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New & Custom Home Advantages

As professional Realtors, we're commonly asked about the advantages of purchasing or building new homes.  We honestly believe that new homes offer significant advantages for home buyers -- and we can prove it.  Here are just a few of the most significant advantages new homes can offer you:

Your Family's Health

Potentially, nothing matters more than your family's health & safety.  As we progress through the years, we build on the experience of millions of other home builders and buyers, discovering many lessons that have been learned in the process.  The goal, of course, is to build homes that are as safe and healthy for you and your family as they can possibly be.  For example, I think we're all aware of just how dangerous products like asbestos can really be.  Unfortunately, there was a time when the building industry (and many others) believed asbestos to be the "wonder material" when it comes to insulation and heat protection.  Lead is another component that was used in many products for years, but now that process has been discontinued.

The point here is that the products used in today's construction processes are more safe due to experience.  Your new home can deliver the results of this experience provide that benefit to you.  There's no point to purchasing your dream home if it's going to endanger your family.

Your Family's Safety

Health and safety go hand in hand.  I would venture to say that newer homes are less of a safety risk than older homes.  In fact, it's been proven that occupants of new homes are much less likely to die from fire than occupants of older homes.  That's enough for me.

The reasons?  There are many.  Most of them are common sense.  Due to changes in building codes, insurance requirements, and home buyer preferences, you'll find that most new homes come standard with smoke detectors in every room.  You wouldn't find this to be the case as recently as 15 years ago.  Smoke detectors also commonly have battery backup systems in case the hard wiring fails and to prevent power loss, reducing fire safety risks for your family as you sleep.

Although electricity has been around for longer than we can remember, power consumption and the increased demand for electrical appliances has skyrocketed.  New building codes generally allow for this fact, increasing the minimum standards for wiring, connections, and circuit boxes - all which reduce the likelihood of malfunction and fire damage.  GFCI (Ground Fault Circuit Interrupt) switches come to mind as a prime example.  These are the funny-looking electrical receptacles you'll find near water (bath, sinks, etc) and usually on the exterior outlets for your home.  Just one shining example of increased safety precautions that will keep you from being electrocuted if those outlets come into contact with water.

Ever known someone who came into contact with plate glass in tub enclosures and patio doors many years ago?  Much like older auto glass, plate glass in most older homes shatters into large knives and are extremely dangerous.  Newer building codes compensate for this fact and force the use of tempered glass to reduce your risk of injury if you or someone in your family comes into contact with it.

Conveniences

New homes offer more built-in conveniences than have ever existed in the history of mankind.  We may think of central heat and air as necessities now, but they certainly weren't 30 years ago.  We now have dishwashers, intercoms, built-in vacuum systems, and Jacuzzi tubs, but that wasn't always the case.  New homes offer more electrical, cable, and telephone outlets than older homes, due to the increased information and energy requirements of today's modern consumer.  Older homes don't necessarily compensate for current demand in these areas.  Sure, you can install most of these items once you move in, at your own cost of course, but why pay to have a "work around" installed when it can be installed from the very beginning?  There's no need to settle for second best.

Decreased Down Payments & Closing Costs

What are the 2 most formidable obstacles for most home buyers?  Down payments and closing costs!  Builders know this and so do most existing home owners.  However, builders are in a better financial position to make concessions in both of these areas when it comes to successfully marketing their product.  Although many existing home owners can't even afford to help the buyer in these areas, it's a quite common affair in the building industry.

Every builder is a little different.  Some will offer to pay most, if not all, of your closing costs while others will offer to pay very little.  It's been my experience that the chances of having to pay your own closing costs are greatly increased when purchasing an existing home from a seller.  Builder's offer many more programs and incentives for home buyers, often resulting in decreased closing costs for you - the home buyer.

Builder Incentives

Down payments and closing costs aren't the only are where the builder can help.  There may also be many incidental costs associated with moving.  Builders also realize this fact and most are prepared to help in some way.  Builder incentives may include items like special financing, reduced interest rates, inclusion of special upgrades, full sod, landscaping packages, sprinkler systems, and more.  Again, most private home sellers are in no financial position to offer these types of upgrades on the home they're attempting to sell.  To them, it's either take it or leave it.  I'd suggest leaving it, unless you're looking at a fabulous home that you wouldn't change a thing about.

No One's Ever Lived There Before

There's nothing quite like living in a brand new home.  There's no need to worry about what the former owners may have done to the place, because no one's ever lived there before.  It's all yours and you are the original owner.  It smells new - no odors or pet damage done to your new home from anyone in the past.  You can lie in your bed at night knowing that this home is your home.

All Components Are New

One of the most critical items to inspect during the purchase of your home are the system components - electrical, appliances, air conditioning systems, heat or furnace systems, lighting, plumbing - you get the idea.  In fact, these items are such a concern that the entire idea warrants a home inspection conducted by a professional.  Of course, if you purchase an existing home, you could possibly talk the seller into paying for a home warranty on your behalf - maybe.  Or, you could just purchase a new home that already has the home warranties in place, covering all appliances, materials, and workmanship for a full year (sometimes longer).  Home builders commonly provide at least a 1-year warranty on the entire home, not just pieces and parts of the appliances.  You'll also be getting the transferred warranties for all of your appliances when buying new, you know, all the documents that usually come up missing when you purchase an existing home.  No need to worry about how long the AC water heater will last.  It's covered.

It's Your Floor Plan

There's nothing like seeing your dreams come to life, especially if we're talking about your home.  Nothing else represents you more fully than where you live.  You can tell so much about someone from where they live, what type of home they live in, and the furnishings inside a home. It's your reflection.  When purchasing a new home, you maintain control over the most essential elements of your new residence.  The floor plan is yours.  The kitchen is where is supposed to be, the master bedroom is twice the size of anything you've ever seen in anyone else's home, the kitchen cabinets are made of solid oak, that new home theater room would render your coworkers speechless, and there's a special room built just for your children to play and learn in.  These are all options that you can incorporate into the design of a new home and you'd probably never find them in someone else's.  Everyone's priorities are a little different, so you can't expect for someone else to have the same values during construction that you would have.  Of course, you could settle for someone else's dream, or you could build your own.  Are you in the habit of wearing someone else's clothes to work?  Then why purchase someone else's home to live in? 

You Select The Price

No matter what industry you're referencing, the price is always flexible.  When purchasing and existing home, the price is not so flexible.  You'll be dealing with how much the seller wants, paying for their children's college education, or possibly even providing the proceeds for them to build their dream home.  Why fund someone else's dreams, when you could fund your own?  You have total control over how much you're willing to spend and where that money is spent during construction.  All options are open and you're making the decisions.  You also need to compare the fact that existing homes are older homes.  Are existing homes cheaper?  In most cases, certainly not.  The current owners have been depreciating the improvements to their property for all these years and haven't made any noticeable improvements.  So why are they selling their home at the same price per square foot as a new home?  Because they're overpriced, that's why.  Think they're ready to give you $20,000 or more off the asking price because they haven't maintained it.  Make an offer and see.  I'll bet not.

You Select The Location

How many times have you heard that when it comes to real estate, there are only 3 things to consider, "location, location, and location."  Again, you could purchase someone else's location and buy a home where they liked to live, or you could establish your own location in a new and thriving neighborhood - closer to where things are happening today.  It's important to consider your location, what you like to do when you're at home, the places you frequent, neighborhood schools, and the distance from where you're living to where you're most likely to go.  Developers invest quite a bit of time to place their neighborhoods in the most desirable areas to accommodate today's lifestyles.  You'll often find that although a certain property looks great in a certain area today, but just imagine that neighborhood 30 years from now when you finally own your home?  Would it still be a place where you'd want to live.  If you decide to build another home in a few years, would other potential buyers want to live there, or could you lease it to prospective renters if you decide to keep it for an investment?  Choose your location well.

Innovative Design

Ever passed by a home or a neighborhood and wondered quietly to yourself, "what could they have been thinking when they designed this home or area?"  I have.  It's comical at times to see how much floor plans and areas have changed over the years.  It's comical because I don't own it.  Now, if I owned it, I'd have a different take on it altogether.  The most common request I receive for new homes is that they have an open floor plan, fewer walls, more viewing area, and more area for entertainment - whether it be entertaining friends or family.  Know why I receive so many requests like this?  Because attitudes, desires, and designs have changed over the years.  For example, if you're thinking about purchasing a home that's 20 years old, you're thinking about purchasing 20 year old structural designs and values.  Don't get me wrong, there are some excellent values to be had in existing structures, but they're certainly not the norm.  By choosing to purchase a new home, you're gaining the value from years of design experience and you're gaining a home reflecting where you're at today - not in the past.  It's the difference between wearing 30 year old clothing and trendy fashions.  You don't have to be on the leading edge of fashion, mind you, but it certainly would be nice to be somewhere near the front.  And again, if you think the seller is going to make huge concessions just because their floor plan is outdated, think again.  They were savvy enough to get themselves into a home that's outdated, so don't expect to get reliable information from them regarding how nicely this home fits today's lifestyles.  Exceptions must be made for historical properties, but by and large, most of the homes you're going to see in your home search certainly aren't masterpieces.

Product Choice

For every existing home that's currently on the market in a given area, I guarantee you that there are many more new homes that aren't even listed.  In fact, you may never even see them.  There are many reasons for this, but the main rational reason for it is because the homes are sold before they even hit the market.  Why?  There's a significant demand for them.  Today's builders will offer you more of product choices than you can stand.  Some are great, some are not so great - just like every other facet of life.  When you sentence yourself to only view existing homes, you're limiting yourself to considering only leftovers when there's an entire gourmet entree yet to be had.  It's like choosing from the "ready" orders waiting on the shelf at a fast food restaurant when you could have what you really want.

Energy Efficiency

When considering the purchase of a new home, you're facing two costs - fixed and variable.  Fixed costs are the costs you're going to absorb every month whether you want to or not. In simplified terms, your mortgage payment is a good example.  No matter whether how cold or hot it gets or whether you even decide to be in your home most of the time, you're going to have relatively the same mortgage payment to make every month.  Variable costs are a completely different matter.  These are costs such as electricity and natural gas consumption.  These costs are directly affected by you on a daily basis.  Here's where energy efficiency comes into play.  Although you can't change your mortgage payment on a daily basis, you could possibly save quite a bit of money every month by reducing your energy consumption.  Your mortgage payment may go on for as much as 30 years, but your energy costs will last a lifetime.

Energy codes have constantly improved in recent memory and most new homes already include the installation of these items.  Increasing the R-value of insulation and installing Low E-2 windows help to reduce the variable costs associated with home ownership - 2 things you'll virtually never see in existing homes.  When you're purchasing an older home, you're purchasing old energy codes, appliances, and components that consume more energy than today's components.  It's a serious issue that demands your attention. 

Home Automation

How important was broadband Ethernet cable in most homes built in the 70s?  For that matter, how important was the internet?  It's an obvious answer, but it brings about the same modernization issues described above.  Many new homes come pre-wired for internet access, security systems, intercoms, and even "talking" appliances.  We even have refrigerators that know when we're getting low on milk and automatically produce a shopping list based on our consumption activities.  For that matter, they can even place internet orders for those items have them delivered for us.  I could mention home theater systems, predictive lighting systems, and on, and on, and on.  You get the idea.  As builders match home buyer demands, more systems are available for inclusion into the building process that you're just not going to see in older homes.  They couldn't even have imagined those things, but now, we have them. It's your choice, you can live in the past or in the future.   

Investing In Yourself

Purchasing or building your new home shouldn't be a mystery.  No matter what your values, your home purchase will be a significant investment on your part.  It's certainly a worthwhile investment, but nevertheless, a significant one.  Once the differences are explained, the choice is usually somewhat less difficult.  You're either the type of person who wishes to invest in the future or the past.  No matter which course you decide to pursue, the decision is yours and yours alone.  New homes offer significant benefits that you're less likely to find in the existing home market.  It makes good sense to consider all of your options and investigate the alternatives, no matter what your preferences are.  The idea here is to maximize your options and choices, thereby giving you the control you need to plot a course for success.  Good luck and happy house hunting!