Splurge vs. Save?

14 years ago

Hi Everyone,

We are building for the 1st time and already signed with a builder and got the floor plan set. ItÂ¡Â¦s a one floor (I guess Ranch Style house) for about 3000 square feet with 4 bedrooms and no basement. Although, we already signed the contract, the builder also mention the price might change up or down depending on what we choose (i.e., upgrades or bring our own materials).

I like nice things, for example, professional appliances and nice tiles, however, I am trying to keep the cost down and willing to do Save and Splurge trade offs. I am just wondering where would you splurge or save?

Thank you

Featured Answer

meldy_nva

14 years ago

As said above, get the best you can afford for structural items and insulation. Those have immediate pay-back and continue to repay for the life of the house. You may come to regret the granite counters but you'll never be sorry for having R-40 insulation.

Do carefully consider and try to plan ahead for everything plumbing and electric. You might not want whole-house sound now, or the extra bath in the basement, but that want could change in the future so have the pipes ready for upgrade at a later date.

The "pretty things" can really run up the bill faster than you'd believe. Choose all options with care and a hard dose of reality... It helps to pick ONE item to splurge on and then hold that against all other choices. For instance if you really want that pro stove, do you want it more than fancy counters? more than marble in the bath? more than a porch? Don't pick an undefinable for the choice -there is landscaping and landscaping, and too many choices contained within the phrase "landscaping". But a Wolf stove (or granite counters or maple cabinets or built-in bookcases) is a specific item at a specific value.

Study your contract carefully. If it isn't in writing and agreed to by both you and the builder, then it isn't. Remember that each change you make AFTER signing the contract will cost you two to four times as much as it would have in the original contract. Those "changes" are sneaky... it's so easy to say 'oh, I like the mahogany door better than the oak', but each time you renege on what is in the contract is going to cost you big bucks. Don't assume that when the builder says 'this is what all my houses have', that means you'll get what the other house/s have. If it isn't written specifically in the contract: he can change mahogany for oak, use laminatedinstead of solid wood, double-pane windows instead of triple, etc. and you won't have any resort other than paying ($$$$) for upgrades. Read the contract, read it again, and then have some one else (preferably expert) read it -- before you sign.

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Comments (14)

david_cary
14 years ago
Most people would say to splurge on things you can't change later. Each person has to make their own decisions on these things. There are literally 1000s of choices here.
booboo60
14 years ago
Many will also say to not "skimp" on your structural part of your build; framing, insulation, etc. Hvac and of course, all the "pretty" things!! Many, many decisions!!
Dh and I compromised on alot of things as we had the option too, just so many things!!
Good Luck!
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metaxa
14 years ago
Spend your money on insulation, windows, proper framing.

In a slab rancher I'd spend on in floor heating.

You can always upgrade things like trim, doors, flooring later as time and money permit. Even bathroom fixtures can be upgraded so don't get hung on oil rubbed bronze this or that but do plan...only you can decide what are immediate needs and what you can defer.

Depending on where you live using heat pump(s) for heating/cooling can be advantageous. We retro fitted a raised rancher last year with an electric heat pump (the house is 100% electric) and the monthly bill went from $200+ to in and around $80. Very moderate heating season here though.

I'm noticing heat pump hot water heaters now, although I'd go for tankless myself. Spend on efficiency and you will save money each month, every month.
pps7
14 years ago
I think making these choices if one of the benefits of building-you get to decide what your priorities are.

At every stage, you will need to make choices. For a ranch, are you building on slab or with crawl space? Will you use 2 x4 construction or 2 x 6? 10' ceilings? Exterior material-siding or brick. Windows: aluminum clad wood, vinyl, or fiberglass. How many HVAC zones will you have?

Our big splurges have been all hardwood floors, including all the bedrooms with wide plank pine 8-12", all brick exterior, and cedar garage doors. Good luck!!!
david_cary
14 years ago
meldy nva - later changes do not necessarily cost 4x as much. It all depends on your contract and your builder. Every situation is different and depending on the situation, you don't need to stress needlessly about these things.
peytonroad
14 years ago
White toilets/tubs are standard, bisque and almond are upgrades. Same for chrome, standard, all else is an upgrade.
metaxa
14 years ago
While white toilets/tubs may be standard to one person's eye, bisque and almond are definitely not an upgrade to another person's eye.

You shouldn't fall into the trap of more expensive means better/upgrade.

Classic white or bone white with nickle (not "chrome") fixtures and proper tile work, layout, etc. is considered quite high end around here.

Bisque and almond are put in rentals. Hides the use factor better, eh?

Trick is to get what you want. Not what the end caps at the box store hold, not what everyone else is putting in, not what your builder recommends. Definitely not what is on TV shows.

At the risk of getting completely off topic, ask yourself this:

Am I stone or brick? Vinyl or wood? Beams or laminated lumber? And so on. Once you and only you (both of you) decide on what you need, what you want and what you are willing to extend to have now, then it gets easy. All three are different items, honest. Needs, wants and desires.

You will never go wrong going classic, you can go horribly wrong trying to cram multiple architectural details into too small a space,trying to incorporate too diverse a colour, decor or appliance package into a single home. Just to be current and on top. 99% of us will never, ever be current, we always follow and are a step or two behind.

Less is more.
mbwaldrop
14 years ago
My suggestion is to get with your builder and find out what the structure is going to cost and then go from there. I would then decide on what you want your final cost to come in at. Do the math and see what you have left over and then decide where you want to put your money. Since you already signed the contract it should state for you the level of finishes or give you an idea of what the choices are for you to pick out.
booboo60
14 years ago
metaxa is right on!!!!
athensmomof3
14 years ago
Agree with metaxa on most - will say that in Atlanta, at least in the super high end construction, white is definitely preferred over bisque (in fact, a well known interior designer told my mom a couple of years ago that she never uses bisque or ivory - white always), and the high end decorator from Jacksonville my mom used for her beach condo told her to use chrome rather than nickel.
gopintos
14 years ago
We put the extra dollars into things that made sense for the way we live, and where we live, and trying to keep things like retirement in mind.

So we did geothermal, some 2 x 6 walls, standing seam metal roof, we splurged on our wrap around porch and while it didnt really seem like it would classify as a splurge, I can now see we have alot of dollars in it and a family of 4 could live comfortably on our porch...

We tried to go with some materials that would be maintainance free. Our porch is covered, so we saved a few bucks on the decking, maybe if we have to replace it down the road we will go a different route. We did go with the see-thru railing. I LOVE this across the entire back of the house and also the upper deck. There are many thinks I love about the porch, but that tops the list.

Anyways, we did some spray foam, we extra tinted the windows, we made an effort to attempt some soundproofing almost every wall on the inside.

My main goal was to stay warm in winter and cool in summer, and to have a dry roof over our head.

My trade-offs and places where I feel I saved some money
-cultured stone over real
-fiber cement brick panels over real
-vinyl siding
-engineered hardwood and laminate direct from dealer
-direct vent gas fireplace over real

If my home were smaller, I might have done some of those things differently, like the flooring and vinyl, etc. On the back is 3 storys up, and we live in the country, so it seemed like a good place to save 10's of thousands of dollars. The flooring was high enough with over 5000 sf so that seemed like a place to save 10's of thousands also, and we can upgrade later if we so desire.

also saved with --
-appliance package online
-light fixtures online (about 18k worth of lights for about 6k)
- I shopped shopped shopped for everything all online. But this was my job for the last 15 months and counting, so I could put in the time necessary to find good deals.

But again, we aren't in a fancy schmancy sub-division or gated community. Well, I do have a gate across the drive right now but it is so the horses can "mow" the tall grass until we can get some work done and actually have a yard to mow again. But for us, the Bones was important and that is where I put a great deal of money.

I made concessions, but I am very happy. I love this house. I love my choices. Even the cheaper choices like the laminate flooring, I think it looks great and when something gets spilled, no one freaks out. It is a home we can actually "live" in.

I thought long and hard about each decision. Tried to think of pros and cons. I feel happy with each decision for the way that we live. I love it, it all makes me happy. Everything about this house makes me happy.
tyth
Original Author
14 years ago
Thank you all for the reply and it really help. Lots to think about and discuss with DH.

We are building on slab, and seriously considering laminated flooring instead of engineered hardwood to save some $$$ (kids has allergies ?therefore, no carpet). Maybe with that we can spend some more money on the pool (salt water)?

We are in central Florida (just recently moved here from up north); I have no idea on the R value here in warm climates. Here's what we have in the contract:

---------------------------------------Type------Thickness-----R-Value
Vaulted living area ceilings:-----Batt ----- 9 1/2" --------30
Other living area ceilings:------Blown----- 12 3/4" --------- 30
Exterior Block walls:------------Board----- 3/4" -------- 5
Exterior frame wall:-------------N/A ------ N/A -------- N/A
Living area garage walls:--------Batt -----3 1/2"---------11
Interior ceiling knee walls:-----N/A ----- N/A ----------N/A

Is the insulation sufficient for the climate?

Also, what I mean by the bringing my own materials, I meant the finishing materials instead of the structure.

BTW, where do you do all your online shopping? Any recommendations?

Thank you all!!!
xine
14 years ago
In North Florida (Panama City Beach) my exterior walls were R13. Ceilings were R30. Go with a heat pump.

We went with an allowance on things like lighting, and just purchased the slight upgrade of things we wanted (like adding light kits to ceiling fans... you do have one in every living space, right????) At the end, we sat down and "settled up" with the builder -- he owed us for the tile counters we didn't want (we bought granite ourselves and had it installed), but we owed him for the pocket door, vinyl windows (instead of aluminum), and extra concrete pad. We also did all the structured wiring ourselves, swapping out extra electrical outlets with the electrician instead. We also paid more for eggshell finish paint (instead of flat), and St. Augustine grass instead of centipede.

Splurge vs. Save?

meldy_nva

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