Buying A New Construction Home In Nashville With The Burnett Real Estate Group

A lot of people ask what is different when buying a new construction home. First of all, there are a lot of benefits of buying a new home compared to a resale. Buying a new Home in Nashville can give you the opportunity to design your own home as well as save you money on repairs and old appliances. One third of all consumers consider buying a new home as opposed to a resale. That number goes even higher with millennials. When you are evaluating buying a home in Nashville keep in mind keep in mind some of these helpful tips from the Real Estate Experts at The Burnett Real Estate Group.

1. Find a great agent: Be sure it’s someone who has experience in new construction and isn’t affiliated with the builder. Model homes are typically staffed by a real estate agent who has a relationship with the builder. It’s important for you to have an agent to represent your best interests, from advising you on how to structure your offer to be most appealing to the builder to making choices that can affect your home’s resale value. Some developments have site registration policies that require your agent to accompany you on one of your first few visits.
2. Be creative during negotiations: Builders don’t like to drop their prices. Instead, consider asking for the builder to pay closing costs or perform upgrades at no additional charge. Builders are often reluctant to set a precedent for negotiating prices since future buyers in the development may expect similar discounts. Consequently, builders are often more likely to negotiate “on the back end” since closing costs and upgrades are a less obvious way for them to sweeten a deal.
3. Get everything in writing: Don’t sign anything until everything has been negotiated, agreed upon and written into the contract. If you’re considering purchasing a home that is not yet complete, it’s very important to spell out how the home will be finished, what will happen if construction is not completed on time and the deadlines for decisions that will occur through the process. Verbal conversations are not binding, so everything important must be put in writing and signed by all parties.
4. Do your research on the builder: Visit other developments and talk to homeowners. Search online for reviews, testimonials and news. Keep in mind that many builders will have both happy and unhappy customers in their past. Look for trends in reviews and make sure any concerns are covered in the purchase agreement documents. Also ask your agent about their knowledge of the builder as well.
5. Get a guarantee: You’re often buying a home that is not completed. What guarantees do you have the home will be ready on time? Your purchase agreement documents should specify a completion date. However, many builders add provisions that make the completion date dependent on permit approvals from the municipality or availability of building materials from suppliers. There can also be additional charges if you’re unable to close on time if your lender isn’t ready.
6. Get home inspected: New homes have problems too. Hire an inspector to make sure everything is safe and up to code. Even though most municipalities require new homes to pass permit inspections, an independent verification with a qualified inspector is money well spent. In many cases, the builder will allow buyers to conduct an independent inspection and agree to repair code compliance issues but do not include a provision that would allow the buyer to walk away and retain their deposit if they are not satisfied with the result of the inspection.
7. Coverage: Many new homes come with a warranty from the builder, but not all warranties are created equal. Know what is and isn’t covered and for how long. Many builders use a third-party warranty company. In some cases, the manufacturer of certain products, like windows, may have a separate warranty or guarantee and the builder might refer all issues with those components to the manufacturer instead of handling any issues directly. The builder should be able to provide details on which part of the home is covered by which policy.

If you decide to purchase a new home consider having The Burnett Real Estate Group represent you as a buyer’s agent it will not cost you anything and could even save you thousands in the long run. Many buyers are not aware of this and feel that working directly with the builder’s agent will be the most cost effective. This is not the case. The builder’s agent is responsible for looking out for the builder’s best interest, not yours. Having The Burnett Real Estate Group at your side will ensure that you have someone knowledgeable in the process and familiar with the market looking out for you.

Give us a call today 615-431-9802