Building Upgrades with Indiana Builders

As you build a home you will often hear Indiana builders or Michigan home builders use the term "upgrade." Basically it means what you want is not in the normal pricing custom builders offer. Common upgrades can be fireplaces, hardwood flooring, brick and much more. Some custom built homes cost extra when air conditioners and garage door openers are specified. As you build your new construction home you need to request in writing exactly what you’re getting in your home at the start, regardless of which Indiana builders you pick. Upgrades can be offered during the start of your building process or they can be added during the new home construction process.

Many Indiana builders will tell you an upgrade product is quite different from an allowance. In short, an upgrade is not a must-have item, but more an amenity. For example, every house needs a front door. A front door is an allowance item. However, not every house needs a door with fancy stained glass or detailed glass etching.

You’ll find most Indiana builders, and Michigan home builders, have a standard list of products that everyone needs (like the front door). But they also use estimating software to figure out the final price for building upgrades (like the stained glass door). This can also work with items that aren’t must-haves, like a fireplace, for example. Let’s say you don’t want a fireplace, but the next client does. Why should you pay the same price for a house as him for less home features? You shouldn’t pay more, and it’s why at Certified Builders we offer a detailed list of products and a la-cart items for your new home construction.

Unfortunately every industry has unethical companies and in the custom-built homes business they’re easy to spot. The most common trick is to offer a really low base price to get the consumer excited and then later add up so many extras that the final bill is nearly 50% more than the original base price. Another trick of unreputable Indiana builders and Michigan home builders is to offer 25- year, 3-tab shingles in the base price then expect you to upgrade to 30-year dimensional shingles, an upgrade costs an average of five hundred dollars, yet charge you thousands of dollars extra. At Certified Builders we’ll offer standard desired products at cost, in the base price, which reduces warranty issues and creates repeat customers. What that means is when you find quality Indiana builders and Michigan home builders like us, the price we quote is the price you pay.