New Build Homes

[CanadianVol]

Wife and I are starting to look at new neighborhoods going up in Northwest Atlanta. Anybody built before? Any tips or suggestions on the process?

 

[utvolpj]

Doing it now. Figure out which upgrades are the most important or the hardest to change later. For example, we upgraded our cabinets and flooring but didn't touch the actual kitchen or bath fixtures, lighting, etc.

But even with that, make it what you want. I have a couple of things I'll do when we move in but mostly it will be complete

 

[hog88]

What PJ said, you can sink a lot of money into fixtures and whatnot all of which you can change yourself.

 

[AirVol]

Go to the building site every day and check on progress. Most builders allow shortcuts to pocket more money, so stay on top of things.

 

[utvolpj]

I check it every day. We reconfigured our shower which meant re-centering a window. Went by once the walls were up and they had not moved the window. Called our PM and he got it fixed but that would have been a mess if we waited. Get to know your PM.

 

[81Bubbavol]

Lots that slope upward from the street end up with steeper front and back yards once you put a house on them. Lots that slope downward from the street end up with flat or flatter front and back yards once you put the house in.

Live and learn

 

[CanadianVol]

Thanks Guys. PJ, did you have a realtor or did you negotiate on your own? I also heard that it's a good idea to get a 3rd party inspector to come check at the major points too. Also, was it worth it to finance through the builders company?

 

[utvolpj]

We did not use a realtor. They really aren't going to do much in the semi-custom (choose from existing plans) world anyways.

Not sure why another inspection would be necessary. All work still gets inspected by the local city/County guys anyway. I guess it couldn't hurt to do one within the warranty window in case something came up

We had already met with a local credit union guy before looking. Turns out he worked with our builder too so we got some discounts on closing by using them. I believe it made the process smoother but it wasn't required. Same with our pool company since they work with the builder already but aren't a true sub for them

 

[CanadianVol]

We did not use a realtor. They really aren't going to do much in the semi-custom (choose from existing plans) world anyways.

Not sure why another inspection would be necessary. All work still gets inspected by the local city/County guys anyway. I guess it couldn't hurt to do one within the warranty window in case something came up

We had already met with a local credit union guy before looking. Turns out he worked with our builder too so we got some discounts on closing by using them. I believe it made the process smoother but it wasn't required. Same with our pool company since they work with the builder already but aren't a true sub for them

The builder we're looking at right now is a major builder who has their own financing arm. They offer $5K in closing costs if you go with them, and that's a nice incentive for us. I've reached out to a couple other lenders to see if they can match, but nothing so far. We're going out tomorrow to check out one other neighborhood before we decide what to do. We're working to get our house ready to put on the market too, so hoping to do that in the next month. The one we like offers a 60 day back out if your house doesn't sell, including return of earnest money, so we'll see what happens. Only risk is we sell quick and have to rent somewhere.