Hi, friends! Since Jacob and I just recently purchased and built a new home, I thought it would be helpful to put together a list of dos and don’ts to keep in mind in case you’re in the process of buying or building, or will be in the near future. These are some tips we have taken away from the process and hopefully they help!
DO find a really great real estate agent. You can usually find a really great one via word of mouth. You want someone who knows the ins and outs of the business, because chances are, there will be terminology thrown at you that you don’t quite understand, so you’ll want someone on your side who has experience and can explain things to you in a way that is easy to understand. You’ll also want someone who is on top of things and will be able to guide you in the right direction based on what you’re looking for (location, schools, traffic, etc…).
DO save! When you purchase a new home, expect to put down about 10% as a down payment. So if you are purchasing a $300,000 home, you should have $30,000 saved to put down at closing. However, depending on where you live and other factors, you may also qualify for a USDA loan, which wouldn’t require any kind of down payment. So that’s worth looking into!
DO keep in mind (when building a new home) that just because you are building, does NOT mean that your home is custom and that you are going to get every single thing that you want out of the home. If you’re building in a neighborhood, you will have options of different floor plans to choose from based on your budget. You will be able to make certain upgrades, like to the floors, cabinets, hardward, backsplash, etc…, but you typically do not get the option of modifying the floor plan in any way. Many people think that when you build, that automatically means you get to pick out every single thing about the house, and that is not the case unless you are building a 100% custom home (which is outrageously expensive).
DO get a third party inspection. The extra money you will spend to have a third party inspector come in and inspect the home is well worth it! Sometimes when a home is being built, it’s very rushed, which means that big things can be missed. If you have a third party inspector, they will be very meticulous and will likely catch things that were missed, which could ultimately save you a lot of hassle, time, and money and ultimately save a big problem from occurring like leaks, plumbing, or foundation issues, for example.
DO create a list of “must-haves”. Do you absolutely need 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms? Do you have to have a big, open kitchen? Do you need/want a pool? Do you want 9ft ceilings or higher? Do you need to be close to a school or your work? Create a list of things that you know you absolutely need/want in a new home, that way you can give that to your real estate agent and that will help to narrow down the search.
DO consider your home’s resale value. You will definitely want to keep this in mind when buying in case you end up selling your home one day, you’ll want to buy in an area where you are confident that you will make some equity in the future. There’s no way to know this for sure, of course, but that’s another thing you can talk to your real estate agent about since they would be more familiar with resale values in certain areas of the city.
DO get something to protect your carpets/floors when you first move in. This may be something minor, but to me, this was a huge game changer and I’m so glad we thought of it. When you move in, you are going to have tons of people coming in and out of your home, whether that’s movers, furniture delivery, cable/internet installs, family members, etc… and you are going to want to protect your floors until things calm down. We bought THIS floor covering from Amazon and it was so great and easy to apply!
DON’T be nit picky and let small things be the deal breaker. If you LOVE a house, but you’re not crazy about the cabinet colors, the countertops, or the fixtures, but you LOVE the floor plan and the neighborhood, just remember that you can always change those things! This will be YOUR home, so you are free to do modifications as you please. Jacob and I really love our house, but we knew even before we moved in that we wanted to convert one of the closets into a work space for me. It was such a fun project that we did together and we LOVE the way it turned out!
DON’T automatically write off building from the ground up because you think it’s more expensive. Building a home is probably cheaper than you think! Unless of course it’s a custom build lol. But be open to the option of building in a neighborhood. Sometimes it can even be cheaper than buying an older home. You will also have less issues and maintenance costs because the home is brand new and should be perfect. Plus, the building process is so fun!
DON’T make any big moves when you’re in the process of looking or buying. What I mean by that is don’t make a huge life change like quitting your job or getting a new one, opening new credit cards, making huge purchases, etc… all of this will affect your credit, and when buying a home, it is super important that there aren’t any red flags or big changes on your credit history.
DON’T get discouraged when/if your closing date changes. Closing dates change all the time, especially when you’re building, so don’t let that discourage you. It’s normal!
DON’T spend a ridiculous amount of money on upgrades at the design center. This is specific to building a home. When you build, you will have an appointment at the design center to choose smaller details in your home like the flooring, grout color, cabinet color, fixtures, etc… and let me tell you… IT ADDS UP. 90% of the time you’re going to want the features that are considered upgrades, which will just keep building and tacking onto the price of your home. Only upgrade on things that are much more difficult to do yourself, like replacing the floors. Don’t spend money on upgrading fixtures, for example, because those are things that you can easily do yourself and for MUCH cheaper.
I think that’s it! If you have any other questions that you feel I didn’t answer here, come send me a message on Instagram or leave your question in the comments! I hope these tips were helpful!
XOXO Kristle
