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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.
Hire Your Own Agent

* The builder’s sales agents are paid to represent the builder, regardless of what they may tell you. Many will use high pressure tactics to persuade you to sign the contract. Due to the high volume nature of brand new home sales, lots of builder’s agents are paid less than a traditional commission; some earn a salary plus incentives, so turnover is important to their livelihood.
* Hire a Buyer’s Agent to represent you. Most of the time, your agent will be paid by the seller, but sometimes the responsibility for the agent’s fee is open for discussion. Even if you have to directly pay your agent, you can probably add that fee to the sales price, and it would be worth it because a good negotiating buyer’s agent can save you thousands more than the commission.
* Your own agent will represent you, be your fiduciary and is required to disclose the positives as well as the negatives about the transaction. Builder’s agents don’t discuss drawbacks.
* If your contract contains a contingency to sell your existing home before buying, again, hire your own seller’s agent to list your home. Be aware that buying before selling is not always in your best interest because hard bargaining goes out the window when you’ve emotionally moved out of your home.

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.
* Some contracts give the builder the right to choose your upgrades if you do not submit your request within a certain period of time.
* To save money, consider which upgrades you could purchase and install yourself after the escrow closes. However, realize that some upgrades such as CAT-V, DSS or security wiring inside the walls are easier to do before construction.

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.

Pre-Owned Homes

Many buyers opt for pre-owned homes because of the location. Perhaps it’s in a particular school district, or it’s a close commute to work. When someone decides to buy in a specific area, they may not even have the option of finding a new home to purchase.

A benefit to buying a pre-owned, or re-sale home, is that most buyers don’t have to worry about costs involving window coverings, landscaping and the like. Many resale homes are considered “move in ready.” A buyer just needs to close on the deal and then move right in – with no immediate need to buy appliances, blinds for the windows or plants for the yard.

Working with a flesh and blood person rather than a large company when buying a property may make the process a little easier. Humans tend to be more flexible and understanding than builders, so buyers may find that dealing with a homeowner may work to their advantage, especially if they have special needs concerning the closing of the deal, the move-in date or what items will be left when the seller moves out.

There are two main drawbacks to pre-owned homes. The first involves maintenance issues. Some homeowners are not conscientious about maintaining their home. And the older the home, the more problems there may be. A home inspection during the buying period can bring most of the issues to light and can hopefully resolve any of the buyer’s concerns before the ownership is transferred. However, many times problems can come up after the deal is said and done and the new homeowner is stuck with fixing anything that is wrong.

The second drawback is that the buyer has to make do with the previous owner’s preferences. Instead of a blank slate from which to start, the buyer will have to deal with the interior color palette, the landscape and other home décor choices made by the previous owner. Sometimes this can translate into a full remodel of the home.

New Homes

One of the best benefits when buying a new home is the incentives that builders often offer the buyer. These incentives can range from free upgrades to a free pool to thousands of dollars to spend on a down payment or closing costs. Many buyers of new homes are first time buyers and they find these incentives a terrific inducement.

Buyers of new homes also like the chance to pick out their own interior features. Many new homes allow the buyer to pick the color of carpeting, type of cabinetry and more. Instead of going into a used home and “making do” with whatever is in the home, a buyer of a new build gets to put his or her personal touch on the home before taking a step inside the finished product. This means fewer interior decorating projects once the buyer is moved in.

Many buyers like the fact that new homes are under warranty. For the first year, the buyer knows that problems or concerns will be addressed by the builder. Former renters can no longer depend on a landlord to fix any problems, so the warranty presented by the builder provides a certain amount of comfort.

One downside to moving into a new build is the pressure to fill the new home with furniture. First time home buyers and those buying “up” into a larger home typically do not have enough furniture to fill the new home. Many buyers feel the pressure to run out and purchase furniture immediately, but money is typically tight upon moving into a new home.

Depending on your needs and preferences, it may be better for you to go one way or the other when you begin your house hunt. However, the more open you are to looking at any house that may suit your needs, the sooner you will find the right house for you!