I'm looking to get out of our starter house in the suburbs and move to a place like Evergreen or Conifer. We want a little bit of land (a couple acres or more) where I can put down a garden (and give me a little space away from the neighbors), some nice views, and some more square footage to continue raising our kids.

I'd like to keep the price under $500k if possible, so we've been debating either buying a place in the $300's and remodeling it into what we want, or buying a lot and building exactly what we want. I don't know anything about having a house built or what hassle is involved in getting permits, running utilities, digging wells, etc. I do know that remodeling an old house will turn into a lot of money and headache as well, and you've still got to worry about older parts that need replacing a lot sooner than if it were new. I've got some time to work out the detail; we want to be able to move sometime in the summer of '16.

Is it worth it to build new so you know you're getting exactly what you want? Are there any common mistakes/pitfalls I should watch out for? Should we just buy something existing and remodel? Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!