Budget for new build extras

[teaandbiscuitsforme]

I realise this is probably a how long is a piece of string question but just wondering how much to budget for extras for a new build we are going to reserve? It’s a Bovis house so quite a lot is included but I’d rather upgrade kitchen, flooring etc

Or is it best to let the 2 young DC trash the standard fittings and upgrade in our own time?

It’s a difficult one. I’d consider it item by item to see if it’s good value for money. Also make sure that you don’t overspend - eg 20k on extras on a 200k as you wouldn’t ever get that money back.

We spent £2k on things that would be a pain to put in later (sockets) upgraded oven upgraded kitchen. Decor we left alone to do when we found tiles we liked

That’s the thing, it’s a 5 bed £500k house so it seems silly not to put in decent stuff because we’re not talking about a starter home. I might try to put aside £10k and hope we don’t need anywhere near that much!

10k is an extra 2% so doesn’t seem excessive at all.

Try and figure out what you want and negotiate as much as you can at the reservation. There is considerable wriggle room for sales incentives - there was a deposit-matching scheme on at our site, we didnt want it but managed to negotiate £5k off the price and £10k of upgrades (the upgrades wouldn’t be worth £10k - they are always at hugely inflated prices but so much less hassle to get it done before moving in than sources your own products and tradespeople). Do your homework and good luck!