Anonymous wrote:We are trying to determine whether to finish the basement at a cost of about $33k (also with bed/bath at $15k), as well as whether to do the outdoor living at $41k, this is for Renwick. Anyone have information on whether these options are priced more or less than what we could do after closing on our own? How did you evaluate these decisions? Thank you!

I assume you haven’t yet bought since there are no lots available, but you know the prices so I’m a bit confused since the options list prices change with every new lot release

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Re: low voltage options - we didn't spend too much there as I plan to run our own wifi mesh network and smart home system with integrated alarm, lights, etc. Toll Brothers alarm system is white-labeled from alarm.com https://www.tbismarthomesolutions.com and if you integrate everything through them, it can get pricey. If you have some tech chops, this may be a good area to save.

Agreed! You should definitely skip much of what Audio Buys is offering. A wifi mesh system like Orbi is a much better (and more powerful) option. Several good smart home systems are also available.

Better and more powerful option than what?

We are trying to determine whether to finish the basement at a cost of about $33k (also with bed/bath at $15k), as well as whether to do the outdoor living at $41k, this is for Renwick. Anyone have information on whether these options are priced more or less than what we could do after closing on our own? How did you evaluate these decisions? Thank you!

In a new construction where you can wire Ethernet cables easily during construction, using access points is the best option. Mesh is good if you don’t have Ethernet available (older homes). The prewiring is only a few hundred, so we’ll worth it. Agree with other poster that the alarm, automation etc from AudioBuys is not cost effective and better can be done yourself in my opinion. Running POE lines to doorbell and camera sites would be good idea also to prevent bandwidth drag or delayed alerts that WiFi will cause.

Prewire for WAP’s cost only $170 per location. We prewired 3 locations for Palatine Model.

Anonymous wrote:Re: low voltage options - we didn't spend too much there as I plan to run our own wifi mesh network and smart home system with integrated alarm, lights, etc. Toll Brothers alarm system is white-labeled from alarm.com https://www.tbismarthomesolutions.com and if you integrate everything through them, it can get pricey. If you have some tech chops, this may be a good area to save.

You probably know a lot more than me when it comes to low voltage stuff, but I always thought mesh networks are good for existing houses, but when building new construction, wiring for access points is the best solution. Not sure if he was trying to upsell, but AudioBuys also strongly recommended prewire for WAP’s.

Anonymous wrote:Re: low voltage options - we didn't spend too much there as I plan to run our own wifi mesh network and smart home system with integrated alarm, lights, etc. Toll Brothers alarm system is white-labeled from alarm.com https://www.tbismarthomesolutions.com and if you integrate everything through them, it can get pricey. If you have some tech chops, this may be a good area to save.

Agreed! You should definitely skip much of what Audio Buys is offering. A wifi mesh system like Orbi is a much better (and more powerful) option. Several good smart home systems are also available.

Re: low voltage options - we didn't spend too much there as I plan to run our own wifi mesh network and smart home system with integrated alarm, lights, etc. Toll Brothers alarm system is white-labeled from alarm.com https://www.tbismarthomesolutions.com and if you integrate everything through them, it can get pricey. If you have some tech chops, this may be a good area to save.

Anonymous wrote:We are hoping to get in this next month with the new Windmill lot(s) released but with prices ticking up, we are getting worried our budget will be blown faster than we would like. We are debating between the Renwick and Parkhurst. The sales team said that buyers spend, on average, $75k at the design center. Is that realistic? Can Windmill buyers share what they have actually spent at design center (not the structural upgrades)? I recognize everyone has made different selections but just getting some ideas would be helpful as far as what is realistic (and whether $75k is way off or not).

$75K was only for our floor lol .. We will spend about $200K on design studio and we tried as hard as we could to save

The lack of recessed lights in places like family room is also annoying. We spent 15k on electrical and 15k with audio buys. Landscape meeting is next week, so would appreciate any insight on what that costs.

Our biggest expenses at design center were 25k for kitchen and 30k for flooring.

Anonymous wrote:We are hoping to get in this next month with the new Windmill lot(s) released but with prices ticking up, we are getting worried our budget will be blown faster than we would like. We are debating between the Renwick and Parkhurst. The sales team said that buyers spend, on average, $75k at the design center. Is that realistic? Can Windmill buyers share what they have actually spent at design center (not the structural upgrades)? I recognize everyone has made different selections but just getting some ideas would be helpful as far as what is realistic (and whether $75k is way off or not).

Agree with the others. $75k at the design center is on the low end, unless you plan to replace or upgrade floors after settlement. Cabinets and counters were next most expensive. In addition to the electrical, low voltage options, there’s also landscape/patio to consider.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are hoping to get in this next month with the new Windmill lot(s) released but with prices ticking up, we are getting worried our budget will be blown faster than we would like. We are debating between the Renwick and Parkhurst. The sales team said that buyers spend, on average, $75k at the design center. Is that realistic? Can Windmill buyers share what they have actually spent at design center (not the structural upgrades)? I recognize everyone has made different selections but just getting some ideas would be helpful as far as what is realistic (and whether $75k is way off or not).

75k is not realistic for Windmill unless you go basic

If you don’t upgrade your appliances to ultra kitchen, choose a countertop that under level 5 （actually level 3 is pretty good), and just upgrade part of the floor, don't upgrade the carpet (you can have someone to do it after closing), $75,000 at the design center is possible. Many of their standard options are not bad，sometimes spending a lot of money does not necessarily get good results. If you really like this community, just buy a house first and try to upgrade it slowly in the future.

In addition, you can spend nearly $10,000 on the electrical , and audio buy can make more flexible choices according to your needs.

Anonymous wrote:We are hoping to get in this next month with the new Windmill lot(s) released but with prices ticking up, we are getting worried our budget will be blown faster than we would like. We are debating between the Renwick and Parkhurst. The sales team said that buyers spend, on average, $75k at the design center. Is that realistic? Can Windmill buyers share what they have actually spent at design center (not the structural upgrades)? I recognize everyone has made different selections but just getting some ideas would be helpful as far as what is realistic (and whether $75k is way off or not).

75k is not realistic for Windmill unless you go basic

Anonymous wrote:We are hoping to get in this next month with the new Windmill lot(s) released but with prices ticking up, we are getting worried our budget will be blown faster than we would like. We are debating between the Renwick and Parkhurst. The sales team said that buyers spend, on average, $75k at the design center. Is that realistic? Can Windmill buyers share what they have actually spent at design center (not the structural upgrades)? I recognize everyone has made different selections but just getting some ideas would be helpful as far as what is realistic (and whether $75k is way off or not).

We spent 140k at the design center and have a windmill. Biggest savings was doing carpet in bedrooms and carpet in basement. We plan to swap out basement after closing.