A Few Tips for Building New

Building new is a wonderful opportunity to get the most out of a home purchase and buying a new home, as opposed to a re-sell, comes with many advantages. Lower home insurance premiums, for one, can sometimes lead to lower monthly mortgage payments and you aren't inheriting another person's "problems". But even in building new, the choices can become overwhelming for buyers that are not prepared mentally for the process they have begun so here are just a few tips: 1. Embrace Your Budget You wouldn't buy a Lexus with a Kia budget, right? Set realistic expectations for yourself, your budget, and your family's needs. Everything about your new home is going to cost a certain amount (the old 'nothing in life is free' remember?) So once you hear the overall list price of a new home, find out what all that includes. What's standard and what's an upgrade? Many builders will have this information provided in a flyer or pamphlet already and once you go under contract may even ask for a signature from the buyer to show that it is clearly understood what your new home will and will not include. If your $200,000 budget is already the most your family can afford at the moment, you may not get the hardwood flooring, granite countertops, and enormous in-ground pool you'd like to have now, but those things can be added in the future. Realistic expectations can keep the excitement going about building your perfect 'now' home. 2. Be Patient Yes, isn't it great that someone you know picked out a re-sell home and closed in 30 days. But guess what? If you're building new, the time it takes from picking out a floor plan and a lot to the last touches of paint is going to take a few months. From the beginning, remind yourself and your family that you're going to have to have some patience. Ask your builder what the usual timeline is for their projects. When you go under contract, remember that the closing date you choose based on the projected building timeline is a target date...and it could change (gasp), but that also means it's possible it could change for the better. Yes your friends had a fast closing (ahem, they also got popcorn ceilings and shag carpet), but your wait is going to be well worth it! Another aspect of having patience, is knowing that while some weeks you will see noticable changes as the framing goes up, etc., other times the progress may not be so apparent. But that doesn't mean nothings happening. Sometimes may not see someone actively on site working on your home on a daily basis; don't get discouraged. Sometimes there's a wait for parts to come in or sometimes weather prevents construction. Sometimes a builder has so many projects going up at once (ie:a new neighborhood) that it's just impossible for people to be in two places at once (no? really?). But patient. Today it's the neighbor's house, tomorrow it's yours. 3. Set your choice priorities You'll be choosing everything from paint colors to cabinets to which way you may want your bathroom door to open, so plan from the beginning which choices hold the most weight for you. For some families it's the choices about functionality, for others everything's purely aesthetics. Just know which choices you need to spend the most time on first and which are not as important. 4. Enjoy it! You are getting to be a part of a process that many families do not get to take part in when buying a new home. Enjoy every moment of picking out finishing touches or planning a floor plan that's right for your family. You may even want to capture the process in a scrapbook or the very least a series of framed photographs to share with your children years down the road. You're planning a house, but it's going to be the home for many special memories to come. So look enjoy it's beginnings and appreciate everything.....especially while it's all NEW :)