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Just curious to hear from those of you who recently purchased homes and if you looked into new construction vs previously owned homes. Why did you go with what you chose?
I really, really like the idea of getting a new construction home so we are the first to live in it.....however, then we would have to buy appliances (that don't come with the home), make sure its built well, etc...
However, if we got a used home, we would need to re-do things to make it our own.
Also, I really like granite counter tops, dark wood, etc...so that would be easy to pick out what we wanted and have it built that way vs changing everything on our own..
I keep going back & forth so need some help if any of you have gone through this battle. The hubby might be getting a little annoyed with me changing my mind all the time, but there are advantages to both ways..
We just bought a house and it's a one owner home. They were the ones to had it built in the first place. There are a few things I would dot o change this house but a lot of it isn't really that much of a deal breaker that it has to be done now.
If you go to new construction, really check out the builder. We have a lot of homes being built now but a lot of them are sacrificing quality to make it cheaper.
@MissAsB: What would you change in your house now? Maybe I am just being too picky...hoping I will get a better idea the more we look at homes.
Yes, that definitely scares me...them taking shortcuts to build the house, so that's another thing to worry about :/
YAY! I am so excited. As of yesterday we officially have a realtor and are looking for land to build a custom home on. I can't wait to pick out all the details and appliances, esp since this will be our last and only home that we will have.
Personally, we chose a pre-owned home. It's all settled in, no nail pops, no warranties, it made life so much easier. My sister bought a new construction home around the same time and it seems like she's had a constant parade of construction workers in and out of her house for 2 years fixing x, y and z. That being said though, DH and I are also in the process of looking for land to build our own home. BUT we'll be building it ourselves rather than letting a builder do it, so we'll be there to oversee quality and workmanship every single day.
It's funny, my sister would never have chosen a pre-owned home, and I never would choose a pre-construction/builder home. Lol!
@tksjewelry: Congrats! That is my dream...to pick out everything etc....but price is also a factor so not sure we would be able to afford that w/o going overboard, haha
We don't have any affordable new construction in our area, so we had to buy previously owned. Luckily we scored a foreclosure, so we got a deal, and used some extra cash to do rennovations. Carpet, hardwood, bathrooms, kitchen, the whole 9 yards. I love our house, but it was a lot of work. If I could have had the perfect finishes in new construction at an affordable price, I would have. It's just not a reality where I live.
@cherrycoke: I would like to update the kitchen (granite counters, new appliances) and new carpet in the bedrooms.
I was pickey at the beginning to but the market really isn't as great as everyone says it is and we didn't have a million options to choose from in our range so we ended up going a bit bigger than we were looking for.
@bakerella: Interesting. That would realy annoy me if they had to be in and out that much later after being moved in. Is your sister happy w/ the house, or does she wish she would have chosen a pre-owned home?
@cherrycoke: We are going to be doing what bakerella is doing, DH, with the help of a few buddies who are all in construction, will be the general contractor. I suspect it will take more time than just regular building, but since this is going to be our retirement home it is worth it to us. Right now we are trying to decide if we want to borrow from a bank or just cash in an annuity and just have it paid, there are ups and downs to both.
@tksjewelry: Just curious, how long will you be living in the home if you are planning on it being your retirement home? Hubby and I say this will be our house at least until it's paid off but not sure how reasonable that is...we could get new jobs, want a bigger house, etc someday...but I would like to think this is the house we will be in for a long time, which is also why I want a new construction home so I make sure it's what I want :)
I am currently living in my first new construction home. I hated it for the first year. I lived in pre-war buildings in Boston before this and loved the character and charm of those buildings.
I think really well made new construction is getting more rare. We've toured some and while the idea of having a blank slate is nice, I didn't like some of the cut corners we saw.
I'd only buy new construction after a really, really thorough home inspection.
@cherrycoke: I think in general, her builder wasn't honest with her, but I think also, there were issues they could have foreseen (and I tried to warn them about) but they were so excited about the "new shiny" that they turned a blind eye to them. Those were more site related than the construction of the house though. In the house itself, every single kitchen cabinet was damaged. The supplier had recently decided to move it's factory to Mexico and I guess the guys in the factory up here were mad... They've had problems with their roof, their driveway, their bathroom. The grout on the bathroom floor vs the tile on the bathtub were two different colours. The only way to fix that is to rip off all the tile on the bathtub and start from scratch. Ya, the builder's not going to do that...
BUT to her, it was all worth it because it's her dream home. To me, I'd rather hire an architect and design my dream home rather than pick one from a choice of plans. It's a lifestyle thing too. She loves living in a subdivision whereas in our neighbourhood, it's older and no two houses are the same.
@bakerella: Makes sense. That's another thing my stepmom told me to think about. When it comes to selling the house someday (assuming we do), it will be harder to sell if our house is just like others right around the corner. That totally makes sense.
I think I need to keep my options open and look at pre-owned homes...I just need to realize we can change it to make it our own.
I'm also a germaphobe so I will need to have the house thoroughy cleaned if we get a pre-owned
I'm afraid I wouldn't even know what to look for such as the builders taking short cuts? :(
There is no new construction or even land for new construction anywhere in the area I want to live. The only areas with new construction are far out of the city. So our only option was a previously owned home. In the area we were looking most homes were built between 1920s and 1970s. The house we're in escrow on now was built in 1966 but the current owner completely renovated it. I'm happy with that balance.
@mink: Can I ask what cut corners you saw? Maybe it will help if we do look at new construction homes. :)
this was our first home, so we decided to buy pre-owned, plus with the economy now, it was cheaper to buy pre-owned. But, we were thinking our next home we are going to build our dream home from the ground up.
But, if we had money to build our first home from the ground up, then heck yeah, I would have done that. It would be nice to have your house exactly how you want it.
In my area, the only new developments with new construction are so far out in the boonies and away from the city, it was never an option for us.
We didnt really have a choice, there are really few new construction homes in the area and there are any, they make them rediculously big and there for damn expensive. Our house is considered pretty newish for the area at like 1990. If I could get a new construction home in any price range like they have in developements in TX and the south, I'd probably go for the new construction so I can build it exactly how I want.
We chose a new construction home. I loved that we got to pick out EVERYTHING! I loved that we were the first ones to be on our carpet (the idea of used carpet really grossed me out)!!! I liked the warranties that came with a new home. Our home came with some appliances- some we had to purchase on our own.
@alicia1745: Used carpet, used toilets, used sinks, floors...you name it...it all grosses me out! Which is probably why I want a new construction so bad.
Did you design your home or were there premade floor plans to choose from and you just picked colors, etc?
@cherrycoke: It was a combination of both. There was a floor plan set but we were able to make changes to a degree. We were able to relocate our laundry room to upstairs causing us to loose some square footage in one of the rooms but adding room to our living room downstairs.
I guess it's kind of unusual that even though I am relatively young, I have bought and sold 5 homes - some were pre-existing homes and some I built as new construction. They spanned more entry level to custom built luxury with a $1M plus price tag. I move a lot for work so fortunately, all of the relocation fees including the realtor fee were paid for by my work.
I think it really depends on what you prefer. It is fantastic to customize new construction but it is A LOT of work making decisions very quickly with huge price tags. Even after all of those decisions, there is a lot of hidden costs to make it livable - buying window treatments, etc. I think I spent over $3k on window shades of all the stupid things but I had never lived in a new construction home before and didn't realize what it would be missing. As the real estate market crashed and the builder was not done in the neighborhood, he undercut the price of new construction which made it very difficult to sell a lived in for 2 years home in a new construction neighborhood. Something to think about depending upon how long you plan to live in your home.
New construction worked out best for us. We fell in love with it but the advantage for us was that we didn't need as much money for closing becuase the house hadn't been assest for taxes yet so we had to put 2 bucks toward yearly taxes rather than a couple thousand. And because of the way taxes work in my area I won't pay property taxes until September this year and we closed in June 2010.
@cherrycoke: DH and I are both 40 and he is set to retire at 55, so we are planning on 20-25 years. We also have a place in the Ozarks that we visit during the summers and are building there also, but that will not be for a while yet. We have a place there now and it will do until we make our decisions on exactly what our needs will be there.
@cherrycoke: Unfortunately, you'll need a friend with a lot of construction experience to look it over, or start watching Holmes on Homes all the time!!
@sheld1bm: I'm glad that the taxes worked out well for you! I would caution others reading this post that I was in a similar situation because one of my new construction homes was assessed and taxed on the land only. However, when they re-assessed for the land and the home my taxes increased so dramatically it increased my monthly mortgage payment by 30%, keep in mind I escrowed my taxes. This may be unique to where I live but they tend to assess new construction at significantly higher tax rates.
I am not a realtor or a financial advisor but I would highly recommend that you contact a local realtor who can provide a ballpark estimate of taxes on new construction in your area. Ask them for comps of similar homes built in the past 3 years and compare their tax rates to homes over 15 years old, there likely will be a significant difference.
We built our home, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
Our builders were awesome, and we haven't had any issues (no nail pops, no cement problems, nothing). We are super happy with all of the finishing in our house, and have gotten nothing but compliments from the trades people in our families (BIL is a finishing carpenter, my dad is a plumber/gasfitter/refrigeration mechanic, and cousin is an electrician) and they all have been impressed in the workmanship.
Our house came with lots of extras thrown in (all major appliances included, driveway poured, attached garage drywalled and heater installed, blinds on all the windows). We got the flooring, granite countertops, and jetted tubs that we wanted. In our lower level the living space was completed, and the bedrooms and bathroom all roughed in, wired, and framed, so to finish it all we have to do is drywall and add flooring. We have had a lot of fun doinf our own landscaping, and once we finish the lower level we will have added about 25K of value to our home (based on comparing to comparables in our area).
Price was comperable to buying a pre-owned home, and I am glad to have the floor to ceiling 1 year warranty, and 5 year structural warranty, even though at 2 1/2 years in the home we haven't had to call the builder in for a single issue (and me and DH are SUPER picky, so if there was something to complain about we would find it).
Honestly until we have a LOT more money and time to waste (don't take that negatively anyone!) we wouldn't even consider building. If I'm going to build, I'm building my absolute DREAM FOREVER Home. We have talked about doing that eventually...maybe...but honestly I'm in love with our current home and it'll depend on if we outgrow it with kids or not. It has 3 bedrooms, so I don't know that we would technically outgrow it.
For our starter home that we got in August we bought a pre-owned short-sale and got the most excellent deal on something that needed minimal effort. We have little projects to do - we want to re-do the floors eventually, but they're fine. It's actually new carpet....but I detest carpet, that's all. Lol. Also re-doing the bathrooms, which we're about to begin. But really it's just because they're a bit outdated. And a new stove/oven, but the other appliances are new. We did manage to get a REALLY amazing deal because the bank/seller was really motivated.
We are going to start the building process in May!!! 
I would be fine with a pre-built home, but my DH wants a 4 car garage and a few other items that aren't "norm" in our area. I am really excited about the process, but am concerned that all of the upgrades that are on my wish-list may really hike up the price. We shall see! 
Both houses i have owned have been new construction. I find you get more features (lot, layout and finishes, ceiling height etc) you want with a new build and im really picky with finishes so i like to select them all to my taste. However, there are some gem resales out there and you will most likely get a house that has more things done like a fence, drive way paved and maybe even landscaping. Its a personal thing!You really need to go out and take a look at some resales to know what is out there for your money. It also helps you know what you like or dislike. Then go out and look at some new construcion homes and weigh out the pros and cons.
Just a side note that all homes need to pass inspection for a new home prior to taking possession and Tarion Warranty protects you if you have issues with your builder. Knock on wood but all issuea(which have been minor) have been resolved.
If I could AFFORD it? Newly constructed, all the way. However, we are hoping to buy our family home first thing, and so we'll probably end up going with previously-owned.
We bought a brand new condo because we were essentially worried about the "leaky condos" that were built in recent years. It's nice in that everything is new, but like others said, it was a constant parade of contractors coming through our unit and the building in general for the first year.
We recently bought and had this same dilemma. We ended up buying a home that was about 5 years old rather than building just because of location. We did however require the buyers to buy a warranty for us.
If you really want to build do A LOT of research on the builder and ask for a list of a few people who've had homes build recently for references.
Good Luck!
We own a house from the early 60's and have remodeled. I would only build a home (and my husband is a contractor) if it was where I was planning on living forever and we had the time and money to do it right. There are so many new construction homes in Florida that are total shit, that I really have no warm feelings towards building. I love the fact that our house has character, has seen multiple children born and raised and is built solid. Also, in the area I live in, older houses also hold their value far better than new homes.
My DH and I plan on buying a new construction home in a few years. While we know that often the newly built homes these days have some issues (shortcuts or cheaper materials used), we love the idea of getting to pick everything out ourselves! We have quite a few new developments being built in our area right now in our price range. I hope there are some new developments in a few more years when we are ready to buy a new house! And I agree about the used carpet. I hate germs and would have to have brand new carpet! :) And new toilets. :)
When we began the new home search in Fall 2009, we looked at about 20 resale homes. From older fixer upper's, to older well maintained homes, to newer construction subdisivision homes. Most were so dirty I couldn't look beyond that, and these were nice looking from the outside, good neighbourhood homes.
In Jan 2010 we had looked at a few subdivision resale homes where the builder was currently finishing the final phase of new builds. We lowballed them on an inventory lot, had a choice of a few floor plans, picked a basic, open concept design, got $20K in free upgrades (hello granite in the kitchen!) and got to pick everything, we scored huge in my opinion. We've been in 18 months and could already pocket around $50K if we sold now. We had a great builder, we got to see the house as it went up, they got us in before our originally expected closing date and overall was a great building process. We have a postage stamp lot (even though it is a "big" lot in subdivision terms) but a cute house that is totally an awesome first home. We made it our own and didn't have to deal with anyone else's mess. We got in to our new build June 2010.
We are already looking at a 5acre lot we may buy in the next few weeks and build new again (we don't want a bigger house, just more space and in the boons a little!). Perhaps we're now spoiled, but I couldn't imagine looking resale again. I know we would find something that works, but if buying land and building is affordable in this current scenario, why not build new again and get exactly what we want -this would be a custom home, so even more different than our first building experience!
Are negotiating in applicances in a new build an option for you? Never hurts to ask -we got "free appliances" too, but ended up upgrading them so paid the difference between what the base ones would have cost and our upgrades. Have you gone to look at resale in your area? I didn't think we'd get to build new, wouldn't be affordable, or I wouldn't like floorplans, I was totally shocked on how much I hated the resale hunt and then we got into a new build!
I don't know what the situation is where you live, but where I live, all of the new construction homes are in neighborhoods where all of the houses look almost the same, all the trees have been clear-cut, and you may get a nice big house, but its on a yard the size of a postage stamp and you can practically shake hands with your neighbors from your kitchen window. We went with a pre-owned house because we wanted a house, yard and neighborhood with trees and character. It wasn't exactly to my taste, but we just made sure to buy a house that only had a few things we needed to change and that we could live with until we did it. We've lived in it a year and repainted everything and put in some new light fixtures. After we put in new countertops in the kitchen, we'll pretty much be done.
@namarie: This is how it is where I live, as well. It's pretty much the same story all over Florida. I hate hate hate it.
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