Richmond American Upgrades to Buy (Mesa: wood floors, countertops, appliances)

[Haleh Dary]

I am going to the Richmond American home gallery in a couple weeks and I am trying to figure out what is a better deal to get after the fact and what would be cheaper to just upgrade. Stainless steel appliances and granite are standard in my community, but they are not very nice looking/performing options.

My biggest concern is having to tear out whatever options are standard (I.E. tile, granite, appliances) and having someone reinstall what I want instead and having it be more expensive than just upgrading.

Thanks guys!

[mzbk2l]

When I was at the design center picking options for a home I had built years ago, the employee who was helping me also happened to be involved in the purchasing of the products the builder installed in the homes. She was honest enough to steer me in the right direction on several things I was looking at, including faucets and thermostats. (I was considering a programmable thermostat, which was a $250 option. She told me the same model was $100 at Home Depot and not to buy their upgrade.)

If you can luck into (or ask your way into) meeting someone like that when you select your options, that could help a lot. Other than that, just being armed with as much pricing info as you can when walking in the door is going to be helpful in making your decisions.

With appliances specifically, you could price compare at your preferred retailers before you go to the home gallery so you can do the math there. You can also shop craigslist for the market value of the new appliances RA would install in the home to see how much money you'd actually spend on installing new ones vs. upgrading at the builder.

[Jkgourmet]

When we built with Toll (in Raleigh, NC) we upgraded anything that was structural, behind walls or cost less to have the builder do.

Examples: Any electrical work (add those plugs and ceiling fan connections NOW). Level one granite was included and upgrading was cheaper than replacing. Wood floors were included in some rooms, and we extended throughout the house. Tile floors and walls included in bathrooms, we upgraded. Upgraded the kitchen and bathroom cabinets - again, cheaper than replacing. We added bay windows and arcadia doors. We pushed a wall out four feet. We had Toll do the stone fireplace. Expand the irrigation system. Changed the front door (after finding out how expensive it was to get somebody to replace those sidelights. )

Examples of what we had contractors do after closing: Custom closets. Screen in the porch. Some appliances (microwave and washer/dryer because we could get a credit from the builder. No credit available on built ins like the two wall ovens, microwave and dishwasher.) Light fixtures and ceiling fans. Extra landscaping and a paver patio. Paint. Extra crown molding and wainscotting. Plantatiin shutters and blinds.

Generally, if there was something to be ripped out, it was cheaper to do the builder upgrade. If it was behind the walls, let the builder do it. Clean slate or infront of the wall? Consider doing it afterwards (assuming you have the cash).

[Jkgourmet]

Thought of something else, based on the RA home we owned in Mesa, AZ (which was VERY well built, btw). We bought it as a resale.

The upgrades the original owner did included two things that we loved.

They extended the covered patio in the backyard so it was huge.

They put in a two air conditioner system for the 3100 square foot ranch home. That saved us a lot of money when we lived there.

Before they sold that house, they ripped out the Corian countertops and replaced them with granite (on the advice of their realtor, I was told). They also replaced the sink with one that was composite granite. I adored that sink, and it was the one single thing I couldn't get Toll to do for us. I fought with them, but their sink supplier didn't make composite sinks, so I was screwed. We tried to switch it out after closing, but quickly discovered that the holes cut in the granite for stainless are completely unlike the holes required for composite. I STILL miss that damn sink.

[BigEinAz]

Originally Posted by Jkgourmet

When we built with Toll (in Raleigh, NC) we upgraded anything that was structural, behind walls or cost less to have the builder do.

Examples: Any electrical work (add those plugs and ceiling fan connections NOW). Level one granite was included and upgrading was cheaper than replacing. Wood floors were included in some rooms, and we extended throughout the house. Tile floors and walls included in bathrooms, we upgraded. Upgraded the kitchen and bathroom cabinets - again, cheaper than replacing. We added bay windows and arcadia doors. We pushed a wall out four feet. We had Toll do the stone fireplace. Expand the irrigation system. Changed the front door (after finding out how expensive it was to get somebody to replace those sidelights. )

Examples of what we had contractors do after closing: Custom closets. Screen in the porch. Some appliances (microwave and washer/dryer because we could get a credit from the builder. No credit available on built ins like the two wall ovens, microwave and dishwasher.) Light fixtures and ceiling fans. Extra landscaping and a paver patio. Paint. Extra crown molding and wainscotting. Plantatiin shutters and blinds.

Generally, if there was something to be ripped out, it was cheaper to do the builder upgrade. If it was behind the walls, let the builder do it. Clean slate or infront of the wall? Consider doing it afterwards (assuming you have the cash).

Very good advice here. Builder upgrades are a profit center, but you do the structural stuff, anything behind the walls, or anything that adds true value to your living experience. Other stuff you can do later, cheaper.