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I have an appointment for next week with the home design studio for my upgrades......let's see how far my 30k goes. here's the list that i've got made out on the things i want in order of preference...... will be interesting to see how many i can actually get.
ceiling fan wiring.....all rooms
surround sound wiring......living room
extra electrical outlets throught house
Mater bath......jetted tub, double vanity, tile flooring, walls and shower.
i know, i know, wishfull thinking on my part that i can get all of these.
i know i won't have enough for the kitchen, i just still don't know which i should upgrade........lets say i upgrade the cabinets, so now i have nice cabinets.......but i have linoleum floors.......or should i have nice tile floor and standard cabinets.
I have to try and do as much as i can now, cus i know once we're in the house we will not upgrade anything.........according to my boyfriend "too much of a hassle"
It doesn't sound undoable to me... 30K is still quite a bit of money.
Let me try to remember what I got for 13K:
- Corian countertops and sink
- Downstairs the standard was 12" tile in the kitchen and dining area only - I got 18" on the whole 1st floor- about 700 sq.ft.; well, same in the upstairs bathrooms
- Prewire for ceiling fans everywhere
- Alarm prewire
- Surround sound in living room
- Laundry room cabinets
- Upgraded carpet
- Upgraded pad (that's cheap)
I think that's about it...
My builder's standard features were quite good, though. Many don't finish the garages - another 1K. I've got enough outlets. The hardware on the doors can be horrible and expensive to upgrade. The vinyl flooring is standard for many. KB is notorious in this department... but even another somewhat decent builder I checked had 3 legal pages of upgrades . Thanks, but no thanks.
I have an appointment for next week with the home design studio for my upgrades......let's see how far my 30k goes. here's the list that i've got made out on the things i want in order of preference...... will be interesting to see how many i can actually get.
ceiling fan wiring.....all rooms
surround sound wiring......living room
extra electrical outlets throught house
Mater bath......jetted tub, double vanity, tile flooring, walls and shower.
i know, i know, wishfull thinking on my part that i can get all of these.
i know i won't have enough for the kitchen, i just still don't know which i should upgrade........lets say i upgrade the cabinets, so now i have nice cabinets.......but i have linoleum floors.......or should i have nice tile floor and standard cabinets.
I have to try and do as much as i can now, cus i know once we're in the house we will not upgrade anything.........according to my boyfriend "too much of a hassle"
Depending on your location and builder but $30K might not complete all of your options listed without negotiation. Unless your home already came with pretty decent standard options, the cost of upgrading cabinets is expensive and will probably suck up a good portion of your $30K. I'd do all the electric upgrades and bathroom upgrades as you've planned along with pads. For the kitchen, depending on the size, wall space and counter space but it might cost $20K+ to complete your list of options. I'd do the cabinets (a must) then do granite next then flooring if money allows. Granite and flooring is very expensive through the builder but the installation of granite based on what I've seen is very good. It's probably because they've dealt with the floor plans many times and simply order from the same supplier. As for flooring, you can probably get better materials installed afterwards for the same price you're paying for standard tiles/wood through the builder. Flooring installation will take probably 2 days for tiles before you can walk on it and for wood flooring, half a day installation even for a large kitchen. So in terms of doing it later, that should be the least of your worries if you went over budget with the $30K now.
Depending on your location and builder but $30K might not complete all of your options listed without negotiation. Unless your home already came with pretty decent standard options, the cost of upgrading cabinets is expensive and will probably suck up a good portion of your $30K. I'd do all the electric upgrades and bathroom upgrades as you've planned along with pads. For the kitchen, depending on the size, wall space and counter space but it might cost $20K+ to complete your list of options. I'd do the cabinets (a must) then do granite next then flooring if money allows. Granite and flooring is very expensive through the builder but the installation of granite based on what I've seen is very good. It's probably because they've dealt with the floor plans many times and simply order from the same supplier. As for flooring, you can probably get better materials installed afterwards for the same price you're paying for standard tiles/wood through the builder. Flooring installation will take probably 2 days for tiles before you can walk on it and for wood flooring, half a day installation even for a large kitchen. So in terms of doing it later, that should be the least of your worries if you went over budget with the $30K now.
I agree........definately think it will probably take another 20k to complete my list.
The house does come with standard tile countertops and marble tops in the bathrooms.......which i really like the marbel and i think the tile counters will do for now.
This house does not come with 'alot of upgrades like others we've looked at.....however we're getting a really good deal. Other builders in our area are offering lots of upgrades, but those houses are around 270k, plus didn't quite care too much for the layouts, too many formal dinning room/ living room, i like just one big open space. Not into the formal thing, i like casual, comfortable living.
Ours is 2,000sq, costing 219k with discounts and incentives, it comes in at 205k, plus builder is giving 6% towards closing and buy down points.
from all the other plans we looked at, this house's layout has everything i want.......big, spacious rooms........open floor plan, big kitchen......with pantry, can't believe how many new homes don't have a pantry, whats up with that?......As a woman that loves to cook and spend alot of time in the kitchen, i have to, have to, have a pantry........and on top of all that, for our area, i think we are getting a really good deal.
So overall, i aint complaining, just would be nice to be able to get it all done now.
As many posters have suggested i think i will make the cabinets a priority.......however, what do you guys think about the size? is it 30" vs 42", is it a good idea to go with the 42"?
Location: The Circle City. Sometimes NE of Bagdad.
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Well, here's my list.
Installed wood flooring in great room-done
Remodeled 2 bathrooms-done
Replaced A/C and heater-done
Re-roof house-in process
New windows-next
paint exterior-next-next
fresno -- i never really considered cabinet size...
then one day the sales lady told us they 'accidentally' installed 36" cabs instead of 30' inch [we had never built before, so we didn't know any difference, and the sales lady never brought up cab size.]
For me, 36 is ample. I too have a big - ish kitchen ... certainly much bigger than i had before. my neighbor had 42" -- to me, they look so big... but that's me. only being 5'2" ... i already need a step stool to reach the top shelf... if it went to 42", i'd need a ladder.
I had completely forgotten one of our best upgrades...
instead of extending the family room over 10' additional feet, we made that garage space... so my garage is about 51' deep [we have a 3car tandem with the 11 or so feet on top of that.] ... also, adding the service door in the back, opposed to the side wall of the garage to have back yard access. with a fenced in yard -- that comes in very handy.
As many posters have suggested i think i will make the cabinets a priority.......however, what do you guys think about the size? is it 30" vs 42", is it a good idea to go with the 42"?
That's a huge difference in size. I'd go with the larger cabinets, especially if you have a 9ft ceiling on the main floor. Otherwise there's too much empty space above your cabinets. You might think that's too much storage space but eventually, you will fill it up with all the seasonal plates/platters. I'm glad you decided on the cabinets as an upgrade. That's a huge cost if you were to do it later without any credits for standard cabinets the builder has included.
fresno -- i never really considered cabinet size...
then one day the sales lady told us they 'accidentally' installed 36" cabs instead of 30' inch [we had never built before, so we didn't know any difference, and the sales lady never brought up cab size.]
For me, 36 is ample. I too have a big - ish kitchen ... certainly much bigger than i had before. my neighbor had 42" -- to me, they look so big... but that's me. only being 5'2" ... i already need a step stool to reach the top shelf... if it went to 42", i'd need a ladder.
I had completely forgotten one of our best upgrades...
instead of extending the family room over 10' additional feet, we made that garage space... so my garage is about 51' deep [we have a 3car tandem with the 11 or so feet on top of that.] ... also, adding the service door in the back, opposed to the side wall of the garage to have back yard access. with a fenced in yard -- that comes in very handy.
I too was clueless on the cabinet size. I'm a first time homebuyer and all this is new to me. I came across this forum and so glad i found it, i'm learning alot about buying a new home.
I'm debating on the side door off of the garage, i believe it's an extra 1k, i think it would be worth it, but theres so many other things i want to do, haven't decided yet.
my neighbor did not put in a door ... and mowing the lawn, you have to go thru the front. Bringing in the wet dog, thru the front ... any time you are working in the back yard and have to schlep tools of any sort.. you have to go thru the front . PITA if you ask me... and i think he regrets it, every time he has to go around, and he sees me going in thru the back. I'd say money worth spent ... as you may kick yourself for not doing it... and having one installed down the road may be a lot more costly.
I have 9' ceiling and with the 36" cabinets... i have room up top to display stuff. Plants, baskets and i even hide things - like unused broiler pans and flat cookie sheets that i rarely use.
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, can't believe how many new homes don't have a pantry, whats up with that?......As a woman that loves to cook and spend alot of time in the kitchen, i have to, have to, have a pantry........and on top of all that, for our area, i think we are getting a really good deal.
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