Are you thinking about buying a new construction home here in New Jersey but aren’t sure what to expect? In this video, I’m going to tell you some things you need to know about buying new construction. We’ll look at the differences between purchasing a new construction home and a resale home so you know exactly what to expect.
The 10-Year New Home Warranty
New construction is attractive because it’s new. Who wouldn’t love a brand-new home? New construction in New Jersey also carries a 10-year new home warranty, so you should have very little to worry about maintenance-wise.
One thing to be clear on is throughout that 10-year new home warranty, only the first year is a bumper-to-bumper warranty where everything’s included. The latter of those 10 years is just major structural components of the house. You can look on the state’s consumer website to find out exactly what’s included in that warranty.
Patience For Delays
Another thing to think about is that new construction is not always as attractive as it may appear. It’s extremely common to experience material delays or labor shortages. There are going to be problems that arise that simply do not come up in a normal real estate transaction.
If you’re buying new construction, you need an extreme amount of patience. There will be problems that come up, and there will be delays that come up. The other thing that could cause delays is, depending on the new construction you’re buying, you may have the opportunity to make some selections. This includes things like what colors, flooring, or light fixtures you may want.
That’s going to take more time for you as a buyer to make those selections in a timely manner so it doesn’t delay the builder and their project. You have to have some availability to be able to not only make the choices but go to the different vendors—wherever they may be—to make the choices. So if you don’t have a lot of time, new construction might not be for you.
Home Inspections
Another thing to think about is that once you’re under contract for new construction, you want to still have a home inspection before the final settlement. A lot of buyers make the mistake of not having a home inspection. However, even with new construction, there are things that people misunderstand in this area.
Most of the house was built not by the builder or the name that you see out front; they have subcontractors that do most of the work. Sometimes, the builder misses that. This is why it’s important to have a home inspection, as there are always going to be small items that come up. When they do, we want to make sure they get corrected.
In addition to that new home warranty, you might want to do another walkthrough before the end of that first year. That way, if there is anything that got damaged or something that isn’t operating correctly, you want to get that fixed before the end of the first year of your warranty.
The Cons
I don’t want to necessarily talk to you out of new construction, because new construction is great. However, there are additional costs that you have to think about with new construction. For example, if you buy a resale house, it already has things like glass shower doors, window blinds, and window curtains.
If you buy new construction, you’ll have to add these things that you wouldn’t have to add in a resale house. This means an added expense. I’ve worked with a few clients recently who were not super happy about the new construction process because they had a deadline that they needed to get into the house by, only to have the house delayed because of material shortages.
For others, it just wasn’t as fun of a process as they thought it was going to be. While it should be super exciting to buy a house, sometimes the new construction excitement wears off. This is usually because you’re so frustrated with all the delays, material shortages, and more. So make sure you really think about it before deciding if new construction is right for you.
I’m Here To Help
If you decide that the process of buying new construction is right for you—and if you have the patience to go through it—then I’d be happy to help. When we talk, we can break down more of the differences between a large home builder who does hundreds or thousands of projects a year and a smaller builder who only does a handful of projects every year. There’s going to be a very different feeling when you’re working with those different companies.
I’ve helped plenty of clients buy both new construction and resale. We need to figure out what’s best for you. New construction is great because it’s new, low maintenance, and you shouldn’t have to worry about a whole lot. However, you also need patience, creativity, and time. On the other side, a resale might be already done for you, allowing you to settle quickly, move right in and figure out what’s best for you.
If you have any questions on this, let’s schedule a call and go over the pros and cons of both options. And if you liked the tips, tricks, and real estate information we have in these videos, make sure to subscribe so you never miss a new episode. Stay tuned to see what I feature next!