Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a New Home
The thought of buying a new home is exciting. New homes have newer technology, are more energy efficient, and modern in design and layout.
If you have the house built or start the process before it is complete you can often customize the house along the way. This is an exciting concept for many buyers.
However, the excitement of the process and end result can cause them to make one or more of these mistakes.
Avoid the following missteps when buying a new home.
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Falling for the Model
When you look at model homes by builders they are usually over the top. It is hard to believe that you can get everything in the house for the price they gave you. That is because it is somewhat of a trap.
The model homes include many upgrades that you can get for an additional cost. The price of the model home as-is is typically well over the price that you are given by the sales agent. When you look at a model home make sure to ask what comes standard so you don’t fall in love with the features that you can’t afford.
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Buying Before the Development is Complete
Right before the housing crash there were new developments popping up all over the country. When the market crashed many of these developments came to a screeching halt. That means that there are people who bought into developments that had big promises, but remain only partially complete.
It can be nice not to have close neighbors; it also means that your neighborhood is full of empty dirt lots.
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Falling for the Model Home Tricks
There are several staging tricks that builders include in their model homes to make the house appear larger and more open than they really are.
The first is removing many of the doors from the frames. The whole house appears larger as you walk easily from one room to the next. Pay attention when you see the model to get a feel for what the house will feel like when all the doors are in place.
The second commonly used trick is staging the home with furniture that is slightly smaller than average. This helps a house to appear bigger, but might make your house feel crowded when you have your real belongings in place.
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Skipping the Completion Clause
Builders will give you a date for when the house will be completed, but things in construction are rarely completed on time. If you want to make sure that they stick to a schedule that works for you make sure you get a completion clause. This will specify the date when the project is going to be finished and gives you the option of backing out if they do not stick to the agreed upon deadline.
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Skipping the Inspection
Many homeowners don’t realize that you should have an inspection completed on new construction homes. Just because it was a new build does not mean that there were not errors made along the way. Having an inspection completed ensures that the builder will be responsible for completing any errors that were made.
New construction can be a much easier process than purchasing a home that is older. However, you need to avoid these common mistakes to make sure you are making the best out of the situation. Stick to these guidelines and you will have a brand new home you love.