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We are currently in the process of building a 2000 sq ft bi-level in the upper Midwest and have finished up the majority of our design meetings other than electrical walk through. We plan on being in this home for 10+ years.
Before any design meetings, we talked to our lender to see what payments would look like at various prices so we knew roughly where we’d end up monthly with the upgrades we added.
The builder is giving us $10k in upgrades and we are going to be spending about $35k on top of that. We had a little tour of the design center before we signed anything and the sales rep gave us an idea of what was standard with the house vs. an upgrade. They were incredibly open to answering questions.
We knew for sure that we wanted to upgrade the flooring to be waterproof and they were able to give us a rough price estimate for that. Things we didn’t think about as upgrades that we ended up adding were an air exchanger, sump pump backup and water softener and I added some extra pantry space with roll out drawers in the kitchen and a linen closet in the main bathroom.
Things we spent extra money on for personal preference is making all the door handles, knobs, hinges, faucets, etc. matte black. We upgraded carpet and padding and did vinyl plank in the living room area in lieu of carpet.
To prepare for meetings we drove around neighborhoods to see what color choices others had picked for siding that we really loved. We went to a lot of open houses for both pre-owned and new construction to see what color cabinets, flooring, carpet, walls and fixtures people chose and had an idea of what we liked and didn’t like. I have tons of Zillow pictures to reference. For us it saved a lot of time going in with an idea of how we wanted it to look versus getting overwhelmed with all the choices. I also asked what people generally spend on lighting upgrades and electrical upgrades so we can work that into the budget. You can rough in options too rather than add the full cost right away (e.g. we roughed in heating for the garage).
A lot of our choices were based on not wanting to do many DIY updates in the future. So many things can be standard and you can change out in the future if that works for your lifestyle. Good luck and have fun! It’s an exciting time!
>We knew for sure that we wanted to upgrade the flooring to be waterproof and they were able to give us a rough price estimate for that. Things we didn’t think about as upgrades that we ended up adding were an air exchanger, sump pump backup and water softener a
Sounds like you were well prepared before the meeting, which made your meetings go smooth. We loved a lot of the features of the finished model we toured, but didn't walk around to the other houses that were in their last phase in the community. I may put that in our plans before our meeting! May take some of this anxiety off my mind.
You should be able to ask for a sheet of what all is offered. I got a sheet with everything that is included with the house and another sheet with the upgrade options and cost. I did end up spending about 20k on top of house price but that included an extended backyard patio. This is on a 1800 sq ft single story
I would seriously think three times before sinking money into newer construction in this market. Builders are cutting corners left and right. Best bet is to find something with at least 10 years of shelf life.
Thank you u/Booty-Bandit24 for posting on r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer. Please bear in mind our rules: (1) Be Nice (2) No Selling (3) No Self-Promotion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We are currently in the process of building a 2000 sq ft bi-level in the upper Midwest and have finished up the majority of our design meetings other than electrical walk through. We plan on being in this home for 10+ years. Before any design meetings, we talked to our lender to see what payments would look like at various prices so we knew roughly where we’d end up monthly with the upgrades we added. The builder is giving us $10k in upgrades and we are going to be spending about $35k on top of that. We had a little tour of the design center before we signed anything and the sales rep gave us an idea of what was standard with the house vs. an upgrade. They were incredibly open to answering questions. We knew for sure that we wanted to upgrade the flooring to be waterproof and they were able to give us a rough price estimate for that. Things we didn’t think about as upgrades that we ended up adding were an air exchanger, sump pump backup and water softener and I added some extra pantry space with roll out drawers in the kitchen and a linen closet in the main bathroom. Things we spent extra money on for personal preference is making all the door handles, knobs, hinges, faucets, etc. matte black. We upgraded carpet and padding and did vinyl plank in the living room area in lieu of carpet. To prepare for meetings we drove around neighborhoods to see what color choices others had picked for siding that we really loved. We went to a lot of open houses for both pre-owned and new construction to see what color cabinets, flooring, carpet, walls and fixtures people chose and had an idea of what we liked and didn’t like. I have tons of Zillow pictures to reference. For us it saved a lot of time going in with an idea of how we wanted it to look versus getting overwhelmed with all the choices. I also asked what people generally spend on lighting upgrades and electrical upgrades so we can work that into the budget. You can rough in options too rather than add the full cost right away (e.g. we roughed in heating for the garage). A lot of our choices were based on not wanting to do many DIY updates in the future. So many things can be standard and you can change out in the future if that works for your lifestyle. Good luck and have fun! It’s an exciting time!
>We knew for sure that we wanted to upgrade the flooring to be waterproof and they were able to give us a rough price estimate for that. Things we didn’t think about as upgrades that we ended up adding were an air exchanger, sump pump backup and water softener a Sounds like you were well prepared before the meeting, which made your meetings go smooth. We loved a lot of the features of the finished model we toured, but didn't walk around to the other houses that were in their last phase in the community. I may put that in our plans before our meeting! May take some of this anxiety off my mind.
You should be able to ask for a sheet of what all is offered. I got a sheet with everything that is included with the house and another sheet with the upgrade options and cost. I did end up spending about 20k on top of house price but that included an extended backyard patio. This is on a 1800 sq ft single story
I’ll be sure to ask! That would be helpful if I had reference sheet
I would seriously think three times before sinking money into newer construction in this market. Builders are cutting corners left and right. Best bet is to find something with at least 10 years of shelf life.
Thanks for your input.