New build upgrades and extras

[firsthome22]

I’m buying my first home atm, it’s a new build and we have our choices meeting soon where we can ask for extras and upgrades. Our developer doesn’t have a standard list of things we can ask for and prices and it’s more of a “you suggest something you’d like and we will give you a quote in the Mail” but we want to get an idea of what to ask for and rough prices so we Know in advance if it’s way over budget.

So New build upgrades and extras(ie double ended bath , composite sink etc.)….What did you get and how much did it cost approximately for the upgrade or extra you picked ?

and anyone who didn’t have flooring included as standard , if you went with the company the developer use how much did it cost for flooring throughout (including kitchen and bathrooms)

We paid for extra plugs and a toothbrush plug in the bathroom about £60-90 each I think. We paid £250 for a bigger sink which was necessary.
To tile through our kitchen, diner and bathroom floors it was about 3k.
I wish we’d paid for half tiling of the bathrooms and towel heater radiators

We paid for full tiling to the shower and a shower. Upgraded the kitchen & upgraded the fan! I wish we added extra sockets around the house! But we never thought of that!

Curtain rails ! Exterior tap. Fencing. Additional electric sockets and tiling at sinks. Better value than DIY/tradesmen.

Outside socket

We added all sorts to ours. Cost a fortune but totally worth it.
We had full tiling in all bathrooms, rainfall type showers in two bathrooms, extra plugs, extra spotlights, lights moved, speakers in the ceiling and music hub thing that links to alexa and phones, outdoor electric sockets, outdoor tap, extra outdoor lights, extra light fittings in hall to copy what they had in the show house, flooring throughout, glass splashbacks in kitchen and utility, plinth and under cupboard lighting in kitchen. Better quality tiles in downstairs loo and main bed ensuite.
We sucked up the cost cos we knew we wanted all the stuff eventually and to have it done retrospectively would cost a fortune and make a huge mess.
We also loved the show house and wanted to create a similar look, which wasnt the cheaper standard options (of course!!)

We could have fitted wardrobes in the main bedroom as standard but they were crap and didnt offer any flexibility in terms of storage so we got the 'free' built in wardrobe put in a different room and then had our own wardrobes built to our own specific spec put into the main bedroom once we had moved in.

Sounds like you are buying from smaller builder as the larger ones have a comprehensive list of options, upgrades and extras which is made available to you the moment you reserve (although you can't actually order them until you exchange but you then have to pay for them immediately). They are broken down by room and also flag up when you need to make the decisions (additional sockets, light & ethernet points for instance which need cabling need to be ordered long before carpets).
Also developers will sometimes throw in some options for no additional cost. We had selected some items from our "must have" list which the developer then said they would not charge us for which meant we could choose some items from the "would like" list.
We ended up buying £24K of extras / upgrades but while some were just a case of making the house more ready (carpets, built in wardrobes etc) others would have involved major upheaval, damage to floors & finishes etc if left to later (electrics, plumbing & Comms).

We added (approx costs):

washer/dryer - £800
Dishwasher - £500
Fridge freezer - £500
Ceramic sink - £200
Integrated bins - £150
Carpets to stairs, while upstairs and living: £2000
Vinyl to bathroom, WC, hall and kitchen dinner - £500

Didn’t upgrade anything else as we had full height tiles round bath/showers as standard and loads of sockets, outdoors taps and mini locked driveway etc as standard.

We got
Carpet, there were a few ranges and we went for the best range
Ceramic floor tiles in bathrooms
Extra mirrors in bathroom
Downlighting in all bathrooms and the kitchen
Marble work top
Burgular alarm
Turf, massive patio and landscaped garden with many trees and plants we picked
Chrome plug sockets and
light switches, extra TV points
Posher kitchen than the standard one
Washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge freezer, dishwasher, oven and hob, built in microwave
Upgraded the fitted wardrobe doors
Extra fitted wardrobes in another bedroom