5 Things You Need To Know When Buying A New Home
With the real estate market up, there’s a lot of new buyers and new move-up buyers that will be considering new construction. Whether you’re looking for new homes in Lawrenceville or closer in to Atlanta, the builders are out in full force and we thought it would be good to come up with a guide on What You Need To Know When Buying A New Home.
First Things, First
The new home builder will likely have their preferred lenders and while it’s tempting to browse real estate, it’s in your best interest to at least get a quote. You can ask us for our preferred lenders but we recommend a local Georgia lender that has been referred to you and one that’s been in business for some time. It’s important that they are from Georgia as well. All of this stuff applies to all home purchases, not just new construction.
The reason we recommend this, is because the builder’s lender knows that they will likely have to “give” you something to use them and you really want to compare apples to apples. Lenders no longer offer a GFE (Good Faith Estimate) so just tell them upfront that you are shopping lenders. It’s expected.
Hire An Agent
Most of the smart builders are agent-friendly. Meaning you can hire an agent during your shopping process and bring them in, even if you visited the on-site location first. However, national builders and builders that are concerned about backing up their claims typically don’t like agents. So while Ryland and Pulte are typically anti-agent it doesn’t mean anything other then they want more money. Should you encounter a smaller builder that wants to rush you without a real estate agent, you should excercise caution.
Of course, we’re bias here, we’re hoping you’ll hire the Jarvis Team. Even if you don’t a Realtor’s job is to look out for their buyer’s best interest. In fact, in the state of Georgia, real estate agents have a fiduciary responsibility to look out for their clients. So of course if you’re job it maximize profit you’ll want to eliminate the buyer’s agent commission and reduce the number of things that they have to do for the buyer. … read on!
Interestingly, one of the best names in building is John Wieland. The Jarvis Team has always found Wieand neighborhoods to be very welcoming. (They also have one of the best warranties in the business).
Shop Around!
Builders in different parts of Atlanta are directly competing with each other. If you happen to see a Beazer community near a Pulte community, play them off each other. You might not get a huge price discount but you’ll get more if you shop then if you don’t
Ask for What You Want!
The MLS and Tax records show that new home builders rarely ever give you anything off the price of the home. However, they will often give you upgrades and appliances and closing costs. The reason is they can hide these costs in the contract and the public will never know what is in the home until it’s time for you sell.
Get An Inspection
Most home buyers don’t want to get an inspection on new construction. Some of the main reasons is that they might not know that it’s an option. If you don’t hire an agent, don’t expect the builder to mention it at all. They’ll tell you that the County inspects the homes. Instead of tell you horror stories how Lennar accidentally installed a deck that wasn’t attached to the home – let me just say it’s worth it to get an inspection. You’ll want a pre-drywall inspection if you’re building from scratch and a near final inspection. The best inspectors are going to be ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) Certified.
If you even do 3 of these 5 you’ll be doing more then most buyers. The reason this is so important is that while most builders and most companies mean well, they often will put “quotas” on their employees that often cause them to cut corners. Not every builder or neighborhood is as scary as this may sound but if you don’t have someone who has done this before how will you know?
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