design center suggestions (Howe: wood floors, new house, buying)

[jlim0930]

Finally we were able to move forward and purchased a new house to build. Wanted to see if anyone had any tips or suggestions about things to upgrade/not upgrade at the design centers and what their experience was like at the design center.. are you overwhelmed by the choices they have or is it pretty much cookie cutter type ?

[jdallas]

don't let the design center staff sway your opinion. They are often paid higher rates of commission on certain upgrades so their input isn't exactly unbiased.

[roseball123]

I would not spend a penny more than what the builder offered you as free upgrades amount, unless it is something you absolutely must have before closing...Often the upgrades are over-priced and you can get them done after closing by a contractor for about half the price quoted at the design center....

[bluescreen73]

Try to look for upgrades that will give you a good ROI when you go to sell the house. Upgrades to cabinetry, counter tops, and flooring will go the furthest.

Skip stuff like ceiling fans which can easily be done by you after you move in. Some builders offer to pre-wire rooms for ceiling fans. That is an upgrade worth getting because it'll save you hassle in the end.

FYI - Carpeting is easy to replace, but the base-level carpeting in most houses is complete crap and will start to show signs of wear within a year or two of installation.

[nawvtanzi09]

Like others have mentioned - structural upgrades / pre-wire for electrical are a must. Upgrades to the kitchen, wood flooring and master bathroom are usually where the most money is best spent.

Also compare prices between what the builder is charging and what you can find through a retailer - we found that upgrading a carpet a few levels was cheaper than going with the standard carpet and installing new (same high quality carpet) after the fact.

[nissan]

Hmm on our last new construction, we followed similar logic that it's cheaper to get stuff like flooring etc later on. However, if you are going to be in the home less than 10 yrs, it might make more sense to just have it rolled into these low interest rates. We ended up spending 20k to do some kitchen upgrades and flooring using cash we had to save for over a year.

We were in the home only 4 yrs so, in retrospect, it may have made more sense for us to just buy those over priced wants and offset partially with the tax deductions on interest. That 20k may have been 40k from the builder... 200/mo. More is nothing considering if one saved 200 mo towards that same project, it would take a long time to gather enough to make up that variance. Ymmv though, it IS still important to only upgrade stuff that you will get a return on at resale.

[jlim0930]

Thanks for all the information!!

I am getting a spec home so they built in some upgrades into the house already however it kind of look like they are double dipping a bit since some of those "upgrades" are already standard features of the community and homes there. Does anyone have any knowledge about this? Also I visited the design center today and nothing had prices on it.. when asked they stated that the prices are different for every community? that just doesn't seem right to me. I did find some pricing on some light fixtures and when i googled the same models it was about 100-150 cheaper online than from the builder.

Some things did seem cheaper from the builder such as extending the patio.. they wanted $6/sqft while most companies these days charged $10/sqft. I am planning on only doing upgrades that I can not do such as foundation electrical and some minor things as upgrading the granite counter tops and wood floors..

If I ask just for the standard components that comes with no upgrades will the builder be able to supply one ?

Also will the builder be willing to match prices online for fixtures and faucets etc?

[nawvtanzi09]

Builders will typically not price match any prices outside of their design center. The builder should be able to give you the standard features list that should outline everything.

[nissan]

Personally, I wouldn't go with buying upgrades on fixtures/lighting from the builder. It's very easy to DIY it later, pay a cheaper amount for the upgrade, and be able to recoup some $ by selling the existing on ebay/craigslist. It's highly unlikely they'll price match on those items.

What do you mean "double dipping?" They shouldn't charge you for something that is standard. The "upgrade" may be in a finishing (i.e. one cabinet type vs another; one tile back splash vs. another).