Are you considering buying a new house in a newly developed community? Are you attracted to the sparkle and style of new construction? Are you ready to make the move to a newly built house, but don’t know what questions to ask?
buying new construction is significantly different than buying a used home. It isn’t always harder (in many ways it’s easier) however you do need to consider different factors and ask various questions.
With older construction, you need to bring in an engineer to inspect the house and look for defects. Every older home will have problems, and very often the repair will fall on the new housebuyer. From the seller’s angle, their offering it at this price for the condition it’s in; while the condition is not perfect, you’re not paying for new construction.
In other words, they’re charging less for a older home because it needs repairs.
New construction, in contrast, should be handed-over in excellent condition. While you will certainly need to do a walk-through inspection prior to closing, the procedure is much simpler. During construction, you can very often inspect the progression of building as it is being done. If you see something that is an problem, you are able to quickly correct it during the building phase as opposed to going back and fixing it at a later time. Since many repairs and existing houses are the result of the age-such as cracked foundations, sagging walls, leaky ceilings, and broken pipes, leaky faucets, cracked tiles, drafty windows, lack of insulation, etc., you could have very little of these issues with a newly built house.
While you may surely hire an engineer to inspect a newly built house, they’re usually looking for defects that generally are not present in a new home. Further, since most new houses have a warranty, you have a level of protection you would not have with a old house.
Don’t be fooled by the cost of an used home. The asking price is just one piece of the picture. The renovations and repairs necessary to get the house in the way you need could add tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to the price of that home. Additionally, you often need to come up with that money “out of pocket.” In comparison, the newly built home is in as ideal of condition as possible, which is built into the purchase price, and can be paid for with your mortgage.
Let’s look at an example: a new construction in Commack New York that is over 3600 sq.ft. is just over $1 million. The home is in brand-new excellent condition and ready to move-in. A similar “used” home in the neighborhood of the same size could be $950,000. While it may seem that you “saved” $75,000 on a used house, you’re purchasing a home that’s 20 years old, will last 20 years less, and already has 20 years of wear and tear. Since most homes have a useful life of 60-75 years, you’d be purchasing a house with less long term value.
With existing houses, you may need to renovate. The kitchen could need to be fixed, bathrooms replaced, and other repairs made. The used house may not be the exact design you like. This may require structural changes to the home – which could demand six months of additions while you’re living in the house. These renovations may cost $50-$100,000 and will be money you will need to produce out of pocket. Had you bought the new house for slightly more, you would not need to come up with an additional $75,000 out of pocket, would not need to live free six months of construction, and would have a perfect ready to occupy a home on the day you close.
So does this mean new houses are perfect? No. However generally speaking, they are the better option. When talking about something this size and the scale of the new house, there will always be issues. It is sometimes easier to deal with those issues with a creditable builder during the construction process than it is to deal with them on your own after you have bought the home and have no one to turn to. Items such as a leaky faucet or broken tile can easily be fixed or replaced by the builder at no additional cost whereas doing such repairs on your own with the older home requires time and cash on your end.
TIP: Be sure to work with a dependable builder in your area who you can turn to with questions and ideas. Try to produce as many ideas as possible at the very beginning of the process before construction; relocating walls after rooms have been constructed can be extremely expensive, whereas relocating them before construction is started will carry relatively low cost.