Showing posts with label buy a brand new home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label buy a brand new home. Show all posts
Friday, July 28, 2017
Building a new home
Expert help is available so you don't have to navigate the thousands of choices by yourself.
Call, text or email to discuss your unique situation.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
The Importance of Your New Home Walk-through
Advice from the National Association of Home Builders
Before you go to settlement on your purchase of a newly constructed home, you and your builder will do a walk-through to conduct a final inspection.
This walk-through provides an opportunity to spot items that may need to be corrected or adjusted, to learn about the way your new home works and to ask questions about anything you don't understand.
Often, a builder will use the walk-through to educate buyers about:
When you buy a new appliance or piece of equipment, such as a printer or a washing machine, you usually have to read the instructions before you understand how to use all of the features. With a new house, you will receive a stack of instruction booklets all at once. It helps if someone takes the time to show you how to operate all of the kitchen appliances, heating and cooling systems, water heater and other features. Such an orientation is particularly useful because people often are so busy during a move that they have trouble finding time to carefully read instruction booklets.
Maintenance Responsibilities
Part of your walk-through will be learning about maintenance and upkeep responsibilities. Most new homes come with a one-year warranty on workmanship and materials. However, such warranties do not cover problems that develop because of failure to perform required maintenance. Many builders provide a booklet explaining common upkeep responsibilities of new home owners and how to perform them.
Should a warranted problem arise after you move in, the builder is likely to have a set of warranty service procedures to follow. Except in emergencies, requests for service should be in writing. This helps to ensure that everyone clearly understands the service to be performed.
Builder Visits During the Year
Many builders schedule two visits during the first year — one near the beginning and the other near the end — to make necessary adjustments and to perform work of a non-emergency nature. Don't expect a builder to rush out immediately for a problem such as a nail pop in your drywall. Such problems occur because of the natural settling of the house and are best addressed in one visit near the end of the first year.
Before You Move In: The New Home Walk-Through
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Before you go to settlement on your purchase of a newly constructed home, you and your builder will do a walk-through to conduct a final inspection.This walk-through provides an opportunity to spot items that may need to be corrected or adjusted, to learn about the way your new home works and to ask questions about anything you don't understand.
Often, a builder will use the walk-through to educate buyers about:
- The operation of the home's components.
- The buyer's responsibilities for maintenance and upkeep.
- Warranty coverage and procedures.
- The larger community in which the home is located.
When you buy a new appliance or piece of equipment, such as a printer or a washing machine, you usually have to read the instructions before you understand how to use all of the features. With a new house, you will receive a stack of instruction booklets all at once. It helps if someone takes the time to show you how to operate all of the kitchen appliances, heating and cooling systems, water heater and other features. Such an orientation is particularly useful because people often are so busy during a move that they have trouble finding time to carefully read instruction booklets.
Maintenance Responsibilities
Part of your walk-through will be learning about maintenance and upkeep responsibilities. Most new homes come with a one-year warranty on workmanship and materials. However, such warranties do not cover problems that develop because of failure to perform required maintenance. Many builders provide a booklet explaining common upkeep responsibilities of new home owners and how to perform them.
Should a warranted problem arise after you move in, the builder is likely to have a set of warranty service procedures to follow. Except in emergencies, requests for service should be in writing. This helps to ensure that everyone clearly understands the service to be performed.
Builder Visits During the Year
Many builders schedule two visits during the first year — one near the beginning and the other near the end — to make necessary adjustments and to perform work of a non-emergency nature. Don't expect a builder to rush out immediately for a problem such as a nail pop in your drywall. Such problems occur because of the natural settling of the house and are best addressed in one visit near the end of the first year.
Your Inspection Checklist
Create a checklist when inspecting the house. The list should include everything that needs attention, and you and your builder should agree to a timetable for repairs. Builders prefer to remedy problems before you move in because it is easier to work in an empty house. Some items may have to be corrected after move-in. For instance, if your walk-through is in the winter, your builder may have to delay landscaping adjustments until spring.
It is important that you be thorough and observant during the walk-through. Examine all surfaces of counters, fixtures, floors and walls for possible damage carefully. Sometimes disputes arise because a buyer may discover a gouge in a counter top after move-in, and there is no way to prove whether it was caused by the builder's workers or the buyer's movers. Many builders ask their buyers to sign a form at the walk-through stating that all surfaces have been inspected and that there is no damage other than what has been noted on the walk-through checklist.
Ask a lot of questions during the walk-through and take notes on the answers. Don't worry about asking too many questions. That is how you learn. It is important to view the walk-through as a positive learning experience that will enhance the enjoyment of your new home.
As one who has built hundreds of homes, I know how critical the walk-through can be.
If you would like to discuss how this relates to your unique situation call, text or email.
Friday, March 27, 2015
NEW HOME SALES CONTINUE TO MOVE UP
When you are ready to move, new home or existing home just call text or email.
New-home sales soared almost 8% in February as a snowy winter month failed to deter buyers as expected.
Sales of single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000, up 7.8% from January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That dwarfed economists' median forecast for a 470,000 annual rate and a small monthly decline, according to Action Economics' survey before the report.
Instead, January's sales rate also was revised up to 500,000 from 481,000 previously reported.
February's rate was the highest since February 2008. The last time new-home sales had back-to-back months with rates at or topping 500,000 was in April-May 2008, according to Census Bureau data from Haver Analytics.
Preliminary figures released Tuesday show February sales rates compared with January's surged 152% in the Northeast, fell 13% in the Midwest, rose 10% in the South and fell 6% in the West. The South and West account for the bulk of the national total.
Economists caution that the monthly new-home sales data are volatile because the sample sizes are small and the seasonal adjustments can produce unreliable data. Last month's figures could be revised down in next month's report as more data come in.
Not adjusting the data for seasonal variations shows new-home sales for the past 12 months total 450,000 through February. That is the highest 12-month figure since January 2009, but the trend is still about the same total as the month before, says Richard Moody, chief economist of Regions Financial.
"Yes, the pace of sales is improving, but that improvement continues to come at a grudging pace," he said in a note to clients. "While we do expect the pace to increase steadily over the course of 2015, we nonetheless expect that increase to remain gradual."
The median price of homes sold last month was $275,000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the supply of new homes for sale fell 1.6% from January but rose almost 13% from a year earlier.
Builders are modestly optimistic about their industry's prospects this year, citing shortages of lots and labor and tight loan underwriting standards as factors that continue to strain supply.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index for March dropped two points to 53, the NAHB said on March 16. It was the third straight monthly decline. The index is seasonally adjusted.
Index readings above 50 indicate more builders view market conditions as good rather than poor.
Existing-home sales also have been modest. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that February sales rose 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million. That was a little short of economists' consensus forecast and below the average monthly rate of 4.92 million last year and 5.07 million in 2013.
Many forecasts call for improved home sales this year.
In buyers' favor, interest rates remain near historic lows. The average U.S. fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage has mostly hovered below 4% since October and was 3.78% last week, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac. But recent reports say lenders are restricting loan approvals for applicants with less than superior creditworthiness
Sales of single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 539,000, up 7.8% from January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That dwarfed economists' median forecast for a 470,000 annual rate and a small monthly decline, according to Action Economics' survey before the report.
Instead, January's sales rate also was revised up to 500,000 from 481,000 previously reported.
February's rate was the highest since February 2008. The last time new-home sales had back-to-back months with rates at or topping 500,000 was in April-May 2008, according to Census Bureau data from Haver Analytics.
Preliminary figures released Tuesday show February sales rates compared with January's surged 152% in the Northeast, fell 13% in the Midwest, rose 10% in the South and fell 6% in the West. The South and West account for the bulk of the national total.
Economists caution that the monthly new-home sales data are volatile because the sample sizes are small and the seasonal adjustments can produce unreliable data. Last month's figures could be revised down in next month's report as more data come in.
Not adjusting the data for seasonal variations shows new-home sales for the past 12 months total 450,000 through February. That is the highest 12-month figure since January 2009, but the trend is still about the same total as the month before, says Richard Moody, chief economist of Regions Financial.
"Yes, the pace of sales is improving, but that improvement continues to come at a grudging pace," he said in a note to clients. "While we do expect the pace to increase steadily over the course of 2015, we nonetheless expect that increase to remain gradual."
The median price of homes sold last month was $275,000. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the supply of new homes for sale fell 1.6% from January but rose almost 13% from a year earlier.
Builders are modestly optimistic about their industry's prospects this year, citing shortages of lots and labor and tight loan underwriting standards as factors that continue to strain supply.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo confidence index for March dropped two points to 53, the NAHB said on March 16. It was the third straight monthly decline. The index is seasonally adjusted.
Index readings above 50 indicate more builders view market conditions as good rather than poor.
Existing-home sales also have been modest. The National Association of Realtors reported Monday that February sales rose 1.2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.88 million. That was a little short of economists' consensus forecast and below the average monthly rate of 4.92 million last year and 5.07 million in 2013.
Many forecasts call for improved home sales this year.
In buyers' favor, interest rates remain near historic lows. The average U.S. fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage has mostly hovered below 4% since October and was 3.78% last week, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac. But recent reports say lenders are restricting loan approvals for applicants with less than superior creditworthiness
Monday, March 16, 2015
Existing Home versus New Home
There are reasons that people choose to buy a new home or an existing home.
Here are the reasons buyers gave for choosing and existing home:
Here are the reasons buyers gave for choosing and existing home:
Notice that price and value are the top reasons.
Given that, why do some buyers choose a brand new home? Here are the top reasons:
There is no right or wrong answer. When you are ready to make the move to a new or existing home please call text or email.
Monday, August 18, 2014
What Trulia combining with Zillow means to Home Buyers
Friday, June 13, 2014
Judging the Lancaster County Parade of Homes
Again this year I was honored to be asked to be a judge in the Lancaster County Parade of Homes. http://www.lancasterparadeofhomes.com/
If you have a chance during June 14-22, go out and tour the 37 homes.
Lots of well built homes. The only disappointment is that at all price levels the public seems to want to have the same products in all prices. Granted there is more of the product in the more expensive homes. The buying public has gotten too set in what it wants.
If you have a chance during June 14-22, go out and tour the 37 homes.
Lots of well built homes. The only disappointment is that at all price levels the public seems to want to have the same products in all prices. Granted there is more of the product in the more expensive homes. The buying public has gotten too set in what it wants.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
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