Purchasing An Existing Home Verses A New Home
When purchasing a home you have two choices, a new house and an existing house. Both have their own pros and cons. Here are some points about each of these alternatives you should consider before putting in a purchase offer.
New Constructed Homes
Newly built homes have good quality control criteria, current construction methods, and better energy efficiency than many existing houses. They often carry a one year or longer house warranty and good financing options. The downside is that while they are easy to purchase, it is often hard to sell them for a few years. This is usually due to the builder continually constructing more new homes in the subdivision.
The purchase price is often higher than you will find for an older home with comparable square footage. New homes usually require very little up-front money, and many builders will give thousands of dollars of upgrades and incentives to purchase. If the new home is located in a new subdivision that is not established, there will likely be very few shade trees like you would find in an older neighborhood.
Existing Houses
These are owned by homeowners who want to sell their houses. The houses have been lived in and may be better constructed than newer homes. Any settlement that is going to occur, likely already has occurred. You can obtain a history of the homes performance by examining utility bills and renovation history from the homeowners. Many say that older homes have a since of character and their age gives them respectability.
Existing homes are mainly located in neighborhoods where there are established school systems and neighbors who look out for one another. The yards have tall trees which provide plenty of shade and help to create that at home feeling. They often are much easier to resell soon after you buy one as the demand for homes in the neighborhood are high.
Depending on what your needs are will determine if a new home or an existing home is the better option for you. By evaluating your current needs and your future plans will go a long way towards making that buying decision.
Hubert Miles is a free lance writer and webmaster for several financial websites. For more information on Money Blog and Money Blog.
