Basics of Property Management: Screening Potential Tenants

Challenges You May Not Expect When Buying A New Construction Home

3 December 2020

Jesse Obrien

Buying a new construction home is an experience many people dream of. And if it has been one of your dreams for a while, you may picture the whole experience playing out smoothly and beautifully. However, this is rarely how things actually happen. Rather, most people who buy new homes do face a few challenges throughout the process. This is not to say you can't enjoy the process. In fact, if you know what challenges to expect, then you can face them head-on and they will barely feel like challenges at all!

So, with that in mind, take a look a these three common challenges people experience when buying a new construction home.

Challenge #1: Staying on budget.

Many new home buyers sit down with the builder, make a plan to build a home that fits within their budget, and then move on. Then, in the months that follow, finishes and features are added that increase the cost of the home, and by the time the home is actually purchased, the selling price is higher than the budget the buyers originally set.

This challenge is easier to address than you might think. When you sit down to initially design the home, design one that is 20% under your budget. Then, as new costs appear, the home cost will climb towards your budget rather than over it.

Challenge #2: Figuring out what you really want.

Another problem people often have is putting down on paper what they're really looking for in a house. You may vaguely know you want a spacious house with a big deck, but what square footage does that actually translate to? Where do you want the deck to be located?

Here's an easy way to figure out what you really want in a home. Give your designer a list of at least 10 must-have features, and ask them to draw you three sample floor plans. Tell them what you do and do not like about each plan. They can take your feedback and design a final home that truly encompasses the things you want most.

Challenge #3: Having the home ready on schedule.

Maybe the builder says your home will be built by June 1st. So you end your lease on June 5th. Then, the completion date gets pushed again, so you have to extend your lease — and this happens several times.

Homes are rarely finished by the initial target date. It is just that — a target date — and not a promised date of completion. You can face this challenge by simply not expecting the home to be finished until about 3 months after this initial target date. If it's done earlier, just imagine this as a nice surprise!

Face these challenges head-on, and your experience of having a new home built will be a good one, even if it's not a straightforward one. Contact a real estate agent to learn more about new homes.

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