New Construction Home Buying Process | Sarasota FL | blog.floridanewhomes.com

What happens after you have decided on the new home community and floor plan?

So you’ve toured model homes and are ready to start the new home buying process. The next step involves reserving a home site. Builders release home sites for sale in small batches. Part of this is the local government permitting process, and part of it is the builder creating a favorable supply versus demand situation, in other words, a sales technique.

Listen to my podcast about the new home buying process https://soundcloud.com/david_barr_broker/buying-a-new-construction-home-sarasota-fl

Take this next piece of advice to heart: This step in buying your new home is where failure and disappointment happens most. IF you have selected just THE PERFECT lot in the community, you must be prepared act on reserving it immediately. This is not for the faint of heart or if you are the type of person who often has buyer’s remorse. The fact is that our local Sarasota and Venice real estate market is extremely active, and there are more buyers than available home sites at any one time.

The builders know this. If you fail to reserve your preferred home site, the builders know some other buyer will take it. The builder is in business to make money, and they have sales targets to achieve. The builder likely will NOT contact you if you express interest in a lot, but haven’t reserved it, and will sell it to another buyer who is eager to move forward.

If you are interested in what many builders refer to as “inventory” or “pre-construction” homes, your ability to choose your finishes, such as kitchen cabinet color, floor tile, and carpet, is extremely limited. The builder has already ordered these items as a bundle, and they can’t be changed. The good news is that builders know what most buyers want. You’ll probably get a very nice combination of colors and some upgrades, you just can’t customize your new home fully like you would be able to if you built your new construction home from scratch.

Also, beware of builder incentives. They remind me of furniture stores. “Come in today for 50% off this weekend only”. As a savvy consumer you know that discount is off an inflated price, right? Same for new home builders. They offer what look like attractive incentives. The best way for you to make a decision on which new construction home to buy is to compare apples to apples. How much will this home cost with builder 1 versus a similar home with builder 2.

Another incentive builders use frequently is a discount on closing costs, if you use the builder’s title company. One in particular offers $5000 toward your closing costs, but a lot of their closing costs are negotiable. As your buyer’s agent for your new construction home purchase, I can help you ask the builder to provide a list of their closing costs, and get quotes from other title companies or real estate attorneys.

I hope this helps you with understanding the new home buying process. Remember, new construction homes cost the same when you’re working with your own Realtor. I invite you to take a look at my websites, davidbarrhomes.com for Venice or sarasotadavid.com, for all area major new home community information, floor plans, and HD video tours you won’t find anywhere else. Contact me when you’re ready to purchase your new construction home.