Unpacking the differences between buying new and pre-owned homes.
What are the key differences between buying new construction and pre-owned homes?
With new construction, one of the big advantages in the past was the ability to pick out all your own colors, add rooms, and make a variety of other changes to the build. Unfortunately, people aren’t able to do that anymore.
In today’s market, builders aren’t accepting contracts on homes until they get to the framing stage of the process, at which point the builders have already selected everything—the lighting, plumbing, paint colors, ceiling styles, etc. Though you may have less control of the building process and you’ll have to pay more for the property, you’re still getting a brand-new home that has all of the latest energy-efficient features that reduce the daily cost of running and maintaining the home. Plus, all the major systems should be new, meaning that ideally, you won’t have to worry about repairing them for quite some time.
On the other hand, with pre-owned homes, you’ll get more for your money than you will for a new construction home. However, because the home has been lived in and isn’t entirely new, you’ll still need to factor in the age of the roof, HVAC system, water heater, appliances, and so on.
My dad was a custom home-builder, and I’ve bought and flipped properties before, so I’m familiar with pricing on both types of properties. If you’re trying to decide whether to buy a new construction home or a pre-owned property, I’d love to speak with you to help you make the best decision. Give me a call or send me an email so we can schedule a time to go over your situation. Hope to hear from you soon!
