John R. Wood Properties
Barry Dunleavy, John R. Wood PropertiesPhone: (239) 877-6445
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The Pros & Cons of Opting to Build a Home

by Barry Dunleavy 12/20/2020

Image by Borko Manigoda from Pixabay

If you are ready to find your forever home, you may be weighing the options of whether to find the perfect home to suit your needs or have one built, so it can be custom designed to accommodate everything you want. For many people who have specific wants and needs, building a new home may seem like the better option. Before you make your decision, it is important to understand both the pros and cons when deciding to build your home.

Pro: Everything is New

When you build a new home, one of the most obvious benefits is that everything in the home is new. This means you will have a longer time before you will need to replace windows, roof, appliances, carpet and a multitude of other expensive purchases. 

Pro: You Can Customize Your Design

Even if you are building from a model design, you will have a lot more options to customize your home so that it can accommodate your needs and specific lifestyle. This can be as simple as cupboard and counter materials to as major as room layouts. Designing a home before is built is often easier than trying to renovate a current home to your specific wants.

Cons: It Could Be Awhile Before You Move In

On average, it can take seven months to a year for a new home to be fully constructed, and that is usually if everything goes smoothly and the weather is cooperating. If you decide to build your home, you will need to be able to stay in your current residence for at least a year and should anticipate possibly having to stay longer than expected. 

Cons: You Will Not Have Much Room to Negotiate Price

When you build a home, you will not have a lot of wiggle room to negotiate costs and will be responsible for all costs associated with closing. Typically, cost breaks only come when construction costs are down and the vendors of the materials are looking to make deals. 

Before deciding whether to buy or build a home, weigh the pros and cons of each choice so that you can be sure to arrive at the best decision. 

About the Author
Author

Barry Dunleavy

Over 25 Years in the Real Estate Industry. Former Senior Managing Director with responsibility for oversight of real estate businesses in Canada and Latin America including CEO of Canadian-based bank; prior to that Sr. Managing Director Construction Financing to large residential builders throughout the USA. He has a BA and MBA in Finance. Memberships include the Naples Board of Realtors, Graduate Realtors Institute, Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, Florida Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors. Community activities include New Horizons of Southwest Florida volunteer teaching math and reading to at-risk 3rd to 5th graders while being Chair of their 2016-2018 Golf Event and also involved with the Christian Businessmen's Connection. 2014 Awarded the Distinguished Volunteer for Collier County. He was a former Board of Governors of Hazeltine National Golf Club, host of the upcoming 2016 Ryder Cup Championship.