Are you thinking buying a new house in a newly developed community? Are you attracted to the freshness and style of new construction? Are you set to make the move to a newly built home, 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) but you do need to consider various factors and ask different questions.
With older construction, you need to bring in an engineer to inspect the house and look for shortcomings. Many older home could have problems, and very often the repair may fall on the new homebuyer. 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 used house because it needs repairs.
New construction, in comparison, should be delivered in excellent condition. While you will definitely want to do a walk-through inspection prior to closing, the process is much simpler. During construction, you can very often inspect the progress of building as it is being done. If you see something that is an issue, you are able to promptly 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 product of the age-such as split foundations, sagging walls, leaky ceilings, and broken pipes, damaged faucets, cracked tiles, drafty windows, lack of insulation, etc., you could have very little of these issues with a newly built home.
While you may surely hire an engineer to inspect a newly built house, they're generally searching for defects that usually are not present in a new home. Further, since most new homes have a warranty, you have a level of protection you would not have with a used house.
Don't be misled by the price of an used house. The asking price is only one piece of the picture. The remodels and repairs necessary to get the house in the way you need can add tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to the price of that house. Furthermore, you often need to come up with that money "out of pocket." In comparison, the newly built house is in as ideal of condition as possible, which is built into the purchase price, and could be paid for with your mortgage.
Let's look at an example: a new construction in Commack NY that is over 3400 sq.ft. is just over $1 million. The home is in brand-new excellent condition and ready to move-in. A similar "used" house in the area of the same size could be $950,000. While it may seem that you "save" $75,000 on a old home, you're purchasing a house that's twenty years old, will last twenty years less, and already has twenty years of wear and tear. Since most houses have a useful life of 60-80 years, you'd be buying a house with less long term value.
With existing houses, you could need to remodel. The kitchen may need to be fixed, bathrooms replaced, and serious repairs made. The older home may not be the exact layout you want. This may require structural changes to the house - which could demand six months of renovations while you're living in the house. These renovations could cost $50-$100,000 and will be money you will have tocome out of pocket. Had you purchased the new home 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 house on the day you close.
So does this mean new houses are perfect? No. However generally speaking, they are the better choice. When talking about something this size and the scale of the new house, there will always be problems. It is sometimes easier to deal with those problems with a creditable builder during the construction process than it is to deal with them on your own after you have purchased the house and have no one to go to. Items such as a leaky faucet or cracked tile can easily be fixed or replaced by the builder at no additional cost whereas doing the repairs on your own with the older home requires time and cash on your end.
TIP: Be sure to work with a creditable 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 very costly, whereas relocating them before building is started will carry relatively low cost.
buying new construction is significantly different than buying a used home. It isn't always harder (in many ways it's easier) but you do need to consider various factors and ask different questions.
With older construction, you need to bring in an engineer to inspect the house and look for shortcomings. Many older home could have problems, and very often the repair may fall on the new homebuyer. 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 used house because it needs repairs.
New construction, in comparison, should be delivered in excellent condition. While you will definitely want to do a walk-through inspection prior to closing, the process is much simpler. During construction, you can very often inspect the progress of building as it is being done. If you see something that is an issue, you are able to promptly 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 product of the age-such as split foundations, sagging walls, leaky ceilings, and broken pipes, damaged faucets, cracked tiles, drafty windows, lack of insulation, etc., you could have very little of these issues with a newly built home.
While you may surely hire an engineer to inspect a newly built house, they're generally searching for defects that usually are not present in a new home. Further, since most new homes have a warranty, you have a level of protection you would not have with a used house.
Don't be misled by the price of an used house. The asking price is only one piece of the picture. The remodels and repairs necessary to get the house in the way you need can add tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars to the price of that house. Furthermore, you often need to come up with that money "out of pocket." In comparison, the newly built house is in as ideal of condition as possible, which is built into the purchase price, and could be paid for with your mortgage.
Let's look at an example: a new construction in Commack NY that is over 3400 sq.ft. is just over $1 million. The home is in brand-new excellent condition and ready to move-in. A similar "used" house in the area of the same size could be $950,000. While it may seem that you "save" $75,000 on a old home, you're purchasing a house that's twenty years old, will last twenty years less, and already has twenty years of wear and tear. Since most houses have a useful life of 60-80 years, you'd be buying a house with less long term value.
With existing houses, you could need to remodel. The kitchen may need to be fixed, bathrooms replaced, and serious repairs made. The older home may not be the exact layout you want. This may require structural changes to the house - which could demand six months of renovations while you're living in the house. These renovations could cost $50-$100,000 and will be money you will have tocome out of pocket. Had you purchased the new home 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 house on the day you close.
So does this mean new houses are perfect? No. However generally speaking, they are the better choice. When talking about something this size and the scale of the new house, there will always be problems. It is sometimes easier to deal with those problems with a creditable builder during the construction process than it is to deal with them on your own after you have purchased the house and have no one to go to. Items such as a leaky faucet or cracked tile can easily be fixed or replaced by the builder at no additional cost whereas doing the repairs on your own with the older home requires time and cash on your end.
TIP: Be sure to work with a creditable 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 very costly, whereas relocating them before building is started will carry relatively low cost.
About the Author:
Craig Axelrod is one of the principals from Emmy Homes. Emmy is which is one of Long Island's most trusted home builders. Emmy's Commack development features luxury homes in Commack. Visit EmmyHomes.com for more information.
