Friday, September 17, 2021

Real Estate: Considerations before buying new construction

By Carrie Colby

There are many things to think about when buying new construction, and it can be a daunting prospect. You are making a huge financial commitment that could have a significant effect on your future. There are some truly essential considerations when buying a new construction home.

Setting Your Price
Whatever type of home you are looking to build, you need to set your budget. Do you know how much you can afford to spend? Getting preapproved for a mortgage should make things clearer so that you know your spending limit. If you have realistic expectations of what you can afford, you won’t waste your time on home plans that stretch you too far financially. It isn’t just the mortgage payments you need to consider. There are utility bills, property taxes, maintenance costs, and living expenses, to name just a few. And don’t overlook your moving expenses either.

Picking Your Location
You are likely to have many things that influence your choice of location. Perhaps you want to be near friends or family, maybe your journey to work is an important consideration, or you are looking to live in a certain school district. If you have many competing reasons that pull you in one direction or another, you may need to compromise the location. This could mean buying a new house in an area you know well or making a fresh start in a new neighborhood. If you don’t know the neighborhood you are thinking of moving to, you need to be more careful to make sure it is right for you. Visit the neighborhood at different times of the day and the evening to find out what it’s really like living there.


Do You Buy Land Or Purchase From a Builder?
One of the more significant decisions when buying new construction is whether you buy land and build your own custom home or go with a builder currently constructing homes. Of course, there are pros and cons to each of these choices. When hiring your own builder, you have the ability to construct exactly the way you want things. While some builders offer custom features, not every builder will let you do things exactly the way you want them. The builder you like might not want to build on your land. Some builders shy away from that. Maybe the builder you like only has homes available in a subdivision, and you would prefer a more private setting?

What Size House Do You Need?
If you are buying new construction, you might have more say in the size of rooms and number of bedrooms, but whatever type of home you are buying, you will need to know how much space you require.

Buying New Construction Homes
When buying new construction homes, you can have a lot of influence on how the house turns out. Changes can be made so that the property better fits what you want from a home. There can be downsides to new construction, though. If you aren’t careful, however, the finished product might not meet your expectations. If this is the case, costs could increase if you need to make changes or alterations after the home should have been finished. This scenario can be avoided if you have good communication with your architect and contractor. If your new construction is part of a larger development, you might find you have less say in how things turn out. This could be more of a problem if the home is a townhouse or a unit in a complex.

How Long Do You Want to Live in the Home?
If you intend to live in the home for a very long time, you should probably do more to make sure you build exactly the right home. But if you only anticipate being in the home for a year or two, perhaps you can be more flexible in your choice.

Final Thoughts
 
Buying a new house can either be an exciting experience or a real nightmare. If you are working with a builder, it is imperative to do lots of due diligence. Most of the downsides of building a home happens when you go with the wrong building contractor. <

Carrie Colby is a Broker with Allied Real Estate, 909 Roosevelt Trail in Windham. She can be reached at 207-232-5497.

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