The second part of this blog entry deals with the remaining list of items to consider before deciding whether or not to build new. Let's take a look...
3. Living with Construction - I am sure that the section title alone brings about all kinds of moans and groans. It is true that living with new construction all around you isn't always fun, but let's take a realistic look at what you can expect. The first and most obvious issue that comes to mind is the noise. Most of the consistent noise happens during the framing of a home. Depending on the builder and the size of homes that are being constructed in your neighborhood this may only occur for a week or two per house. After that is finished, everything should remain relatively quiet for a while with only the occasional saw or nail gun being used. Keep in mind that you will have a few days here and there that will be rather noisy. After all the yard needs to be graded and a concrete truck will need to put in a driveway or patio. Don't worry, this too shall pass.
Another thing to consider is the fact that any amenities your community has may or may not be completed by the time that you move into your home. For me this was not an issue. I used the time that I would have spent at the pool that first summer working on household projects and getting everything situated exactly as I wanted it. There were several projects that my husband and I wanted to do on our own rather than paying the builder to do them and there were certain things that we wanted to do that weren't offered at all. For instance, our builder did not offer custom painting. We chose to do much of the painting ourselves rather than opting to higher someone else. We saved ourselves quite a lot of money that way too!
The last thing in regards to living with construction would be the dust and dirt issue. If you drive a white or black car, plan on spending some time with the sponge and hose or get to know the guys down at the local car wash. Honestly, who keeps their car that sparkly all of the time anyway? My other tip would be to choose an exterior color for your home that isn't white or very light. You won't notice the dust so much. Although, if your dream home is white with black shutters and a red door then by all means build it that way. You will just need to get it pressure washed every so often. If you take a look at it though, none of these things is anything that would cost you very much at all. And all of these things have the potential to be heavily outweighed by the benefits of building new. So here comes the big one...
4. Value - The majority of builders out there are offering incentives to build or buy with them. Some builders have even reduced their base pricing significantly in lieu of offering huge promotions. If a builder has an inventory home sitting, you can often get an amazing deal that way too. You have to understand that they don't want to have to continue paying for that home themselves month after month. The downside to an inventory home is that in most cases depending upon how complete it is, you haven't had the ability to make the selections for the home yourself. Builders usually offer their best deals at the very beginning of a community. They want to get some homes up and going right away to attract more business and therefore will often offer big incentives to the first few buyers. Everyone wins! The bottom line is that unless you are considering the hassle of purchasing a short sale or a foreclosure you can often get a better price on a new home than on a comparable resale simply because the builder more than likely has more room to budge than a homeowner.
Another bit of helpful information to know is that most builders try to build in phases. Building in phases is great for you because it means you are generally only exposed to construction in your area of the neighborhood (or phase) for a certain period of time. When the builder is finished with that section of the neighborhood, they move on to another phase and the noise and dust generally goes with them. I speak on this subject from personal experience. Our first home was only the third house built in the entire neighborhood. You may wonder why in the world someone would want to be one of the first people to build in a neighborhood? The benefits can be great. We were fortunate enough to take advantage of the amazing incentives that the builder was offering to get the neighborhood started. After four years of living in the home, we were able to sell it and make a great profit!
As with any big decision in your life, it is important to consider all of the angles. Some of the points that I have brought up in this series may not be of much consequence to some folks, while to others they may be a deal breaker. You have to decide for yourself whether or not the pros outweigh the cons when considering "to build, or not to build". If there is anything that I can do to help or if there are any questions that I can answer, please don't hesitate to contact me.
