ReSET Blog
Blog · June 07, 2018 · AUTHOR: Udi Dorner

Ask An Agent: Should I buy a new house, or an older one?

When buying a house, homeowners must decide whether they’d rather live in a brand-new home, often in a new community, or opt for an older property with history and an established neighborhood. While there are benefits and drawbacks to both, SetSchedule asked our network of real estate agents for their advice. Here’s what they had to say. Daniel Rinsch, Berkshire Hathaway: New houses are great! You start at the beginning of the life cycle and you get to watch your house ‘grow up’ so to speak. In the process, you are sure to find some quirks that you didn’t expect. When you get an older house, you tend to get what you see. After inspection, you know the house and are less surprised by repairs that may come up. And old houses tend to be cheaper, so you have a little more dough in your pocket to handle the issues that may arise. Sometimes it is true that they don’t build them like they used to. An old house can really be a huge value when it is thoughtfully considered. Ben Papale, Sotheby's International: New homes are usually ‘on point’ with what the current consumer is looking for as far as finishes, layout, etc. It might be constructed better than construction several years back. Appliances and mechanicals are new, which defers many maintenance costs. But what’s ‘hot’ now is unlikely to be hot when you re-sell — sometimes it’s better to purchase an older unit and do updates yourself. You can usually realize a greater return that way. You’re usually paying top dollar, and may need to plan to be in your home for several years before you can realize an appreciation. Cathy Colton, eXp Realty - The benefits of buying new construction is that you're the first to live in the home, and for some people, there's satisfaction in the fact that no one else has made any mess or caused any damage to the home.  In addition, in some instances, with new construction, you may be able to select your own finishes, which is a nice feature. The drawbacks of buying new construction is that generally speaking you're going to have a smaller lot, and you'll have to pay to have your backyard landscaped, which can be expensive.  You will also have to deal with construction noise and dust if you're moving into new construction that hasn't been completely developed. Tony Lindsay, Keller Williams: For a buyer that has time and can afford to wait for new construction in this market, it can be a great benefit. They lock in the purchase price with the builder now and while waiting for the home to be completed they are realizing an increase in the value of the home.  BOOM, just made some equity! But if the buyer is not financially able to continue renting their current home and put up front the cost for the new construction it can become a burden. Sonja Tijmann, Coldwell Banker: The benefits of new construction are that the structure, fixtures and appliances are new. Most of the time the builder will give the buyers the option to choose exterior and interior colors, as well as fixture and appliance colors. Drawbacks are that if there are any issues with things breaking or a builder and/or the subcontractor forgot any items, it can sometimes take months to get them back if they are extremely busy! It's a great idea to really hyper focus on the type of warranty a builder puts in place prior to the buyers closing the transaction. Alex Dyer, New Vision Realty Group:  There is something special about being the first owner of a home. Modern floor plans seem to fit today’s lifestyles better and you can make certain design and finishing choices that fit your own personal style. Then there are all the modern home features like solar roofs, LED lighting, ultra efficient HVAC. But all of this comes at a cost.  Buyers of new homes can expect to pay 15-20% more for the property and incurred more indirect costs for things like window finishing and landscaping. One of the biggest unknown factors when buying a new home is the neighborhood. With existing homes you can look at existing homes next-door and around the neighborhood and get a feel for who your neighbors are by how they take care of the property.  New neighborhoods take a while to mature before you get to know your neighbors.

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