Is a Builder Basic Home Without All the Upgrades for You?
The term “builder basic” doesn’t inspire enthusiasm when building a new construction home, but what if it could? I know most people don’t equate building their dream home with a builder basic home. However, builder basic is a great way to save money on building a new home!
A builder basic home doesn’t mean a home without any upgrades. It just means that you try to stick to as many standard options as possible. The more standard (included) items you can choose during your new home construction, you will save money on the total cost of the build and save money to use on upgrades you really want! Anyone who follows this blog and my YouTube Channel knows that this is one of my favorite new construction home-building strategies! Research and analysis are the keys to successfully using this strategy! Here are 3 quick tips to help you consider if a builder basic home is for you.
1. Start with Basic Research
Get to know the differences between building materials and costs. Don’t assume certain tile or countertop material is better quality because it is more expensive. Sometimes tile is more expensive based on tile size, not material. Granite countertops of varying prices are all the same material, but the price may go up based on the area of the world where the granite is found, the thickness, and the pattern. Also, consult a real estate agent if resale value is a future concern. Certain upgrades above builder basic may not count towards a higher appraisal value. For instance, level 1 granite and level 5 granite are both checked off as “Granite” on the appraisal checklist. There is no extra appraisal value credit for the level of granite, just extra costs to you.
2. Builder Basic Varies by Builder
When doing your research on builder basic offerings, don’t compare different types of builders with one another. Compare builders of a similar building type (e.g., production, semi-custom, luxury semi-custom, custom) and Tier within a type (Production Tier 1 or Tier 2). Builders also offer different basic options in different regions, markets, and communities. Thus, what is standard in one community may not be the same as the standard in another community – even though the same builder builds both communities. When evaluating, pay attention to the state, county, and community when comparing builder basic offerings.
If you want to see what a Builder Basic Production, Tier I home looks like, check out our video, Builder Basic Level One Home Tour.
3. See What Builder Basic Looks Like
Some people turn up their noses to the idea of builder basic without knowing all that it means. We did online research to start and quickly noticed three things: 1) most builders don’t have a list of what comes standard online 2) the ones that do have a list don’t have pictures, and 3) there were things on the builder’s list that we didn’t recognize. If you don’t recognize an item or don’t know what it is, don’t just skip it – research what it is and what it costs. That way you will know if it is something you care about or something that doesn’t really matter to you.
I spent a lot of time walking the halls of Home Depot, Loews, and Floor and Décor in the hopes of finding builder basic materials. It was helpful, but it was not that helpful. I advise that in addition to browsing in a store, you visit model homes. By visiting the model homes, you can see granite or quartz on a countertop, and not in a tiny square block. You can see the tile on a wall or floor, and not just one square at a time in a store.
Although we are building a custom home, we didn’t only visit custom builders’ model homes. Most custom home builder’s model homes don’t contain good representations of builder basic choices. We visited all kinds of builders’ model homes to see a wide variety of builder basic elements in a home. It helped to see what the builder’s basic materials look and feel like in a furnished home setting. This also made it easier to decide what we cared about and didn’t care about upgrading. We kept a checklist to keep track of what we saw and compare builders.
For more information check out our article 7 Things You Must Know Before Visiting a Builder’s Model Home. Download our Free Standard Features Checklist to help you keep track of builder’s standard features as you tour model homes. Also, don’t forget to take video and pictures to go with the checklist! This way, you can keep track of the features you see and have notes of where you saw them. Then you can use the information to decide what builder basic elements are OK (or not) with you.
There you have it! 3 Quick Tips to Help You Consider if Builder Basic is For You.
We hope this information helps you re-think including builder basic options during your new home construction project.
