Buying a new home is exciting! But it can also be heartbreaking if something goes wrong with your building or buying experience. This home-buying failure may grow into one of the disappointing moving scams. Working with a well-known company is almost always a good idea, but it doesn’t guarantee perfect results.
Learn the tips on what steps to take to ensure you buy a great new home.
1. Be Realistic
If you’re building a new home, it’s going to be an up-and-down experience. There are different price points for homes, and the less expensive homes are going to have fewer features and less expensive features. If you want bells and whistles, be ready to pay the price. If you don’t have the funds, worry most about quality materials over fancy finishes.
2. Visit the Site
Before you commit to a new home, visit the neighborhood. Check it out at different parts of the day and night. Check for traffic, and check for obvious issues with existing homes. Then keep up the work after you’ve started your home. Check the progress and be vocal about concerns.
3. Do Your Research
The salespeople for a builder want you to buy their home. They won’t lie to you (usually), but they may not tell you the whole truth. Do your research online with nestfully.com and within the community to be sure you know what you’re getting into..
4. Talk to the Neighbors
The best place for news and stories is the neighbors. Unless you’re the first house in the neighborhood, someone knows something. Knock on doors and beg a moment of time to get the scoop on the builder and any known problems. Most people who have issues are more than willing to tell you all about them.
5. Develop a Relationship with the Super
While you’re watching your house go up, develop some rapport with the job’s superintendent. This relationship will get you plenty of extra attention and when a problem does come up, you can ask for help with the issue more easily as well.
6. Get an Inspector
No matter how much you trust your new friend, the super, get an inspection. Budget for at least one inspection, although you may need two or even three before the job is done. The inspector will tell you if things are up to code and according to the plans for the home.
7. Expect Issues
Even the most carefully built home has issues. An outlet may be missing or a bit of the trim is uneven. While it’s reasonable to expect the builder to fix any big problems, it’s not reasonable to expect your home to look absolutely perfect in every way – this is a real house, not a television show!
8. Be Persistent
If you or your inspector noticed a problem, stay with the builder until they fix it. They may drag their feet or tell you they will fix it after closing. Never agree with this.
9. Don’t Get Anxious
While building your home, the builder has to pay for the home as it sits there. They will try and unload the home on you as quickly as possible, especially if they expect it to have issues or there are big problems. Once you sign the paperwork, those problems are yours and the builder has very little obligation to you – even with a warranty. Don’t get in a hurry. This puts pressure on the builder to make it right quickly or risk losing you.
10. Don’t Be Afraid to Walk Away
Finally, you put down earnest money on your new home, and you stand to lose it if you walk away. The flip side of that, however, is that the earnest money is all that you lose if you walk away from a very expensive disaster. It’s far better to lose $1,000 than to spend the next fifteen or thirty years paying the mortgage on a home that is falling apart around you.
