A First time home buyer look at building a new home vs resale or existing homes
You are in the market thinking about buying a home and you decide to look at a few show homes, careful you might already be hooked with their fancy decorating and their endless furniture budget. It is easy to get caught up in the emotion of buyer from a Calgary home builder. The show homes sell a lifestyle, an idea first then they sell the home. Let’s look at some pros and cons of building a new home vs resale home to give you a better perspective on what you are really want in your home.
Building a Calgary Home
One major and often over looked point is all the smoke and mirrors in the show homes, they spend thousands of dollars on presentation, why? to sell their homes. Now let’s imagine you are buying your first home, can you afford all the furniture to make it look as good? I am guessing it will take years to accumulate the right furniture to make your home look like a show home. Wait then you have to live in it, there is no room for mess and clutter in the show homes, hmm that is because no one ever really lives there.
Here is a basic look at expected expenses when building a home. Yes each builder has what they call a “spec” but that hardly includes the items that you will want in your home, and if you choose to build a home you should budget for some expected and unexpected upgrades right upfront because the quoted price will definitely differ from the actual “sold” price later.
- Furniture Expense
- Window Coverings
- Appliances
- Landscaping and Fencing
- Basement Development
- Lighting / Plumbing
- Flooring Hardwood/ Carpet
- Granite
Now that we have covered some of the basic upgrades that you will likely face while building your home, let’s look as some of the drawbacks a new community might have over say a more established community. (Even a home that is only a couple of years old can still be considered more established)
- Poor Road Access
- Constant Construction – Dust Bowl
- Can’t Guarantee Possession, might have t move more than once
- No schools close by
- Restricted Shopping
- Restricted Transit Service
- Don’t really know 100% what you are getting until it is built
- Builder could increase price if construction costs go up
- Possible problems during construction as things do not turn out as planned
- Lengthy waiting period
- You may have no control over what gets buily near you, behind you etc – Check on city planning
- If you are building a condo, there are additional risks that you should consider. See Risks of buying a new condo.
On the positive side of building your Calgary home.
- You get what you want when it comes to floor plan and cosmetic enhancements
- Everything is New inside your home
Buying a Resale Home
There is something to be said about seeing what you are getting and knowing exactly what to expect. That is what you get when you purchase a resale home or condo, you get the opportunity to see what you are getting up front without any guesswork.
Consider some positives of buying a resale home or condo:
- Established Community
- Established Transit
- Schools
- Parks
- Near By Shopping
- Established Condo board if buying a condo
Some Disadvantages of Buying a Resale Home:
- Might need some repair dependent on age of home
- Cosmetic changes to fit your liking
- Sometimes it is less expensive to buy a resale home then to build a new one
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