Raleigh Real Estate Blog

If you are thinking of buying a brand new, built-from-scratch home in the Raleigh-Durham Real Estate Market, here are 10 tips to make the experience a better one since this is your biggest investment.

1. Can you use an outside mortgage company and get current finance incentives? When the builder pays some of the closing cost, the fees and rates tend to be a bit higher to recoup the incentive. The benefits of the in-house mortgage company usually outweigh the savings if you use the outside lender.
2. Does the builder have a Luxury package available? Usually they are a set of popular options offered at a discount if you buy the package.
3. Look at the lot premiums – they are set up as the best lots being the highest price in the builder’s eyes? And who knows the community better than the builder? The builder would rather sell the low premium lots up front and leave the best lots for last.
4. People often spend extra money on upgrades that do not need to be upgraded.  It’s easy to get hooked in the home builders model homes since they are designed to encourage you to upgrade.  Only upgrade items that will have a long-term return.
5. Take into account internet hook ups and flat screen TV hook ups.  Planning ahead for these early will help in the long run from running wires across floors or rigging wires.
6. Think green.  Using solar technology is proving to be a cost effective procedure.  During times when every penny counts you want your tips buying new construction to actually pay off.  There are many advancements in green building you should study and be aware of.
7. Using good windows is a great way to save on energy as well.  Small leaks can eventually cost more in the long run by causing your heating and cooling bills to skyrocket.
8. Utilize lighting that has less voltage.  Doing this will help reduce costs while providing good quality lighting. 
9. A little research goes a long way when negotiating the purchase of a new home.  Anyone considering purchasing a new construction home can improve their chances of negotiating a better deal by finding out how long ago the home was built and how many residents are living in the development.  The bigger the inventory, the more leverage you’re going to have. The longer it has been on the market, the more leverage.  Another essential step is to check the price at which comparable homes in the development sold, but ignore transactions that are more than 60 to 90 days old.
10. Use a Realtor Who Has New Home Sales Experience. 

Many people think that they can save money by not using, or don’t need the services of a Realtor when buying a new construction home. This couldn’t be further from the truth!

New homebuilders typically try to monopolize a transaction – they only give you their attractive incentive packages if you agree, in writing, to use their lender, their closing attorney, and sometimes even their insurance company! A Realtor will walk you through the transaction and will make sure that you’re protected every step of the way.

If you’ve agreed to use the builder’s lender, your Realtor will make sure that you get a fair interest rate & fair closing costs. Your Realtor will know what the industry standards are, and will make sure that the builder doesn’t try and stretch beyond these.

And best of all, a Realtor with a lot of new home transactions under their belt will have established relationships with your homebuilder. Because of this, the homebuilder will be on their “best behavior.”  The homebuilder doesn’t want to run the risk of getting a bad reputation in the Realtor community, who can potentially bring the builder lots of homebuyers in the future.