We have purchased a ton of things for our new home. Hopefully we move in at the end of March. Most places, like appliances you can purchase when you find a deal and they will hold delivery until you are ready. I think you can have your warranty start when you take possession.

We are a month late (so far) on our projected move in date. We simply called the companies and rescheduled delivery. Sofas, beds, appliances, night tables, coffe tables, rugs. We will have it all delivered on move in day!

We have purchased several things for the house on our own. Cabinet hardware, lighting, stools, towel hardware, TP holders, pedestal sinks, coat hooks, etc. We figured if we pay for those things now as opposed to having them applied to our mortgage loan, it would pay off in the long run.

Aimless07, I like your thinking! We are going to be starting the bidding process for builders and want to purchase our own appliances, hardware, lighting (except for recessed lights), and sinks/faucets/free-standing tub. Will builders be okay with this (and not provide a builders warranty for these items)? We know this can save us money for other things (heavy trim package, ceiling heights, stone, etc). Curious about everyone's thoughts. Thx!

Need to ask your builder, some will some absolutely will not. If it is a developer more than likely he will not allow it.

Thanks! I guess the key is making sure to state this during the bidding process, and find one who will work with us.

millworkman is correct many builders will not allow purchases of materials

we bought bathroom tub , sink fixtures, shower fixtures, the sinks themselves, all lighting (except recessed lighting) all ceiling fans

Zippity1, how were you able to do this?

Our builder specifically told us that he would not include any lighting fixtures or appliances as those items can have drastic prices difference.. For example he might factor in a 500 dollar light for dining room but we want a 2500 dollar fixture.. With that in mind he told us that we can purchase those items as well as all accessories on our own.. Plumbing fixtures (faucets, sinks, tubs, etc) had to be done through him.. He factored in the cost to install all the items that we purchased though and warranties the work on them, just not the item itself..

We've bought appliances (saved drastically on some during Black Friday sales), all light fixtures, recessed lights, bath tubs, and some of our hardware so far. We plan to buy the rest of our hardware and plumbing fixtures ourselves.

we started the conversation with the builder talking about a special clawfoot tub i wanted he said that was fine, to buy whatever we wanted (and to let him know what we were getting - so he wouldn't get it too) and at the end of the build we gave him a list (basically copies) of the invoices from the items we'd purchased and he took that list and took from his normal expenditures the cost he normally pd for these items
we bought the items in advance of when they were needed in the build and sometimes he took them and put them in storage, after our shop was completed, we just put everything in there and gave him a key and he got them out when they were needed
one of the bigger purchases we made that i forgot to mention was crystal and porcelain door knobs and all the drawer hardware, knobs etc
we had a lot of fun making these purchases and he didn't have to "shop" for those items plus we got better prices and a much more varied selection of all items
yes, we did end up going over our projected home price in the end, but we
came out with exactly what we'd envisioned

Some things, such as lighting fixtures, are part of the house, and the builder might not let you buy your own; other things, like furniture, aren't really part of the house, so you're free to do what you want. If you find something you really like, you'd better buy it. I don't know how many people I've read about that found the perfect tile, only to have it go out of production before they bought it. We've been looking at a particular dishwasher, but waiting until we need it. Well, sure enough, it's been discontinued, so now we need to find another suitable model.

For us, we've had to wait to make a lot of decisions until the house is basically done. We have a hard time with paint colors, and now that the house is built, and we can see the way the light acts upon everything, picking colors is becoming easier. You can't very well pick out furniture or carpet until you know what the wall colors will be. I know there are people who can visualize everything ahead of time, but I'm not one of them. I have to see the space before I can commit to colors and lay-out.

We're using a number of antique accessories in our house, and they in turn affect other choices. So far, we've bought antique doors, lighting fixtures, and drawer pulls. Once we put those things in place, then we'll try to accessorize with things like period switch plates. In the mean time, we just have cheap plastic ones. It's an evolutionary process for us, but we have the luxury of time, rather than moving into a turn-key house all at once.

I purchased everything for my house, since i built it; so I dont know what you wouldnt buy, but some stores did ask which builder I had because some of them offered discounts with certain builders. So i would pick a builder first so you might save a little.

We bought a bunch of stuff early. Lighting fixtures in particular. Also some plumbing items. But… I can't use the plumbing items (1 sink, 3 faucets, 2 shower sets, and 1 antique, refinished claw foot tub that I loved. Sigh.). Our builder is willing to use them, but our plumber simply doesn't want to use brands he can't find parts for locally. Also our local inspector insists on all the paperwork for every CA compliant plumbing item. It came down to time=money issue for our plumber. So we have substituted all items with brands that have company reps. to back up the items locally. Kohler and Rohl. I've researched all my favorite items online extensively and our plumber can get all those items much cheaper than I can. Our builder has been super flexible in every single possible way - we love him. But the local inspections can really slow things down, and I didn't know that beforehand. I thought we could just print up a sheet from the internet about the item and show it to them. We'll just use the other items for later projects.

Just our experience. I'm really glad we did the lighting fixtures over time. I was able to grab things I loved when they were on sale.

We also bought our antique vanities for sinks and saved quite a bit on cabinetry. But that isn't the look everyone is going for. ;)

Oh, and another thing I bought in advance: beautiful rim locks for the doors with porcelain knobs. I loved them! But alas, cannot use them in our county for fire safety reasons. Something else to use for later projects...

I kept appliances out of the contract but we put in some $ for installation. I was able to get super prices in December. Basically got much better appliances for the same money.

My builder (custom homes not a developer) told me to buy light fixtures. He also had me buy cabinet pulls as his cabinet maker charges an outrageous amount for ordinary pulls (but is otherwise a good cabinet maker (hopefully)).

I bought some other stuff. It has been pretty casual. Since this is a pretty major project I don't think he minds a couple thousand here and a thousand there. I think if I was having lumber delivered that might be a different story.

Ferguson mostly matched online prices for plumbing. I didn't do anything too exotic there though. Delta and Grohe. The tub was a problem because our architect specified a weird brand so we had to pay what it cost because once we figured out what happened it was too late.

I think the ability of clients to shop at lightingdirect or ylighting etc has meant the builders have to adapt to that reality.

The best things I bought ahead of time was some plastic chairs to use outside on our back deck. I took them to the house / building site, and the builder and his crew appreciated the extra seating. When we visited the site, we could sit and enjoy our yard and house (sometimes with a beer or wine).

We bought pretty much everything that wasn't nailed down, plus a lot of stuff that was (I did my own hardwood flooring, kitchen cabinets, and trim carpentry, as well as painting. Anything the contractor was to supply was listed with model numbers and a web link where to buy it in the specifications. We had to be absolutely sure that anything that needed to be installed (e.g. lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures) was available on site before the sub who needed it showed up. I let the electrician install has own electrical outlets-- big mistake-- although they were the same grade the Hubbell outlets he used are so tamper resistant they are impossible to use. We subsequently replaced them all with Leviton.

It depends on your agreement with your contractor. We did a time and materials contract. We bought appliances, cabinets, cab and door hardware, lighting fixtures other than a few recessed cans. Also bathroom accessories such as towel bars, etc. We went with the plumbing supply place he uses so that any missing parts or warranty issues wouldn't be our problem. But before doing that, I made a spreadsheet of the best online prices for comparison. Some were more, some were less, so I think we just bought a couple of things without moving parts-- maybe the bathtub?

Fortunately, we had the electrician get the fans because one of the ones he installed only works intermittently and he'll have to come back and replace it without an additional charge. (And we have a water circulating pump that is too noisy, so I'm glad we didn't buy that ourselves.) We also bought our tile. I feel like we did the legwork on all the stuff I listed, and we made sure it was available on site when it was needed, so no need to mark that stuff up. For all the other stuff where the GC had to do the legwork and coordinate with the subs, of course that should go through him. But this is an arrangement we made with him in advance. He's a one-man outfit, so he has a lot of flexibility. (We offered him scheduling flexibility and in return, we got some pricing flexibility.)

Love this topic, njbuilding143. I've started my own list, but it doesn't include furniture or the appliances that we'll need to buy. Here's what I have so far--it's pretty random, but is helping me to try and estimate additional costs...

• ladder
• lawn mower
• snow blower
• garden hose/s
• maybe steel hoses to replace washer/dryer hoses
• fire extinguisher
• curtains
• blinds
• garage door opener
• ceiling lights and fans
• landscaping... trees, bushes, mulch, etc.
• tools, especially if we want to try and tackle some DIY projects, like adding moulding

Oh, also, we were warned about buying anything big (furniture, appliances) until we have closed on the house. I guess adding any major monthly payments can be an issue for the mortgage.