yea, i understand paying for convenience. i was only using your 2k as a reference. OP's upgrades look like they could cost more than $10,000. And if what Rockets Red Glare said is accurate (builders charging double), OP wont' be saving any money as he intended. but if money is no object, then hey, get the upgrades immediately. now the people who drive across town to save $0.10/gallon are ****in' idiots.
I once worked on house where the owners didnt want any right angles on. So I tell the foreman and he says No right angles? This thing's round as a donut. So I says to him What are you, a fckin art critic? They got the money and want to live inside a donut, let them live inside a donut.
Don't forget these. Replace all of them with these http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/17/fastmac-u-socket-now-shipping-out-to-the-world-making-it-a-bett/
This is for real. The first home I bought was a track home but I upgraded the hell out of it (granite, tile, double-sided fireplace, pre-wired for sound throughout, etc.) and the added cost to my mortgage was very little (and all those things helped me sell the place quickly). I just bought another house this summer. It was built in the 70s and needs upgrading (I immediately did new floors and paint) and it is killing my bank account, my stress level and my body at times. When it's all done, the house will be great but I won't buy another old home again unless it is perfect as-is (doubtful) or unless I have tons of money to throw at it (and I'm not sure I want to spend half as much renovating a house as I paid for it).
i go back and forth on that sentiment. a new house would be great. aside from the 'newness', you also get to pick your plan and customize it as you want. but i just cant tolerate the small lot sizes that come w/ new houses these days. its the california model - texas buyers used to get big-ass lots (even on alot of entry-level housing), but land has gotten so expensive. most buyers accept it, but id rather have an old house on a bigger lot, closer to town for less money. for example, i bought a 40 year old house that while not perfect, was perfectly livable as it was. it was certainly in better shape than any rent-house i lived in here in austin. i knew coming in that i would be doing some work and spending some $$$, but i was good w/ it. ive done alot of stuff myself like replacing about 70' of fence in my backyard, replacing several indoor/outdoor light fixtures, replacing a toilet and putting together a new one, interior painting. these are all "skills" that i forced myself to learn by necessity, but now i know how to do all this stuff which is kind of cool.
Good stuff. I didn't know builders could pre-wire hdmi outlets now. Wasn't even a option for me. I don't think I had the option for a larger junction box, I think this builder only offers the standard one. What are mini blinds? Good catch on the gas line to the back yard. I forgot I added that feature. I read it would be costly to do that afterwards and the plumbing for the water softener in the garage. I'll ask them about the sprinkler system soon and see if I can get them to do that, thanks for the tips! I had other upgrades and total it came out to about $18k. The builder gave me $17k in options and $3k off the house, about 11% in incentives from the purchase price. Here's something interesting I found out that you could do. When you go to the design center, you can haggle with them and get them to lower the costs of upgrades. I was able to do that for half of mines because the house already came with some things upgraded, so I got them to take off the price of the upgraded stuff and apply it as credit to a better upgrade instead of paying for it twice. Another thing, wood is cheaper than tile. For the price of tile, I think you can get level 2 or 3 wood floors. Oh yea, forgot about this. Was talking to a co-worker and he said try to get 8 feet deep foundation. He said most builders only do 4 feet and that's why those houses have foundation problems later. I'm pretty sure the customize builders will let you have that option, not sure about the more affordable homes.
I can relate to all of this. We chose the house we are in now because we wanted to be away from the city with a lot that our five dogs can raise hell on. The house was in good condition but needed updates. Quite a bit of it I have done myself (fence, paint, drywall, fixtures etc.) but things like new countertops and expanding my telephone booth-sized shower will need to be done by the pros and the bank is closed for now. Just replacing the floor made me cry when I tallied up the total cost. I can't stand the new subdivision feel so I don't think that will ever be an option again. The plan is to be in this house for 8-10 years and for our next move to be to the hill country where we can have significant property and the money to build a modest-sized home (kids should be gone by then) just the way we like it. I am acquiring a pretty kick-ass tool collection though. Got a new rotary hammer yesterday that rocks!
That actually sounds really fckin cool. I would have loved to have been able to see the completed job.
Tips for upgrades in your house: Don't just think about what YOU want, think about what other buyers will want when you ultimately have to sell your home. Who the heck wants a fireplace in Houston? Apparently most "buyers" do when looking to purchase a new house. Anyways, the two major places to put extra money are the kitchen and the master bathroom/suite. Easy upgrades that can be done yourself at a fraction of the cost after you move in are things like upgrading the hardware on your cabines. Get the builder to install the cheapest possible hardware, then shop around for some stuff after you move in and buy discountinued premium stuff at big discounts. Make sure to request from the builder what you want on each in the kitchen and bathrooms, however. If they install all knobs, then you'll be stuck changing them with knobs unless you want to drill/patch new holes. If you want pulls, have them put in cheap pulls, then you'll have both holes drilled for when you replace. Granite is almost a requirement for re-sale lately, and the bullnose looks good. That is something that can get messy and expensive after you've moved in so that is a good place to upgrade. Flooring upgrade is also a lot easier to do now, for the most part, unless you just want to go back later and do a room or two. For example, if you want wood floors in a study or something, find a place that'll offer a discount after you've moved in, you'll save money. If you want tile through the entire downstairs, do it before you move in. Another less expensive but nice upgrade is the carpet that you install. A "bang for your buck" upgrade is often to get a decent midrange carpet, but upgrade the carpet PAD. It is a lot cheaper to put in a better carpet pad, but it'll make your carpet really look and feel premium. Plumbing fixtures and light fixtures can also very easily be upgraded at lower cost once you move in and make fairly non stressful do-it-yourself jobs. The basic question for any self-upgrade: Can I do this myself in less than a day with the tools I already own? If yes, you will save a lot of money and headache. If no, often it is easier and actually cheaper to just let the builder do it.
Problem upgrading is u'll b payn for them 2 fold. In taxes total price of the home. Try and upgrade after you buy house this way u dont pay for extra taxes
Also consider that most new houses are built terribly. Older houses were built to a higher standard and didn't try to cut costs at every corner. Unless you get a higher level custom builder (which could add 100k to the 400k of what a cheaper builder would charge for the same house design and finishes) then you are not getting real quality. Doesn't matter if you don't plan on staying long but you never know. The above applies to houses 50-60+ years old, btw. From what I have heard 70's and 80's in a lot of Texas suburbs was like the wild west.
Apparently too many builders cut corners like crazy and ignore the codes or cheat the inspections, etc. And each subcontracted group likes to further cut corners and not do their jobs very well for things like plumbing, masonry, roofing, etc. I have residential architects and engineers in my family and friend circles and this is what I have been told. Everything is thrown up too fast, too much, and too cheaply. From personal experience my first house was a townhome that was a new construction by what I have been told is an average builder - cheap and cut corners, but nothing dirty - there were all sorts of ridiculous things like not using brick ties so the brick shell started to split at the windows, terrible electrical wiring in the guts that caused problems, insulation problems in the walls, etc. None of it was a huge deal for me because I sold after 8 years (had to repair a lot of that for the sale but still got off lucky in my mind) but I would not have wanted to deal with the compounding issues for 10 or 20 years.
Easily. Brick ties were not code 50-60 years ago, and no houses here had insulation in exterior walls at that time.
this is so true. my 60 old house is on pier and beam. not only is there no insulation in the walls, there isn't any underneath the floors. with wood floors, winters are horrible. the heater runs constantly. but hey, at least the house is made from real oak.
OK, forget everything I wrote. My family and friends must be lying to me. DEFINITELY buy from Perry Homes, too!
