Pro's, and Con's, of Buying New Construction

If you’ve been shopping the Richmond Real Estate Market you’ve probably find yourself a little frustrated. There is a higher demand for housing than there are houses themselves. This is due to a number of things: there is a growing job market, people from surrouding metropolitan areas are moving to Richmond, the cost of living is reasonable and it is centrally located in Virginia. This makes Richmond an attractive place for people to move to. Fortunately, builders throughout Central Virginia have taken notice to this problem and they are proactively building to accomodate the housing demand. 

Pro’s

- It comes with a warranty so there won’t be a lot of out of pocket expenses if something breaks down

- No previous tenants, so you get a fresh start in a new home, everything will be brand new

- Most people in the neighborhood will be homeowners, at least for the first few years there won’t be a lot of rental properties

- In most cases you get to pick certain components of your home, such as: hardwood floors, additional bedrooms or bathrooms, finishes, etc. 

Con’s

- There is no way to see the finished home, the model home can provide an insight but not a definite design

- Sometimes your home might be finished before others, so you might have to deal with construction in your neighborhood

- There probably won’t be much room for negotiation

- Most houses will have a uniform look, at least on the outside, which depending who you ask may or not may be a good a good thing

This list doesn’t cover all the Pro’s and Con’s, but it does cover some of the most important ones. 

If you don’t know how to get started in the process of buying new construction, make sure to give me a call, because the very first thing you’ll want to do is get pre-approved. This way, you’ll know exactly which kind of new construction you can afford and you’ll be ready to make a purchase when the time comes. 

Meet Your Builder!

Being in my industry right now is great. The housing market is better than it has been in many years. The economy and jobs have been making a steady comeback for the past few years and we're finally seeing some of those benefits. The only problem is that even though people are looking to buy homes, there isn't a ton of inventory out in the market. Why? Interest rates were high when people bought a number of years ago and people want to make sure they aren't losing money when they sell. It's a reasonable way of thinking but it puts potential buyers in a bit of a bind!

So as you can probably imagine builders are trying their best to provide more housing opportunities for buyers. There's lots of builders out there right now and getting to know them all can be overwhelming. Realtors should get familiar with all the different builders because it opens up a whole other market for their buyers.

Different builders have different: styles, quality, locations and square footage. Each builder brings something to the table that the next doesn't and it's important for lenders and realtors to get familiar with those differences. At the end of the day if we find the right home for our clients, we are successful at our job.

This is why I love being part of the Home Building Association of Richmond, there's so many great events that help connect Realtors, Builders and all sorts of Contractors. One of their biggest events is coming up soon, Builder Bash. The tickets for this event are sold out and it will take place at Bon Secours Washington Redskins Training Center on June 8th at 5pm. I suggest that you visit http://hbar.org/ to keep up with coming events if you'd like to get involved and get to know some really great people in the industry. I'm glad I joined!