What to Know When Buying a New Home

By Jason Cohen Pittsburgh

Not much room for negotiation

• There’s no expectation of back-and-forth price negotiations like in resale.!

• The only exceptions are when there are just a few homes left or there’s standing inventory to sell.

You might get some free upgrades!

• You can negotiate a few must-haves into the deal to help offset any additional costs.!

• Some builders may also help with closing costs as an incentive to buy.

There are incentives to using the builder’s in-house lender

• Plenty of builders have in-house or preferred lenders.!• Using them could mean better terms or a rate that’s bought down.!• NOTE: the builder still can’t legally make you use their lender.

Use a realtor!

• They’re great for finding you a home, whether it’s new or being resold.

Your home won’t look like the model

• Model homes are decked out with pretty walls, floors and decorations that won’t be included in the empty shell that you end up buying.!

• Be realistic about what you want, need, can afford and how that translates to what you’re seeing.

The advertised price is different from what

you actually pay• Making the home look

like the model will take tens of thousands of dollars.!

• You can roll some of those upgrades into the mortgage, since upgrading during the initial construction phase tends to be cheaper than upgrading later on.

You need to deal with construction noise and traffic

• Depending on the community where you live, it might take time to complete construction.!

• This means dealing with congestion and hassle.!• Amenities such as pools and sport courts might not be

built by the time you end up moving in.!• Manage your expectations by asking ahead of time

about the construction schedule.

Get a builder warranty• Offers limited

coverage on workmanship and materials related to various parts of the home.!

• They typically define how repairs will be made.