Another thing we asked the builder so we could kind of be prepared for what we were in for, we made a list of everything we wanted included in the finished house ie stone benchtops in kitchen, 3 coat paint system, higher ceilings, spa, floor to ceiling tiling etc and got them to price the house this way we could then choose to subtract to meet our budget if we needed and also so we weren't in for too much of a shock when it came selection time even then we were another $11K out of pocket - they make their money on the small things like an extra paint colour, each additional light/power points, upgrading shower screens, security screens etc.

We spent the money on things that aren't easily changed like tiling & additional cupboards and went with the standard ugly mixers/taps which we can change over anytime we like.