Just signed a new build contract and looking at a lot of videos. Ran across yours. But my sales person was upfront and honest and did warn me when I signed my contract Day 1 that I should do a random walk through prior to my first design center appt to avoid being overwhelmed as it’s a lot to take in. You are making decisions from front door to back door. With going prior to appt u can take pics of what u may like and then go home and think about it , process things and be less rushed when the actual appointment arrives. I haven’t gone to my appt yet but I went through what upgrades I really want when signing my contract to avoid surprises, reduce stress and that if I just need to add or subtract I could. I was offered the advice that if it starts with an F to say no. Flooring, fixtures, faucets. It’s A 3000% increase at the design center. Ridiculous. I don’t want to have to say at the end of this process I wish I knew. It’s a lot of money going into these homes.
Thank you so much for your comment! Great tip to go to the design center before your appointment just to look around, that is so clever - I wished we did that! Congrats on your new house 😊
You know I love youtube because you can learn so much so quickly if a youtuber does a good job. You, in eleven minutes, gave me more valuable information than the last 2 hours of watching other peoples content. Your editing was sharp, you audio is amazing, and your content is on point. You have an amazing point on the idea of saying no to something like the faucent (I see a MOEN smart faucet for about $500 that would be amazing for my kitchen). I loved that. Also understanding how it works in the financing is a killer tip...I don't think I'd want to finance out my appliances and pay interest on that for 30 years, and then you even had the data that lowes had it cheaper (I was wondering if they were doing a wholesale thing to get people a deal or if they were using this to make money, and you confirmed it's just more profit). Thankyou SO much for the work you did her (I make videos and know how tough it can be). You've gained a new subscriber (and now I'm off to go watch your upgrade prices video!)
Wow, thanks! This is definitely the best compliment ever - thank you! As a UA-camr, I know you definitely understand the intricacies of shooting, editing, and trying to get your point across in an efficient way, so to receive a compliment like this...just wow, thank you! I'm sooo happy you found the information helpful! Good luck on your design center journey! I'm heading over to check out a few of your videos 😊 Thanks again so much for watching!
@@CatInMac LOL! I'm all over your channel now, and have sent my wife there as well. You've also inspired me to do a house tour when I get my keys because that was fun!
Trying to get behind the basin to put a faucet in was THE WORST home experience EVER. NEVER, EVER again. My back hurt 3 days from lying in the cabinet. Nope, nope, nope.
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 Oh yikes! I'm sorry to hear that! I guess there are perks to getting somethings at the design center instead of installing them later - good to know! Thanks for watching!
@@CatInMac Just went in there today and picked exactly what we needed. Interestingly, the pricing was good and not extravagant as I thought it would be. Thankfully, it came to be around 5% overall and all came home happy. The major expense is the kitchen cabinet's white. Quatz top is reasonable. Upgraded all bathrooms with tiles. added memory foam to the carpet. I did not have to pay anything (you mentioned about 10% as some charge). It gets added to the loan. So all went well.
@@pvpixelarts That's great to hear! Thanks for sharing your experience. I always find it so interesting how builders differ in their processes and requirements. Quartz was sooo affordable, I was so surprised - I'm glad you were able to get what you wanted and left happy! Thanks for giving an update ☺
@@CatInMac yes. ours is an oversized island and the quartz upgrade is $1400. Faux wood blinds for 17 windows is $3400. Cabinets are $7800 (definitely on the higher side).
Omg thank you! All of the other videos that I’ve watched so far were spending at least 10% base price for the design center and I knew that that was definitely something that I did NOT want to do. Our goal is to keep it to the minimum and as long as we love the structure and floor plan of the house, that’s all we wanted for now. Once we have more money saved up, that’s when we’ll actually upgrade things as necessary. I absolutely love how honest and relatable you are with your experience. Thank you so much for sharing I’ve learned so much!! I will be binge-watching your other vids nowww :-) :-)
Thank you so much for watching! ☺️ Omg yes! When we heard 10% we were like “uhhh...😐” lol I think you have the right idea to save the money for future upgrades! The most important thing is to love the floor plan for sure. Good luck on your journey and thanks again for watching my videos! ☺️
I'd talk to the lender to determine your budget BEFORE your design appointment. That way, you know how much you can afford before you start picking stuff and spending money. I love these tips! Going for my appt in 2 weeks!
Hello, thanks for watching. Our builder was K. Hovnanian Homes and yes, I have an empty house tour video on my channel: ua-cam.com/video/A9xDO6kFLAs/v-deo.html
100% agreed. Best video. Personal suggestion: if you showed upgrades in the video while explaining like on the side it would be even more easy to relate (I’m more of a visual person) I got an idea on things when I saw your house tour. Thank you very much for the video.
Thank you for watching!!! It's so funny you mentioned that, I'm actually working on a vide now that will show pictures of the standard options and the upgrade options - hoping to have that video up by this weekend! Thanks again! :)
We had the same exact Design Center experience. Also our Builder wasn’t clear on many things. I have concluded that this is mostly intentional. If someone is telling you that they are First Time Home Buyers and on top of that we are doing a New Construction build, they should be forthcoming with the details of the build and making sure that their customers completely understand. Thanks for sharing the information!
I agree with everything you said! I still really enjoyed our home building experience, but there were definitely things I would have done differently - at least we know for next time. Thanks so much for watching my video!!! 😊
They're not made half as well as old buildings. Ours is 1912. Steps in snow state are still really good. Down the street, 3 million dollar houses are starting to crack and fall apart in under 5 years. Lol
Omg yes! I was really nervous too! The design consultant will definitely be a big help in selecting affordable options that still look great! Thanks so much for watching! 😊
Everyone here’s something that might help you. Typically your monthly note is based on $5 for every $1,000 so if you use a mortgage calculator you might be freaking out about $2,000 of add-one but might be okay with your note increasing $10.
I was given an amount to be added to my cost of my house and if I didn't go over that amount in the design studio then I had no upfront costs. I actually got everything I needed and came in under budget. I will say I agree about the washer/dryer thing, it was higher with the builder, but I didn't have to pay for delivery or installation from buying it at Lowe's or Home Depot and I got an extra 2-year warranty. So, at the end of the day, I would have likely paid the same if I bought from a store rather than the builder and wouldn't' have gotten the extra 2-year warranty.
Oh nice! That's great to hear, I heard of some builders setting budgets and giving money towards the design center - that's a great perk! I definitely agree with the washer and dryer - and tbh actually you made a great point I never thought about, the warranty! Thanks so much for sharing and watching the video 😊
I can’t wait to see the result. I don’t like the fact that they include appliances in the mortgage total - upgrades either really. I’ll be bringing the cost of that to closing, who wants to pay more for alliances over 15 or 30 years? That’s insane!!! Thanks so much for sharing. 😍😍
OMG yes, I completely agree! It doesn't make sense! Also, feel free to check out our empty house tour here: ua-cam.com/video/A9xDO6kFLAs/v-deo.html it has all of the options we ended up picking! :)
Hi, thanks for watching and thanks for your question! For new build houses, builders usually provide you with basic options, typically 2 to 3 different options, but if you don't want to go with those basic options, you'll have an opportunity to go to the design center and choose other options. These options are normally on a "level" system and have price points to go with each level, the prices increasing at the higher levels. The design center is where you can personalize your house to your liking. I hope this helps answer your question, thank you again for watching! 😊
@@CatInMac thanks for that info but I was referring to the statement when you said you can say no if you find it cheaper can you bring what you want in your home and they install it ? Do you have to use their design center options or it depends ?
@@Classy_Lady23 Ahhh I see what you mean - yes so, I believe it depends on the items. For example, if you want to get your own knobs/pull handles, you will have to buy those yourself, but I know every builder is different - I believe we would have to install them ourselves, but I've see videos from other people where the builders agreed to do custom installs on certain items. I would definitely recommend asking your builder, they might agree to install the items you buy! Thanks!
Good video!! Same experience!! The consultant we had our appointment with was not explanatory at all didn't show us all the options at all!! I'm still very upset but once we move in I will definitely make my home how I desire it to be!!
Thank you for great video! But everyone keep in mind is that EACH BUILDER has differnt processes fir their design center appts..I'm in new home sales and have worked with a few different builders, and EACH builder had a different process. Just ask all the pertinent questions ahead of time..
Oh for sure, every builder is definitely different! I 100% agree that asking questions is the number best tip! Thanks so much for adding that and for watching! 😊
Hi! I would definitely recommend bringing your realtor with you to any appointments you have or at least have them on a call if they can't make it in person. Since we bought during the peek of COVID, we technically weren't supposed to have our realtor with us at the design center appointment, but she INSISTED lol and I'm so glad she came because she gave us advice we would have never known about and helped us save money in the long run. Thanks for watching! 😊
Thanks so much! Girl, I understand! I was so excited for our design center appointment, but during the appointment I was a little stressed and after the appointment, I kept thinking about all of our choices and if we made the right decisions! Luckily everything turned out great in the end! Thanks again for watching!
Hello love the video just want to ask if you dont mind about how much did you spent at the Design center just curious because I have an appointment next week and I’m trying to think of a reasonable Budget I was thinking somewhere around $12-$15,000 for my max on design center upgrades!!
Thank so much for watching! We set our budget at $10,000, but were prepared to go up to 12 for the things we wanted, however, we ended up spending a little under $10,000 by the end of our appointment. I personally think $12-15,000 is reasonable if you keep in mind your non-negotiables, which for us were the floors and the countertops - we were definitely prepared to spend most of the budget on those upgrades. I hope this helps - thanks again for watching, and good luck at your appointment!
@@CatInMac thanks so much for you reply.An yes the things I want most are nice Countertops and cabinets and also my floors .so I can totally relate!!if I can have those then I’m fine..I would love a farmhouse sink but if it doesn’t fit in my budget after the floors and countertops and cabinets then I’ll just settle for something else lo Thanks again I’m so nervous about this appointment my anxiety is through the roof..
@@kariplacide3190 That's great you know the things you definitely want to upgrade! If it helps, I have another video on my channel where I go over some of the price for the options our design center had - it might help give you an idea of pricing to ease a bit of the anxiety! Our design appointment was pretty fun looking at the different options - I hope you're appointment goes well! :)
Hmmm that's a great question! I'm actually not sure. Our builder required a check for 10% down, but I believe you may be able to pay more, I'm just not 100% sure. Definitely a good question to ask the builder! Thanks again for watching!
Good question! Yes! For example, if you spend $10,000 at the design center, you have to pay 10% up front to $1,000. That means the left over $9,000 gets added to the final cost of your house/the loan amount. Thanks for watching! 😊
@@SHEbrewLionessthat's another good question and hard to answer! I think it really depends on your budget for your house overall. I would say definitely factor in the following: Closing costs (which could be around $10,000), down payment (a lot of people think you must put 25% down, but that's not true - I believe we put maybe 3-5% of the cost of our house as the down payment), how much you would like to spend at the design center if you're going new construction (the 10% was a cost, I didn't know about until we started the process), and moving expenses. Those are all things you will need to pay immediately or upon closing your house. I personally like to plan ahead, so I would recommend factoring in possibly anywhere from 3-6 months worth of mortgage payments. So to give you an idea of numbers, for example if the house is $250,000 - I would recommend saving up the $10,000 for closing costs; 5% for down payment which is $12,500; a couple thousand for design center payment so let's say $2,000, and let's say $1,500 for possible personal moving expenses for a total of $26,000. Possible monthly mortgage payments for a house that price might be $1500 times 6 months is $9,000. I would be comfortable saving $35,000 to buy a $250,000 house. Just things to take into consideration, but I think it would be doable with less! A realtor will become your best friend lol and will be able to help with all of the numbers and such, even if you are not ready to start looking! I hope this helps! :)
@@CatInMac Omg, thank you so much for the details. I have learned so much from you in such a short period of time. I am finally starting to understand the process. I had no idea until today lol
@@SHEbrewLioness Of course, no problem! I was super lost at the beginning of this process and I don't want anyone to feel like I did lol let me know if you have anymore questions! :)
The design studio is about to hate me. 😂 I want all basic standard included everything and the moment I close, the contractors will be scheduled to switch out their basic to my choices.
@@keishapuryear8180 Hi there! There's not really many downside tbh, but for example, I wish we did not get the hardware on the cabinets. Because we went with the knobs, there will be more work for us to change them out especially if we wanted to replace the knobs on the drawers with pull handles - it would be a bit difficult because of the placement of the hole. I also wish we could have bought our own kitchen faucet, but I believe someone else in the comments mentioned that you aren't allowed to pass on pluming fixtures. Every builder is different, so my best advice would be to ask your builder or design center consultant what is mandatory and what are things you can skip. I also just put out another video a few days ago showing the different upgrade levels and prices. It may help give you an idea of what may be offered before going to the design center! I hope this helps! Thanks for watching! :)
Hi! Standard options are the "free" options that come with the house so you don't have to pay for those. Basically, I guess they are already wrapped up in the cost of the home. Thanks for watching! :)
Hi thanks for watching! No, the 10% I mentioned in this video is strictly for the design center costs. So for example let’s say the house costs $100,000 and you spend if you spend $10,000 at the design center, you would pay 10% or $1,000 up front at the design center. That $1,000 goes towards the design center cost bringing it down to $9,000 and that $9,000 will get added on to the final total of your house to make it $109,000. I hope that makes sense, that was a lot of numbers lol! Let me know if you have any questions - I’m happy to explain further! Thanks again for watching ☺️
Hi! So builders usually offer the standard options which don't cost anything extra, however, options at the design center are all mostly an additional cost. The design center typically has different levels and sometimes, levels 1 and 2 (sometimes 3) could be "free" but they will typically be an additional cost. I have another video showing some of the design center prices that our builder had if you're interested in learning more about what type of things are offered at each level and the price for those options: ua-cam.com/video/TlZ8so572O8/v-deo.html I hope this helps - thanks for watching! 😊
Ahhh ok good to know! I definitely was not trying to pay for that upgrade kitchen faucet LOL but good to know we would have had to regardless. Thanks for watching!
@@CatInMac We are building our third house currently and sometimes it's the most frustrating thing in the whole world lol hopefully our house will be done in March/April of next year
I'm so aggravated i had my design center appointment during a stressful time. My mother was in the hospital with covid and I got a call from the hospital during the appointment. So my mind was not fully there and because of covid we were restricted to only myself and my husband in the center. It was just a lot going on. My mother died a few days later. Now 4 months later I'm coming out the fog and now i hate my flooring options and i can't change it. My home is still under construction and the flooring has not been put down but it has been ordered and they said it's too late change it. I'm willing to pay the change fee but they said I can't change it.
Omg! I’m sorry to hear about your mother. My deepest condolences to you and your family ❤️ and I’m sorry to hear about your floors - I definitely understand what you mean about noticing things months later. It’s something I don’t think people really understand. You see stuff in person one or two times and that’s it. Other than pictures, it’s hard to remember exactly what things looked like months later or until they start putting the finishing in your home and for you to deal with that also during a stressful time is definitely a lot! 😔 Do you have a realtor? If so have you tried getting them involved to help fix the issue?
Hi, thanks for watching my video! We did receive a basic price sheet a few days before our appointment, but the design center had waaaay more options than the prices sheet listed lol! The prices sheet was helpful to know the structural upgrades, but it didn't include a lot of the design center upgrades
Hey hey! I think you technically could, however, our relator explained to us that you can add an extra $1,000 to the down payment and it will only effect your monthly payment by decreasing like $5 (I don't remember the exact numbers, but using this as an example) - so the down payments don't offset as much as we would hope. I hope that makes sense - I'd recommend consulting with a relator! Thanks for watching! ☺️
If we’ve given 10% of the home price to the builder before our design center appointment, does this count as the 10% that you’re speaking of or is it different?
Thanks for watching! It sounds like the 10% of the home price you mentioned might have been the down payment or the deposit. The 10% I mentioned in this video is strictly for what you spend at the design center. so for example if our design center choices cost a total of $10,000, for our builder, we had to pay $1,000 that day. Every builder is different, so I would definitely recommend checking with your builder! I believe someone else in the comments said they had to pay 50% of their design center choices! I also have another video where I talk about some of our builder's design center prices that might be helpful to get an idea of what prices you may come across at the design center. Thanks so much for watching!
IKR! 🙃 Our realtor was present and super helpful in helping us pick out our options, but nope, we were never asked for our budget 🙃 It was still a really great and fun experience though! ☺️
@@africaoriginalvlogs6140 I'm in northern VA and yes we love the quality of our home! I have another video talking about some of the issues we had with our house, but the builder came out and fixed everything! After being the house for a year, we are still extremely happy with how everything came out! Thanks for watching!
Sure! I don't remember exact prices, but I believe the kitchen faucet was around $400-$500 which I thought was kinda ridiculous for such a simple style. I thought the floors were a pretty reasonable price - I don't remember price per square foot, but I believe it was around $4000 for LVP through out the whole house minus the bedrooms (carpet) and master bathroom (tile). We were able to get the laundry room, upstairs hall bathroom, and the extra guest suite bathroom with LVP for free! So we saved a lot of money on tile. I believe the tile in our master bath alone was around $2100. I believe the kitchen counter tops were a level 3 quartz and were around maybe $2000 - which I thought was a good price for level 3 options - levels 4 and 5 jumped to $4000 and up - it was kinda crazy! lol I believe that was most of the major choices we made, most other things we kept at the standard option to save money and change over time. I hope this helps! If you haven't already, feel free to check out our empty house tour video to see all of the options we selected! Thanks so much for watching :)
@@CatInMac 500 for a faucet? Costco with a sprayer. 250.00. Works well, even tho the weight won't stay on the hose. I got in the habit of just putting it back myself. It's not a necessary part to me. I would have liked black, but this was chrome and cheaper. Never ever do another kitchen faucet myself again. It was horrible. Just grabbing the bolts with that stupid faucet wrench...
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 Yes, I wish we could have had the option to get a cheaper faucet somewhere else, but as you mentioned, it might have been tough installing it ourselves - definitely something I didn't think about until now!
Hi! No, we did not negotiate prices - they give you a price sheet of the set prices of things. TBH I'm not sure there was room for negotiations 🤔, however, it never hurts to try!
Hello, thanks for watching! Yeah, I'm so glad we went with mostly standard options - since we were able to save a bit of money there, we've been able to put that money towards other home projects and DIY upgrades! Thanks again!
Hello and thanks for watching! We actually set our own initial budget before going to the design center. We knew we didn't want to spend more than $10,000 at the design center so we kept that number in mind during the appointment and we were prepared to make changes to our choices if we came in over budget. After we finished at the design center, we reached out to our lender to get a new estimate of what our monthly payments would look like after selecting our options at the design center. I hope this helps! Thanks again and let me know if you have any other questions! :)
I’m going through the beginning stages now of buying a brand new build and this video is great because I didn’t know what to expect when I have my design center appointment.
@@tiaunajonline Have to go watch what they're doing and ask questions at ALL TIMES unless you know them extremely well. They WILL half-a** it if you don't.
Just signed a new build contract and looking at a lot of videos. Ran across yours. But my sales person was upfront and honest and did warn me when I signed my contract Day 1 that I should do a random walk through prior to my first design center appt to avoid being overwhelmed as it’s a lot to take in. You are making decisions from front door to back door. With going prior to appt u can take pics of what u may like and then go home and think about it , process things and be less rushed when the actual appointment arrives. I haven’t gone to my appt yet but I went through what upgrades I really want when signing my contract to avoid surprises, reduce stress and that if I just need to add or subtract I could. I was offered the advice that if it starts with an F to say no. Flooring, fixtures, faucets. It’s A 3000% increase at the design center. Ridiculous. I don’t want to have to say at the end of this process I wish I knew. It’s a lot of money going into these homes.
Thank you so much for your comment! Great tip to go to the design center before your appointment just to look around, that is so clever - I wished we did that! Congrats on your new house 😊
Great advice!!!
You know I love youtube because you can learn so much so quickly if a youtuber does a good job. You, in eleven minutes, gave me more valuable information than the last 2 hours of watching other peoples content. Your editing was sharp, you audio is amazing, and your content is on point. You have an amazing point on the idea of saying no to something like the faucent (I see a MOEN smart faucet for about $500 that would be amazing for my kitchen). I loved that. Also understanding how it works in the financing is a killer tip...I don't think I'd want to finance out my appliances and pay interest on that for 30 years, and then you even had the data that lowes had it cheaper (I was wondering if they were doing a wholesale thing to get people a deal or if they were using this to make money, and you confirmed it's just more profit). Thankyou SO much for the work you did her (I make videos and know how tough it can be). You've gained a new subscriber (and now I'm off to go watch your upgrade prices video!)
Wow, thanks! This is definitely the best compliment ever - thank you! As a UA-camr, I know you definitely understand the intricacies of shooting, editing, and trying to get your point across in an efficient way, so to receive a compliment like this...just wow, thank you! I'm sooo happy you found the information helpful! Good luck on your design center journey! I'm heading over to check out a few of your videos 😊 Thanks again so much for watching!
@@CatInMac LOL! I'm all over your channel now, and have sent my wife there as well. You've also inspired me to do a house tour when I get my keys because that was fun!
@@geektoolkit Lol thanks so much! That's great to hear! I LOVE empty house tours! ☺
Trying to get behind the basin to put a faucet in was THE WORST home experience EVER. NEVER, EVER again. My back hurt 3 days from lying in the cabinet. Nope, nope, nope.
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 Oh yikes! I'm sorry to hear that! I guess there are perks to getting somethings at the design center instead of installing them later - good to know! Thanks for watching!
Best video ever. To the point. We have our appointment tomorrow and your video made me check a few things before we go there. Thank you.
I'm so glad you found the video helpful! Good luck at your appointment and congratulations on the new home! Thanks so much for watching ☺
@@CatInMac Just went in there today and picked exactly what we needed. Interestingly, the pricing was good and not extravagant as I thought it would be. Thankfully, it came to be around 5% overall and all came home happy. The major expense is the kitchen cabinet's white. Quatz top is reasonable. Upgraded all bathrooms with tiles. added memory foam to the carpet. I did not have to pay anything (you mentioned about 10% as some charge). It gets added to the loan. So all went well.
@@pvpixelarts That's great to hear! Thanks for sharing your experience. I always find it so interesting how builders differ in their processes and requirements. Quartz was sooo affordable, I was so surprised - I'm glad you were able to get what you wanted and left happy! Thanks for giving an update ☺
@@CatInMac yes. ours is an oversized island and the quartz upgrade is $1400. Faux wood blinds for 17 windows is $3400. Cabinets are $7800 (definitely on the higher side).
Omg thank you! All of the other videos that I’ve watched so far were spending at least 10% base price for the design center and I knew that that was definitely something that I did NOT want to do. Our goal is to keep it to the minimum and as long as we love the structure and floor plan of the house, that’s all we wanted for now. Once we have more money saved up, that’s when we’ll actually upgrade things as necessary. I absolutely love how honest and relatable you are with your experience. Thank you so much for sharing I’ve learned so much!! I will be binge-watching your other vids nowww :-) :-)
Thank you so much for watching! ☺️ Omg yes! When we heard 10% we were like “uhhh...😐” lol I think you have the right idea to save the money for future upgrades! The most important thing is to love the floor plan for sure. Good luck on your journey and thanks again for watching my videos! ☺️
I'd talk to the lender to determine your budget BEFORE your design appointment. That way, you know how much you can afford before you start picking stuff and spending money. I love these tips! Going for my appt in 2 weeks!
Yes! Talking to the lender before and after the appointment is definitely a major key 🗝️ Thanks for watching! Good luck at your appointment! ☺️
@@CatInMac thanks! And thanks again for the helpful tips, I'm researching like a crazy person!
Girl! I know the feeling! LOL
What builder did you use, do you have a video?
Hello, thanks for watching. Our builder was K. Hovnanian Homes and yes, I have an empty house tour video on my channel: ua-cam.com/video/A9xDO6kFLAs/v-deo.html
Love this! I’ve watched at least 20 design center videos and this is by far the best one. Thanks for the tips! 👍🏽
Omg thank you! I’m really glad you found the tips helpful! ☺️
100% agreed. Best video.
Personal suggestion: if you showed upgrades in the video while explaining like on the side it would be even more easy to relate (I’m more of a visual person) I got an idea on things when I saw your house tour.
Thank you very much for the video.
Thank you for watching!!! It's so funny you mentioned that, I'm actually working on a vide now that will show pictures of the standard options and the upgrade options - hoping to have that video up by this weekend! Thanks again! :)
Great!@@CatInMac
We had the same exact Design Center experience. Also our Builder wasn’t clear on many things. I have concluded that this is mostly intentional. If someone is telling you that they are First Time Home Buyers and on top of that we are doing a New Construction build, they should be forthcoming with the details of the build and making sure that their customers completely understand. Thanks for sharing the information!
I agree with everything you said! I still really enjoyed our home building experience, but there were definitely things I would have done differently - at least we know for next time. Thanks so much for watching my video!!! 😊
So transparent and lovely. Thanks for the post...
Thanks for watching!
I agree with you with most things said in your video. Even if you pick all standard your home is still BRAND NEW.
Exactly! Thanks for watching! :)
They're not made half as well as old buildings. Ours is 1912. Steps in snow state are still really good.
Down the street, 3 million dollar houses are starting to crack and fall apart in under 5 years. Lol
I love this kind of videos of things to knew before going to the design center.
Thanks so much for watching! I glad you found the video helpful! :)
This was very helpful. We are going tomorrow to look into a new build and I want to be prepared.
I'm glad you found it helpful! Thanks so much for watching and good luck at your design center appointment! ☺️
Very helpful. Thanks for sharing !
Glad you found the video helpful! Thanks for watching!
THANK YOU!!! I am terrified about how much money we r going to spend at the design center! Our budget is very smalllllllllll.
Omg yes! I was really nervous too! The design consultant will definitely be a big help in selecting affordable options that still look great! Thanks so much for watching! 😊
I love all your advice
Great, I'm glad your finding it helpful! Thanks for watching ☺
Thank you!! Your video was very informative and helpful.
I'm glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching! 😊
Everyone here’s something that might help you. Typically your monthly note is based on $5 for every $1,000 so if you use a mortgage calculator you might be freaking out about $2,000 of add-one but might be okay with your note increasing $10.
That's a great tip! Thanks so for sharing and thanks for watching!
I was given an amount to be added to my cost of my house and if I didn't go over that amount in the design studio then I had no upfront costs. I actually got everything I needed and came in under budget. I will say I agree about the washer/dryer thing, it was higher with the builder, but I didn't have to pay for delivery or installation from buying it at Lowe's or Home Depot and I got an extra 2-year warranty. So, at the end of the day, I would have likely paid the same if I bought from a store rather than the builder and wouldn't' have gotten the extra 2-year warranty.
Oh nice! That's great to hear, I heard of some builders setting budgets and giving money towards the design center - that's a great perk! I definitely agree with the washer and dryer - and tbh actually you made a great point I never thought about, the warranty! Thanks so much for sharing and watching the video 😊
This is just what I needed to know.
Great, I'm glad the info was helpful! Thanks so much for watching! 😊
You did a great job. Well explained easy to watch and very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to make the video.
I'm glad you found it helpful! Thank you so much for watching! 😊
Awesome video - we are going to the design center in a few weeks. They want 50% at the end of our design appointment!
Thanks so much for watching! Wow - 50% is major!!!
10% thats a steal we have to pay %50 at the design center!!!!!! yikez
Oh wow 50% is a lot! I've heard some places require 50%, I'm glad we were only required the 10%! Thanks so much for watching!
Thank you! This is really good information!
I'm glad you found it helpful! Thanks so much for watching!
Such a great video. I really appreciate this!
Thank you so much for watching! I'm glad you enjoyed the video!
Very helpful video ! Thank you
Thank you for watching! I'm glad you found these tips helpful! :)
I can’t wait to see the result. I don’t like the fact that they include appliances in the mortgage total - upgrades either really. I’ll be bringing the cost of that to closing, who wants to pay more for alliances over 15 or 30 years? That’s insane!!! Thanks so much for sharing. 😍😍
OMG yes, I completely agree! It doesn't make sense! Also, feel free to check out our empty house tour here: ua-cam.com/video/A9xDO6kFLAs/v-deo.html it has all of the options we ended up picking! :)
@@CatInMac Thank you so much for sharing the link **Going to watch now!!
🎉Congratulations!!!
And thank you for the tips!!!
Can I ask who was your builder?
Thank you so much! Our builder is K. Hovnanian Homes
Oh yeah how is it you can get them to change the basics to what you want to put in the home ?
Hi, thanks for watching and thanks for your question! For new build houses, builders usually provide you with basic options, typically 2 to 3 different options, but if you don't want to go with those basic options, you'll have an opportunity to go to the design center and choose other options. These options are normally on a "level" system and have price points to go with each level, the prices increasing at the higher levels. The design center is where you can personalize your house to your liking. I hope this helps answer your question, thank you again for watching! 😊
@@CatInMac thanks for that info but I was referring to the statement when you said you can say no if you find it cheaper can you bring what you want in your home and they install it ? Do you have to use their design center options or it depends ?
@@Classy_Lady23 Ahhh I see what you mean - yes so, I believe it depends on the items. For example, if you want to get your own knobs/pull handles, you will have to buy those yourself, but I know every builder is different - I believe we would have to install them ourselves, but I've see videos from other people where the builders agreed to do custom installs on certain items. I would definitely recommend asking your builder, they might agree to install the items you buy! Thanks!
@@CatInMac yes ok thanks
Great tips! Thanks for sharing.
No problem! I’m glad you found them helpful ☺️ Thanks for watching!
Thank you for sharing this. Starting mine soon ‼️
No problem! Good luck! :)
Good video!! Same experience!! The consultant we had our appointment with was not explanatory at all didn't show us all the options at all!! I'm still very upset but once we move in I will definitely make my home how I desire it to be!!
I definitely understand! Thanks for watching! 😊
Hello I’m new to your channel. Thanks for the info it’s going to be very helpful to me for I’m going to be building in a few months
Thanks for watching! And good luck with your new build! ☺️
I’m still in the early phase of my home buying journey but this video was so helpful thank you so much
I'm glad you found it helpful! Thanks so much for watching!
Thank you for great video! But everyone keep in mind is that EACH BUILDER has differnt processes fir their design center appts..I'm in new home sales and have worked with a few different builders, and EACH builder had a different process. Just ask all the pertinent questions ahead of time..
Oh for sure, every builder is definitely different! I 100% agree that asking questions is the number best tip! Thanks so much for adding that and for watching! 😊
I’m thinking about buying a home from a builder should I bring my realtor with me to all appts?
Hi! I would definitely recommend bringing your realtor with you to any appointments you have or at least have them on a call if they can't make it in person. Since we bought during the peek of COVID, we technically weren't supposed to have our realtor with us at the design center appointment, but she INSISTED lol and I'm so glad she came because she gave us advice we would have never known about and helped us save money in the long run. Thanks for watching! 😊
Thanks for the info,,helps tremendously
Glad you thought it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
This was a great video. We’re building our third home & The Design Centers are always overwhelming.
Thanks so much! Girl, I understand! I was so excited for our design center appointment, but during the appointment I was a little stressed and after the appointment, I kept thinking about all of our choices and if we made the right decisions! Luckily everything turned out great in the end! Thanks again for watching!
Hello love the video just want to ask if you dont mind about how much did you spent at the Design center just curious because I have an appointment next week and I’m trying to think of a reasonable Budget I was thinking somewhere around $12-$15,000 for my max on design center upgrades!!
Thank so much for watching! We set our budget at $10,000, but were prepared to go up to 12 for the things we wanted, however, we ended up spending a little under $10,000 by the end of our appointment. I personally think $12-15,000 is reasonable if you keep in mind your non-negotiables, which for us were the floors and the countertops - we were definitely prepared to spend most of the budget on those upgrades. I hope this helps - thanks again for watching, and good luck at your appointment!
@@CatInMac thanks so much for you reply.An yes the things I want most are nice
Countertops and cabinets and also my floors .so I can totally relate!!if I can have those then I’m fine..I would love a farmhouse sink but if it doesn’t fit in my budget after the floors and countertops and cabinets then I’ll just settle for something else lo
Thanks again I’m so nervous about this appointment my anxiety is through the roof..
@@kariplacide3190 That's great you know the things you definitely want to upgrade! If it helps, I have another video on my channel where I go over some of the price for the options our design center had - it might help give you an idea of pricing to ease a bit of the anxiety! Our design appointment was pretty fun looking at the different options - I hope you're appointment goes well! :)
Very helpful, thanks!
I’m glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching ☺️
Thank You So Much! Very❤️ Informative!
Thanks so much for watching! I'm glad you found it helpful!
Great advice! Thank you!
Thanks for watching! I'm glad you found it helpful! :)
Helpful tips!
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching! :)
Will they only let you pay 10% up front? I ask because if you want to pay more ( say all of it ) it won’t be added to your loan .
Hmmm that's a great question! I'm actually not sure. Our builder required a check for 10% down, but I believe you may be able to pay more, I'm just not 100% sure. Definitely a good question to ask the builder! Thanks again for watching!
Very helpful, thanks.
Great, glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching! :)
This was great information.
Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching!
Is the 10% up front at the design center deducted from the total cost configured into the increase loan amount?
Good question! Yes! For example, if you spend $10,000 at the design center, you have to pay 10% up front to $1,000. That means the left over $9,000 gets added to the final cost of your house/the loan amount. Thanks for watching! 😊
@@CatInMac No problem, thank you. Do you have any advice on how much to really save before starting the house hunting process?
@@SHEbrewLionessthat's another good question and hard to answer! I think it really depends on your budget for your house overall. I would say definitely factor in the following: Closing costs (which could be around $10,000), down payment (a lot of people think you must put 25% down, but that's not true - I believe we put maybe 3-5% of the cost of our house as the down payment), how much you would like to spend at the design center if you're going new construction (the 10% was a cost, I didn't know about until we started the process), and moving expenses. Those are all things you will need to pay immediately or upon closing your house. I personally like to plan ahead, so I would recommend factoring in possibly anywhere from 3-6 months worth of mortgage payments. So to give you an idea of numbers, for example if the house is $250,000 - I would recommend saving up the $10,000 for closing costs; 5% for down payment which is $12,500; a couple thousand for design center payment so let's say $2,000, and let's say $1,500 for possible personal moving expenses for a total of $26,000. Possible monthly mortgage payments for a house that price might be $1500 times 6 months is $9,000. I would be comfortable saving $35,000 to buy a $250,000 house. Just things to take into consideration, but I think it would be doable with less! A realtor will become your best friend lol and will be able to help with all of the numbers and such, even if you are not ready to start looking! I hope this helps! :)
@@CatInMac Omg, thank you so much for the details. I have learned so much from you in such a short period of time. I am finally starting to understand the process. I had no idea until today lol
@@SHEbrewLioness Of course, no problem! I was super lost at the beginning of this process and I don't want anyone to feel like I did lol let me know if you have anymore questions! :)
The design studio is about to hate me. 😂 I want all basic standard included everything and the moment I close, the contractors will be scheduled to switch out their basic to my choices.
LOL Good luck! There are a few things I wish we didn't get from the design center at all like the hardware for the cabinets
@@CatInMac please elaborate. We were planning to do the same since my husband is very handy. What was the downside?
@@keishapuryear8180 Hi there! There's not really many downside tbh, but for example, I wish we did not get the hardware on the cabinets. Because we went with the knobs, there will be more work for us to change them out especially if we wanted to replace the knobs on the drawers with pull handles - it would be a bit difficult because of the placement of the hole. I also wish we could have bought our own kitchen faucet, but I believe someone else in the comments mentioned that you aren't allowed to pass on pluming fixtures. Every builder is different, so my best advice would be to ask your builder or design center consultant what is mandatory and what are things you can skip. I also just put out another video a few days ago showing the different upgrade levels and prices. It may help give you an idea of what may be offered before going to the design center! I hope this helps! Thanks for watching! :)
@@CatInMac yes very helpful thank you
After the cheapo modern cabinets that won't sit straight. I'll have metal ones made like the 40s-50s.
do you pay for standard option at the design center?
Hi! Standard options are the "free" options that come with the house so you don't have to pay for those. Basically, I guess they are already wrapped up in the cost of the home. Thanks for watching! :)
For the 10% upfront, is that used towards down payment or closing?
Hi thanks for watching! No, the 10% I mentioned in this video is strictly for the design center costs. So for example let’s say the house costs $100,000 and you spend if you spend $10,000 at the design center, you would pay 10% or $1,000 up front at the design center. That $1,000 goes towards the design center cost bringing it down to $9,000 and that $9,000 will get added on to the final total of your house to make it $109,000. I hope that makes sense, that was a lot of numbers lol! Let me know if you have any questions - I’m happy to explain further! Thanks again for watching ☺️
ok, so if i buy a house for $300k, are there not options at the design center to keep it at that price???
Hi! So builders usually offer the standard options which don't cost anything extra, however, options at the design center are all mostly an additional cost. The design center typically has different levels and sometimes, levels 1 and 2 (sometimes 3) could be "free" but they will typically be an additional cost. I have another video showing some of the design center prices that our builder had if you're interested in learning more about what type of things are offered at each level and the price for those options: ua-cam.com/video/TlZ8so572O8/v-deo.html I hope this helps - thanks for watching! 😊
Some builders appliances are included...Save save save before you decide to build a house...😊
Thanks for adding that tip!! Saving is definitely key! 😊
thank you!!
Of course! Thank you for watching! ☺️
Great advice!!
Thank you for watching!
You can't just deny the plumbing fixtures, you normally do have to let them go with the basic option then you can replace it later.
Ahhh ok good to know! I definitely was not trying to pay for that upgrade kitchen faucet LOL but good to know we would have had to regardless. Thanks for watching!
@@CatInMac We are building our third house currently and sometimes it's the most frustrating thing in the whole world lol hopefully our house will be done in March/April of next year
@@AprilLBolton Wow congrats! I'm sure everything will come out great!
I'll never EVER change out a kitchen faucet myself again. It was awful. Back hurt 3 days trying to grab it on my back in the cabinet.
I'm so aggravated i had my design center appointment during a stressful time. My mother was in the hospital with covid and I got a call from the hospital during the appointment. So my mind was not fully there and because of covid we were restricted to only myself and my husband in the center. It was just a lot going on. My mother died a few days later. Now 4 months later I'm coming out the fog and now i hate my flooring options and i can't change it. My home is still under construction and the flooring has not been put down but it has been ordered and they said it's too late change it. I'm willing to pay the change fee but they said I can't change it.
Omg! I’m sorry to hear about your mother. My deepest condolences to you and your family ❤️ and I’m sorry to hear about your floors - I definitely understand what you mean about noticing things months later. It’s something I don’t think people really understand. You see stuff in person one or two times and that’s it. Other than pictures, it’s hard to remember exactly what things looked like months later or until they start putting the finishing in your home and for you to deal with that also during a stressful time is definitely a lot! 😔 Do you have a realtor? If so have you tried getting them involved to help fix the issue?
@@CatInMac Thank you for your reply and condolences. I do have a realtor who hasn't been of much help. I will reach out to her to work on this issue.
@@aiem7813 That's great! I'm curious to know how it goes!
They sales Advisor should have giving you a option sheet for your floor plan before your appointment
Hi, thanks for watching my video! We did receive a basic price sheet a few days before our appointment, but the design center had waaaay more options than the prices sheet listed lol! The prices sheet was helpful to know the structural upgrades, but it didn't include a lot of the design center upgrades
Couldn’t you just increase the down payment to offset the appliance costs?
Hey hey! I think you technically could, however, our relator explained to us that you can add an extra $1,000 to the down payment and it will only effect your monthly payment by decreasing like $5 (I don't remember the exact numbers, but using this as an example) - so the down payments don't offset as much as we would hope. I hope that makes sense - I'd recommend consulting with a relator! Thanks for watching! ☺️
If we’ve given 10% of the home price to the builder before our design center appointment, does this count as the 10% that you’re speaking of or is it different?
Thanks for watching! It sounds like the 10% of the home price you mentioned might have been the down payment or the deposit. The 10% I mentioned in this video is strictly for what you spend at the design center. so for example if our design center choices cost a total of $10,000, for our builder, we had to pay $1,000 that day. Every builder is different, so I would definitely recommend checking with your builder! I believe someone else in the comments said they had to pay 50% of their design center choices! I also have another video where I talk about some of our builder's design center prices that might be helpful to get an idea of what prices you may come across at the design center. Thanks so much for watching!
It sounds like you were definitely underserved.
Yeeeaaaahh...a bit lol but everything turned out great in the end! We definitely know what to do next time we buy a house!
She didn't know your budget?! *blank stare* Was your realtor present? Mine was talying my selections as we went. That's crazy.
IKR! 🙃 Our realtor was present and super helpful in helping us pick out our options, but nope, we were never asked for our budget 🙃 It was still a really great and fun experience though! ☺️
We had to pay 50% of our upgrades upfront on the first house we built.
Oh wow! That is definitely at big difference! Thanks for letting us know!
Who was your builder?
Our builder was K. Hovnanian Homes
@@CatInMac what city and do you like the home quality?
@@africaoriginalvlogs6140 I'm in northern VA and yes we love the quality of our home! I have another video talking about some of the issues we had with our house, but the builder came out and fixed everything! After being the house for a year, we are still extremely happy with how everything came out! Thanks for watching!
Can you give us a ballpark number please? How much were the floors? The faucet? etc. That would help the UA-cam community a lot. ♥
Sure! I don't remember exact prices, but I believe the kitchen faucet was around $400-$500 which I thought was kinda ridiculous for such a simple style. I thought the floors were a pretty reasonable price - I don't remember price per square foot, but I believe it was around $4000 for LVP through out the whole house minus the bedrooms (carpet) and master bathroom (tile). We were able to get the laundry room, upstairs hall bathroom, and the extra guest suite bathroom with LVP for free! So we saved a lot of money on tile. I believe the tile in our master bath alone was around $2100. I believe the kitchen counter tops were a level 3 quartz and were around maybe $2000 - which I thought was a good price for level 3 options - levels 4 and 5 jumped to $4000 and up - it was kinda crazy! lol I believe that was most of the major choices we made, most other things we kept at the standard option to save money and change over time. I hope this helps! If you haven't already, feel free to check out our empty house tour video to see all of the options we selected! Thanks so much for watching :)
@@CatInMac Thank you for that information. I saw your 'new home tour" video too. Your home is gorgeous...and BIG. ♥ Congrats
Thank you so much! 😊
@@CatInMac 500 for a faucet? Costco with a sprayer. 250.00. Works well, even tho the weight won't stay on the hose. I got in the habit of just putting it back myself. It's not a necessary part to me.
I would have liked black, but this was chrome and cheaper. Never ever do another kitchen faucet myself again. It was horrible. Just grabbing the bolts with that stupid faucet wrench...
@@windsofmarchjourneyperrytr2823 Yes, I wish we could have had the option to get a cheaper faucet somewhere else, but as you mentioned, it might have been tough installing it ourselves - definitely something I didn't think about until now!
Did you attempt tp negotiate the price any?
Hi! No, we did not negotiate prices - they give you a price sheet of the set prices of things. TBH I'm not sure there was room for negotiations 🤔, however, it never hurts to try!
You were smart to spend little money at the design center.
Hello, thanks for watching! Yeah, I'm so glad we went with mostly standard options - since we were able to save a bit of money there, we've been able to put that money towards other home projects and DIY upgrades! Thanks again!
i went thru this with KB homes.....i had to put down $7500 deposit
At the design center? Oh wow, that's quite a bit!
Who gives you the budget
Hello and thanks for watching! We actually set our own initial budget before going to the design center. We knew we didn't want to spend more than $10,000 at the design center so we kept that number in mind during the appointment and we were prepared to make changes to our choices if we came in over budget. After we finished at the design center, we reached out to our lender to get a new estimate of what our monthly payments would look like after selecting our options at the design center. I hope this helps! Thanks again and let me know if you have any other questions! :)
Of course, they want you to spend money right?!?
IKR! I really wish we said no to a few things, but it's all good! We love how everything came out! :)
Sorry, but the whole video describes that you didn't research, ask enough questions about your business and doesn't provide insight
Hmmm, I'm not exactly sure what you mean by your comment, but thanks for the feedback and the view! 😊
I’m going through the beginning stages now of buying a brand new build and this video is great because I didn’t know what to expect when I have my design center appointment.
@@tiaunajonline Thanks so much! I'm glad you found it helpful! :)
@@tiaunajonline Have to go watch what they're doing and ask questions at ALL TIMES unless you know them extremely well. They WILL half-a** it if you don't.