As your family grows, you may find yourself in need of a larger home, or perhaps you’re looking to change your surroundings. When it’s time to enter the real estate market, you must decide whether to build a house to your specifications or buy an existing one. Here are some things to know before buying a home.
Things to Know Before Buying a House
As you start to explore the housing market, you’ll find pros and cons to building a new home and buying an existing one. However, in a market with little inventory, new construction may be your best option. You can design not just what you need now but also what you think you’ll need in the future. For example, if you plan to add more children to your family, you can add extra bedrooms that you might not use right away. Another advantage of new construction is that you can exclude things that you don’t want, such as staircases that may be difficult to manage as you get older.
Building a New House vs. Buying an Existing Home
Many home buyers love the idea of having a brand new house built to their exact specifications and owning something that no one else has ever called home. If you have a passion for decorating your own space, choosing your paint and flooring colors right upfront can be exhilarating. The promise of a new, up-and-coming neighborhood encourages a sense of community. Here are some other benefits of buying a newly constructed home rather than an older home.
- A newly constructed home is built according to the latest building standards and with the safest materials available. You can take advantage of advances in energy efficiency such as solar panels without retrofitting anything.
- Maintenance issues are minimal for the first few years in a new construction home since they are built with new materials and components. Anything that does go wrong is likely covered by the builder’s warranty, a home warranty, or a manufacturer’s warranty in the case of appliances.
- New constructions allow you to customize everything. Even if you must choose from a preselected library of house plans, you can still modify the layout and decorating touches. You can draw on your experience with previous homes to add things you love and exclude things you know don’t want. You benefit from expert architects, engineers, contractors, and designers working on the house plans to help you make those changes.
- In a housing market with limited inventory, new construction may be the only way to get everything you want in a home. With few existing homes to explore, chances of finding one that checks all the boxes in a desirable location are slim. While you might find a “fixer-upper” to renovate, that process can be costly and time-consuming, even more so than building a home from scratch.
Where to Learn More
Even when housing inventory is limited, this may still be the best time to buy a house. If you’re looking for a fantastic, family-friendly neighborhood in the Chesterfield, Virginia, area, consider the homes at Chesdin Landing. Beautiful building lots are available on and off the waterfront with the natural beauty of trees and green spaces all around. This neighborhood is convenient to the James River and Pocahontas State Park, so outdoor lovers will love it here. Also, you can’t beat the championship golf course and numerous shopping centers nearby.
