Additional Cost and Options for New Home Purchase
- Thread starter pricedoutJay
- Start date
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
I want to know what Farmie spent at the design center on the new home he spent.
He's a 1%er so I'm thinking at least $300k.
He's a 1%er so I'm thinking at least $300k.
Irvinecommuter
New member
Best recollection
Upgrade with the builder was about 8% not including the conservatory upgrade (which I consider to be a part of the home price).
Can lighting in all bedrooms and conservatory
Pre-wire for ceiling fans
pre-wire for surround sound in the Great room
upgraded tiles in master bath and downstairs bathroom
upgrade air filtration system
additional insulation.
additional cabinetry.
Flooring (Venetian)- about 2.5%
Window covering (shutters)- about 0.5%
Backyard-about 1.5%.
In total...it's about 13% for a 2200 sq. ft house.
Upgrade with the builder was about 8% not including the conservatory upgrade (which I consider to be a part of the home price).
Can lighting in all bedrooms and conservatory
Pre-wire for ceiling fans
pre-wire for surround sound in the Great room
upgraded tiles in master bath and downstairs bathroom
upgrade air filtration system
additional insulation.
additional cabinetry.
Flooring (Venetian)- about 2.5%
Window covering (shutters)- about 0.5%
Backyard-about 1.5%.
In total...it's about 13% for a 2200 sq. ft house.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
@IC:
Yeah... I don't consider any type of upgrade like Cali to conservatory as a "Design Center" option, so that would be part of the base price.
So does that 13% include the 8% for the conservatory?
Yeah... I don't consider any type of upgrade like Cali to conservatory as a "Design Center" option, so that would be part of the base price.
So does that 13% include the 8% for the conservatory?
Irvinecommuter
New member
irvinehomeowner said:
No. I didn't include the conservatory in the upgrade price. Conservatory was about 2% of the base price of the home.
I do have to say that we "ran out" of money in that there were more things we wanted to do but didn't. Also, we didn't substantially upgrade the cabinets because the upgrade options weren't great so we just upgraded the facing. Also forgot that we upgraded the ranges because the standard one was pretty ugly. Also upgrade the countertops in the kitchen but that was pretty cheap.
Also, we got great deals on the landscaping and windows covering. Also, as you are aware, my yard is tiny so landscaping costs were much lower. If you have a bigger yard, I can see landscaping costs going to 4-5%.
I would say that we were about mid-range on the upgrades. We didn't do anything with two of the bathrooms. Nor did we do anything with the stairs. Didn't upgrade the cabinets much.
I can see total upgrades going up to about 20% and down to 10% (but not much lower).
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Yeah... I covered that here:eyephone said:
irvinehomeowner said:
You also have to be careful in the upgrades. I've seen plenty of places with "upgraded" stairs that looked horrific and tacky. Yes, they might have been expensive, but you can just as easily overdo something and spent a lot of money that does nothing to the house. I think more often then not when I see someone has spent 200+K on options, I look at the place and go, some of this stuff is nice, but most of it is tacky and overdone and I don't even like it.
Who wants a bunch of marble all over the place and crown modeling and stuff everywhere. I'm not looking to live in a palace but a home that is clean, classic looking. You can usually accomplish most of that with nice paint, flooring, and countertops (+ your stainless steel appliances) and maybe a touch of crown molding in the right areas (+ shutters or other nice / clean window coverings).
Got to weigh things with the right balance. Focus on what you like, what works well and you'll get some benefit from if you exit the house, and then whatever the need to have's of the family are. Most anything else is probably excessive and something not needed or you just need to make sure you are okay with the cost and have plenty of extra money.
But maybe this is the talk of a 99%er and not a 1%er.
Who wants a bunch of marble all over the place and crown modeling and stuff everywhere. I'm not looking to live in a palace but a home that is clean, classic looking. You can usually accomplish most of that with nice paint, flooring, and countertops (+ your stainless steel appliances) and maybe a touch of crown molding in the right areas (+ shutters or other nice / clean window coverings).
Got to weigh things with the right balance. Focus on what you like, what works well and you'll get some benefit from if you exit the house, and then whatever the need to have's of the family are. Most anything else is probably excessive and something not needed or you just need to make sure you are okay with the cost and have plenty of extra money.
But maybe this is the talk of a 99%er and not a 1%er.
Irvinecommuter said:
It's good that you break it down and separate structure upgrades like conservatory from other upgrades. Those structure upgrades are very pricey and not all homes have these type of upgrades available.
Here's mine break downs:
Structure upgrades: 1.8%
Conservatory, optional gym at California garage, optional tech space, additional door from garage to the gym
Design Center upgrades: 0.8%
Upgrade granite counter top at kitchen, master bath counter tops, upgrade cabinets, can lights, ceiling fan mount, add. insulation, add. electric outlet etc.
After COE, 3rd party upgrades: 8%
Hard wood flooring, tiles, carpet, Caesarstone counter top, painting, crown molding, window treatment, garage epoxy, etc
Landscaping: 2.5%
Back yard only.
I guess when you don't have build-in refrigerator, refrigerator doesn't really have to count toward upgrades.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Exactly... The Gold Toilet Effect.Bullsback said:
And nothing wrong with that.
Agreed. I started my admittedly long posts from IHO's gold toilet comment and being ripped off. I'm not saying go with the design center for everything, that's silly. Most trim, window treatments, closet organizers, paint, possibly flooring can and should be done after COE. But, my point was that it's easy for upgrades to add up quickly even for items that are cheaper going through the design center and that doesn't mean the buyer got ripped off or is excessive. Everyone has different value systems and prioritize what they "need" or "want". The pot filler option is ~$1k, maybe really useful to someone that cooks a lot and has the sink on the other side of the kitchen, but maybe a huge waste of money and excessive to somebody else. I know this tho, adding a pot filler above a range is going to be way more expensive after COE and will definitely void the kitchen plumbing warranty. What about whole house central vacuum, those run over $4k easily. Some ppl swear by them and wouldn't wanna live without it, where another person thinks their $75 Kenmore vacuum is good enough. Again, this option has to be done during the build.WTTCMN said:
All I'm saying is you can't paint a buyer who spends a fair amount of money at the design center with such a broad brush. They just picked options that for their lifestyle. I would never put marble in my home. Not because it's excessive, but because it stains too easily. But, I would never begrudge someone else if they chose it. I would never upgrade any part of the laundry room, but if someone chose to upgrade cabinetry and flooring in the laundry room, well it's their money and their house.
I always think about exit strategy when picking options. I wouldn't want too modern or too French countryside. But, at the end of the day, most buyers want to make their house their own. Some ppl do the absolute minimum, some go extreme the other way. There is no right or wrong (except the built in fridge space, that deserves a built in fridge
), options and the ability to pay for them is unique to each buyer.
irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
My Gold Toilet Effect was in response to anyone spending $300k on new $1.xm home.
It's a spec home on spec lot... that's not the wisest $300k you will be spending.
I think the broad brush applies... if you are spending that much, either you are over-upgrading or you are being ripped of by the builder... in MY opinion.
And that's because I am a conservative spender, which is why I said how much I would spend (and have spent). Many of you are above that, but not by much, and certainly not in the $300k Gold Toilet Zone.
So in addition to the minimum #DoTheCans and #DoTheFans, the corollary is #DontDoTheGoldToilets and #300kIsNot5OneARM.
It's a spec home on spec lot... that's not the wisest $300k you will be spending.
I think the broad brush applies... if you are spending that much, either you are over-upgrading or you are being ripped of by the builder... in MY opinion.
And that's because I am a conservative spender, which is why I said how much I would spend (and have spent). Many of you are above that, but not by much, and certainly not in the $300k Gold Toilet Zone.
So in addition to the minimum #DoTheCans and #DoTheFans, the corollary is #DontDoTheGoldToilets and #300kIsNot5OneARM.
pricedoutJay
New member
WTTCMN said:
My purpose of this thread was to gauge what new Irvine home buyers were spending money on upgrades and how much they spend/budget the cost. I never bought a new home and figured that new homes would result in more additional cost than resale homes for structural addition and landscaping are not really easy upgrades for resale houses. The poll actually is telling me that the distribution is not a normal curve so about a 2/3 of buyers spend $50k plus but there are 1/3 of buyers who try not to spend too much. So I think I got what I was looking for.
That is a lot, no argument from me. Probably an extreme example of upgrading through the design center. But your 5% on a $1M house is the opposite extreme. Most ppl are somewhere in the middle.irvinehomeowner said:
But, you can't really say they got ripped off if you don't know what options that buyer picked. Over optioning?...I dunno, it's his money. If he has the disposable income and loves his house, who are we to place any type of judgement on how somebody spends their money.
You really can't come to any conclusion based on this thread because the spread of buyers is too broad. If you asked 100 buyers of a $500k condo, over 95% would say less than $50k at the design center. Ask 100 ppl of a $1.5M house and over 95% would say over $50k, prob well over.pricedoutJay said: