Advantages and Disadvantages of going with builder upgrades.

[oc.queries]

Builder or Contractor. Which one is best from the following perspectives? 

1. Property Tax
2. Warranty
3. Price of upgrades
4. Resale value

Also post the advantages and disadvantages.

Thanks in advance.

 

[potsticker]

1. Contractor
2. Builder
3. Contractor
4. No factor

Do the easy stuff on your own - paint, window coverings, ceiling fans, etc. For kitchen, bath, flooring...I really think buyers fall into 3 categories:

1. "I can't afford additional upgrades" or "I don't want upgrades"
2. "I've got enough to worry about. When I close escrow, I want the home to be turn key and ready to move into."  ----> Builder upgrades
3. "I love projects and remodels and have time to project manage. I want to save on material costs, property taxes, mortgage interest." ----> Contractor

Personally, I'm #2. I'm pretty fiscally conservative and will save a buck where I can...but I simply have no desire to manage a remodel and hold off on moving in for 2-4 weeks after close.

 

[yoyo2012]

I personally have found the upgrades from Irvine company to not be of the best quality. They hire contractors and if you look them up, they don't have the greatest reputation or reviews. You do get the "warranty" but if you go with a reputable contractor that's well reviewed online, they will also take care of issues after the job is done.

The paint upgrade at my house was very poor. Lots of thin paint spots.

I think for kitchen or bathroom, it might not make sense to do on my own. For paint, window coverings, flooring, I would definitely would not do it with builder.

 

[SoclosetoIrvine]

I personally have found the upgrades from Irvine company to not be of the best quality. They hire contractors and if you look them up, they don't have the greatest reputation or reviews. You do get the "warranty" but if you go with a reputable contractor that's well reviewed online, they will also take care of issues after the job is done.

The paint upgrade at my house was very poor. Lots of thin paint spots.

I think for kitchen or bathroom, it might not make sense to do on my own. For paint, window coverings, flooring, I would definitely would not do it with builder.

Just to bring it one step further, If you had to do kitchen flooring upgrade, it might make some sense if you want them to do the areas where the kitchen island is.  I've heard there's a lot of electrical components there where they would be responsible if anything broke during install and you would be out of luck with an outside vendor

Bathroom flooring and anything else? Just do it outside vendors

 

[Perspective]

1. Contractor
2. Builder
3. Contractor
4. No factor

Do the easy stuff on your own - paint, window coverings, ceiling fans, etc. For kitchen, bath, flooring...I really think buyers fall into 3 categories:

1. "I can't afford additional upgrades" or "I don't want upgrades"
2. "I've got enough to worry about. When I close escrow, I want the home to be turn key and ready to move into."  ----> Builder upgrades
3. "I love projects and remodels and have time to project manage. I want to save on material costs, property taxes, mortgage interest." ----> Contractor

Personally, I'm #2. I'm pretty fiscally conservative and will save a buck where I can...but I simply have no desire to manage a remodel and hold off on moving in for 2-4 weeks after close.

Agreed. Confirmation bias warning here - managing the limited number of post-closing projects we chose (paint, window coverings, garage flooring/cabs, and landscaping, etc.), was just enough trouble for me.

 

[Ready2Downsize]

I personally have found the upgrades from Irvine company to not be of the best quality. They hire contractors and if you look them up, they don't have the greatest reputation or reviews. You do get the "warranty" but if you go with a reputable contractor that's well reviewed online, they will also take care of issues after the job is done.

The paint upgrade at my house was very poor. Lots of thin paint spots.

I think for kitchen or bathroom, it might not make sense to do on my own. For paint, window coverings, flooring, I would definitely would not do it with builder.

Builders use cheap quality paint and one coat.

Paint always looks better with two coats, even with good quality paint that claims to need only one coat.

 

[rkp]

IIRC, some builders will provide you an unfinished house if you are a cash buyer.  They don't offer much in terms of cost savings but it does save on time and you arent ripping things out.

Also, a good middle option is a full service GC or utilizing a design/build firm.  It won't be as cheap as hiring subs but it will take out the headache factor and let someone else manage the whole thing and still be cheaper than the builder.