What kind of contract do you have?

Go somewhere else and select finishes, then tell them to your contractor. At that point the contractor will either tell you the price difference or explain why you had a limited selection.

The builder is known for building 1 million and up homes around here in Jersey. They came up with 4 new designs for a 9 home cul-de-sac that are for the average Joe (350-500k) in NJ. They have a showroom, many things we saw they didn't offer to us or implied they were for "higher end" homes. They have been great in the process, but I don't see why we can't get what we want especially since it's just another line from the same Floor manufacturer.

They don't tell us a price difference, they just say it's not available. No reason either. We do plan on visiting another Shaw dealer to see better samples or photos, but we are still limited to what our builder says.

Again, what does your contract say? That should tell you if you can go outside of what they are giving you.

How they build a 500K home is they don't allow you to pick items that go into a 1M home. That way you don't have to bring an extra 100K to the table because the home won't appraise high enough for your loan.

In my deal, we are allowed to go outside the "program" for stuff if we pay the difference. For example, they allow us to get certain tiers of countertops. If I want to select a higher tier counter top, then I have to pay the price difference. If I go entirely out of their program and select a counter that they don't typically use, then I can purchase it and receive a credit.

I see Sophie's point about the appraisal, and that might be the cause of their inflexibility, but I would think a flooring upgrade would range in the $10K-$15K range? Every time I disagree about something, I have made "made a stink about it" using your term. In my experience, I have either gotten my way or found a compromise with the builder. Don't just accept things without questioning them when you are making such a huge purchase like a home.

thanks all! I agree about the appraisal, that does make sense and I didn't think of that. We did come to a resolution, although it took us driving to find another showroom with larger slabs for the countertop... the flooring we just had to choose something else. I appreciate all your input thank you again!