October 2023 Irvine Housing Market Update

Yeah, we're doing cabinets and countertops with builder, but this time we're going to do flooring and closets after COE. We'll decide on glass stair rails depending on how much difference in price.
Yes, some upgrades are definitely cheaper to do after COE such as getting the standard builder carpet ripped out and replaced with hardwood flooring, I suggest staying away from LVP and going with an engineered hardwood product instead if you are considering replacing the standard carpet with hardwood after COE:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90855194/the-dirty-truth-about-your-fake-wood-floors
 
Yes, some upgrades are definitely cheaper to do after COE such as getting the standard builder carpet ripped out and replaced with hardwood flooring, I suggest staying away from LVP and going with an engineered hardwood product instead if you are considering replacing the standard carpet with hardwood after COE:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90855194/the-dirty-truth-about-your-fake-wood-floors
Yeah, we had engineered hardwood in our Eastvale home, but went with LVP for our Irvine home because IP design center only didn't have engineered hardwood option, and we don't like LVP as much. We're going back to engineered hardwood now that we can choose whatever we want.
 
Builder wanted to charge me double compared to a contractor. The cost to do flooring should be easier for the builder since no demo is required and no need to redo baseboards.

With rates now at 7-8% it isn’t worth it to do upgrades with the builder. Not to mention you’re also paying higher taxes as well.
for double the price the argument can be made its worth it to do it through the builder considering you are only putting 20% down on the cost of the upgrade and will probably never pay off the mortgage/home..... IE if you only stay in your home 5 years then it might be cheaper to actually just do the upgrades through builder vs paying cash for the full upgrade amount after close.
 
for double the price the argument can be made its worth it to do it through the builder considering you are only putting 20% down on the cost of the upgrade and will probably never pay off the mortgage/home..... IE if you only stay in your home 5 years then it might be cheaper to actually just do the upgrades through builder vs paying cash for the full upgrade amount after close.
I did that on the last house, but you're not going to put down 20% on a $2.6M purchase. 😂
 
for double the price the argument can be made its worth it to do it through the builder considering you are only putting 20% down on the cost of the upgrade and will probably never pay off the mortgage/home..... IE if you only stay in your home 5 years then it might be cheaper to actually just do the upgrades through builder vs paying cash for the full upgrade amount after close.
I don't follow the logic here. You're saying pay twice as much for something, then finance it at 7%+, plus lock in a 1% property tax that increases every year. How does that make it cheaper? Just because you financed it, doesn't make it any cheaper. That's just an illusion. It will come out of the net proceeds when the person sells.
 
I don't follow the logic here. You're saying pay twice as much for something, then finance it at 7%+, plus lock in a 1% property tax that increases every year. How does that make it cheaper? Just because you financed it, doesn't make it any cheaper. That's just an illusion. It will come out of the net proceeds when the person sells.
I said in my example if you only stay in your home 5 years it might be cheaper to finance the upgrades through builder
 
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