You walk into the design center with a floor plan in hand and a list of options that runs six pages deep. The salesperson is friendly, the model homes are gorgeous, and you're trying to figure out which upgrades are worth baking into the mortgage and which ones you can tackle later with a screwdriver and a Saturday afternoon. I asked my entire team, eight agents who walk buyers through new construction every single day, what's the one upgrade that buyers regret not doing. The answers were not necessarily what you'd expect. Half of them are things you'll never even see because they're behind the drywall.

This is not about custom-built homes. This is about production subdivision-style homes where the builder hands you a menu of structural or design options and says, hey, listen, these are choices you get to make and bake it into the build and ultimately the mortgage of the house. Structural options are changes to the house itself, walls, footprint, windows, ceiling height. Design options are the finishes, flooring, countertops, cabinets. Rule of thumb for the entire article: if it's structural, behind the drywall, or under the concrete, do it during the build. If you can swap it later with a screwdriver, it can wait.

Before we jump in, if you are buying new construction here in Northern Colorado, please hear me on this. The salesperson for the new construction builder is great. They're usually super nice, but they work for the builder, not you. Having your own agent at the table typically doesn't cost you anything extra. The builder usually is going to pay that commission. You will want to confirm on each build, but it could save you thousands in the design center alone, negotiation process, concessions. We typically talk to builders daily and understand what their incentives are in this market today. Call, text, or email my team before you register at the model or sign that builder contract. Many builders won't let you add an agent after your first visit. Whether you're three months out or three years out, we would love to be an asset on your team.

Table of Contents

• Hardwood Flooring on the Main Level: Skip the Carpet
• Low Voltage Pre-Wire and Blocking: Future-Proof Your Tech
• Plumbing Stubs, Hose Bibs, and Water Softener Rough-Ins
• Gas Stubs on the Patio and Behind the Range
• Electrical Rough-Ins: Recessed Lights, Ceiling Fans, and Soffit Outlets
• Primary Bath and Kitchen Layout: One Shot to Get It Right
• More Windows and a Bigger Patio Door
• The Basement Package: Ceiling Height, Egress, and Finish Options
• Garage Size: Deeper Bays, Third Stalls, and Tandem Options
• More Square Footage: The Only Upgrade Appraisers Consistently Credit
• What to Skip at the Design Center
• Conclusion

Hardwood Flooring on the Main Level: Skip the Carpet

Every single agent on my team said some version of this, and the National Association of Home Builders said 81% of buyers rate that main level hardwood floor as essential or desirable. You're going to want to do it now because the reality is you don't want to replace your floors after you've moved in and have to move all your things out. This is going to be an opportunity for you to put in the hardwood on the main level where everyone wants it.

I can talk personally here. A higher-end LVP is a fantastic option, especially if you have pets. Hardwood, some of them, if they're a soft hardwood, can absolutely get scratched up. And depending on how big your dog is, those are things that you're going to want to take into consideration. But a builder's LVP package is going to be sufficient enough. The point is to avoid carpet on the main level. Carpet wears out, stains, and feels dated faster than any other flooring choice. If you skip hardwood or LVP now, you'll be ripping out carpet and dealing with dust, furniture shuffling, and contractor schedules within a few years. Do it during the build and you'll never think about it again.

Low Voltage Pre-Wire and Blocking: Future-Proof Your Tech

Your pre-wire is running your TV, internet, and camera cables before the drywall. Blocking is the extra wood inside the wall so that you can mount a TV, shelves, or grab bars pretty much anywhere. Security cameras are one of the fastest-growing must-haves according to the National Association of Home Builders, 76% of buyers, up 36 points since 2012. A lot of cool, easy, simple solutions exist, but they need the outlet in the soffits. It's usually just a few hundred bucks now versus cutting into drywall later.

Here's where you're going to want to think about your TV in the walls, camera spots, video doorbell, Cat6 or Cat8 to the office, and Wi-Fi access points. If you can think about those and where you're going to want them before the drywall is up, this is going to be the time to spend and the money to invest. Once the walls are closed, adding a new run can cost hundreds per drop, plus drywall repair and paint. Do it now and you'll have clean, hidden wiring exactly where you need it.

Plumbing Stubs, Hose Bibs, and Water Softener Rough-Ins

Caleb on my team definitely had this one. He said, think about the extra water spigots. Adding a spigot now is relatively inexpensive. Adding it later could be $150 to $500, and that's if your basement is not finished. If it's finished, it could be a whole lot more because you have to cut into the drywall, run the pipes, redrywall, a ton of extra work. Think the side yard, the garage, near the garden.

Additionally, think about adding a water softener now versus later. When we moved into our house, my wife had a water softener person come in and it cost me $8,000, and that was about 10 years ago. Take into consideration inflation and all the additional expenses, and do it while the home's getting built so it can be installed where it should be. Northern Colorado water is hard, and a softener rough-in during construction means you can add the unit later without tearing into finished walls or floors. If you wait, you're looking at cutting concrete, running new lines, and a much higher bill.

Gas Stubs on the Patio and Behind the Range

Two of my agents brought this up on their own, and it's the upgrade I see people regret more than almost anything else on the patio. Connor and Caleb both said capped gas lines out to the back patio for a grill or a fire pit. Running it later can be extremely expensive, $600 to $1,300 depending on where that gas line is.

Additionally, a gas stub behind the range, even if you're going to go electric right now, keeps the options open for resale. So many of the people that we work with want a gas range, and it costs a fair amount of money, especially if the basement's finished. If it's unfinished, it's relatively easy, you can run the line and then run it up to the gas and then you can replace your range and stove from electric to gas from there. But do it while you're in the build phase. Once the drywall is up and the floors are in, you're looking at cutting into finished surfaces, running new gas lines through framing, and dealing with permits and inspections. A capped stub costs a fraction of that and gives you flexibility forever.

Electrical Rough-Ins: Recessed Lights, Ceiling Fans, and Soffit Outlets

This is going to be an unsexy one, but it probably pays off the most. Recessed lights cost $65 to $175 during the build versus $125 to $300 per light afterwards. Ceiling fan boxes in every room, buyers today absolutely want it. Soffit outlets for your holiday lights. Personally, installing my holiday lights, thank God my house has the soffit lights so I'm not dragging extension cords everywhere.

Think about extra outlets in the island, garage, office, in the floor, especially if you're going to have a couch or anything like that that could cover it. Estimates for a new circuit could be $50 to $200 at build versus $500 to $2,000 afterwards. One cool thing that Larimer County and Fort Collins already require is a 50-amp EV-ready circuit in the homes that they are currently building. They're also requiring a passive radon system. So there are some builder code upgrades that you're just going to benefit from now versus later.

This isn't necessarily on the list, but this is a bonus one if you can think about it: where the laundry location is. Caleb thought about this as well. If the plan allows you to pick where that laundry location is, make sure that it's on the same floor as the bedrooms. I can tell you specifically, my wife, when she looks at houses, thought for our first house, thank God the laundry is on the same floor as the bedroom. But some of them are all the way in the basement and you're going down to the main floor to the basement to get your laundry. When you have multiple kids, making that trip up the stairs with laundry baskets gets tiring or just gets frustrating after the first few times.

Primary Bath and Kitchen Layout: One Shot to Get It Right

Now that was the budget list. Now let's take the gloves off. If money is no object, these are the five upgrades that you really just get one shot at. Izzy talked about on our team, a lot of these primary bathrooms are going to be five-piece depending on the build and things of that nature. But you're going to want a tub. You're going to want a shower. Most buyers want both.

Talk about what you're wanting to do with the tile upgrades in the shower. I think that's a super easy, simple deal to get taken care of at the beginning. Cabinets to the ceiling, it is a major upgrade feel when you walk through that home. We just walked through a $900,000 house, but it felt more like a $600,000 or $700,000 house because the cabinets were not to the ceiling and it just felt a little bit more entry-level.

Think about an open railing instead of drywall half wall on the stairs. It's a huge visual upgrade. Walk-in pantry, that is going to be a huge thing to consider. Butler pantry is worth the additional funds. These are structural changes that require framing adjustments, plumbing relocations, and cabinet reconfigurations. You can't move a shower wall or add a pantry after the fact without a full remodel. Get the layout right during the build and you'll love the flow of your home every single day.

More Windows and a Bigger Patio Door

People love their windows, and there's options to add them, especially in basements. Basements in Colorado are a big deal, and people look at basements kind of like these muggy and mildewy type things. And maybe, yeah, from the '70s and '60s, that is how they feel. But if you can add the windows, it's a huge savings. Do it now versus later, especially on the egress window side of things.

But add the extra windows and the patio door. These patio doors, when we did our remodel on our house, it ran us $10,000 and we were kind of not on the budget-friendly door, but we wanted the extended slider, massive opportunity. And you could go way up from there, $15,000, $20,000, $25,000 for a multi-slide oversized patio door. So consider doing it on the build. And that way it's built in, you've got the headers on there, it's properly done.

Even thinking about upgrading the windows, I will say people are a little bit more conscientious about that. Like, do we have solid windows, good windows? How long are they going to stand up? We've got a lot of properties and homes here in Fort Collins and Colorado that were built in the '80s and '90s, and now their windows are coming up on 20, 30 years. And we're talking pretty significant expenses on retrofitting these homes with new windows. And the people who have done it, the buyers are seeing that. So on your new build, consider upgrading from kind of their base window to maybe a more Energy Star rated window. But the long and short of it, these builds are fantastic. All of them are HERS rated, basically meaning they are homes with energy efficient ratings that are very strong. In fact, they have to add passive systems in there for air to get through because otherwise the house is too secure and closed off. So in the laundry room, you'll actually see a passive airflow system to add in some extra fresh air into the house.

The Basement Package: Ceiling Height, Egress, and Finish Options

This is going to be a Colorado thing. In a lot of the country, this doesn't even come up. But here is one of the biggest decisions you're gonna make on a new build, and that is the basement package. Most Northern Colorado homes have basements. Usually they're gonna come unfinished. A lot of them are gonna be either 8-foot or 9-foot. If you have the option, do the 9-foot walls. It is extremely important that you do this.

I personally have an 8-foot wall finish in our basement and it's just a little bit tight. You're never gonna be able to change that ceiling height later. And add bigger egress windows and more egress windows. Don't limit yourself, lock yourself into where bedrooms can be. Some of these can be relatively affordable when you're doing it on the front end of things, but on the back end when you're having to cut into concrete and add the egress window, this could be $2,700 to $5,900 and above.

And finally, think about having that builder-finished basement. Connor, Zach, and Izzy all suggested finishing the basement through the builder. In Colorado, you can do this for $15,000 to $75,000 depending on the size of your basement, anywhere from really $50 to $80 per square foot. But through the builder, what this allows you to do is it allows you to roll it into your mortgage.

One thing to consider: adding an extra bathroom rough-in or know where you want to place that rough-in. Some of these builders just put it in the easiest spot and that's going to be one of your more expensive things when you are finishing a basement, if you have to relocate that rough-in. So think about your layout if you're going to leave it unfinished, but you want to have that extra egress window. Like if you're a handyman contractor and can build for yourself and want to do it, these are going to be some things that you want to consider: where your egress windows are, if you want to add anything extra, where your stub-ins are, and see if you can work with the builder to move them where you want to go. Because once you do that, then you got to cut in the concrete. It just adds significant expense.

Garage Size: Deeper Bays, Third Stalls, and Tandem Options

Either having a deeper garage, 2 to 4 extra feet, or a third bay or a tandem garage. A lot of these trucks that we have in Colorado, I myself have an F-150, don't fit into your standard garage. And we do have hailstorms out here in Northern Colorado, and I hate the idea of if I do have a hailstorm that rolls through, fortunately we haven't had it since I've owned the truck for the last 6 years, knock on wood. But if we did, I would try to sneak that thing in as far as I could and maybe have an inch or 2 hanging out.

But having that extra 2 to 4 feet, it not only allows you to fit your truck in there, we also have a ton of toys here in Fort Collins, Northern Colorado. Your snowblower, your mower, your bikes, your kid bikes, your trailer, your sleds, your skis. I mean, there's so many different toys and having that third car tandem garage or third bay or extra 2 to 4 feet just really adds significant and valuable storage.

Now, if you're going to do this after closing, you can do it. We've looked into it, but it's going to come at a significant expense. We used to think to build a 1-car garage in Fort Collins would be about $25,000 to $30,000. I would say now you're going to be closer to $40,000 to $60,000. And then depending on if you're going to be attaching it to the building or what you're trying to do, there could be a significant hurdle with that, with roof lines and things of that nature. So this is going to probably be one of the biggest expenses, but also one of the things that you're going to love the most if you do it at the time of build.

More Square Footage: The Only Upgrade Appraisers Consistently Credit

This is the only upgrade on this entire list that appraisers are going to consistently give you real credit for. We talk about finishing basement, typically that's $0.75 on the dollar. So it is going to cost you money to finish that basement, but it's not going to have a great return. Some of these have good and decent returns, but this is going to be the best one and that's going to be more square footage.

If you have the ability to do a bump out, extra bedroom, extended great room, or a bigger or covered patio, this is going to be when you want to do it. Appraisers are going to value homes on size first. The most finished upgrades get the most dollars. That is where the true value is. Adding it later is a full addition and it's truly expensive. We've talked with our contractors. You're gonna have to go through HOA approval, architectural permitting. It is gonna be an absolute pain in the head, pain in the butt.

And we've talked with our contractor about when does it make sense to do an addition, like what square footage? And he was thinking like anywhere between 300 to 400 square feet is really the bare minimum. So if you're thinking about 100, 200 square feet, it is just going to be ultra expensive and prohibitive comparatively doing it at the build.

Here's some numbers from the National Association of Home Builders that I thought were pretty interesting. 86% of buyers want a patio, 81% a front porch, and if they could, they would want an extended covered patio is extremely important to them. Zach added a great point. If you have paid for a lot premium, this is going to be where you want to put a lot of your options.

People come to Fort Collins for views. We worked with a client that was moving here from Boston, and I still remember to this day, even though it was a few years back, him looking through a couple of the trees and saying, I can see the mountains. If you've paid for a premium lot with good views, add the covered patio. Add this as you're going to have 300+ days of sun. You can absolutely be out there in December, January, February on nice warm afternoons, plenty of sun. This is where you could consider spending a lot of your extra dollars is that extended covered patio.

What to Skip at the Design Center

This next part is actually what you want to consider skipping at the design center. This is where the builders make a good amount of their money because there are brokers out there and they estimate that upgrades run a premium or a margin of 40 to 65% versus a contractor who's looking to make 15 to 25%.

Countertops, quartz, for example, they're going to be charging like $80 to $120 per linear foot versus going $45 to $75 independently. Caleb likes to talk about it as like, hey, listen, get rid of the laminate, the Formica anywhere. Take the builder's lowest stone, quartz, or tier and then upgrade it later if you want.

Backsplash, cabinet hardware, light fixtures, paint, these are all easy things to swap on the back side. And you're also gonna have way more choice after closing. I remember going to the design center at one point and we basically had like 3 choices of hardware and it was something that the builder has taken into consideration because the one thing that they know is people may walk away from the new construction.

One thing to consider, if you're buying new build and you put that earnest money down, usually it's relatively affordable, not too bad. But unless the builder's made an extreme error, you're walking away from that earnest money comparatively to existing build. And so one of the things they take into consideration is, yeah, most people aren't going to walk away from that, but some people are. And we're going to limit the design choices to what we know our design experts will allow. And that might not necessarily align with what you want. So you will have a ton more choices after closing on things like hardware and light fixtures.

Appliances and blinds. The builder packages are relatively limited, and Zach thought maybe you can potentially shop it yourself, sell those appliances aftermarket, and get better deals.

Fence and landscaping. Usually you can find a relatively cheaper deal if you find it on yourself. But again, you're not going to be able to roll that into the mortgage.

A tankless water heater. It's nice, but converting it later is only $3,000 to $5,000. And if you have a good water heater, it's definitely not going to be the end of the world doing it yourself, finding a good plumber. It's not a must during the build.

All of that's going to have to be a conversation that you have with yourself. Because like I said, one of the best things that you can do about doing all of these during the build process is financing it through the next 30 years. Yes, maybe you're paying 6, 7% for an extra $150 outlet over the next 30 years. But you're not having to come out of pocket. And in my opinion, if I can keep that money today for us to a certain degree within a certain range of interest rates, I'm going to do just that.

A pro tip before we wrap up, and this is something that we do with all of our clients on new construction: before the drywall goes up, you're going to have a pre-drywall inspection. Walk the house and video every single wall. You'll know exactly where every piece of blocking is forever, and you can reference it when you're installing the TV. If you're considering putting in an electric fireplace or wanting to kick out a wall, you'll know what's behind those and you'll be able to reference it forever.

Conclusion

Just a quick recap. On the budget side of things: hardwood floors on the main, pre-wiring and blocking, plumbing stubs, gas stubs, electrical rough-ins, laundry locations. And if you have a budget that just is relatively endless, your bath and kitchen layout's going to be big, windows, the basement package, the garage, and then finally square footage. Remind yourself, the rule of thumb is the structural side of things behind the drywall, do it now. If you have to do it with a screwdriver, you can swap it later.

If you're buying new construction anywhere in Northern Colorado, Fort Collins, Timnath, Windsor, Severance, Wellington, Loveland  , call/text me at 970-893-3533 or book a FREE consultation here. Again, whether you're 3 months out or 3 years out. We tour these communities every single week. We just talked with somebody who is relocating here and they said, hey, listen, we're coming from the Highlands Ranch area. We're looking at this neighborhood, at this model. I'm like, I know exactly what neighborhood that is, what model is, and that builder. We have a great relationship. That is why the link in the description, reach out, jump on an intro call to us. We would love to be an asset.