5 Easy Factors to Buying New Construction
Tuesday, August 25th, 2009
Have you been looking at buying new construction? A new house can be extremely desirable-you’re the first to live in the home and everything is new. That said, it’s up to you to make a lot of decisions about this new house. If you chose the right decisions, you may have a wonderful home for you and your family that can have great resale value down the road.
1. Location, Location, Location. Location is one thing you have to get right the first time. Once you purchase it, you really can’t move your house. Make confident that you’re in a community where you want to live and which will give you resale opportunities down the road. While nobody’s resources are unlimited, you may want to consider a slightly nicer area over a larger home to place yourself in a better and more desirable community. This may not only help you today at 10 or 20 years from now when you look to resell.
2. Find What You may Spend. Work with a qualified mortgage expert to help you assess your budget and spending capabilities. You may want to work with a mortgage broker yet; you can be able to work with your local bank to help determine your needs even before you’re ready to move forward. Basically, it’s not what you pay for the house-it’s what you can afford and monthly payments between the mortgage, taxes, insurance, maintenance and living expenses. Your credit score, income and down payment have a huge effect on these numbers. For example, new construction in Commack New York can cost between $1 million and $1.1 million. The amount of monthly payments will change wildly based on the down payment and credit worthiness of the borrower.
3. Look at the Experience of the Builder. Does the builder do communities one house at a time? Does the builder have years of experience or is this one of his or her first projects? While a individual builder may be somewhat cheaper, you get what you pay for. That builder can be out of business in six months or unable to complete the home in the time permitted. New homes should come with warranties, and if the builder is not a random two years from now, who do you turn to? An experienced builder who works on multiple homes will have bigger crews and should be able to work at a steadier pace. For the solo builder, construction will stop if he is waiting for a painter or electrician, whereas a larger builder will have more crew members available.
4. What conveniences you want in your house ? Look at what’s selling well in the market. If many homes have central air conditioning and a finished basement and the homes you are considering purchasing do not, it can be a bargain today, but will be difficult to resell in the future. We’re not implying that you need every bell and whistle that is of no interest to you, but as you choose a new construction, be sure it has the “essentials.”
5. Look at the property. Is it a large enough piece for you to live with? Just like the location, you can’t change the size and shape of your property. True, you may landscape and grade it, but that won’t fix the basic size and shape issues. One acre of property is great, but if 80% of the home is on a heavily wooded slope that is unusable, you are really left with 2/10 of an acre. The more usable space you have, the more benefit you may get from it and the simplier it should be to resell.
Keep these tips in mind as you start to look at new construction, and you should be able to narrate choices to one which can suit your needs for long-term and help you down the road when the time comes to sell.
