Why do you think it would be cheaper for a contractor to do it? Seems to me it would be cheaper (and easier) to have the builder do it, since he’s already there. Plus he might realize some economy of scale savings on fixtures, paint, wiring, drywall, etc.

littlebug - exactly.

We saved $18k by not finishing our basement - the plans just had about 1000 sqft finished. So it was $18 a foot - this was 8 years ago. That included a full bathroom.

Now - this was a custom build with cost plus fixed fee. There probably would have been a few thousand in increased fee. But if this is a tract home where you are getting a horrible price, you may be able to save some money. But you will pay a premium likely on getting a contractor out to do a relatively small job - that has lots of subs.

Flash forward - I finished myself for less but I never did pull permits. Probably cost me $10k on resale (maybe more). So it was a wash but I did finish more space.

The cost depends on the builder. The first new house we bought was a split entry, which included a finished basement(the builder even installed sheet rock on the garage ceiling).

A friend had a ranch style with a full basement built and did not have the basement finished---the cost was another $20K for that.

If a person has decent help, can learn from videos, and can follow directions, finishing a basement can be done DIY at substantial savings.

The only fly in the ointment is local permit/code/building regulations. Locally, we can pull a homeowners permit, which allows anyone to perform much of the work as long as inspections are passed. Example, I did the electrical wiring for a customers basement(I have the knowledge, but not a license) when they pulled a home owners permit. Passed on the first inspection(the inspector even complimented my work) and so was completely legal. And I was about half to 2/3's the cost of a union/company electrician(Kansas is a right to work state). Same with light plumbing, finish carpentry, painting, and so on.

If the builder does it - he will be more tidy on routing of the HVAC, wiring and plumbing. Otherwise, you may find yourself having to move a buch of stuff because it was "easier" to do it a certain way in an "unfinished" basement.

Your floor may end up less even, and your framing less perfect, etc.

My estimate is that it's never cheaper to do it later.

And besides - rarely do you want those people back in your FINISHED home doing sheetrock and paint - esp if they are used to doing new construction....

You'll get a much better result this century if you let the builder do it. Otherwise it goes on "the list" and rarely rises to the top.

Based on the building boom in most places, I would say let the builder do it. The subs are in high demand so timing and prices are going crazy for the "little" jobs.

Here's another thought that just occurred to me - do you have a mortgage on your new build? And if you have the builder finish the basement while he's building the home, would that cost be added to your mortgage? If so, you will be paying interest on the cost of your basement finishing for the life of your mortgage.

do it now. I was regret not finished while in new built over a year ago,

It was unfinished still

I don't think that you'll get it any cheaper with a contractor down the line. We're in the same situation having to decide on the basement being finished or not and ended up not doing so. The main reason why - our area does not value below grade finishing unlike some more Northern areas. So it would be tough to get the house to appraise and we chose to finish more area upstairs.

And I'm not sure where the above quotes are from, but $18 a sq/ft would be nice. We had the builder finish our current basement in 2010 and it was still ~$50 sq/foot.

Maybe you should consider if there are other compromises. For instance, we are doing a small study (500 sq feet) and then having about 1000 sq feet heated/cooled, but not finished. With plain concrete in there, kids have areas to ride their bikes in the winter, and we can have some throw rugs to setup play areas or a den.

The $18 was NC and that was at the time of the rest of the build. Carpet floor. Framing, most insuation and rough in already done. The details matter a lot. In this case it was just finishes and really minor electrical.

This is my personal experience. Asking the builder to do it came at an estimate of an additional $13,000. Getting our basement completed after build was $8,000 keep in mind it was a simple finish. Drywall and paint, ceiling enclosed and carpet floors.. that's it.

I say if you are planning to use the space immediately as we are then let the builder finish it. Further, in colder climates like ours, unfinished and uninsulated basements negatively impact your heating bills in the winter. Our price for our currently under construction new-build in suburban Pittsburgh is $18.2K for finished basement and $5900 for a finished 3/4 bath. This amounts to a total of $21.00/SF for 1140 finished heated and cooled square feet of basement living space. There is another 270SF/+- of unfinished that is insulated and will be used for storage. Our builder was offering 50% off options (both structural and otherwise) in the particular month we decided to build which we found out upon visiting the community we selected. So it turned out to great for us at $12K after the discount. But $21/SF is still IMHO a decent price given the price of lumber and labor in this economy.