Phase 4: Verify Your Options and Upgrade Pricing
Now that you have decided on the Builder and the right Plan you are going to Build for your family, it’s time to talk about options and overall pricing.
- Determine which options and upgrades you want. Builders often make, their largest profit margin through the upgrades. Some builders include great finishing’s as a base model to choose, others build at basic home construction (yes your home will most likely NOT look like the show home that you fell in love with unless you bought the show home itself…and yes, that happens to, ask about it). Each Builder tries to keep costs low and increase their profit in the upgrades.
- Lenders may NOT lend on all the options / upgrades you have chosen so to be sure to check that after you have made your choices, butbeforeyou commit to the Builder on them or you may be required to pay for it in cash.
- Some contracts give the builder the right to choose your upgrades if you do not submit your request within a certain period of time, as they have a timeline they need to adhere to keep the house build moving. However, again we know you have done lots of research that won’t be a problem meeting their deadlines.
- Some Buyers assume that in order to save money on a new build, they can install upgrades by purchasing and installing on your own or with your own contractor either during or after possession. Many Builders won’t allow you to complete any work during the construction (think Insurance risks as well). But think through this decision, is ripping out a nice counter top to put in granite after you have moved in worth the destruction and mess versus the cost saving of just having the Builder do it in the first place. If you do manage to get an agreement for some of your own work make sure it is documented in the contract and made very clear. I had a client once who was a hardwood floor installer. They agreed to let him do his own, which was great but since the original plan was for linoleum the contractors put in an underlay material that the hardwood couldn’t be attached to. Who is responsible to remove the underlay material now that its nailed down? – yes it became a real fight.