New Construction Homes

Being a recent purchaser of a new construction home, I can say from personal experience that one of the most important things one should be searching for in a home builder is a solid reputation. Because other than that, there is little to nothing that you can negotiate when signing a contract for a new construction. I'm not talking about the incentives, promotions and "freebies" they offer, but the body of the contract itself. It is very literally take-it-or-leave-it. And while it is true that home builders will often form a new corporate entity for each neighborhood they are building, I have found that the builders with a well-known "parent" name, if you will, will go beyond what another home builder might be unwilling to do. And the reason for that, is that they have that reputation to uphold. 

A very good friend recently entered into a contract to purchase a new construction home from a very reputable home builder. Her husband, however, began to have buyer's remorse. After the recession period had already expired and passed, they tried to back out. This builder let them out of the contract and refunded their deposit. This came as a surprise to me, until my friend told me who the builder was. It was the same builder that built my new home, and one that had a sterling reputation. As I mentioned earlier, the builders with a reputation to uphold are often more willing to bend over backwards for you. Another personal example I can talk about, is the builder's warranty on a new construction home. My husband and I were coming upon our one-year mark, and needed to do our one-year inspection and walk-thru (this is where the builder will come back after a year and address some of the issues you may have found since it was built). One of the issues was actually supposed to be brought to their attention at our 6-month mark, but our builder said it was fine and proceeded to fix the problem as they would have 6 months earlier. Other builders, in my opinion, may have just simply said to us - you are S.O.L.

So the moral of this story is - new construction homes can be great. You need not be afraid! Just pick the right builder. 

Have a great weekend everyone!