DESIGN CENTER UPGRADE PRICES | NEW CONSTRUCTION

[@user-ry1pq1rj3j]

We just signed a contract to build a new home near Orlando, FL and I wanted to thank you for uploading your down-to-earth videos on your home building experience. We're both trying to be careful with our money and that's going to mean doing a lot of projects ourselves instead of going through the design center. Your videos are a welcome break from so many others out there telling us to just go with what you want and forget about the cost. I was starting to feel foolish for accepting basic options.

[@CatInMac]

Thank you so much for watching and for your kind words! ☺ I'm glad you found my videos helpful - I totally understand the pressure of others recommending to spend a ton at the design center. That's just not realistic for most people! As long as you're happy with your choices, even if they are the standard options, that's all that matters ☺ and as you mentioned, you can always save money by choosing standard then doing your own DIY projects. Congratulations and good luck! ❤

[@user-ry1pq1rj3j]

@@CatInMac I got a big head the other day and thought I could learn how to lay tile by watching a video online. My husband rightfully looked quite nervous!

[@CatInMac]

@@user-ry1pq1rj3j Ahhhh, if you feel comfortable to try it out, go for it! ☺ We did our backsplash in our kitchen - I purposely chose a zellige tile because of the imperfect, organic look since I knew we were going to do it ourselves lol it actually turned out pretty good and was pretty fun to do! Here is the link to that video if you're interested ☺ kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5bHeXWme8h2rLssi=Slh575FhlLtq6riE

[@nanii22]

Soooo basically I'll be doing a whole lotta standard options and a Lowes haul after closing. Got it.

[@CatInMac]

Yeah I don’t blame you! That way you’ll be able to buy exactly what you want without spending and arm and a leg! Thanks so much for watching!

[@natasha88799]

If you can go for it. Lol, I’m building now and my builder hard taxed for EVERYTHING! Lol

[@karandonnakaran]

thanks so much for sharing prices and levels!!!!

[@CatInMac]

Of course! Thanks so much for watching! :)

[@savannah2351]

We are building a new home in So Cal. We went with all standard options except adding granite and stainless steel appliances in the kitchen. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks for the video!

[@CatInMac]

Congrats on your new build! Thanks so much for watching! ☺️

[@savannah2351]

Oh, we also did upgrade the carpet padding lol :)

[@CatInMac]

@@savannah2351 Yesss! I wish we went another level up on the padding!

[@lisaglover-logan8020]

Your channel is awesome. Thanks for the information. I was really surprised to find out these upgrades are added to your mortgage and therefore increases your monthly mortgage payment. I don't like this at all. Good to know. Thanks again!

[@CatInMac]

Thanks so much for watching!!! Yes! I didn't like that upgrades were added to the monthly payments either, but each builder is different so be sure to ask as many questions as you can! 😊 Thanks again for watching

[@anandersonnovel]

Thank you! I love your channel 🌸 We went with granite (love the shine) and didn’t do white cabinets. I have white cabinets now and it shows everything…from coffee to spaghetti splashes! LOL

[@CatInMac]

Thank you so much for watching! Omg yes! We had white cabinets in our apartment and we were always cleaning them! We definitely wanted to go with a darker color this time! Thanks again for watching! :)

[@SunQueen365]

Oh no y’all have me nervous. I chose white cabinets 😬 I knew I should’ve went with the saddle color. I let my hubby talk me out of it 😠 Of course he pushed for white. He doesn’t do the cleaning 😡 I did choose grey cabinets for the island😊 So I basically upgraded to level 5 cabinets just to do extra cleaning🙃

[@CatInMac]

@@SunQueen365 Oh no, don't be nervous! White Cabinets are gorgeous and I think they will look great with the grey on the island! 😍 I think the look will be worth it for that little extra time of cleaning 😉 lol

[@marciabuchanan-blair776]

Thank you I am in the process of meeting with the design studio via video to do our selection. So I am a but ahead as I am trying to get the prices of some things from them. Going to be an interesting meeting

[@claudiahansen4938]

Excellent video. Thanks! Skillful use of photos and images to tie to what you are describing.

[@CatInMac]

Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video! ☺️

[@mylettej2963]

Good, helpful video! I hope things are going well and you’re enjoying your house!! Can’t wait to see more videos, hopefully soon.

[@CatInMac]

Thanks for watching! Things are going well and we are still enjoying the house! :)

[@wesleywong1378]

Very useful! Thank you for sharing!!!

[@CatInMac]

I'm glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching ☺

[@carlspinner1977]

I been waiting on this video ,glad to see you back.

[@CatInMac]

Lol thanks!

[@n.e.w.skincare]

Thank you for sharing your experience. Can you talk about why you chose Quartz?

[@CatInMac]

Hi thanks so much! Sure! We went with quartz mainly because granite is porous and needs to be sealed annually whereas quartz is a lot more low maintenance and does not need to be sealed. I believe granite is prone to cracking more easily than quartz as well. Before making this decision, we researched and read articles about the differences between granite and quartz as well as the pros and cons for both. I hope this info helps! Thanks for watching! :)

[@limabima77]

Amazon Nuvo cabinet paint works great. White, Gray, Blue etc. backsplash stickers and sticker flooring. Our old house was stickered up!!

[@CatInMac]

Ooo that's good to know about the cabinet paint! I love a good stick on, do-it-yourself backsplash! That might be the way we go! Thanks for watching and thanks for sharing those tips ☺️

[@natasha88799]

What a great video! I love that you added pictures of what standard looks like.

[@CatInMac]

Thanks so much! I'm glad you liked the video ☺️ thanks for watching!

[@StephaniesKitchen]

Hello! Thank you so much for this information, yes it was really helpful. I am trying to get prices before we sign a contract and I wanted to kind of compare. I do appreciate the information you gave us. I hope you are enjoying your new home.

[@CatInMac]

Thanks so much for watching! We are definitely enjoying our new home! Good luck with your house! :)

[@thedude5040]

Eh we added near $40k to our builders model. But we didnt have a budget, the budget was whatever i wanted. It took awhile for the builders team to understand that. That included all our upgrades including electrical.

[@CatInMac]

Nice! That's great that you got all the things you wanted ☺

[@thedude5040]

@@CatInMac im glad the builder let me do a walk though with the electrician because not all builders let you do that. So I added future master bedroom tile heat, electric deck heater, whole house tv antenna in garage, ethernet in all rooms, preinstalled fiber internet, sourround sound speakers, specific outlets for outdoor electric grill, small water fountain, two 50A electric car chargers, electric to the tornado bunker. Of course I had to do some labor on my own at night because the builders team and his electrican contractor were not prepared for everything I wanted. I had to order, ship, store, and install the decker heater and wire it up myself including all the conduit, and the same with the in wall surround speakers (i had to buy and install before drywall brackets and wiring along with my inwall network cabinet and the fiber. It was kinda a strange experience because no one else Ive talked has ever been allowed to do significant labor on their new construction. So yes I was the stranger pulling up in the middle of the night with ladders, step stools, drills, head lamps, flashlights, ext to work on my house.

[@thedude5040]

@@CatInMac almost forgot, I also had to buy tools to terminate the ethernet and coax cables too along with testing them.

[@CatInMac]

@@thedude5040 Ha that's amazing! I've never heard of a builder allowing that either, but glad you were able to do that to get all of the things you know you wanted in your house! I wish I thought of asking for heated tile floors in our primary bathroom. Also congrats on being able to accomplish all of that on your own 👏🏾👏🏾

[@thedude5040]

@@CatInMac we actually had a disagreement with the builder over the cost of heated tile. He wanted to charge some outrageous $5k to which i said I could contract someone to rip out the tile install floor heating, buy new tile and be money ahead. So just the wiring and circuit is installed so at least none of the drywall has to be tore up.

[@beautyallure45]

New sub here! Love your videos

[@CatInMac]

Thank you so much for being here! I'm glad you are enjoying my house videos 🥰☺

[@SC-ug5mk]

Omg you are a super queen wonder woman! Thank you so much ! they are quoting 20% upgrade cost on las vegas new construction many buyers in that area really could benefit from your work! any feed back on exterior elevation cost? ac upgrades? alarms? water softener upgraded wiring any insight would be helpful again you killed it!

[@CatInMac]

Hi OMG thank you so much for your kind comment! I'm glad you find the videos helpful! ☺️ To answer your first few questions, I'm not sure if it's because we're in a townhouse, but we didn't get to choose our exterior elevations - the builder chose all the elevations in the community so no neighboring house look similar. As far as AC upgrades, alarms, and water softener upgrades, I don't believe we had upgrade choices for those options, but TBH, ours sales lady wasn't the best so there were things that we learned later on that we could have added, but it was too late, for example the wiring. We went with the basic lighting package for our house because we THOUGHT that included the lights shown in the model home. The sale's person never presented us with other upgraded light options so now we don't have any overhead lighting in the downstairs guest room. I plan to do another video soon discussing structural upgrade options and prices. Thanks for your comment, I'll be sure to research and add information about lighting costs and upgrades in that next video. Thanks again and please let me know if you have any other questions! ☺️

[@Jadde2323]

Girl come with me on the 26th lol 😂 I am beyond scared to pick things out lol!!! The builder gave us 10k of “free” money I def want upgraded cabinets my number one

[@CatInMac]

Ooo I would if I could, I love the design center lol but girl you got this! lol That's great that your builder is giving you $10,000 towards the design center! I would recommend making a list of must-haves, it seems like cabinets is already on that list, try using Pinterest to save a few ideas of what you're looking for, and if you have a realtor, I'd recommend bringing them along. Our realtor was so knowledgeable and helped us select things and asked questions we would have never thought to ask! The design consult will also be there to help out as well - do not let them rush you through the process, take your time and make sure that what you select in the end is exactly what you want in your house! Good luck, you got this!!!

[@Jadde2323]

@@CatInMac I really don’t want to go over the 10k honestly! And I am so indecisive I hate it 🥲 I love the color gray but then I kind of like the darker cabinets with the white quartz countertops or even white cabinets lol …and I was already told not to get dark gray tile floors 🥲 because it will be more noticeable it’s dirty… and to top it off my husband doesn’t really care about anything lol 😂 so I’m alone on this

[@CatInMac]

Ohhh I feel you on the indecisiveness and my husband honestly looked to me to make a lot of the decisions as well, so I'm right there with you! lol We ended up spending a little under $10,000 and was able to get pretty much everything we wanted, so I think you'll do great! As for the colors, its a lot easier to start narrowing things down when you see everything in person. You can physically hold the flooring, hardware, tile, etc. up to the cabinets to see what goes best together. I'm also a huge believer in you getting whatever YOU want, don't listen to closely to what other people tell you what they think you should do, its your house and it should be a place that you love coming home to ☺ You got this! I would definitely love to hear how your experience goes! ❤

[@jeffreyharris5172]

Hi, I love this video! Very detailed . May I ask a few questions if you can share? -Who was your builder? -Would you have the pricing for the levels for the flooring? if a price per sq ft.

[@CatInMac]

Hi! Thanks so much for watching! Our builder is K. Hovnanian Homes and unfortunately, our price sheet doesn't provide prices for flooring, however, if it helps - we got level 1 Luxury Vinyl in the entry ways (front door and garage entrance), the entire second floor, the hallway on the top floor, the two guest bathrooms, and the laundry room - the final price for that was $4,075. I'm not sure what the square foot is for each space so I'm not able to price it out by square foot. I hope this helps give you an idea of pricing! Thanks again for watching! 😊

[@jeffreyharris5172]

@@CatInMac Thanks so much, I was expecting LVP to be really expensive but $4,075 for all of that seems very reasonable

[@CatInMac]

Yes, us too! We definitely thought it was a good deal, but we also got a level 1 so that definitely helped keep the price down!

[@amif4727]

I’m debating on countertop and cabinets. Would u say it’s more expensive to replace your own cabinets or kitchen countertop later on instead of going with the builder?

[@CatInMac]

Hi, thanks so much for watching! Hmmm to be honest, I'm not 100% sure, however, I think it might be more expensive to replace your cabinets since the countertops will need to be removed anyways in order for the cabinets to be replaced. However, I've also seen videos of countertop removals where the cabinets are damaged in the removal process, but I think that could probably be resolved with professional help! I hope this helps, thanks again for watching! 😊

[@ronniem.7854]

Smart choices made!!! How much extra did you pay due to not going with the standard hardwood floors?

[@CatInMac]

Thanks so much for watching! We spent around $4000 total to upgrade the hardwood flooring to LVP - I don't have the exact sqft of flooring or price per sqft, but that's what we spent total. I hope this helps and thanks again for watch! 😊

[@abbeytoks]

I just got back from my design center appointment and I am just upset😭. So many things I could've declined.

[@CatInMac]

Oh no! 😭 Is there any way to maybe get in touch with him and make a few edits? Keep in mind, every builder is different, so they may have things that might be mandatory to choose at the design center. I hope you get everything you want! ☺ congrats and good luck on the home building process!

[@old71guy]

Hey! Love the video! What was the design center company your builder used? Any chance it was Claridge?

[@CatInMac]

Hi, thanks so much for watching!!! That is a good question, I'm actually not sure if they used a specific company, I believe our builder has their own design center (K. Hovnanian Homes). I just googled Claridge design center and can confidently say it was not Claridge. I hope this helps, thanks again for watching! 😊

[@lunanight2167]

Thanks much!

[@CatInMac]

Of course, no problem! ☺️ Thank you for watching!

[@jelderBEATMONSTA]

The price you said for cabinets, was that only for the kitchen or the whole house? (Bathrooms as well)

[@CatInMac]

Hi! The cabinet price mentioned in the video is only for the kitchen. I just checked our price sheet and the price for the hall bathrooms are as follows: Level 3: $70, Level 4: $140 and Level 5: $190. For the master bathroom: Level 3: 340, Level 4: $1350, and Level 5: $1500. I hope this helps! Thanks for watching!

[@Susanw777]

Thank you for your tips Tomorrow my appointment with design center . I have a question about upgrade on stove , microwave and dishwasher? Thanks again

[@CatInMac]

Hi, thanks so much for watching! Good luck at your appointment today! Sure, here are a few prices for you: Our builder gave us the option of the getting the gourmet kitchen, so there was a few Base Kitchen options and a few Gourmet Kitchen options. All of the base options were free ($0), Gourmet Kitchen level 1 for a gas or electric stove was also free ($0), Gourmet Kitchen level 2 included a gas stove and GE Profile appliances and was $1520, Gourmet Kitchen level 3 included a gas stove and GE Profile appliances and was $4330 and Gourmet Kitchen level 4 included a gas stove and GE Café appliances and was $3500. I believe we had the option to mix and match appliances. For an example of upgrade prices, they offered 3 different GE Profile Refrigerators at the prices $1620, $1890, and $2530. They also offered Two GE Café Refrigerator options at the prices $1730 and $1860. I believe we were able to choose the cheapest GE refrigerator option at $80. Unfortunately, I don't have the individual prices for the stove, microwave, and dishwasher. I believe those are all wrap up into the Base or Gourmet level pricing. I hope this helps!! Thanks again for watching! Please let me know if you have any other questions! 😊

[@Susanw777]

@@CatInMac thanks for the tips . Have a wonderful day 😊

[@CatInMac]

@@Susanw777 Of course! Enjoy your appointment! :)

[@bigkev9631]

What’s your homes sqftage and how much did you end up spending at the design center ?

[@CatInMac]

Hello! Our house is about 2800ish sqft and we spent a little under $10,000 at the design center. Hope this helps, thanks for watching! ☺

[@marubeltrandelrio863]

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Bravo!

[@CatInMac]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@boydpaige97]

What builder are you using? We’re doing Richmond American!!

[@CatInMac]

Hi, thanks for watching! Our builder is K. Hovnanian Homes!

[@Jadde2323]

Did you build with them? I’m building with them here in Arizona

[@ajojoseph6052]

What was the actual product of LVP did you end up buying? There are so many specs and qualities. Do you have a sqft rate that they charged?

[@CatInMac]

Hi, thanks so much for watching! Unfortunately I don't have the exact sqft or price per sqft, but I believe we spent around a total of $4000 on all of the LVP in our home. Our LVP was Level One from the company Armstrong Flooring in the color Neutral Ground. I hope this helps! Thanks again for watching! 😊

[@shyningstarvideoz]

Who was your builder?

[@CatInMac]

K. Hovnanian Homes

[@MJKing3000]

Can a buyer use their own lender at a new builder? I’m in AZ and some say you must use their lender I don’t want to.

[@CatInMac]

Hi, I believe you should be able to use your own lender, I'm not exactly sure how things are in AZ. I would recommend talking to your builder or if you are working with a realtor, asking them about the process. Thanks so much for watching and good luck! 😊

[@Ms.T2U]

Laminate cabinets doesn't last long, you may get 8 years out of them. The material is like ply wood

[@CatInMac]

Ahhh good to know! Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching!

[@jaysantos536]

What was the total of these upgrades? Thanks.

[@CatInMac]

I believe we spent around $9,500 on design center upgrades. We upgraded the cabinets, LVP flooring, kitchen facet, kitchen countertops, the stain on the stairs banister, master bathroom tiles, and the under cabinet lighting. I hope that helps, thanks so much for watching!

[@crystalglover8955]

Was design center added into the price of the home? Or did you all pay separately?

[@CatInMac]

Hi! For our builder, when we finished selecting our options at the design center, we had to pay 10% of the final total cost of the all the items we selected at the end of our appointment. I talk about it a little bit more about it in this video if you're interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3uzl4Chmaiep5I Thanks so much and let me know if you have any more questions! ☺️

[@crystalglover8955]

Thank you soooo much! Loved both videos. It’s was very helpful!🥰

[@CatInMac]

@@crystalglover8955 You're welcome! Glad they were helpful! ☺

[@pinkleather6725]

u did good 7k girl I spent 70 k in upgrades all together so annoyed lol

[@CatInMac]

Oh wow! I bet you were able to get mostly everything, if not everything you wanted! :)

[@pinkleather6725]

@@CatInMac not even I asked for wood on my stairs they said starting at 7k I'm like ok now that's enough that's extortion at this point I told them to carpet it and I'll remove at the end

[@yadiraromero3000]

What do you mean by The Design Center

[@CatInMac]

Hey - thanks so much for watching and for your question! For new build/new construction houses, once you choose and finalize a floor plan for your house, you are able to go to the builder's Design Center. The Design Center is where you are able to customize and personalize the items inside your house such as cabinets, countertops, flooring, light fixtures, appliances, etc. The Design Center is a space that has mock ups of different options you can choose in your house so you're able to see and touch everything before finalizing your choices. I hope this helps - thanks again for watching!

[@yadiraromero3000]

@@CatInMac that is so awesome I was just thinking the design center because I used to work at the Pacific design Center in West Hollywood because of the big blue whale and it's just a big building with a bunch of designer showrooms is pretty interesting working now I thought you had been there that's why I was asking it's a fun place to go good luck with your house designing help fun God bless

[@markwilliamson4834]

LVP is never an "upgrade" from LVP aka vinyl flooring. C'mon? Actual hard Wood costs per square foot are always more than vinyl even in 2022 as resin prices have soared.

[@CatInMac]

Right! Hardwood is definitely more expensive than LVP. I think they know LVP is popular and they're playing off of that to make the prices higher and present it as an upgrade smh. Thanks so much for watching!

[@E_Static]

True. I've had LVP, hardwood, tile and laminate flooring. Currently I have LVP and in my opinion its the most versatile, low mantience, and withstands the most abuse of all the others.

[@QR_Code]

it i$ what it i$... 😄🤷🏾‍♂️

[@CatInMac]

LOL - sometimes that's all you can say!

[@jaysantos536]

Who was your builder?

[@CatInMac]

Our builder was K. Hovnanian Homes