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.
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.
