Buying A Home
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Talk to me about your tract home
DH and I have looked at a handful
of homes and this past weekend
we found a neighborhood in our preferred
location. Basically it would cost 5-10k more
for a new tract home in a great neighborhood.
The builder pays closing cost so all we'd
have to pay for out of pocket us flooring
upgrades. We're gonna keep looking but I
really feel like this is the best buy. How'd
you know your tract home was the one for
you?
Re: Talk to me about your tract home
We walked in and loved the floor plan right away. It was beautiful and the house was a perfect size for us.
We decided to go for it for a few reasons:
1. H had always wanted new construction instead of resale. I'd thought it would be too expensive. We found a neighborhood that was closing out its last few lots so the prices were discounted quite a bit.
2. It was both the largest and nicest home we found in our price range.
3. We didn't want to deal with a bidding war. We were looking in spring 2009 so a lot of buyers in our price range were out because of the tax credit - many homes went under contract before we could get in to see them.
4. Location and price were right.
A few things to look out for is that builders can and will make concessions (closing costs, free or discounted upgrades) contingent on using their lender.
Also, your home will be more difficult to sell if you decide to move before the neighborhood is complete because you'll be competing with new construction homes that can be customized to the buyer's tastes.
Make sure that they're using high quality materials and the craftsmanship is up to par and even tract homes can be sturdy, well-built and last for many years.
It really and truly is going to depend on the builder and the neighborhood.
Our last home was a tract home, although we were not the original owners.It came with all the original fixtures and finishes though. I felt like the finishes were all really cheap and I could see where shortcuts had been taken. Our floorplan was apparently a popular one, because when it came time to sell, we were competing with six or seven other homes in our neighborhood that were the same model. We also really never knew our neighbors there. Everyone kept to themselves and it wasn't a friendly or social neighborhood at all.
When we were ready to buy again, we checked out a tract home in a new neighborhood. I LOVED the floorplan. It was perfect for us. I had concerns though. The finishes were cheap. The cabinets were cheap, the lighting was cheap, the appliances were cheap. We had to use their options. The additonal work and add-ons we'd need to do (building a deck, landscaping, blinds, updating fixtures ect) was a little discouraging. We felt like we were being nickel and dimed for everything, and we wanted a lot of the optional upgrades. The problem with that was that like our last neighborhood, it was a popular model. The neighborhood wasn't even half way through completion, and there were already a dozen houses with the same floorplan. I was really worried about future resale Another concern I had for resale was that eventually, like our last neighborhood, the homes would all be similar in value, even though the base price varied. I also wasn't really sure about what the neighborhood would be like.
We ended up buying an existing tract home. Our house is 14 years old, but the neighborhood is not yet complete. They've built slowly in phases and have done a really great job mingling old with new. Our particiular model has been phased out, and there are three others like it in the neighborhood. There's a better mix of pricepoints here, from 3 bedroom ranches to massive 5-6 bedroom homes. We're right in the middle. The neigborhood is also exactly what we wanted- a good mix for families, and very very social. There are parties nearly every week, and we know tons of our neighbors.The house needs updating, but I wouldn't trade the benefit of having everything new for what we have here. I absolutely love our neighborhood. I've gone back to the new neighborhood a few times to see what it looks like, and I feel like we made the right choice for us.
Personally we like older homes over new build we like the established neighborhoods, bigger trees, and mature landscaping.
New builds are nice but come with what I call "Hidden costs".
Figure in - any upgrades, window coverings, sprinklers, landscaping.
Some builders don't put in things like towel bars, toliet paper roll holders.
Generally upgrades cost several times more than it would cost you to do yourself.
You do get the benefit of a new home that no one else has lived in, and some builders are good about honoring the year warranty that comes with the house (just remember some existing homes come with warranties too)
i think you get more for your money with an existing home. the price/sq foot is similar, but a new construction typically still requires landscaping in the backyard, window treatments, sprinkler system, etc, etc. now, i love being able to customize it to exactly what i want, and new construction is typically more energy efficient than an existing house.
one of the houses we're considering was just completely in late 2009. it's still very new, but the guy is losing his shirt because he probably put in 30-40k into the house after he bought it, but is only listing it a little more than what he originally paid for it because people can still buy the same house from the builder.
Have you seen my monkey?