New Home vs Secondary

Benefits of Building New Home vs Secondary Market

Last Updated: 2022-02-16By

Establishing a new household always raises debates. You would think about maximum budget, approximate location, size of the house and last but not least if the house should be purchased in as is condition or should you consider building new home from scratch.

In today’s article Remodel On Point provides detailed information on benefits of building new home instead of purchasing from secondary market.

Many buyers don’t realize the downsides or positive aspects of purchasing land and developing on it. Adding to debate our team came up with a list of items that are missed when deciding on a property.

Benefits of Building New Home:

  • Everything is New and Fresh
  • Unique Layout that Works for Your Family
  • Completely Different Design
  • Cheaper to Build if You Have Finances
  • Extended Warranty
  • Custom Finishes and Details
  • Creative Fancy Backyard
  • Higher end Finishes and Appliances
  • Less Maintenance
  • Rebates Available from City or State
  • Energy Efficient Home

The biggest problems with building new home is obviously time and availability of financing construction project. Very often it means mortgage on land plus cash for building.

But today’s article not about problems, rather why to choose the path of developing custom home.

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Discussion on Benefits of Building New Home Projects

In our experience less than 15% oh home buyers consider building new home instead of getting something that had owners and less than 5% actually proceed with this idea.

It could be that market is already saturated with existing homes and it is a major driving price. Also new builds are not as widely available or maybe people just don’t know enough information about the possibilities and benefits.

Below we explain our list of 10 points why we think new builds are better than older homes. Let us know if your experience was different or any other comments that can contribute to this topic.

Everything is New and Fresh

Just think of walking into a new place that had no previous owner and everything you see is brand new. It’s like buying new car that still has original wrap from factory but even better.

As first home owner you would be the first one to use new bathrooms, experience cooking in lovely kitchen and fill the fridge with food. New homes fill like luxury even if cost to build was low and budget was not the best. Sorry for comparison, but think of it as buying brand new but lower class car. Of course higher end custom homes are not even comparable.

Although every construction has minor deficiencies that can be adjusted, it is builder’s responsibility to finish walk through list before you move it.

Unique Layout that Works for Your Family

Searching through the market for the right home is not always convenient and real estate agent may never find the layout that meets your needs. Some families need more bedrooms, office space, kid’s room, sauna or even home theater.

With new home construction you (or technically your wife) are the boss and there are no limits for the floor plan if budget allows exploring and proceeding different rooms.

Architects can help out drafting and playing around with ideas of main and second floor that you can approve before permits obtained and construction starts. If home owner is not picky, premade plans can be purchased online.

Completely Different Design

This is a time to shine and one of main reasons and benefits of building a new home is to have something different than neighbors. We personally don’t support the idea of new house construction only for having different looks, but nevertheless it is out there.

It hurts the eye to have subdivision looking homes cloned on every street and fresh modern look can definitely make home owner proud.

Ask builders and architects what are the possibilities of designs. In rare protected areas, city stays strong to protect original looks and can deny certain exterior finishes.

Cheaper to Build if You Have Finances

How can it be that building completely new home is cheaper than buying one? We are comparing apples to apples. What we mean is to buy exactly the same quality new house will be more expansive than buying empty land and building this exact house on it.

Let’s assume there is a new house on a market that is just awesome. The price tag is $2,000,000 and the question is whether building something similar makes sense.

In our calculation builders and developers make 15% – 20% from selling price, therefore to buy land and complete similar construction should cost $1,600,000 – $1,700,000.

Extended Warranty

Licensed and insured home builder company should always provide warranty for new build home. It can be up to two years for minor details or workmanship and goes up to ten years for structural.

This is something home buyers never find or even consider when purchasing property. Imagine if something goes wrong and after just one year of living in bought house there is major leak due to pipe explosion. Who will fix all the damages?

Of course home owners can and sometimes have to get home insurance, but that works only for major issues and health related problems.

Custom Finishes and Details

Going with higher taste can involve higher costs, but at least it can be done with new home. As we say appetite comes during the meal and building home is the same way.

During each step, home owner keeps wondering if better tiles, floor, plumbing fixtures should be installed. On average 70% of all projects end up spending more than initial budget simply because client wanted higher end finishes than originally discussed.

In older homes upgrading walls, floor, bathrooms can be super costly because demolition is necessary. Custom homes will have just difference in price material and potentially additional cost for complexity of installation.

For example original plan was to install 12×12 inch $5 per square foot tiles in bathroom. Later home owner decided to get $8 per square foot tiles that are 12×24 inch. The difference is minor comparing to renovation that would be done in older home.

Creative Fancy Backyard

Don’t simply settle for the house that has vague backyard with burned out grass. There are so much more that can be made or build for family time and every day enjoyment.

The benefit of building new home is the possibility to create extravagant backyard during home construction. The time is there and obviously making new backyard won’t disturb anyone.

In tighter spaces it is hard to bring heavy machinery like bobcats and excavators when house already exists, but during new build it’s easily done.

Home owners can plan covered deck, stone patio, retaining walls or creative pools with waterfalls. The possibilities are endless and there is no better time to complete creative backyard than during home build.

Less Maintenance

We spoke lots about lifespan of house parts and constant maintenance. For example roof is changed every 20 years, windows every 25 years, appliances every 10 years, flooring every 15 years and so on. There are many hidden things and maintenance items in house that had previous owners.

Another benefit of building new home is having less maintenance for first 5-10 years living in it. Everything is brand new and most of parts of the house covered by warranty.

Why should you spend so much money and still worry about keeping the house or property around it in good shape?

Rebates Available from City or State

Not everyone talks about it, but building new house can get home owner some money back from the government. Cities and States have initiatives to build better homes with potential money back.

It is not a lot, but every few thousand dollars is a good bonus at the end of the day. On average rebates can be from $5000 up to $30000 for average size new home.

Ask builder if your area provides tax, energy efficiency or any other new build rebates. Experienced companies can fully take care of that and submitted form will lead to check in mail.

Energy Efficient Home

Plan ahead and make future less expensive. Today it is simple to plan home that will be energy efficient. Clients can save on electricity, gas, and water which adds up to big amount if 10-20 years are taken into consideration.

It’s starting to get popular installing roof top solar panels and produce own electricity. Others just love having tons of natural light provided by large windows with roof skylight.

Reach out for information on possibilities and options for energy efficient homes. Our team is always happy to help out with planning or designing quality homes.

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Each building has some sort of driveway or at least should have. The main reason is for vehicles to come closer without need to walk all the way. Some homes are residential with small driveway for their car to come in and park before garage or front entrance, and others can be large commercial buildings with loading docks, delivery entrances and casual parking entrances. On Point Remodeling was asked for suggestions on residential driveway for new home construction, and we decided to write detailed article for all our readers. Using this guide you can select the material for your driveway and see what works for your budget. Here are the materials for driveway we will be discussing in our guide:
  • Asphalt
  • Concrete
  • Paver Stone
  • Crushed stone
  • Brick
  • Seashell
  • Gravel
To find good contractor for your driveway, you can either ask our team by email or try to find someone local that worked with neighbors or nearby buildings.

Installation process of any material surface on your driveway

a) Demolition and Excavation – Before anything is done, your contractor will get heavy machinery and scratch off old layer of driveway. They need to go down at least 5-6 inches to insure proper layering before your final layer of material is installed. b) Material Purchase and Delivery – At this point your contract is signed and you already know how the surface will look. Contracting company purchases necessary materials and delivers them to site. Double check if material is correct and not damaged. c) Preparation of Sublevel – Whatever you place as final material, it cannot just be installed directly on top soil. Gravel is the first choice of material that goes down at this stage. Other preferred material is screen sand that can go on top of gravel and works better with stone and bricks. d) Compaction of Ground – To prevent your driveway from moving and changing shapes, all the layers from bottom up have to be properly compacted. Do not leave any spot untouched while doing this or you can get small holes and cracks in driveway after installation. E) Final Installation – This is when all the magic happens. After all preparations and dirty work the final installation is made literally within hours and you can enjoy new driveway. Stone and brick is set up by hand, while other materials require some sort of machinery with manual labor to even out surface.

1. Asphalt

Probably the most used material for road top surfaces as well as driveways is asphalt. This is a mix of gravel and sand that is mixed in and combined by asphalt cement with crude oil. Pros of Asphalt Driveway
  • Very popular and easy to find materials/contractor
  • Completed in 1 day and you can drive on it after
  • Patches and small holes can be fixed fast
Cons of Asphalt Driveway
  • Easy to damage and cracks appear in few years
  • Almost everyone else has same surface
  • Oily surface and chemicals used in mix
Prepared for asphalt driveway will cost you around $5 per square foot to finish. The contractors that take care of entire process from taking out old driveway surface, install subsurface and compact the ground with new asphalt on top, will charge on average $5500 per regular size driveway at single home property.

2. Concrete

What we call concrete is a mixture of Portland cement, aggregate as well as sand with gravel. Suggested thickness of concrete for driveway is 6 inches. The mixture needs to cure without being touched or driven on top for several days. Pros of Concrete Driveway
  • Durable material for large weights
  • Long lifespan if installed properly
  • Winter and summer friendly
Cons of Concrete Driveway
  • Has marks and stains over time
  • Hard to repair without replacement
  • Super hard to DIY
To hire contractors for concrete driveway it will cost around $7-$9 per square foot. This will include site preparation with gravel spread and new concrete installation. They will order full truck of concrete (or several for larger driveways) to pour inside forming. Smoothening and curing is required after installation.

3. Paver Stone

The most luxurious material that you can use to create driveway path with is paver stone. It is made out of natural stone with uneven rough shapes that have different line patterns. Paver stones are very heavy and are perfect for weights on top of them. Almost every city in Europe has roads and walks made out of stone that were installed centuries ago. Pros of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Creative designs can be done
  • Personal looks, can match the house
  • Can replace single stone in minutes
Cons of Paver Stone Driveway
  • Weeds growing through
  • Stone can move over time
  • Most expensive material
There is wide selection of stone that can be purchased for your driveway. On average we recommend settling with $17-$20 per square foot for stone with installation included. Working with this material is very intense labor and we recommend hiring professionals that do this type of work every day.

4. Crushed Stone

Our readers sometimes mistake crushed stone with gravel, but this is not the same material. Crushed stone material is achieved when machine is mechanically crushing larger pieces of unused stone for this specific purpose. It is larger than gravel and can have smooth finish. Crushed stone can also have a mix of colors, which is much pleasant to eyes than gravel. Pros of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Low maintenance required
  • Fits rural area style
  • Can be reused for other purposes
Cons of Crushed Stone Driveway
  • Gets very hot during summer
  • Can be messy after many drives
  • Hard to remove snow and ice
Buying crushed stone and installing it on your driveway is as easy as it gets. Similar to other rough materials discussed in this post, only small tools like shovels, dolly and buckets are required to spread it on the road. The cost of crushed stone driveway is between $4 and $6 per square foot from professional local contractors that can finish the job in several days.

5. Brick

The same brick we see being used in wall construction can be installed as top driveway surface. Brick is manufactured by compressing clay with plastic mass. It is heated to extreme temperature and dried up to become as solid as you know it. Pros of Brick Driveway
  • Variety of selections in shapes and shades
  • Bricks are recyclable
  • Slip resistant with rough top part
Cons of Brick Driveway
  • Needs regular maintenance
  • Change color over time
  • Old fashion looking
Installing brick on driveway costs $10 per square foot, which is not too far from masonry brick laying as part of the wall. To save money you can use or purchase old brick, that was part of a wall before. Do not mix these two jobs and contact landscaping professionals instead of masonry contractors that work with bricks.

6. Seashell

This material is popular on the coast line where shells can be found near the water. Construction companies use seashells to add in other materials as well as spread them on driveway in rough condition, without adding anything else. It usually comes in white or pearl color and darkens within year because of mixing with sand and dirt. Pros of Seashell Driveway
  • Environmentally friendly
  • Has natural drainage
  • Creates worm vibe of beach house
Cons of Seashell Driveway
  • Break and crack under light weight
  • Sharp and very hard to walk on
  • Gets stuck in shoes and tires
To deliver and spread seashells on driveways costs below $4, which is only slightly more expensive than rough gravel. As you go further from coast line, cost of material increases due to delivery. This material is elegant and very soft. We recommend adding edge lines with darker color landscape material to create visual path.

7. Gravel

This material is used in other construction mixes and underlayment systems. It’s literally fragments and small crushed stones that are put on top of soil. It is easily spread out by hands and anyone can do it. Pros of Gravel Driveway
  • Cheapest of them all
  • Easy DIY Job
  • Can install another material on top
Cons of Gravel Driveway
  • Needs to be graded very often
  • Will mix with dirt and leaves
  • Washes up with heavy rains
It is rough material and can be purchased in bulk (by metric tons or cubic meters). The cost of driveway with gravel should not exceed $3 per square foot, but you can save tons of money by purchasing materials and doings installation by yourself. You do not require specific tools or heavy equipment for the job and delivery of gravel can be arranged directly to your project.

Conclusion

To properly finish any and all of these driveways requires skills and experience. There is no way you can complete any of these projects without heavy equipment and tools that regular home owner’s just store in their garages. Most of those who will read this post will prefer to install asphalt driveway, because of its popularity and low costs. We want to encourage home owners to go for personal preference and what matches your house, rather than getting the most affordable and popular items. Driveway jobs have to be completed fast; otherwise you will need to park elsewhere while the project is running. To not overpay, ask us for quotation sample on material you prefer in specific region where the work need to be done and our team can provide some numbers.

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