Thursday, November 1, 2012

Are You Aware Of These Problems When Buying a New Home?

By Julie Normandee


Buying a new home can be exciting, however it's important to know there are several disadvantages to purchasing a new home. Let's go over a few of these.

For the first disadvantage is you won't get what you see at the builders model home. It's important to understand a builder will spend tens of thousands of dollars hiring professionals to come decorate and landscape their model homes. Their beautiful and luxuriously furnished model home is there to entice you to buy their basic home. When you receive your bare-bones unfinished home, you'll find you will have to spend additional money to upgrade the appliances carpet, painting, landscaping, draperies, etc.

Homeowners who aren't aware of this fact can end up spending a large sum of money trying to copy the same luxurious look as a builder's model homes. When you visit the sales office of a builder, be sure to ask the salesperson exactly what is and isn't included in the basic sales price.

You'll also find that new home prices are less negotiable. A builder will try to maintain the value of their unsold homes. In order to do this, they keep the prices stable so it can be appraised for a mortgage loan. If you see a developer drastically cutting their their home prices, you should take note that the community may not be doing so well. Instead of cutting their asking price, most developers will try to negotiate with you by throwing in extras or giving additional upgrades such as better carpet, nicer appliances, and granite kitchen counter tops instead of a price reduction.

Some developers will even try to get new home buyers to purchase their homes by pricing their basic homes very close to their actual production cost and then making their profits on the upgrades and extras. When comparing the cost of upgrading a basic home, if you find a builder's prices way out of line compared to an outside vendor, you may want to consider purchasing these extra upgrades from an outside supplier.

You'll also find that a new home will cost you more per square foot then an older home. This should come as no surprise since today's land, material, and labor costs are a lot more than they were years ago when older homes were built. The only advantage you have to living in a new home is there isn't any wear and tear in it.

Finally it's important to note that new homes may be built in undesirable areas. Years ago, the first home builders were able to take advantage of the more desirable building sites and vacant land. However, today's developers have to settle for whatever land is available which can include areas close to flood zones, lands located longer driving distance from the central business area, and areas with steep hills.




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