Upgrade with the Builder or DIY Later? 7 Essential Things You Need to Know Before You Decide
Anyone who is building a new construction home faces the choice to decide what to upgrade with the builder or DIY later. There are many articles and videos that will tell you the Do’s and Don’t’s of upgrading. They will tell you “don’t waste your money on this” or “you should definitely do that”. However, anyone faced with the choice to upgrade with the builder or DIY later knows it is not that simple.
Just like you, we asked other people, read a lot of articles, and watched a lot of do’s and don’ts videos to try to find the answers. Eventually, we had to make the upgrade decisions for ourselves. We learned that there is no right or wrong answer that applies to everyone. Instead, there are factors to consider that will help you make a decision that is good for you, your family, and your finances. Here are some of the major issues we and other new construction home builders considered when deciding to upgrade with the builder or DIY later. You can also Watch our YouTube Video!
1. Difficulty of Upgrade with the Builder vs DIY Later
Many people upgrade with the builder on items that they believe would be harder to upgrade or DIY later. What I find interesting is that what made something fall into the “harder to upgrade later” category for one person, may not be the way another person saw the situation.
Structural upgrades fell into the “harder to upgrade later” category for us, for most people we spoke with and for most situations we researched. These upgrades are changes to the home that would require moving or tearing out walls, moving plumbing, or other architectural changes. Upgrades such as adding an extra garage, framing for double front entry doors, sliding patio doors, ceiling height, wall-mounted plumbing fixtures, standalone tub fixtures, kitchen configurations, adding extra windows, built-in bookshelves, adding an extra bathroom or bedroom and gas fireplaces are examples of structural upgrades to do with the builder that would be challenging to DIY later.
Keep in mind that just because many people decided to make structural upgrades with the builder does not mean that everyone will make their upgrade decisions with this as the lead factor. Many people don’t want to make structural upgrades with the builder because a home remodeling project is something that they plan to do in the future. Also, many people don’t want to be limited by the builder’s offerings and want to have more control over the structural upgrades they want. In addition, some people don’t want to make certain structural upgrades with the builder because they want to wait for their forever home to do that.
Check out this article for the 12 Best Structural Upgrades to Choose to do with the builder.
2. Short-Term, Medium-Term, or Forever Dream Home?
Whether the home you are building is your forever home or not can be a significant factor in deciding whether you upgrade with the builder or DIY later. People who are not building their forever home tend to weigh the upgrade with the builder or DIY later decision in a “return on investment” way. How long do you plan to stay in the house before moving on?
People who may occupy the house for 10 or fewer years may want to do more DIY upgrades to lower the mortgage payment. People who occupy the house for over 10 years may believe they will be in the home long enough to recoup their investment in upgrades with the builder. From a different perspective, people who are building their forever home may opt to do less upgrades with the builder and to do more DIY projects because they will have many years to do upgrades. In either case, upgrades in the kitchen and bathrooms tend to give the most bang for the buck.
Consult a Realtor
If you are not building your forever home, it is a good idea to consult with a realtor when making your upgrade with builder or DIY later decisions. A realtor can inform you about upgrades that will add to your home’s resale value. In addition, a realtor can help you avoid over-upgrading your home. Depending on the value of comparable homes in your area, over-upgrading may make it harder to sell in the future. We are building our forever home, so we wanted to get those “hard to do later” structural upgrades done with the builder. Although having those upgrades added to our mortgage increases our payment, we view it as an investment in our future.
3. Will it be disruptive to your life to DIY later?
Some people choose to do certain upgrades with the builder vs. DIY later based on the amount of inconvenience or disruption to life to do it later. People with busy schedules and many commitments tend to not want to add scheduling contractors or set aside time to DIY into their lives. Whereas people who are more available may not view scheduling contractors or DIY project time as a negative element of their decision.
In addition, there are people who really love to do DIY projects and don’t view it as a disruption or inconvenience, but as a goal to aim toward. Many DIYers relish the sense of accomplishment and monetary savings that comes from doing it yourself vs. upgrading with the builder.
One way to meet in the middle is to start an upgrade with the builder and then finish it yourself later. Check out this article for the Best Partial Upgrades to do with the builder that will save you money and time when you finish the upgrade by DIY later.
4. How much work is required to upgrade with the builder vs. DIY later?
People with more confidence in their DIY abilities may be more likely to view a large project as “manageable.” People who hire a contractor may be less likely to consider the amount of work as impactful on their decision. However, some people considering an upgrade that required a contractor did not want to have to deal with the management of contractors after they moved in, so they opted to do what they consider to be “major” upgrades with the builder.
How much work is required also depends on your DIY skills, willingness, and ability to invest the time to learn. When I watch DIY videos. I try to envision myself doing a similar project and evaluate my skills accordingly. While I enjoy DIY projects, I know my limits. I plan to use a contractor on jobs where I don’t want to experiment or take 3x as long to do it myself. However, even people with little to no DIY skills see certain things like adding cabinet hardware, lighting, tile backsplashes, and feature walls as doable DIY projects. Also, most people thought that skipping the outdoor kitchen with the builder and doing it later was the way to go.
4. How disruptive will it be to
5. Will I have time to Upgrade Later? Should I upgrade with the builder now?
Because we are building our forever home, I didn’t think that there was going to be an upgrade that we wouldn’t have time to do. We don’t have many of what I would consider to be “major” upgrades (adding a pool and outdoor kitchen are the two major upgrades that come to mind). Most of the upgrades I want to make are what I consider to be minor (ceiling fans, lighting, feature walls, backsplashes, smart home features) so I figured that we would make a schedule to do the upgrades we want to make. However, it is possible that we may change our mind about making certain upgrades, or make different decisions about our money and time in the future.
I recently read an article where the person wrote that because there were so many other things they had to pay for (window coverings and landscaping, etc.) years passed and they never got around to replacing the items they planned to upgrade. So, the stuff they accepted during the build became semi-permanent instead of temporary. I guess the moral of this story is that “life happens” and priorities change, so it is possible that those DIY projects don’t get done. However, that possibility may not be significant enough for some folks to sway them toward doing certain upgrades with the builder.
What isn’t time-consuming to DIY later?
For instance, many people decide not to upgrade cabinet hardware with the builder and plan to do it later because of the limited choices and high price tag to upgrade with the builder. Most people see choosing and attaching cabinet hardware as a doable DIY project that can be done later. Even if it takes way longer to get around to it, most people are OK with waiting to get the hardware they want at the price they want.
Upgrading and installing lighting, fans, feature walls, bath and kitchen faucets, mirrors, and door hardware are examples of common things viewed as not time-consuming to upgrade later.
6. Upgrade with the builder and increase my mortgage?
Make no mistake, this is a significant factor in deciding whether to upgrade with the builder or DIY later for many people. If you upgrade with the builder, those upgrades are financed into the mortgage. This means you are going to pay for those upgrades over the lifetime of your mortgage. Some people upgrade with the builder as part of a strategy for keeping more cash-on-hand, or avoiding separately financing upgrades and creating another monthly payment later. This may not be a practical or realistic option for everyone.
For some people, their objective is to keep the mortgage payment as low as possible. To avoid increasing the mortgage, they only add the essential upgrades with the builder and DIY later as much as possible. For many people, it is easier to manage to pay cash or credit for DIY upgrades later because they can plan according to financial ability. I find that most people take a middle-of-the-road approach and finance major upgrades into their mortgage, and take their time to do DIY projects later based on financial priority.
7. Are You Overly Concerned About What People Think?
Many people are overly concerned about what people will think about their decisions. Will people think I have wasted my money? Will people think I’m too cheap? I don’t want people to think I made a bad decision. Is my home too big or too small? What will my friends and relatives say? Well, your friends, relatives, neighbors, and coworkers will not have to live with your decisions, but you will! Unless any of these people are going to help pay your mortgage or finance a DIY project, I urge you to get these thoughts about what people think out of your mind.
My philosophy: What people think about your decisions should not be a factor in what you decide to upgrade with the builder or DIY later!
Upgrade with Builder or DIY later? There are no do’s and don’ts!
Building your home is a deeply personal and significant financial endeavor. There are many factors to consider and you should feel comfortable making the best decision for you and your family. Your choice doesn’t need to be the popular choice, it just needs to be what’s right for you. That’s why you can’t just follow what you read or see in videos that tell you what to do or what not to do. The decisions you make about what to upgrade with your builder vs. DIY later are not subject to someone else’s do’s and don’ts perspective. Whatever you decide to do will be just right for you, your family, your finances, and your lifestyle.
Best Wishes on Your Success Journey!
