NewChicoHomes.Com, Tips for New Construction Home Buyers

Always do your homework first!— and then you plan and you organize your home buying process to make sure its as smooth, efficient, and stress free as possible.

Contractors and home owners who’ve bought and built a new home agree it’s fun, exciting and rewarding. My goal is to demystify the new home purchasing process so you know what to expect, once you know what to expect it takes a lot of the stress out of the process.

The key is education, and knowing what to expect, how do you get there, simple: Ask plenty of questions. As you do so, you’ll learn which type of home, neighborhood and mortgage are right for you and better understand the all choices you’ll make — including which new home community, contractor, and lot is right for you — and choices you’ll make to personalize your home, like paint and floor coverings.

When you’re looking at new homes, you’re in good company. According to the 2012 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers from The National Association of Realtors, the majority of consumers considering another home consider new homes. That’s not surprising, since new homes offer:

• Open floor plans that reflect the way we live today, especially family rooms that open to the kitchen, gone are the old boxy style homes.
• Bedrooms with larger closets and larger, more luxurious master baths
• Ceilings, counter tops are often higher
• The latest advances in energy efficiency and significant cost savings compared to homes built just a few years ago.
• Your new home and the products it contains are brand-new and under warranty, meaning more time to enjoy your home, not work on a fixer-upper used home.

Buyers also value the ability to personalize their home to reflect your tastes in many ways, such as selecting your favorite colors and styles in cabinets, countertops, appliances, flooring and carpet, tile, kitchen and bath faucets and fixtures, landscaping, fireplaces and more.

New homes have many advantages, it’s not surprising they’re on the list for most home buyers. Some buyers not looking at new homes may have a misperception. In Chico Ca we have several good new home builders, Epick Homes, and Bill Webb Homes being two of the best currently building.

We find some people don’t even consider new construction because they mistakenly think it’s automatically more expensive or more complicated. People tend to shop by excluding things, but they may miss out on a chance to own a home that’s perfect for them. Very often I have sat down and talked to buyers who tell me exactly what they want, and then they go out and buy something completely different because they loved it when they were exposed to it. So if you have never thought about buying “new” you might want to expose yourself to it!

For a new home buyer here are some of the steps:

STEP 1: How much can I afford?.

I think there is no better place to start to put together your Real Estate Team than a quality lender. Knowing what you can and can not afford can save you a lot of heart ache and trouble. You don’t want to go fall in love with a house and then find out you can not afford the house. On the other side of the issue you don’t want to settle for a home without some of the things you want without knowing you could afford them.

That said, some first-time buyers find that visiting model homes before nailing down financing is a reasonable alternative starting point because some builders, will help consumers calculate a realistic price point. But that brings up another issue, do you want to use all of the builders people? Who do you think they are working for you? Or the builder? I suggest that you build your team outside of the builder to avoid any chance of doubt whom they are working for at the time you make a purchase.
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There are some great FHA programs right now where you can get into a home with as little as 3.5% down. With our interest rates at historic lows its up to you to choose what is best for you and your families situation. Can you make more than the current mortgage rate on your money else where? Or would you enjoy the benefit of the lower payment

STEP 2: Define your needs before embarking on your hunt.

Creating a wish list that outlines your preferences — and indulging in a little honest soul-searching before you start your house hunt – will both pay big dividends with a more focused and shorter search.

As you put together your wish list, think about dividing it up into Must haves, would like to haves, Must not have and would like to not have features. And relay this info to your agent as well it will help you have a focused search, and shorten your time frames and not waste your time.

Do you want a home office? A media room? Space for hobbies? All are vital questions to ask before you start your search. Right now in Chico CA the New homes make up about 15% of our listings. For a new list go to NewChicoHomes.Com

Think about the future. The average buyer lives in a home at least 5 years. Many people stay far longer. Think about how your needs will change over the time. you’ll be in your home: Children may come, grow, or leave the nest. Post-college kids may come back home for a time. All issues to consider as you start to make your choices. Going to be in this house a long time? Will you want to climb stairs later in life?

STEP 3: Start your search on the web.

A so-called aggregator website, such as NewChicoHomes.Com, is a great place to start. That breadth of new homes for sale allows shoppers to quickly get a feel for many new home communities and active builders in a given area.
About 90% or more of each new home buyer start searching online before they do anything else. We have many many local resources. In Chico if you are searching our area, you can try Hightower-Team.Com They have a great search feature on their buyers section. You can spend a lot of time online getting some of your home work out of the way, find out what is available in your area.

STEP 4: Working with a real estate agent.

If you’re in the market for a new home purchase whether its new or used, odds are you’re using a real estate agent. After all, only an agent has the code to open the lockbox that allows you and your agent to tour a resale home. A good real estate agent can add lots of valuable insight into the community and the process. On the buyers side here in Ca their services come free to you the buyer, so why wouldn’t you use one?
Set an appointment with us if you are in the Chico CA market for a new or used home, we can help. Our services are paid by the seller so set an appointment today!

In a new home purchase your realtor is a key player on your team. Think about this, the builders realtor, works for who? Who’s interest do you think the agent that works for the builder is most concerned about? Its true that a agent can work both sides of a transaction, but it can get sticky, so why put that agent or you in that situation? I think of it as akin to going to court and using the DA to represent you. In my opinion just not the best idea

I do bring a lot of knowledge of local builders reputations. Myself or my team may have worked with a builder in the past and understand the type of construction he or she provides. We know how the builders treat our clients after the sale as well. For many years now, my family has had a local masonry company and have worked with most of the local builders. Its just another point of contact I have enjoyed with this group to get to know them as people and professionals.

The builder’s sales consultant has deep knowledge and expertise in the stages of construction, the builder’s library of floor plans, the availability and price of specific lots, the availability of options and upgrades, the builder’s approach to construction and energy efficiency, warranties, etc. I look at the builders agent as a key member of the team as well but with the checks and balances that having your own outside agent there to over-see the whole process.
STEP 5: Building from scratch or a production home ?

Homebuilding can be sliced into two very broad categories: production and custom. Higher volume or production builders offer a line of specific models (often referred to as plans) at base prices that include numerous specified materials.

In addition to the many standard features included with each home, most production builders offer a menu of product choices and upgrades. Buyers typically can expect to make product and design choices from a menu of options in categories such as appliances, cabinets, countertops, faucets and fixtures, flooring, masonry lighting and more.

Many production builders also offer some variation in the floor plan. It’s often possible to add a bay window or upgrade to a three car garage. Other builders give you the choice of a linen closet or using that space for a larger walk-in shower in your master bathroom. Some builders even offer a bonus room. Based on your needs and desires, you can have this built out as an extra bedroom, a study, or perhaps as a media room. Remember each tweet to the plan will usually come at a price. Its really easy to get carried away adding all the upgrades. Make sure you don’t end up with a home that is over-priced for the area.

With the many choices production builders offer, buyers can easily personalize their new home in many ways. If you wish to design a home from scratch, a custom home is your best bet. Custom homes are one-of-a-kind. They’re entirely built to order, created by an architect, and constructed according to the customer’s dreams, wishes and desires. Here is something the builder will never tell you….they are extremely stressful to build. Relationships have ended while building a new house.
Conclusion:
This process is really about you. And your needs not anyone else’s. It works best in my opinion if you build your team of Real Estate professionals around you to guide you through the process.

You can contact me or my team directly:
Robert Hightower 530-715-0020
Robert@Hightower-Team.com
Hightower-Team.Com