When it comes to your finding your dream home, you shouldn’t have to settle for anything outside of your standards of perfection. Whether you decide to buy an existing home, or build one from scratch, “The Perfect Home” is never an unrealistic expectation; however building and buying will take you on very different paths that will require you to weigh out the benefits of your options, and the inevitable issues that may come with each of them.
“While building a new home can be a viable and affordable option, each person is different, and you must consider your situation and personal preferences in your decision making.”
Due to the implications around buying new versus resale in general; building a new home can sound like an overwhelming emotional and financial strain. In reality, building a home can actually favour the buyer in many aspects, and can be the solution to getting you into your dream home with ease. While building a new home can be a viable and affordable option, each person is different, and you must consider your situation and personal preferences in your decision making.
Read on to find out whether or not building a new home is right for you!
Financial Impacts:
It’s easy to assume that you will be saving money by purchasing a pre-existing home. When comparing the financial aspects of building vs buying, you must consider not only the short-term costs of buying but also your investment in the long run.
Due to the costs of resale, and depending on the conditions of the market, buying into a new development can actually be the same cost as purchasing pre-existing homes. This is not always the case, and usually buying an existing home will cost you less upfront. However, this should not be the only factor influencing your decision making. Once the home is built, you will most likely be saving money on utilities and maintenance costs due to the quality of the building materials and updated construction standards.
Freedom VS Convenience:
If you can manage to choose the right realtor, you should be able to find a home that matches your criteria and buy it for a reasonable price. Your Realtor should be able to completely relieve you of all the stress involved with the purchase and complications involved with relocation, and you should be in your home in no time at all.
Unfortunately, you sacrifice freedom of your home’s layout and specifications, and you will not be able to add your own personal touch when buying an existing home. To expand on that point, if the house requires any special renovations or updating, it will likely be coming out of your pocket and may end up causing you to go over-budget.
Your Involvement:
When building a custom home, your builder should be working with you to ensure that you understand every step along the way and will include you in any decision making and personalizations of the build. You will end up having a practical understanding of every square foot of your home because you were involved with customizing the build to your liking. By building a new home with a reputable builder, you are ensuring that your home is built with the most updated standards of build quality and construction materials.
On top of that, each new builder is required to offer a 7-year construction warranty to guarantee that your house is up to code.
At the end of the day, the idea of your dream home will end up being different from that of your peers, and you will require different build options depending on your situation. While building a custom home does not match the requirements for all home buyers, it is an incredible option for those who are looking to build their dream home from scratch and to their liking, and will probably end up being less expensive than you may have initially thought!