[quote=familyguy]Maybe just buying the basic home and upgrading it later is the way to go. More then likely you can get the built ins, flooring, baseboards, etc. much cheaper from a local business, and probably higher quality. Not to mention you don’t have to mortgage the cost of said upgrades over a 30 year period.

To do it over again i would have definitley done minimum builder upgrades and purchased them later as I had the extra cash as opposed to having them lumped into my mortgage. Live and learn I suppose.

Does anyone else see the logic in this approach, or am I missing something?[/quote]

This totally makes sense unless the builder is including them in your negotiated price like Serenity is doing. Its not adding to the cost of the house so you might as well use it. Toll Bros. on the other hand you would spend another 150k with them or you can fork out another 75k on your own AFTER you move in a have already placed a 200-240k Down payment. I looked at both and the Toll Bros is practically sight unseen with 2 models and is a good deal more expensive. Serenity is a very nice house and is plenty big for anyone. Win Win really for both but 100k+ is no small chump change and you get to live in a finished house.

Maybe in 2 years when the market is still depressed and Toll needs to move some houses they will also be giving away 75k in upgrades included in the negotiated price.