New Homes
Do you want to live in a neighborhood where there are no homes you like but it does have empty lots for sale? Do you yearn for the feel of brand new carpet under your feet? Do you want a custom feature you just can't find in a resale home? Do you want to build a new green home instead of trying to retrofit a resale home? New homes are a way to get a home that is just the way you want it in every way. The right floorplan, the right neighborhood, the right custom features, the right interior and exterior finishes, the right landscaping, etc. In resale homes, usually at least one or even many compromises are made. Something, whether it be with the landscape or the home may be a compromise in resale. In a NEW HOME no one will have lived in your home before you. To some people, this is a huge incentive to buy a new home. Builder Incentives: The builder may offer monetary or upgrade incentives especially on homes that are already built. On custom homes these builder incentives may not be present.
Green Homes
There are many new green homes for sale in the Austin Metro area. In fact, a recent Austin American Statesman newspaper article said that 1 in 4 new homes in Austin are green. To build a new green home is wonderful because you can build in the custom green features you want. To some people building with all sustainable materials may be the most important feature. To others, indoor air quality may be the most important feature so you must build with no or low VOC materials, add a whole house HEPA filter or other features to improve IAQ. Maybe you want a net zero home. Maybe you prefer bamboo floors. Maybe you prefer custom stained concrete floors. Maybe you want recycled wood counters. Your wish is your reality in a new custom green home with the only constraint being your pocketbook.
Why Use a REALTOR® ?
Won't I save money going directly through the builder in my new home? This is a common misconception when buyers are looking for a new home. Time and time again I see the problems in this reasoning. Buyers need someone to protect them, to look out for their interests. The builder's representative is paid by the builder to look out for the builder. This means get the builder the most money under the terms and conditions that are best for the builder. The builder representatives do not have to be licensed REALTORs®. As REALTORs® we must abide by strict ethical standards, be fingerprinted, and must put our client's interests first, even above our own. I can share a few observations I have seen that hurt the consumer. I know of a neighborhood where many homes now are in foreclosure are going to Short Sales because of the homebuyers who bought there not getting good information. What happened is that the buyers were pre-qualified and bought based on the tax value and tax amount of a bare lot. After the homes were built and the County Appraisal District finally caught up with that fact, taxes became so much that the homeowners now cannot afford their new mortgage payments. I also always hear of people who were told that the vacant space beside their home is a "greenbelt" just because it is vacant. They are mad when later they learn that it is a platted subdivision but was just not built on yet and now the builder is starting to bring crews in and start on a big building crusade.
