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I agree with others to put the money in things that you can't do yourself later or would be a major project. Our realtor advised us of the same.
We upgraded our electrical (my husband has a workshop in the basement and electrical was something we knew would be difficult to upgrade later) and had extra outlets and service put in the garage. We also had the basement insulated (didn't come with an unfinished basement). My husband is a woodworker and cabinetmaker, so certain things we knew we could do ourselves and opted not to upgrade. We kept the wall-to-wall carpeting, we'll be upgrading in a few years to hardwood ourselves, we didn't trim out the windows or add trim to the house. My husband can do a better job and he can do it in a few afternoons. We did get the bigger deck -- that would have been a major project, and opted for gas instead of electric for the stove and water heater. And we were ucky with the builder screwing up we ended up with a free tankless water heater they didn't leave enough space in the water tank closet.
If the bathroom is going to be an insert (no tile) then that upgrade is ridiclous. Hire someone to do it and get the shower tiled in the process.
Our most painful upgrade was adding a vanity instead of a tub in the master bathroom. That was about 3K. But, it was because we then had custom cabinets in the bathroom and a granite counter top instead of their "marble" one that comes standard.
It's amazing what upgrades cost a lot and which are almost nothing. We had an extra door from the garage to the basement aded - that was $300. Much less than I thought. And an upgrade to the electric to the house was about $600 -- again much less than we thought.
Good advice. This is my plan - to do now what will be difficult later. The standard countertops are granite. I can appreciate a builder making a profit but Standard Pacific seems outrageous for some items. You don't believe its worthwhile to upgrade appliances? Perhaps, they'll entertain an appliance allowance for the standard suite affording me opportunity to purchase what I want from Home Depot. (They and others are having big appliance sales this time of year.)
They generally all have ridiculous markups and make big profit off it.
In regards to the appliances, some builders will work with you, but most won't, especially tract builders. For liability,they won't want your own appliances installed until after closing and the house is officially your property. They're usually not going to allow you to even store the appliances on the property in most cases in case something happens to them, or the closing falls through.
That's why I recommend just not paying the builder their prices for w/d and fridge unless you can't afford to pay for them out of pocket, and to make sure that what other appliances you do get, are decent. If you want a 36" range or cooktop vs. 30", now is the time to pony up. Retrofitting around cabinets and cutting into the granite is more of a hassle than you're going to want to deal with later. If you want a range hood, get it installed now with the external venting. Wall ovens? Get them now.
You don't necessarily need to go top of the line with those appliances, but get them in a configuration that you're happy with for now, and that will work for when/if you want to upgrade in the future.
I'm in the process of building a home with Standard Pacific in the Chapel Cove community in Southwest Charlotte off Shopton Road. Some of the upgrade prices seem extreme. For example, adding a handshower to the owner's shower is priced at $2400. The component, a moen fixture is approximately $350. Adding it requires approximately 26 inches of blocking and a t-fitting. The price they're asking seems extreme and unsupported by the work involved. For that price I can have the entire shower tiled.
Is such a markup the norm with them and similar builders? I can appreciate a company making a profit, but I'm left feeling as though they're gouging. It makes me question the pricing of other items. In the case of appliances, I can beat the builders pricing, by comparing retail pricing available through Home Depot, Best Buy, HHGreg, etc., by approximately 39% or $1900. That doesn't include installation; however, I doubt it equates to that amount.
Just curious if others have had similar or differing experiences with them.
I worked in new home sales for about 8 years and yes - there is a significant markup on options, but one thing that hasn't been mentioned is that the Moen that national home builders are using and the Moen that can be purchased at Lowe's or Home Depot are significantly different in that the ones that the builders are using in that they are made entirely in the USA and also have more metal parts and less plastic. If you take two of the similar looking fixtures and compare them side by side you will find that the builder's fixtures are significantly heavier and better built.
(We took a tour of the Moen plant when I was working there and they demonstrated the differences.)
One more difference is that the builder isn't buying the fixtures directly. They're paying a plumber "turn-key." So the plumber is purchasing the fixture, marking it up - adding labor - and adding the potential cost for the warranty that they provide, and then the builder is taking that price and marking it up another 30-50%.
But, the short answer to your question is, yes, it's the norm.
The item was available or review in the design center. It was not noticeably heavier or appeared to have been constructed differently than what's available from Home Depot. It's simply overpriced.
The item was available or review in the design center. It was not noticeably heavier or appeared to have been constructed differently than what's available from Home Depot. It's simply overpriced.
And it was literally the same model and not just similar? ie, Eva, Bradford? I've never seen that, but if so please disregard.
And it was literally the same model and not just similar? ie, Eva, Bradford? I've never seen that, but if so please disregard.
It's the same product model - Moen Eva - you can find it online through Home Depot, Amazon, and other retailers. It isn't specially constructed for Standard Pacific.
It's the same product model - Moen Eva - you can find it online through Home Depot, Amazon, and other retailers. It isn't specially constructed for Standard Pacific.
Please keep us posted. I'm going through this same process and find the prices for "upgrades" outrageous. A one level upgrade in flooring costs 2x the actual price of the materials from HD. I'm actually considering putting in standard floors and ripping them out after closing as it would actually be less expensive to do so.
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they didn't leave enough space in the water tank closet.
