5 Ways to Get Ahead as a New Construction Buyer

Buying a new construction home is a whole different ballgame than buying a resale home. Today I have five tips that will help new construction buyers start on the right foot.

Selling your Louisiana Home? Click here for a free home value report

Buying a Louisiana Home? Click here to search homes for sale

Purchasing a resale home is a vastly different process than purchasing a new construction home. Today, I wanted to provide some tips for understanding the difference between the two and how to successfully purchase a new construction home.

1. Hire a professional real estate agent. When you walk through model homes and speak with a customer service rep, that person represents the builder. They have the builder's best interests in mind, not yours. Make sure you have your own representation when buying new construction.

2. Research the builder. Just because a builder can set up a pretty house doesn't mean they have a great reputation. When you buy new construction, customer service is your number one concern. When you purchase a new build in Louisiana, the New Construction Act is tied to it, meaning the builder is responsible for repairs to the home for a certain number of years after purchase. Having a good rapport with the builder and knowing how to work with them is very important. When choosing a builder, read their online reviews, ask for testimonials, and see if you can view homes they've built in the past.

“

Work with an agent that has experience negotiating new construction.

”

3. Don't rely on the model home. When you view a model home, you'll see a gorgeous home with a beautiful furniture setup that's staged to perfection and has a lot of upgrades. Ask questions to make sure you know which features are standard and which are upgrades. If you have an agent representing you, they will have all this information for you.

4. Negotiate wisely. When purchasing a new build, wiggle room may not be to your advantage. Builders want to be sure they keep their sales price because the price they settle on will not only affect your sale, it will affect all future sales in that area. This doesn't mean that you can't negotiate certain things on the back end, however. You can negotiate things like a fence, certain upgrades, appliances, or paint, for example. That's why it's so important to be represented by an agent who has experience negotiating new construction homes.

5. Document everything. Say you're having a home built and you have a certain floor plan in mind—you need to document everything you want to be done on that property. At that stage, you only have a blueprint or floor plan to go off of, which doesn't have every spec or feature written out. Do you want brick or vinyl siding? Is there a driveway? What kind of hardware will the home have? What kind of countertops will it have? Make sure you document all your preferences that aren't represented in the floor plan or blueprint.

If you have any other questions about buying new construction homes, we're here to help. Just give us a call and we'll help you out in any way we can.