Hi, all, new homes are often sold with minimum features, but builders often offer the option to upgrade with a price premium. I am wondering what upgrades are in general desired? And which upgrades should be done by builder for either cosmetic reason or economic reason? Thank you!
New home upgrades that should be done by builder
- Thread starter YMMV
- Start date
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irvinehomeowner
Well-known member
Anything electrical or structural.
Most people prefer flooring but only upgrade if it's a deal, usually cheaper after with 3rd party.
Paint if you don't mind one color throughout.
Most people prefer flooring but only upgrade if it's a deal, usually cheaper after with 3rd party.
Paint if you don't mind one color throughout.
How about cabinets? Is it cheaper to go with builder to raise the cabinet to ceiling?CalBears96
Well-known member
As IHO said, electrical and structural need to be upgraded with builder because you can't really do it after COE.
For my wife, kitchen is the most important feature in the home, so waterfall island, kitchen countertops, stacked cabinets and cabinet doors/handles, are a must with the builder.
Flooring is also a must, but that depends on the pricing the builder offers. We would prefer to do it with the builder because no matter how good the contractors are, doing flooring, especially tiles, after COE could cause problems, like damage to the walls. In fact, if you have a stand alone tub in the master bath, contractors wouldn't want to move it. So in our current home, we decided to do tiles (24" x 48") in all baths upstairs and laundry room with the builder. We use the same tiles (polished porcelain), but 48" x 48", downstairs, after COE, since Shea charged a lot more for flooring than 3rd party.
We also upgraded all the shower/bath walls to 24" x 48" polished porcelain tiles, same as flooring, to the ceiling, with the builder.
For us, if the price difference isn't too much between builder and 3rd party, we would prefer to do it with the builder for convenience. It really doesn't make sense for builder to charge more than 3rd party because they save on the standard materials if you upgraded and they probably have some kind of deal with the vendors on the upgraded materials. The other thing is that they have to put in the labor regardless if you upgraded or not. 3rd party would actually put in more labor because they need to rip out the old flooring. And yet, Shea quoted almost twice as much as 3rd party on the flooring, so we had to go with 3rd party for flooring.
TLDR: We desire full upgrades
and would prefer to go with builder if the pricing is reasonable. Actually, when we bought the first home in Irvine, we went with full upgrades with Irvine Pacific (they were more reasonable with pricing) because we were moving from Eastvale and wouldn't have time to deal with after COE upgrades.
For my wife, kitchen is the most important feature in the home, so waterfall island, kitchen countertops, stacked cabinets and cabinet doors/handles, are a must with the builder.
Flooring is also a must, but that depends on the pricing the builder offers. We would prefer to do it with the builder because no matter how good the contractors are, doing flooring, especially tiles, after COE could cause problems, like damage to the walls. In fact, if you have a stand alone tub in the master bath, contractors wouldn't want to move it. So in our current home, we decided to do tiles (24" x 48") in all baths upstairs and laundry room with the builder. We use the same tiles (polished porcelain), but 48" x 48", downstairs, after COE, since Shea charged a lot more for flooring than 3rd party.
We also upgraded all the shower/bath walls to 24" x 48" polished porcelain tiles, same as flooring, to the ceiling, with the builder.
For us, if the price difference isn't too much between builder and 3rd party, we would prefer to do it with the builder for convenience. It really doesn't make sense for builder to charge more than 3rd party because they save on the standard materials if you upgraded and they probably have some kind of deal with the vendors on the upgraded materials. The other thing is that they have to put in the labor regardless if you upgraded or not. 3rd party would actually put in more labor because they need to rip out the old flooring. And yet, Shea quoted almost twice as much as 3rd party on the flooring, so we had to go with 3rd party for flooring.
TLDR: We desire full upgrades
and would prefer to go with builder if the pricing is reasonable. Actually, when we bought the first home in Irvine, we went with full upgrades with Irvine Pacific (they were more reasonable with pricing) because we were moving from Eastvale and wouldn't have time to deal with after COE upgrades.richardee22
New member
Some popular upgrades people go for are kitchen features like better countertops, cabinets, and appliances. Also, bathroom upgrades like nicer tile or upgraded fixtures can really boost the look. If you’re thinking about resale value, hardwood floors or a finished basement can be good bets.