Closing today - this was our approach, which we are still content with. We rapidly found out that the upcharge on upgrades was pretty steep.. Think retail (labor+materials - base cost) PLUS a hefty margin (33-50%+) ! We have a substantial amount of tile in the house, so in order to remove the linoleum and then prep / install tile you would have the labor mess of tearing that up PLUS remove / replace / paint your base molding. Living in the house during the process would be a nightmare, as you have several iterations of laying the tile, having grout spacers throughout the area, and then the grout process. I think the granite / quartz process would be equally trying. Most countertops involve some level of plumbing .. sinks, faucets.. sometimes drop in cooktops etc .. and those counters abut to your backsplashes, which are applied AFTER the counters are installed. Of course, you can probably just move in without any backsplashes or mirrors to minimize those issues, but you won;t escape the plumbing extras.. Also, in some cases upper cabinets are placed ON the counters after counter installation (think master bath). So we had all that done during construction, and to our eye, we think the tile work (floor tile, quartz counters and glass and tile backsplashes) was outstanding. We also had them install crown in every room, so that all woodwork etc was finished and integrated with Kitchen finishes etc ..
What we decided to do after market is the following:
Epoxy Garage Floor - scheduled to start right after closing
Glass in Lanai - Already Contracted - will start once deed filed and permits obtained
Installation of some specialty Lighting
Some Appliances (Wall Ovens, Fridge, wine Cooler) - (cooktop, dishwasher and undercounter microwave done during construction)
Home Automation, Audio / Visual etc
Our approach was to not endure tear out and construction after closing.. We did enough of that when we remodeled our last home .. hope this lengthy response helped.. I'm sure others would take a different path
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