Does that surprise you?  Well, here's why!

First, the builder very rarely includes a fence in the home sale.  That will cost you approximately $3000 minimum.  It goes up from there, depending on its size,  style, and quality.  $5000 (out of pocket), is very common.

Builders in economy to moderately priced homes do not include garage door openers in the new home.  In the more exquisite homes, the door opener is generally included. 

A garage door opener system will run anywhere from $250-$500 per door (out of pocket), depending on motor size and quality of system.

Does the home have a gas fireplace?  Well, the builder usually includes a blower unit in middle price ranged homes and up.  The manufacturer of most fireplace units, have an outlet  in place for the homeowner to buy a blower after market and plug it in.  That will cost you anywhere from $150-$250 (out of pocket)!

If you have toured most newly constructed homes, you've seen the front yards beautified in some way, to give curb appeal to the home.  You've seen varying degrees of landscaping practiced.  The pricer the home, the more the builder invested in landscaping to help market the home. 

About 1/3 of the time, you will see the side yard area graded and seeded, but thats about it.  Few builders will complete the back yard unless it is an upper scale home.
The other 2/3's will grade (somewhat level) the backyard area.  If there are rocks, you have the privledge of getting into the detail.

A typical backyard lacks topsoil and any character. So you are free, at an out of pocket expense to be as creative as you care to be. Just top soil and seeding, building flower beds and adding a few shurbs, a tree or two and some flowers could easily cost you $2500 minimum (out of pocket).  If you have a landscaper do it, double the price.

Does the new home include a refrigerator or washer and dryer?  Here again, upscale home builders most generally include an entire suite of appliances.  The more elaborate homes will even have stainless included in the price.  But as a general rule, the frig and washer and dryer will become a $2000-$2500 out of pocket expense for you!

In comparison, as your agent, on resale homes, I always ask for the entire appliance suite. 1/3 of the time I get it all for my buyers.  1/2 the time I get the refrigerator, and it is only about 10% of the time I get the washer and dryer and not the frig also.  And that's all because the sellers intend to buy NEW appliances when they move into their next home.  What housewife wouldn't time that decision to when they move in!  We did!

Now comes the biggest expenses of all...Builders have short slab patios.  But when it comes to a nice sized deck or a set of attaching stairs, well, that is not included either.
That will cost you $1000 for a 10x20 treated deck, if constructed with the right materials and put together properly.  Larger decks (20x20) will easily be $2000-$3000, especially after you put in stairs in 2 or more places, and 3-4 foot high railing and posts. 

And finally, if the home is a new split level, we commonly see where the lower floor is roughed in with insulation installed, the bathroom walls framed (with plumbing installed and exposed, and its your treat to do one of two things (pay the builder to finish it at a premium price ---- remember they are motivated to keep their crew on building the next house so if they are pulled to do an "add on" as this is called, then they will charge you a premium for their labor and materials.  It is typical to see a price increase on the home purchase price of $10,000-$15,000 extra (and a delay of time if they do it), they will ask for a non-refundable deposit of usually 20-30% before they will start). 

Your other alternative is to do it after your house closes.  And, guess what!  You're back to paying out of pocket again --- as much if you do the labor, but you still have to come up with a way of paying for materials --- $6000-$10,000 after you put in stud walls for additional rooms, install the electrical, lighting, sheetrock, trim moldings, painting, heating units, bathtub, shower, toilet, sink, vanity....a never ending list of items and cost, as it seems.  And we have to remember to install the flooring, hard wood, vinyl, carpet and pad.  The cost keeps going up....

And how about the time to do all this.  Meantime, if all this is out of pocket, you now have less cash reserves, if you paid cash.  If you put it on credit, it would be a credit card purchase (14-19% common), or a consumer loan (commonly 12-18%), and the last thing you want to do is refinance the home you just closed on as it will mean you pay over 3% in closing costs all over again.

But don't fret --- you have Choices!

• Instead, buy a home 2-3 or 3-4 years old ---



• The additional items you otherwise would have to pay out-of-pocket, will already have been installed in the resale home by the previous owner.



• No credit card debt with high interest rates.



• No consumer loan to worry about.



• Stress Free Weekends - No Work Projects
!


• Now do you see why I don't advocate a new home to anyone!