Purchasing upgrades on a new built home.

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
No. that quote is not what the builder 'forces' you to buy. I believe you can buy at the base price... the quote is an average, I was told, buyers end up spending on upgrades, but they are by no means mandatory.


thelinux said:
yellowplum said:
The quote we got from the Irvine robots at San Marcos and Maricopa were about 5 to 7.5% of the base price. Not sure how accurate that is. They don't like giving out estimates by item, with the exception of Sevilla at PS - there is one lady there who would give more specific numbers. Good luck!
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You mean the "quote" for standard upgrades (Upgrades that lender or builder force you to buy)?
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yellowplum said:
No. that quote is not what the builder 'forces' you to buy. I believe you can buy at the base price... the quote is an average, I was told, buyers end up spending on upgrades, but they are by no means mandatory.


thelinux said:
yellowplum said:
The quote we got from the Irvine robots at San Marcos and Maricopa were about 5 to 7.5% of the base price. Not sure how accurate that is. They don't like giving out estimates by item, with the exception of Sevilla at PS - there is one lady there who would give more specific numbers. Good luck!
Click to expand...

You mean the "quote" for standard upgrades (Upgrades that lender or builder force you to buy)?
Click to expand...
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Oh I see. Thanks. so if they quoted 5-7.5%, if you go with private contractors, you can lower it to 1.6-2.5%??? I heard builders charge you 300% of what private contractors charge in most case???

 
BTW, what about landscaping??? What I am buying is a detached condo at San Mateo.. So I guess there should be not much space to work on...
Is this something I can do my self?? I am thinking to get a shovel and some plants from wallmart and do it myself???? I've never done any gardening though...
Can I do landscaping myself? Or is this something for professionals??? If to hire professionals, how much am I expect to spend???
 
thelinux said:
yellowplum said:
No. that quote is not what the builder 'forces' you to buy. I believe you can buy at the base price... the quote is an average, I was told, buyers end up spending on upgrades, but they are by no means mandatory.


thelinux said:
yellowplum said:
The quote we got from the Irvine robots at San Marcos and Maricopa were about 5 to 7.5% of the base price. Not sure how accurate that is. They don't like giving out estimates by item, with the exception of Sevilla at PS - there is one lady there who would give more specific numbers. Good luck!
Click to expand...

You mean the "quote" for standard upgrades (Upgrades that lender or builder force you to buy)?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Oh I see. Thanks. so if they quoted 5-7.5%, if you go with private contractors, you can lower it to 1.6-2.5%??? I heard builders charge you 300% of what private contractors charge in most case???
Click to expand...
Depends on what you are talking about.  But yeah, one of my buyers is looking at options for their home in Las Ventanas and the builder wanted like $15k for wood flooring of about 700sf which they can do for around $5k-$6k with a private contractor.  Some mark ups are huge but some are very small....it just depends.
 
thelinux said:
BTW, what about landscaping??? What I am buying is a detached condo at San Mateo.. So I guess there should be not much space to work on...
Is this something I can do my self?? I am thinking to get a shovel and some plants from wallmart and do it myself???? I've never done any gardening though...
Can I do landscaping myself? Or is this something for professionals??? If to hire professionals, how much am I expect to spend???
Click to expand...
You might want to hire a professional.  Remember that grass will always be the most inexpensive way to go for landscaping.  Hardscaping (stone, concrete, etc) can get very expensive.  I think you have anywhere from 6-12 months after you close to find your landscaping.
 
USCTrojanCPA said:
thelinux said:
BTW, what about landscaping??? What I am buying is a detached condo at San Mateo.. So I guess there should be not much space to work on...
Is this something I can do my self?? I am thinking to get a shovel and some plants from wallmart and do it myself???? I've never done any gardening though...
Can I do landscaping myself? Or is this something for professionals??? If to hire professionals, how much am I expect to spend???
Click to expand...
You might want to hire a professional.  Remember that grass will always be the most inexpensive way to go for landscaping.  Hardscaping (stone, concrete, etc) can get very expensive.  I think you have anywhere from 6-12 months after you close to find your landscaping.
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If I hire professional how much cost am I expecting??? Just by average I mean.. I just dont want any later surprise...
 
thelinux said:
USCTrojanCPA said:
thelinux said:
BTW, what about landscaping??? What I am buying is a detached condo at San Mateo.. So I guess there should be not much space to work on...
Is this something I can do my self?? I am thinking to get a shovel and some plants from wallmart and do it myself???? I've never done any gardening though...
Can I do landscaping myself? Or is this something for professionals??? If to hire professionals, how much am I expect to spend???
Click to expand...
You might want to hire a professional.  Remember that grass will always be the most inexpensive way to go for landscaping.  Hardscaping (stone, concrete, etc) can get very expensive.  I think you have anywhere from 6-12 months after you close to find your landscaping.
Click to expand...

If I hire professional how much cost am I expecting??? Just by average I mean.. I just dont want any later surprise...
Click to expand...
I have no idea...it depends on how large your back/side yard is and what you want to do with it.  I'd think if you went very basic you can probably get away with $5k-$10k in landscaping costs.
 
We bought a SFR in Woodbury, and it cost us 30K for front & back yard all inclusive on landscaping. That includes, paving, pilasters, all planting, about 7 trees, drainage, sprinkler systems and lighting. The total cost will be based on how big your lot is, ours was about 4000 sq ft. I don't know how it is for detached condos, but if it is the same as SFRs, where they just give you a patch of dirt, you will need to put in drainage & sprinkler system which is best left to the pros.

 
thelinux said:
BTW, what about landscaping??? What I am buying is a detached condo at San Mateo.. So I guess there should be not much space to work on...
Is this something I can do my self?? I am thinking to get a shovel and some plants from wallmart and do it myself???? I've never done any gardening though...
Can I do landscaping myself? Or is this something for professionals??? If to hire professionals, how much am I expect to spend???
Click to expand...

While I'm a huge DIY type person, I'd highly recommend at least hiring a landscape architect for grading and drainage.  Seems like a no brainer but make sure all hardscape slopes properly and to the appropriate drainage locations.  The rest including plants and pots you can DIY all you want.
 
Our suggestion is "NEVER Buy any UPGRADE" from builder.

Especially Irvine Pacific design center, which did not and will not help their customers.  The floor we upgranded has squeaky/creaking noises before we move in.  They think it is normal.  We want their help to fix the noises and Irvine Pacific insisted it is normal and doing nothing.  My suggestion is "DO NOT USE IRVINE PACIFIC DESIGN CENTER".  You get all standard first in the new home, then you can hire contractors to upgrade.  It will save money and headache dealing with Irvine Pacific Design center people, who are young and not experienced.  They may not feel good for us to buy and upgrade new homes.  They gave bad advices.  Then they will lie and deny what they told you.

 
Being in new home sales - I do have a bit of a grip on this so I thought I'd put in my two cents.  Any upgrades that you put in the home become part of the purchase price.  Several years ago some lenders were allowing bare floor closings - but I don't know of any doing that today.  Not saying they don't exist - just saying I don't know of any. 
In the new market most home builders have partnered with Design centers that are much more reasonable on pricing.  Because of the insurance a builder has to offer on all that they sell and install - they often can't be competitive with your pricing at Lowe's or a DIY type pricing center.  But - again pricing on upgrades will vary greatly by builders. 
That being said - the upgrades you would really want to do are any structural type upgrades.  I would highly recommend any type of prewiring, central vacuum (if you want that), additional insulation (for noise abatement) - you get the picture.  Basically, anything where someone has to start tearing your home apart is going to be better to do at construction.
Also - you may consider appliances.  The reasoning - often new floors will get scratched in the placement of heavy appliances.  If appliances are being placed by the builder this would be fixed. 
I hope you love your new home!  Congratulations!
Megan
 
christinaa said:
Our suggestion is "NEVER Buy any UPGRADE" from builder.
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I know you had a bad experience, but I would put the pressure on them to get it fixed.  having hollow/squeaky floors is not the norm, especially if it's on the first floor slab.  Don't take no for an answer, call your tract's supervisor to pressure them to fix it.  Get quotes from 3rd party contractors to get the floors fixed and then take them to the design center and ask why would all these people quote to "repair" something that is not broken.

This is a problem regardless of the design center or an outside contractor, both will try to dodge away from fixes that aren't caught before they are paid.  It's almost like you need to know how it should be done and the proper installation techniques and monitor them to do it the right way.
 
Reviving an old thread instead of starting a new one. 

Got a potentially retarded question, so excuse me if it sounds dumb.  Is it simple for flooring to be installed after COE with a built-in fridge and 48" range already in place?  Meaning is it simple for the flooring people to pull out the built-in fridge and range, put down flooring and hook up and replace the appliances in their original positions without messing it up?

Would also appreciate any recs for flooring ppl and contractors that do crown moldings, built in cabinetry, window casings, etc.

TIA
 
yes, it's pretty simple so long as you have capable delivery persons and people working on the project.  execution is another question... 
 
akim997 said:
yes, it's pretty simple so long as you have capable delivery persons and people working on the project.  execution is another question...
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This was my thought also.  I called Simple Floors to discuss this issue and they told me:  absolutely not.  Changing the floor underneath built-ins might potentially change the height so built-in appliances are no longer flush with countertops or fit back in the niche space.  Also, built-ins are screwed into the cabinetry and pulling them out and replacing them isn't as easy as it seems.  I didn't know all this until I talked to Sub-Zero and Simple Floors. 
 
oh, I thought you were going to install new floors, and then install the built in.  because of the cost, why would you have the builder install a fridge?

 
akim997 said:
oh, I thought you were going to install new floors, and then install the built in.  because of the cost, why would you have the builder install a fridge?
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Believe it or not, some pricing for appliances (and even other upgrades) thru the builder can be very competitive, if not downright lower. We're pricing everything out as we select upgrades.
 
Arman said:
akim997 said:
oh, I thought you were going to install new floors, and then install the built in.  because of the cost, why would you have the builder install a fridge?
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Believe it or not, some pricing for appliances (and even other upgrades) thru the builder can be very competitive, if not downright lower. We're pricing everything out as we select upgrades.
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Arman is right, it's cheaper to go with the builder on appliances cuz of the design credit. 
 
we upgraded our appliances for $766.  But there is no credit for a built in fridge.  Our TIC marvel comes with nothing.  You can buy a Kitchen Aid Fridge shown in the model for $2,700 through the design center, OR you can save yourself 20-30% buy purchasing it on your own.  I think my wife said she found the SAME fridge for about $1700 (before tax and delivery).  My mom had a built in SubZ in her kitchen - never really understood the attraction.  It eventually had to be replaced anyways, and there is a just a new fridge thats not flush, but works well and in my opinion just as good as any other fridge. 
 
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