Home

[jannabelle1]

I built just once and learned a lot. The biggest thing was be prepared to spend more money than you anticipated. The builders products are not a very good grade. If there are things that you can upgrade, do it now rather than wait. What items? Think about windows, kitchen and bathroom cabinets, light fixtures, upgraded carpet or flooring, appliances, finished or roughed in basement, 2 1/2 car garage (if possible), bathroom tile as opposed to bare walls, kitchen countertops, landscaping e.g. trees. Decide ahead of time what is important to upgrade based on their lifestyle. Sometimes people say that they'll upgrade "later" and then it just never gets done.

Best of luck....!

[kathie66]

@Natureluvr One thing I love that we did when we renovated my bathroom a few years ago was a heated floor, not sure where the house is being built but if you have cold winters it's awesome.

We are renovating and winterizing a very small cottage now and plan to do heated floors in all rooms. 

Good luck to your daughter and family in the new home!

[Trailrun23]

I know this looks like a lot, but have been through three daughters buying or building  new houses and all of them had to spend money re-doing or adding the following to make their spaces livable and more functional; builder's showroom can be daunting.  My daughters considered or did the following; 

Upgrade all windows. Really worth it. We did the same when we bought ours. 

Make the laundry room as large as possible and make sure it has a laundry sink and a countertop.
Keep kitchen cabinets low enough to be used, or have a way to access them if they must be to the ceiling. A space up high above the cabinets is useless and a dust collector. If it's an option, choose a slide out cutting board. 
Upgrade the refrigerator.

Have them add adequate wiring in garage for a freezer or extra refrigerator in an accessible place close to the door into the house. 

A separate bar is waste of space; use the space elsewhere

If there is a patio, make sure it has a cover that is attached to the home

If two stories, consider adding a laundry chute

Have hard surface for all countertops in baths, laundry and kitchen. Marble or granite. Quartz is softer and chips easier.
Make sure tile for bathroom floors are bathroom-recommended; if not, they will be slick as ice when wet.

Landscaping package; choose only native trees and require them to be planted far enough away from the house to avoid root/ foundation problems in the future. For bedding plants, be aware of sun requirements and which way the house faces for sun/ shade.

Hope this helps! 

[debfau]

---

@Natureluvr wrote:
@deevaShe has 3 young children so she’s all about low-maintenance and easy care. Things like countertops and tile selections will be important. I guess just any tips you can think of that might be helpful. Thanks

---

The big thing now adays seem to be Quartz countertops, some places offer a lot of different colors/styles.

[Lucky Charm]

If it's a two story, consider two separate a/c condenser units.  One for each level.  Our biggest mistake.  Is going to cost us a lot now to fix that problem.