New home buyers don’t want a used house when only new will do. They don’t want to inherit somebody else’s worn carpeting, personal taste in kitchen appliances or look at some kid’s initials scrawled into once-wet cement that they didn’t put there. The home must be brand spankin’ new, fresh and clean without so much as a finger print on the walls.
If this describes you, and you have always fantasized about buying a brand new home of your dreams, here are a few tips that can help you to protect yourself — to make the process a pleasant experience.
Don’t automatically use the builder’s lender. Builders often prefer their own lender because the builder will be kept fully informed of your personal progress; it’s one-stop shopping for a builder. But a builder’s lender might not offer you the best deal. Moreover, the builder may own the lending company.
Consider alternate sources to find a lender. Your own bank or credit union might offer you very attractive rates and terms, based on your banking history with that institution. Your agent may refer you to his or her private list of wholesale lenders. Shop around and interview your lender. Find a banker or mortgage broker whom you can trust and with whom you feel comfortable doing business.
Insist that your lender guarantee its Good Faith Estimate. If the lender balks or makes excuses, go elsewhere, because reputable lenders will honor that request, even though it’s not required by law.
Verify option and upgrade pricing. Determine which options and upgrades you want. Bear in mind that for many builders, the profit margin is highest in upgrades. Some builders can sell a home for almost bare construction cost because they make the bulk of their profit in the upgrades.
Find out whether your lender will lend on all the options / upgrades you have chosen. If your lender will not finance 100% of your selections, you will be required to pay for it in cash. Ask about cancellations and whether you will be held liable for items the builder cannot return to a vendor.
Check out the builder’s reputation. If a buyer has a bad experience with a builder, the word spreads rapidly throughout a community. But you won’t know if a bad rep is an isolated experience or if the builder repeatedly brings bad publicity to itself without checking and verifying the public records for lawsuits.
Talk to the neighbors and scrutinize the construction quality of surrounding homes. Is the builder consistently building identical or larger homes in the area or is construction lagging and homes shrinking in size?
Find out whether the builder sells to investors. Some builders require all their homes to be owner occupied. Others eagerly sell as much inventory to investors as profit margins will allow. If the market suddenly dips, investors are typically the first to bail and, besides, part of the reason you are buying in a new subdivision is to be surrounded by other buyers just like you, not tenants.
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