New build - what was your budget for extras?

gemstar28

Thanks all - This is helpful to understand, we will not be in a position to hold them over a barrel as our plot is the sought after end/corner with private access and larger garden. 

It’s helpful to know prices - I was worried we’d be looking at 10s of thousands on top (which obviously we don’t have) 😃

Caramac

We paid £8000ish for extra sockets, granite worktop, cloak room half tiled, fitted wardrobe and upgraded carpets.

GDB2222

gagahouse said:

I upgraded to ceramic floor tiles for kitchen 

Of course, you disagree, but I regard ceramic tiles as a major disadvantage for kitchens. Every dish dropped is bound to break, and there's a good chance you'll break the tiles too.

With vinyl, there is at least a chance your dishes will survive.

Seashell517

This is for a 3 bed in 2015, and I had turf and basic spec flooring thrown in, although I upgraded some of it.

DESCRIPTION/ITEM OF EXTRA WORK				Code	PRICE
TV point to bed 1 ( see plan )					£110.00
Chrome downlights to the kitchen x 6					£475.00
Chrome downlights to the en suite x 3					£255.00
Chrome downlights to main bath x 4					£340.00
Plumbing and wastefor a dishwasher					£150.00
Electric shower pack to main bath					£650.00
Half height tilingto en suite					£388.00
Half height tiling to main bath					£775.00
Outside tap					£135.00
W/drobe to bed 1 - white - 2 door x 2 silver mirrors - handle H4					£574.00
Floor tiles to kitchen / Family - minus incentive					£507.00
Amtico flooring to Living room - minus incentive					£1,013.00
Amtico flooring to entrance hall - minus incentive					£282.00
Amtico flooring to the W/C - minus incentive					£135.00
Plumbed towel rail to ensuite and main bath					£630.00

katkatmachine

We spent £1250 for the extras. It’s basically the stamp duty contribution from the developer. Lol. It includes the upgrade of the cupboards to high gloss, outside socket and tiled flooring on the wet areas (kitchen, bathroom, cloakroom). 

wombats1970

You will save yourself thousands literally thousands if you use trades not connected to the developer,I appreciate the desire to walk in on day one with a house completed,however the money developers charge are astronomical

Good luck in your new home

AdrianC

Surely what other people spend is totally irrelevant...?

The question is what, out of the list available to you, YOU WANT and think is good value and/or likely to be harder to retrofit post-completion...

oxygen_thief

I'm waiting for our 4 bed new build, should be ready next month. We bought when it was half built so the builder rushed us through the options process on a Friday evening. We ended up spending 9k on flooring, bathroom upgrades etc, the usual stuff. The turf was included. The disappointing thing was the salesperson couldn't be arsed showing us what was available and kept saying No to everything. A week later I was invited to view a similar house almost built so we could get a feel for it and we bumped into the site manager who told us about other extras we could have. I was really disappointed and ended up getting them to send me the upgrades list. We were at that point able to also order an induction hob and ethernet into a few of the rooms but it was too late for some other things we would've bought. This was simply because the salesperson couldn't be bothered to deal with it. Ill be putting it all in my review when we've moved in. The builder is Avant Homes who overall have been great to deal with but its amazing how one salesperson can put a real stain on the experience.

LGib

Hi I’m in the same position as yourself where it is buying off plan for a sought after plot (large south facing garden, views out onto an open field at the front with no possibility for further developments, one direct neighbour, no windows on the house behind looking over the garden).
Whilst we know that many people get extras for free we aren’t in a great position to negotiate but it’s the house and plot that we want. What we have decided to do is get what we cannot move in and live in the house without e.g floors and the electrical add ins e.g extra sockets, power to the garage etc and plumbing e.g shower over bath that would cause a lot of hassle to add in after. We are then going to look at our budget to decide if having the slightly nicer kitchen worktops and cupboards is worth it or could we be happy with that for 5-7 years and upgrade then. Built in wardrobes would be nice but they aren’t essential as I have a standing wardrobe at the moment and part of me would rather give the money to a local carpenter than a big national developer. Things like turf and paving etc I want to wait to get a true feel for the garden before making the decision so that is going later. 

In terms of appliances the advice from my 75yr old father is ‘it’s easier to replace a stand-alone if anything goes wrong and  I’m to old to do your diy so make it simple’