If you’re a fan of HGTV, you no doubt are aware of the many shows that feature “fixer-upper” homes and their magnificent renovations. These shows excel at romanticizing the idea of buying a fixer-upper and transforming it into a dream home. But if you have any experience with fixing up older homes, you know the reality is more often a nightmare than a dream, and the end result rarely aligns with your original vision.
There are many barriers to transforming a fixer-upper into your dream home – financial constraints, lack of know-how and time, or the sheer magnitude of the work required. Many buyers realize too late that, rather than buying a fixer-upper, they’ve ended up with a money pit.
This is not to say that existing homes are always money pits or that buying a fixer-upper is always a mistake; depending on the people involved and the work required, either choice can be completely right for the situation. But for those of us who don’t have great DIY skills or the time or money to buy a house and then renovate it, buying new construction is a simpler way to make your dream home a reality and it can usually be done faster, at a lower cost, and with less inconvenience than renovating a house.
The ‘New or Existing’ Question
When it comes time to move, one of the first questions you’ll face is if you want to buy an existing home or new construction. Not all existing housing stock are fixer-uppers. It’s certainly possible to buy an existing home and not have to repair a thing, though chances are high you’ll have to put some kind of work into the home within the first few years of moving in, whether that is planned (replacing carpeting) or unplanned (a leaky toilet).
Fixer-uppers, on the other hand, are traditionally defined as properties that will need substantial repairs or renovations to bring them up to market price. They may be inhabitable, but sometimes aren’t. Due to the substantial investment required, the houses are typically priced well below comparable homes in the area.
Buyers looking into resale homes acknowledge these repairs and factor those costs in to their homebuying decision, perhaps settling for a smaller house or one that they don’t 100 percent love, to reduce their mortgage amount and save money to go into a repair or renovation fund. Buyers who choose new construction don’t necessarily have to factor these costs in to their home buying budget because new construction homes come with builder warranties as well as appliance warranties and mechanical warranties. The chances of having to pay for a home repair or expense – expected or not – in the first five years are much lower for those who buy new construction. Not only does that lift a financial weight off your shoulders, it gives you time to save up an emergency fund in those first few years, for repairs or whatever else life throws at you.
Why New Construction Makes Sense
Whether you are buying your first home or your fourth, new construction makes financial sense.
1. Your Cost are Set
When you buy new construction, particularly pre-built new construction, your costs are set. The home is already built and the builder has already accounted for additional costs such as upgraded flooring or prime location. That is not the case with an existing home where a home inspection could turn up any number of necessary repairs. Sometimes the seller make those repairs, but not always. You must then decide if you want to take on those repairs yourself.
2. You Can See it Now
One of the biggest reasons renovation costs spiral out of control is due to homeowners changing their minds after they accept a bid. “A lot of homeowners don’t know exactly what they want,” says Prashanth Pathy, an agent with Keller Williams Realty in Chicago. “Say they have $50,000 and the contractor says he can do it for that. But then their wishes change, they want different materials, it doesn’t come out as they imagined — and that’s where the budget gets blown up.”
You can avoid this situation with new construction. The home is either already built, so you can actually see what your exact house looks like, or there’s a model home that you can tour and product samples you can view.
3. No Surprise Expenses
Another thing to consider are the unexpected surprises involved in renovating that blow your remodeling budget. According to Earl Correll, president of Texas-based On Point Custom Homes, this is extremely common. “This is especially true if you are taking on a large-scale project that includes tearing down walls, moving plumbing, adding gas lines and so forth.”
4. Turnkey Living
Renovations mean either living with construction going on all around you for months on end or delaying your move until the project is complete. New construction is 100% turnkey, allowing you to move into a home that’s ready when you are.
Your Dream Home Is Out There
Part of the romance surrounding fixer-uppers is the chance to turn an under-market property into the home of your dreams. But the reality is, there’s probably an affordable new dream home out there for you if you just open yourself to all of the possibilities among new and existing homes. You can get started right now at NewHomeSource!
Liyya Hassanali is a Project Manager and Content Strategist for Kinship Design Marketing, a boutique agency that provides marketing strategies and content for architects, interior designers, and landscape designers. She is a 15+ year veteran of the marketing and advertising industry, working closely with her clients to provide written content that meets their marketing goals and gets results.
Liyya is passionate about home design and décor and is a confessed HGTV and Pinterest addict. When not providing content writing services for her clients, she can be found browsing home décor sites or spending time with her family.
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