed homes than to design your own.
In terms of what you get for your money - it really depends on the builder. With the one we went through, nothing was included beyond tiling in the bathrooms and laundry. We had to do all the carpets, hard floorings and window treatments ourselves. But some builders do include all these things, although be warned the quality of them may be a bit iffy. You will generally get a minimal number of power points and lights (we spent a fortune on getting extra points and changing the lights around) but you will get enough to be comfortable if that makes sense. You will get the kitchen (in most cases) including basic oven and stove, but not usually dishwasher etc. Some builders may have certain promotions that include extra things like air-con or extra appliances but be careful as you are usually paying for them in some other way.
Also be prepared that the builder may let you supply some things yourselves and get credits for them, but again not all builders will.
One good thing we did - although I'm not sure you can still do it - is build in say $10K extra into the contract price so the bank approves it but you get the cash to hlp with things like carpets etc.
Just keep an eye out for some of the builders targeting first home owners - they tend to be quite pushy and salesman-like - go with your gut and don't feel pressured into signing if you aren't happy. Until you sign you hae the upper hand so try and do all your negotiating before you sign. Oh, and just be aware that a lot of builders will charge you for any changes you make past a certain point (usually pre-start) so make sure you are sure.
As far as building goes, try to get fixed site costs. Builders who do house and land packages I think are more willing to do this than if you buy your land separately. The costs for excavation can blow out massivly - as an example, as they dug into our block, they found rock and had to use a form of dynamite to blow it out. Would have been a massive hidden extra for us, but we had fixed costs so the builder had to wear it.
With our house, we did the minimum for electrical work (DH is an electrician, but they wouldn't let him wire up the entire house), because they hugely inflate the prices of additional lights and power points. Maybe get a local sparky to give you a quote for installing a light and a powerpoint so you can compare.
We got everything else done by the builder and in hindsight, we wouldn't do it again. I'm not sure what we would have saved, but we got sick of hearing, "well that's what it is you can't change it". We got them to do our fences (two sides are one style and the back is different ), the driveway (you slip when it's wet), the front garden (we got a yard full of orange crushed rock), carpets and flooring. Needless to say, four years on, our house looks VERY different to what they left us with
We are going to build again, with a builder, but we are going to do bits ourselves.
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), the driveway (you slip when it's wet), the front garden (we got a yard full of orange crushed rock), carpets and flooring. Needless to say, four years on, our house looks VERY different to what they left us with 
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