What are the costs of extras when building new homes
 

Looking to get an idea of what all the extras cost when building new. I can see costs of lots and have a price list of models but I’m wondering what are the average costs of extras people are adding for items like golf cart garage, floors, countertops, stretching etc...

I’ve seen one poster throw out $100k to $125k just wondering if anyone else had similar added costs?

Thank you, be safe.

Sit down with them and ask. It is amazing to me how much you get sometimes with the extras. We asked to have a house built exactly like the model and it was not at all disappointing....and had a very friendly price. Now it has zoomed up in worth some nine years later. I could just hug our builder. This home is SO comfortable for us at this time of our lives. I think you get a LOT for your money when you build. Don't be afraid to trust their direction. They know what they are doing.

I would offer to show you the extra's and the perks we got. You are welcome as soon as there is a valid vaccine.

Thank you, I didn’t know you could talk to or get any price and/or information without putting cash down. I’ve heard that there’s a long wait to get an appointment.

I do not know how you can get an answer unless you talk to the builders people.

Just make sure you are comfortable with the final price

Thank you for your response.

I was interested in what other people are spending so I could start to get comfortable with a final price.

Search the new homes in the price range you are comfortable with and you'll see what you can get. Whatever it is it will cost more every few months. The cost of the homes have really gone up over the last 3 years and continue to do so.

We spent an extra 10% on upgrades above the base price for our upgrades about two years ago. For that we upgraded countertops to quartz. We upgraded cabinets to the taller version. We upgraded the carpet in the bedrooms and put luxury vinyl in all other areas. We stretched the lanai by 4 feet. We stretched two bedrooms and a bath by two feet. We added overhead lighting in the living room and upgraded the fan. We put insulation on the sides and above the garage. We upgraded to an insulated garage door. We added a golf cart garage. We added a third spigot outside in the back.

There are a lot of things you can do after the build like the countertops and flooring. We just didn’t want to hassle with it. We took the basic landscaping and added to it after we moved in. We also had painters come in after we bought. Don’t forget to price anything you want done after. Those items can add up also.

Thank you for your response it was helpful and I like the extra insulation. 10% over base is reasonable and under that 100k, well unless your base was a million $.

I am not sure you are going about the design process in the best way. Your question reads like you don't know what you want in a house before you even start! so it looks like you are designing your house from the cost versus your preferences.

So, I would recommend that you prioritize your wants, but I would make one recommendation: get it as right the first time, instead of thinking cost savings and getting it done cheaper by someone else. In today's world with the florida independent contractor world, i think it will be more of a hassle doing it a second time, if you are buying a designer.

So, we don't know your preferences, but here was my starting prioritization, from big / do it right the first time, down to the I can upgrade that later myself.

1 house size and lot size and view. more view less house. . .
2 make sure the house will fit on your lot size, and then stretch now because the cost is small to value.
Do you want a longer house or a wider house, or both for the stretch?
Now sure about your DIY skills, the more DIY the larger the garage you want.
Also, garage is a large storage area, as interior storage area is not generous, unless you design it in
3 Lanai stretch or house stretch? where do you want to spend more time? pool or no pool?
Also know that you can move walls around, changing closet sizes, bedroom sizes, etc. its a custom design. . .
4 Flooring - tile or carpet or something in between, another do it now as its a big job. Bedrooms different or same?
5 Counter tops next, then cabinets. . . higher end in kitchen, lower end in bathroom. . .
6 Air conditioner capacity, don't skimp, its florida
7 Gas appliances or electric?

So those are the big expensive items to have a good idea what you want

Then the lesser costs, but done at time of construction:
Network quality for streaming and work office, hard wired to rooms where tv outlets are for streaming
wireless overhead access points for phones and laptops. . . extra outlets for entertainment centers, computers, monitors, printers if you are going to work remotely or have a working office, or an entertainment center with devices.
Solar tubes, enlarged windows/ more glass blocks for more lighting.
gas outdoor grille cooking or not? ( put a gas outlet in the back of the house.)
Chandeliers or ceiling lights?
Outdoor lighting? patio in front? extra outside outlets for laptops on front patio?
extra hose pipes for washing the house?
Central Vacuuming?

All these are part of the permanent house design, which you should have an idea of what you want, as your lifestyle desires, because its a pain in the ass to have any of these items installed after you move in. . .

The rest is cosmetics, relatively smaller decisions, which some can be redone yourself. . . cheap lights, appliances of your choice. . etc. even insulation can be added later, not expensive. . .

Just have an idea of what you want ahead of time will save alot of panic and last minute decision making. Start looking at houses for sale for the weeks to start getting an idea of what other people have done.

sportsguy

I have a price sheet for a Laurel Oak from 2016 that a friend gave me. Here are some examples of what add-ons cost then. These are for a Designer home. Keep in mind these prices are from four years ago.

House:
2 foot rear stretch = $4,800

Garage:
4 foot garage side stretch = $4,800
Golf Cart Garage = $11,500
3 car garage = $15,500

Different elevations ranged from $3,000 to $37,000

Flooring:
Tile in wet areas = $4,800 - $9,200
Tile in Living & Dining area = $7,150 - $14,300
Tile throughout = $11,600 - $23,500

Wood in Living/Dining = $7,000 - $15,600
Wood throughout = $20,000 - $33,700

Cabinet upgrades = up to $14,000

Countertops:
Corian = $7,400 - $8,800
Granite = $13,100 - $17,400
Quartz = $16,200 - $17,300

Appliance Packages = $7,500 - $12,300

Summer Kitchen = $24,000 - $32,000

Shop til you drop.. :coolsmiley:

This isn't a direct answer to the OP but rather a common strategy

Get all construction (read space) upgrades. All stretches, GC garage.

Countertops, flooring, fans, pools, central vac, insulation all can be done aftermarket cheaper, often with better quality.

Really?

approx as i remember from 9 years ago
new kitchen cabinets, quartz counters, new appliances $18,000
extend patio concrete, birdcage and painting concrete patio $$6000
interior painting $1500
sunsetter awning $1200
air conditioning and heating for garage $5000
upgraded fans $2000
landscaping and stones $7500
we have a 2/2 savannah courtyard villa 1200;sqft

Thanks sportsguy, I appreciate all your advice.

My intention was to get an idea of some of the costs so as not to get sticker shock at the design center and to compare price of having it done by the builder or after closing ie flooring, appliances, lighting etc. I like being prepared, the more information/ammunition you have going into battle the better. I have a model picked out, and have been planning moving walls and stretching.

Getting it done right the first time is my objective but my pockets aren’t deep enough to satisfy everything I, or should I say we want. Lots that cost 200k + may not make the cut.

:a040: Thank you so much kenswing, great information exactly what I was looking for. So noted four years old, it’s a good starting point.

We just got the house build in Orange Blossom, since the The Villages is not building up North any more. We chose Amstrong builder who build in StoneCrest, this is their developement. They are very flexible, you can change during construction, just Changing Order meaning pay for what ever you change. They give you a budget of appliances, light, landscape. While I am building the house, many people walkin and talk to me, for now I think 3 more home schedule to build in the villages.I found the cost very resonable, for example stucco for 2750 sq ft is 9K, 10 ft ceiling for 8K, sod for $2650,landscape 2.1K,irregation for 1750 and go on for the long list. They have 5 model homes in Stoncrest. Jim Shay at 352-307-7090 very knowledgable and he will work with you, he can answer all questions until you decide to go with them,took us almost 4 month before we select them, and paper work take longer since we are the first home they build in Villages.PS me to see the house or more details

Double the cost of the house.

This is directed to me referencing upgrades are cheaper than ordering from the builder.

Yes. In a single word it comes down to competition. You buy most (all?) Things based on the competitive market but people blindly accept the builder offers a great price on tile, granite? Of course not. Ask yourself the cost of a few easily priced upgrades and if they are fairly priced.

Quartz at home depot is 75-/+ a sq ft at home depot (installed) for example. The builder wants 16,200 for that. What home has 108 linear feet of counter space? None.

Agreed. I've even heard a Villages sales rep recommend that too!

So I get the idea of $200K lots are out of the picture, I had a limited budget as well, the max was the cost of the current house, 1,200 sq ft living area single floor two car garage, $300K max. . . my wife walked into a model Begonia and said "I love this" (model selected) . . . as compared with a model home fully furnished at $380K with rain pond view, approximately 1,800+ sq ft. My gutteral response, NO! The following is in rounded numbers only, for your a conceptual directionally correct estimation purposes only.

So we bought $12 K lot next to $30-45K lots, and put the rest of the money into the house. Peek a boo pond view out the front, no houses across the street, facing an open area. Stretched the house by cost, not quite the max length (mistake 1). Stretched the lanai (not the max mistake 2) put the rest into the construction costs as discussed above, specifics below.

So not sure how much you are thinking you want to spend, don't really care, so final cost for 2,000 sq ft under air, 3 br with ceramic tile throughout the main house and baths, stretched garage 4 ft in length, and lanai 4 feet in width (House length) quartz counter tops in kitchen, medium size air conditioner, extra 4 plug outlets where TVs/entertainment centers would go in master bedroom, 3rd bedroom study, lanai and living room, no chandileres, central vacuum, small patio built out front for sitting to talk with neighbors, standard electric appliances, gas outlet for back pad gas grille, no furniture, $355K write the check.

When we compared this cost with spec houses for sale with their configurations, lot location, house size and floor coverings were the main factors for pricing. It was cheaper to build what we wanted for a house configuration on a cheap lot with higher perceived house value, versus higher lot with cheap base, and after market addons. I don't want to be a general contractor, getting bids, arguing etc. . . this is my retirement house, i want to spend time outside playing soccer and golfing and traveling, . . . its my SKI house. . . (Spending Kids Inheritance)

But the subtle point if you are intuitive, I spend almost as much on just the house as the furnished model home, and built a bigger house with no furniture as the smaller demo with $50K of furnishing. And yes, we then had to add $40K of furnishing as we listened to posters here, and left 95% of the New England house in New England. And selling the cold house will cover the mortgage on the TV house, which required a $100K down payment (20% for us for a lower mortgage rate)

So, as a finance professional who thinks in price to value terms and not in cost terms, in the whole package and not the sum of the parts, I still go back to the original point, figure out what you want, and use an estimate of a spec house and subtract 10% of spec sale for the cost buildup. . . so my spec house would price out at about $400K+. If you notice that spec house sale prices aren't using nearest 10s rounded up, there is an element of cost up pricing in their pricing models, which is lazy in my opinion, what then again, i am just an anonymous poster with an opinion. . .

soccerguy

@toymeister, although true, no disagreement, moving from across country to a house for retirement, the extra cost is in not wanting to spend time even if one has the ability, to be a general contractor.

Your point is a time/skill trade off to cost/price. If you have no general contracting skill, then its not worth the time, if I have the time, but not the skill, then it might be able to do it and get help.

So as you present the argument, there is a time/skill cost trade off, which results in the net increase in cost for any large construction project in the do it right the first time, versus yourself as the post construction HGTV anyone can do it rehab.

finance guy

This is my understanding as well and has proved out for us and friends of ours over the years.

Sportsguy, IMO your far from just an average anonymous poster. Your very informative and I thank you for your knowledge. You and others have helped me feel a little more prepared (loaded up ammunition).

I have built two homes. Without adding additional structures to the building prints, a good rule of thumb would be to add 10 to 20 percent of the quoted price. Also any alterations you want to make to the floor plans such as moving walls make sure you do it prior to the builder laying the sheet rock or plaster board. Finally, you want to look at the building specs. For example, are they going to nail the sheet rock or screw it to the framing, you definitely want it screwed. How many outlets in the rooms. Do you want the house wired for home theater. Is the builder going to wire the house for computer use. These are all things that can add cost and you may want to ask the builder to include them in the price they quote to you.

It's not just what you have the builder add, but also all the things you want to have done after the house is 'finished.' Many people add rain gutters, seal the garage floor, and repaint(I'm not sure why unless the builder won't use the paint you want). Upgrading the ceiling fans with lighted ones is also a big add on.

Do you have the cost of the base price Gardenia and the Woodside. I would like to get an idea also. Just as a starting point.
Thank You

This is what I got from my realtor last fall, prices as of 9/2018. Sorry the preview was a little blurry so if you can’t read it, Gardenia start from price $265,000 and the Woodside start from price $311,000 but would need a larger lot.

My view
 

We bought a new completed home. Plus to me. I would blame wife but probably true of me to. I need to see it. Choosing say a color of granite. Oops it does not look as I thought.
Our home is stretched. The same model was built with and without columns in the living room. We wanted and bought one without columns. We've been here going on eight years. I think your real question should be not what people add on average but what you want and what it will cost.
Storage space is limited. I don't think any homes around here have a basement. I expect if you can get one it would be an indoor swimming pool due to the amount of rain and the type of soil. I saw a post with prices for a golf cart garage. We have one and a two car garage. So much for plans. The golf cart garage has my table saw etc.
The golf cart is in the second garage. That price is for the golf cart garage. You need a bigger lot to be able to put it on.
The cabinetry. We do not have the baseline but the quality is not what I would want.
I had to reinforce the cabinets as you/we put more in them than we should. A neighbor had them collapse.

I was just with my realtor and he said the base for a Woodside is $330K