If you are in the market to buy a home, you will have two options available to you. Buying a newly built home or a property that has been lived in before. Although many prefer new homes rather than old ones when purchasing a property, there are several pros and cons of moving into a newly built home that should be taken into great consideration before taking the big plunge. These are matters of personal preference and making the right decision that works best for you. Continue reading our list of pros and cons of moving into a newly built home to learn more.
Pros:
- One of the biggest perks of building a brand new home is the ability to freely design and customize it to your taste. You, not a previous owner, will design the blueprint and select all of the aspects of the style in which it will be built.
- When you move into a newly built home you will have the luxury of brand new appliances, and new equipment. Most come with a 1-year warranty.
- Another big benefit of a new property is that the maintenance repairs within the first several years will be low, if any. You will typically have fewer repairs, especially larger ones like a roof repair or a new furnace. Therefore, you should enjoy being repair free for at least a few years.
- Brand new constructions are designed with modern families in mind. They feature amenities that accommodate today’s lifestyle demands, such as built in technology, speaker systems, walk in closets, a pool and a gym to name a few.
- Newly built homes include new, energy-efficient appliances, new windows, and insulation, among other things. Therefore, your home will be more energy efficient, resulting in potentially lower utility bills.
Cons:
- For the most part, newly built homes will typically cost more than re-sales, sometimes up to 20% more than a similar existing home. Don’t bet on negotiating the price either. When you buy a brand new home there will be very little or no room for negotiating. Although, may be able to negotiate certain upgrades, but the price most likely won’t change.
- Brand new homes take up to half a year or even longer to build. Unlike newly built homes, you can typically move into an older one within a month.
- It’s likely that your newly built home will have a “cookie cutter” look. Which means that unless you choose certain upgrades, you will have less architectural detail and charm than many older homes.
- One of the pros of moving into a newly built home is also a con. All those upgraded amenities and features you are so excited about will most likely have a high price tag associated with it. A lot of small customization can quickly add up, greatly adding to the purchase price.
- Most builders want to save as much money as possible; therefore they choose to build outside of a city. Many new constructions are built out of the way from necessary destinations like schools, supermarkets and shopping centers. Not to mention, the lack of tree-lined, older neighborhood feel, is where your new home will most likely be built. When you move into a newly built home, you can also expect living in a construction zone, staring out at piles of dirt for years to come.