Buying a New Build - Upgrades/Extras

Money_Wasting_Expert

We are soon to secure a plot on a new build home, and just wondering if it's common to ask for upgrades before it is built? Do they generally accept this?

We are thinking of things like...

• All of bedrooms in the property to have a TV arial cable installed
• The property to be pre-wired for a CCTV system to be fitted
• House alarm to be installed
• Outside water tap
• Outside electric point

Flick85

This largely depends who you’re buying from.., if it’s a larger developer (like, Persimmon, Linden, Taylor Wimpey etc) they’ll have a list of upgrades and prices of those which they’ll normally share with you in an “options” meeting that takes place after you’ve paid the reservation fee, provided it’s earlier enough in the build timeline. These upgrades tend to be for things like flooring, integrated appliances, turfing, additional sockets, tiling the whole height around the bath etc. and the prices can be extortionate! Some of what you want - like CCTV wiring - doesn’t tend to be a standard upgrade so they might not have the facility to do that, or might only do so at huge additional cost to you. 

Some of the developers will ask for full payment of upgrades when your order them (which can be before exchange so is a little risky) whereas others ask for a deposit, such as 20%, on the upgrades.

if you’re working with a smaller developer/builder then you are likely to have more opportunity to negotiate these sorts of details as they might be more willing to go off their original spec. But, it’s contingent on timing - all of them have said to me that any input/decisions has to be made before the roof is on.

Source: I am currently researching my options across 7 different new build developments, and they all work slightly differently in how they handle customisation.

Greymug

Money_Wasting_Expert said:

We are soon to secure a plot on a new build home, and just wondering if it's common to ask for upgrades before it is built? Do they generally accept this?

Depends on the developer. As already said, every developer normally has a list of extras and upgrades you can choose from. BUT, if the upgrade you want is not on their list, there is NO CHANCE to have them do it. You'll have to do it afterwards.

Greymug

felicityBD15 said:

These upgrades tend to be for things like flooring, integrated appliances, turfing, additional sockets, tiling the whole height around the bath etc. and the prices can be extortionate! 

I saw a fair amount of new builds when I was looking for a house and I was shocked when quite a few sellers told me that shower fixtures over a bath tub were EXTRAS. If you don't pay for them as extras...they just put a bath tub with taps.

So many new builds like this, they are 2-3 years old, bathrooms still looking good and shiny and yet you'd have to rip them apart just to have a shower. Borderline disgusting.

bramptonbrew

As other people have mentioned already, it really depends who you are buying with. We have just bought with Linden, we asked for an outdoor tap which we got, and an outdoor electric socket, which we didn't.

The other 'free' upgrades we got were: upgraded bathroom/flooring/kitchen choices from the premium range, a shower above the bath, and £500 towards legal fees. We asked if they could install a personnel door in our garage but they said it was something they didn't offer as an option, so we are looking to do that at some point now we are in. We got our outdoor electric socket fitted by someone local for £80 so we weren't too upset about not getting it included!

Getting them to install wiring for CCTV etc might be difficult, but it's always worth seeing if they can do it - if you don't ask, you don't get!

Tiglet2

Be aware also that if you agree extras, you will often have to pay for these in advance (or at least partially).  Should your purchase fail to complete for any reason, you will lose any money already agreed for the extras. 

Personally, if I were buying a new build, I would agree extras that are difficult and costly to retro-fit, such as having to chase out walls for extra wiring, adding a shower head to a bath for example, but anything such as flooring/blinds etc, you can easily find someone to do these at half the price afterwards.  It's just the convenience of having it done prior to completion which many buyers prefer.

RelievedSheff

Greymug said:

felicityBD15 said:

These upgrades tend to be for things like flooring, integrated appliances, turfing, additional sockets, tiling the whole height around the bath etc. and the prices can be extortionate! 

I saw a fair amount of new builds when I was looking for a house and I was shocked when quite a few sellers told me that shower fixtures over a bath tub were EXTRAS. If you don't pay for them as extras...they just put a bath tub with taps.

So many new builds like this, they are 2-3 years old, bathrooms still looking good and shiny and yet you'd have to rip them apart just to have a shower. Borderline disgusting.

Our new build doesn't have a shower over the bath in the main bathroom. But we have a huge shower cubicle in the en suite so we really don't need another shower over the bath.

Irishpearce26

Developers will only offer extras/upgrades that is on their list. They wont do anything that is specifically unique to what they offer.

Are you thinking that these upgrades would be for free?

Greymug

RelievedSheff said:

Greymug said:

felicityBD15 said:

These upgrades tend to be for things like flooring, integrated appliances, turfing, additional sockets, tiling the whole height around the bath etc. and the prices can be extortionate! 

I saw a fair amount of new builds when I was looking for a house and I was shocked when quite a few sellers told me that shower fixtures over a bath tub were EXTRAS. If you don't pay for them as extras...they just put a bath tub with taps.

So many new builds like this, they are 2-3 years old, bathrooms still looking good and shiny and yet you'd have to rip them apart just to have a shower. Borderline disgusting.

Our new build doesn't have a shower over the bath in the main bathroom. But we have a huge shower cubicle in the en suite so we really don't need another shower over the bath.

So in the event you have guests staying overnight you let them shower in your en suite?

Very cool.

bramptonbrew

Greymug said:

RelievedSheff said:

Greymug said:

felicityBD15 said:

These upgrades tend to be for things like flooring, integrated appliances, turfing, additional sockets, tiling the whole height around the bath etc. and the prices can be extortionate! 

I saw a fair amount of new builds when I was looking for a house and I was shocked when quite a few sellers told me that shower fixtures over a bath tub were EXTRAS. If you don't pay for them as extras...they just put a bath tub with taps.

So many new builds like this, they are 2-3 years old, bathrooms still looking good and shiny and yet you'd have to rip them apart just to have a shower. Borderline disgusting.

Our new build doesn't have a shower over the bath in the main bathroom. But we have a huge shower cubicle in the en suite so we really don't need another shower over the bath.

So in the event you have guests staying overnight you let them shower in your en suite?

Very cool.

We have a shower over the bath, and an ensuite with shower. Our two most recent guests have been someone who had a hip replacement a few months ago, and someone who is 6 months pregnant. We let both of them use (in fact, insisted they did) our walk-in shower, it wasn't a big deal. If we had a guest who preferred a walk-in shower to one over the bath, I'd let them use our en suite one too. It's not like we are in the bathroom with them!

Runningmad

We are in the same position, just waiting for the plot to be released. We were told that at this stage there is no need for insentives when the demand is high, if they are struggling to sell that's when they offer. Although they did say there would be a small budget maybe for flooring. It's worth asking though. Good luck.