The purchase of a new construction home is exciting, with lots of time for anticipation of moving in to your new home. It feels like the builder rep becomes your new best friend, you get to pick out your packages and upgrades so everything can reflect your style (if the home isn’t already built or spec’d of course!), so with all of the excitement it’s important to keep in mind that there are pitfalls that you’ll want to avoid along the way.
Builder-Specific Contracts
Most if not all builders in the area use their own purchase contract forms. Why? Because it allows them to closely control the process, while being very forgiving to the builder and not very friendly towards the homebuyer. Example, there’s often a clause that the builder can delay construction for any reason and must simply begin the construction process on your lot within one year. That does not read that they’ll hand over a fully constructed home in one year, but merely start the build in one year. Regardless of when they tell you that the expected completion date is.
It’s extremely important to know and understand the contract terms that you’re signing and what your rights are if something goes wrong. Many builder contracts mandate the use of arbitration instead of legal action in a court of law. It’s important to know what this means before you find that you need to sue the builder. This might seem like something that wouldn’t happen often, but there are some very good lawyers here in Charlotte that spend their days only litigating with residential new home builders.
If you decide that the contract is too skewed in the builder’s favor and don’t want to agree to the contract there is little that you can do to still purchase the home. Using their contract is like the price of admission to the ballpark just to play the game. If you want the house, you will have to take on the risk.
Homeowners Inspections – pre and post drywall
Even if you’re buying your home new, there could still be issues that you would want to be aware of before closing, so I always, always, always recommend having an inspection done. And not just one inspection for new construction but TWO. The first is called a pre-drywall inspection. This is when everything has been framed, utilities have been installed and the walls are just about the be closed up. Having an inspection completed at this point allows the inspector to view areas of concern that are normally hidden behind drywall, meaning that they can see more potential issues. Just because a home is new doesn’t mean that it was built correctly, so buyer beware.
Once everything is completed I recommend having a traditional homeowners inspection. This is when the inspector will go through and look at everything they can to ensure it was built the way that it should’ve been. They will also find things like loose door molding and other random things that you’ll want the builder to fix prior to closing.
Environmental testing
Though a house might be new there’s still good reason to test things like water quality and whether or not the home has high levels of radon gas. Even if a geographical area isn’t know to have issues with radon there are some building materials that may be included in the house that might spike levels and that’s an important thing to know before you move in. Example, granite, though trendy in both kitchens and bathrooms, can be known to emit high levels of radon, so know your stuff and get a test.
First Year Warranty
Many builders will offer a warranty on their homes at the 12 month after closing. The builder will do a walkthrough with the owners and fix anything that may have broken or settled during the first year that you’ve lived there. This is another GREAT time to get a full home inspection. This gives you a full report with issues listed and pictures provided for the builder to then go and fix. I recommend scheduling a home inspection around month 11 so you’re prepared for the builder’s walkthrough. I also recommend keeping a running list of items you corrected taped to the inside of a kitchen cabinet. You might forget about that kitchen cabinet that doesn’t close quite right and miss having it fixed without you needing to call a fix-it person.
Sales Process
For builders this is a business, and they treat it as such. They are very savvy, so it’s important that you have someone on your side to represent you and your interests. Plus, it’s good to have someone that understands the builder’s sales process. Sales people have quotas to meet on a monthly and quarterly basis, so sometimes there’s more wiggle-room in the price than people realize. They have a purchase price listed but what they don’t tell you is that they likely have a range of prices they’re willing to accept if it means making a sale. You’ll have more luck negotiating on price if you buy already built inventory home, but if homes are slow to sell they might make an exception if you’re looking to go under contract on a to-be built home. You never know, so ask! And if you have any questions or changes that the sales staff agrees to, be sure to get it all in writing before signing and giving your deposit.
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