I think builders should have starter money (about $500 or $1000), so that they can buy a home from a town, instead of working to buy the home first.
-1 like said before, voting is available for money. It also helps new players become acquainted to how the server economy works, since they have to actually sell the nether stars. Plus, babying new players with free money doesn't really help them tbh
In my opinion you don’t really need a house until you earn one. Until you farm or mine you dont have stuff to store and in my opinion you also don’t deserve money on top of voting.
"Hardcore Economy" You ussually dont start off with money in real life, unless you have good friends or relatives, just like ecc.
As mentioned, you don’t need a plot. I started off with a dchest in the wild until I had enough money for a plot