What can you tell me about buying new construction?

[gingersmom]

My house is sold and I am moving cross country.

 

Realtors have sent me listings in my price range that include new construction.

 

This is totally foreign to me as new construction in my neck of the woods begins at a million dollars.

 

Not sure yet if I am even going to look at them but is there anything in particular to new construction I need to ask about?

 

Pros/Cons?

[Ali in OR]

We've had good experiences, both with smaller builders who were willing to work with us. In our first home, we got to work with the cabinet guy to design our kitchen cabinets. We moved a fireplace to a more convenient spot. We added a darkroom by the laundry room. We picked out all of the carpets, light fixtures, etc. In our second home, we were able to make changes to make the house wheelchair accessible--ramp to front door, stepless exit out to patio and stepless entry from garage, all doors 36" wide, moved a bedroom closet to make bathroom bigger. They did not charge us a penny for any of these things. We made other changes that did add to the price (under cabinet lighting in kitchen, built in shelves in kitchen), but they were all things that we thought made the house function better for us. For both houses we obviously bought before much had been done construction-wise.

 

Downside to new construction--starting from scratch in the yard, buying all window coverings, building the fence, putting in the irrigation system, building a play structure, etc.! I still think it's worth it to get what you want, but I can see the attraction of buying a house that's a few years old where all of that is already done! As long as you like how it was done...

[DianeW88]

Pros: Nobody (human or animal) has ever thrown up or peed on your carpets. That trumps everything else in my book! I've always gone with new construction.

[Freckles]

My life long dream is to live in new construction. I've always lived in old!

[Jeannie in NJ]

we have a beautiful large development offshore where my adult nephew and his family live. When nephew bought in 2006 everything was extra, he even had to pay extra for basement (unfinished). Now basements are standard and what the builder is doing is building houses , including upgrades such as hardwood floors, high quality carpets, fireplaces, finished basements all at the base price plus they are throwing in $22,000 as either even more upgrades or cash back. We are strongly considering buying there. Plus all the lots are wooded, which is one of our requirements.

[LucyStoner]

Beware of construction quality issues which are common with many, many new construction homes. Do your homework on the builder and talk to other people living in homes by that builder. There are many worn looking 5-10 year old homes round about these parts to say nothing of the big internal systems. I am not saying new is always bad but you can't take rock solid perfect construction for granted when buying a new construction home these days.

[Desert Rat]

My dh used to be in new construction (superintendent). He said the biggest complaints were the initial extra costs of buying a brand new home.

 

Usually landscaping in the back isn't included, so no deck, grass/rock, trees, etc.

Inside, no window coverings. When you buy a resale, the curtains/blinds usually come with it. Even if you hate them, you don't have put sheets up over the windows right away.

Basements aren't finished either (if applicable).

 

Otherwise, new construction is nice because you're the first to live there. No weird stains, etc.

 

If you're looking at a specific builder, feel free to PM me. I'll ask dh about the company's reputation for you.

[In the Rain]

We ended up buying new construction for the first time ever. We looked into the reputation of builders we were considering. Our realtor recommended sticking with bigger builders who had established reputations, and a substantial presence in the market. This area has a number of developers building just one neighborhood. He said those builders can be less likely to respond to problems. One had declared bankruptcy, changed the name slightly, and reopened as a new business at the same address!

 

This is the first time I've moved and not felt the need to bleach and overhaul the entire bathroom and kitchen. It was squeaky clean!

[kitten18]

It really depends on the city/area you are moving to. Some cities are full of small builders who build only a couple houses a year and other cities have big builders too.

 

Some of the big builders who offer a 10 year warranty really mean it, they care about their reputation and customer service scores. Other builders...won't honor that warranty or they may be out of business in 6 months.