Buying a Newly Built Home

When you walk into a new home, everything looks fresh and trendy. It’s so easy to fall in love with a new home. But is this the house for you? 

Here are a couple things to consider:

BRAND NEW EVERYTHING – There isn’t any lead paint or asbestos in a new construction. You will have new appliances, new windows, new heating and air conditioning  (which are probably energy efficient), new insulation, new electrical and new plumbing!

TOP OF THE MARKET PRICE – You will be paying top dollars for your new home. If the previous home on the lot was a tear down, then taxes are going to be higher than the neighbor next door, whose house is older.

Paying top market price may not be a problem if you really love the neighborhood, but years later, when another new house is built, your house will not be the newest home in the neighborhood. If the prices of new houses are climbing and you decide to sell at that time, then you may not lose much money. But if the price of new construction remains the same, you could be losing a couple of hundred thousands from what you initially invested when you bought the home.

Some home owers are paying top dollars for their new homes with the intention to live in the house until their children graduate from high school and go to college. Others will add private education costs per child, per year, until graduation, and they decide they would rather invest the money in a new, larger home, in a neighborhood where local public schools are competitive and have a good reputation.