New home buyer - a few questions (costs, kitchen)

[smuggy_mba]

Hi All,

WE just signed a contract on a new home and had a few questions. We have a around 20K in options and I want to use them smartly.

1.) Should I spend 4000 on bricks on the sides or is the siding (hardiplank) good enough in the long term? Any paint, durability issues? What about resale?

2.) The media and family room are pre wired for surround sound and I want to understand how the cat5 wiring works? Can I setup my cable box and DVD in the media room and play it on a TV in the family room or the master bedroom.

Do I need 2 separate HDMI cables from the media room (the DVD and cable box) going into the family and master bedroom.

3.) Do I need to setup separate wiring for the overhead projector in the media room. The builder didn't mention anything about projector wiring.

4.) Finally, should I spend the option money on the outside (brick, elevation, shutters etc) or on the kitchen sink, granite. What's better for resale?

thanks yall.

[carryyourbooks]

i can answer partly. hardi plank will last if installed correctly. it must be installed using proper fasteners and paint. if installed properly, it is guaranteed 50 years.

overhead projector. you will need a plug in the ceiling and possibly a cable jack if you plan to feed it with a cable signal.

[huma281]

I would get brick all the way around. Haggle them to throw it in w/o using your options money.

[bluelion_ms3]

i would get brick all around and upgrade the counters/sinks. i seriously doubt you'll get any resale value for having a media room prewired.

[kreeyax]

Brick all the way around may save you some painting costs too. In my last house (one-story) I opted for brick all the way around, and when it came time to paint it only cost about $200 since they just had to paint the fascia and eaves.

Overhead projector you will want a power outlet and an HDMI cable run where it will be installed.

Surround sound wiring should be speaker wire, you'll connect your surround speakers to your receiver (or amp) wherever the other end of the wire comes out of the wall.

If you have cat 5 ethernet wiring in your house, that can be used for your LAN and also some TV providers like AT&T U-verse utilize it. You'll have a TV receiver in any room you want to watch TV in. No need to run HDMI from the media room to the family and master bedroom. You'll have separate TV receivers in your family and master bedroom that will be connected to the coax outlet (or cat5 if you use U-Verse).

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by huma281

I would get brick all the way around. Haggle them to throw it in w/o using your options money.

Too late. They already signed.
The best thing to do is ask for specific items (like the brick) when negotiating, rather than just a random amount of upgrade money.
Most builders right now are already throwing in a set amount of upgrade money. It's not a "deal".
So when they offer you the upgrade money, you turn around and say I want this, this and this and I'll sign on the dotted line right now.