7 Reasons to Buy and Not to Buy a New Home
Constant dilemma - buy a new or a resale home? And of course, no straight answer. I will be looking into Pros and Cons of buying a new home in this post, and the post about Resale homes will follow shortly.
Pros of buying a new home directly from the builder:
1. It is NEW. Very emotional factor, but who said buying a home is emotion-free? Noone cooked in the kitchen, noone slept in the bedroom, noone used the washroom. It is brand new, sparkling clean and beautiful.
2. You get to pick your finishes - in most cases - wall color, floors, tiles, faucets, appliances. Sometimes ceiling height and minor variances in the lay out.
3. Little maintenance - for the first 3-5 years all you have to do would probably be changing light bulbs
4. Builder's warranty and Tarion Insurance. Your new home is covered for 7 years for major defects. But most of the minor defects, including water penetration and water damage, will only be covered for 1 or 2 years. Make sure you read all the fine print.
5. Energy efficient. New homes are usually better insulated, built utilizing modern energy efficient materials.
6. Built to code. Building code is changing from year to year, in response to newly discovered health and safety concerns. New home will comply with the newest provisions of the Building Code.
7. Greater square footage - usually you get more space with the new home - better floor plans, smarter rooms designs.
Cons of buying a new home directly from builder
1. As soon as you take possession - it is not new anymore, same as your car is not new anymore as soon as you drive through the gate of the dealership.
2. Buying a cat in a sac. All you see is floor plans and, hopefully, model home. Unless you are a professional engineer or posses wild imagination, it is very hard to see what are you actually buying.
3. Settling. New homes settle. Builders don't recommend to finish basement for at least a year. You might see some cracks, popping drywall screws.
4. Very little vegetation. It will take about 10 years for the new trees to grow to some decent size. If you are one of the pioneers moving into subdivision - mud and construction dust would be your companions for quite a while.
5. Neighbors. You never know who will end up next door to you. It is a sad fact, but for the first 5-7 years people will be moving in and out constantly.
6. Similarity. Your home will look pretty much the same as the one to the right, and one to the left, and one across the street.
7. Pay now, move in later. Usually you pay a deposit once you sign a contract and then 2-3-4 additional installments within next 6-9 month. For another 1.5 - 2 years you will be paying the Builder and your current rent / mortgage.
See you soon to discuss the pros and cons of buying a resale home!
Compliments of Marina Gavrylyuk
Real Estate Agent with Sutton Group Summit Realty
www.MarinaG.ca
More on Home Value
What is Your Home Worth? - Time to Discover
Home Appraisal - Why is it Important to Know Your Home Market Value
More Tips for Home Buyer
12 Steps To Buy Your First Home
Types of Homes - Learning Real Estate Terms
First Time Home Buyers - Wonderful Video For You by CMHC
Discount Real Estate Brokers - Illusion and Reality or Free Cheese, Get now - Pay later
Moving Checklist - based on the list from Martha Stewart
Some More Mortgage Terms and Rates
Mortgage Basics
Your Home and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
10 Reasons Why You Need a Realtor to Buy a House
More Tips for the Home Seller:
Home Seller Tips - Take Lots of Photographs of Your Garden
Closing Your Pool for the Winter - Homeowner Tips
National Do-Not-Call-List - Do You Really Know What this is?
Video Tours, Virtual Tours or a Combination of both
Making Your House Buyer Friendly - 10 Seller's Best Friends
Please, Don't Let the Cat Out - you gotta be kidding me!
Handymen Gone Handless or possibly brainfree!
Moving Checklist
Discount Real Estate Brokers - Illusion and Reality or Free Cheese, Get now - Pay later
Pros of buying a new home directly from the builder:
1. It is NEW. Very emotional factor, but who said buying a home is emotion-free? Noone cooked in the kitchen, noone slept in the bedroom, noone used the washroom. It is brand new, sparkling clean and beautiful.
2. You get to pick your finishes - in most cases - wall color, floors, tiles, faucets, appliances. Sometimes ceiling height and minor variances in the lay out.
3. Little maintenance - for the first 3-5 years all you have to do would probably be changing light bulbs
4. Builder's warranty and Tarion Insurance. Your new home is covered for 7 years for major defects. But most of the minor defects, including water penetration and water damage, will only be covered for 1 or 2 years. Make sure you read all the fine print.
5. Energy efficient. New homes are usually better insulated, built utilizing modern energy efficient materials.
6. Built to code. Building code is changing from year to year, in response to newly discovered health and safety concerns. New home will comply with the newest provisions of the Building Code.
7. Greater square footage - usually you get more space with the new home - better floor plans, smarter rooms designs.
Cons of buying a new home directly from builder
1. As soon as you take possession - it is not new anymore, same as your car is not new anymore as soon as you drive through the gate of the dealership.
2. Buying a cat in a sac. All you see is floor plans and, hopefully, model home. Unless you are a professional engineer or posses wild imagination, it is very hard to see what are you actually buying.
3. Settling. New homes settle. Builders don't recommend to finish basement for at least a year. You might see some cracks, popping drywall screws.
4. Very little vegetation. It will take about 10 years for the new trees to grow to some decent size. If you are one of the pioneers moving into subdivision - mud and construction dust would be your companions for quite a while.
5. Neighbors. You never know who will end up next door to you. It is a sad fact, but for the first 5-7 years people will be moving in and out constantly.
6. Similarity. Your home will look pretty much the same as the one to the right, and one to the left, and one across the street.
7. Pay now, move in later. Usually you pay a deposit once you sign a contract and then 2-3-4 additional installments within next 6-9 month. For another 1.5 - 2 years you will be paying the Builder and your current rent / mortgage.
See you soon to discuss the pros and cons of buying a resale home!
Compliments of Marina Gavrylyuk
Real Estate Agent with Sutton Group Summit Realty
www.MarinaG.ca
More on Home Value
What is Your Home Worth? - Time to Discover
Home Appraisal - Why is it Important to Know Your Home Market Value
More Tips for Home Buyer
12 Steps To Buy Your First Home
Types of Homes - Learning Real Estate Terms
First Time Home Buyers - Wonderful Video For You by CMHC
Discount Real Estate Brokers - Illusion and Reality or Free Cheese, Get now - Pay later
Moving Checklist - based on the list from Martha Stewart
Some More Mortgage Terms and Rates
Mortgage Basics
Your Home and Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
10 Reasons Why You Need a Realtor to Buy a House
More Tips for the Home Seller:
Home Seller Tips - Take Lots of Photographs of Your Garden
Closing Your Pool for the Winter - Homeowner Tips
National Do-Not-Call-List - Do You Really Know What this is?
Video Tours, Virtual Tours or a Combination of both
Making Your House Buyer Friendly - 10 Seller's Best Friends
Please, Don't Let the Cat Out - you gotta be kidding me!
Handymen Gone Handless or possibly brainfree!
Moving Checklist
Discount Real Estate Brokers - Illusion and Reality or Free Cheese, Get now - Pay later