Home Purchase- New Construction vs. Existing

[Knight_Magic]

My wife and I are diving into the research phase to purchasing our first home together. She currently owns a home that has about double the equity of her original purchase price and we are looking to move into something a bit bigger for a growing family and more desirable area here in the near future. She purchased an existing home previously and has been real happy with it but just curious of the experiences of others who have gone through the buying/selling process with new construction vs. existing or moving up in home.

Would you choose to go a different way looking back now? We have read the pros & cons of each and have toured some new construction models to get an idea of our "must have" list such as approx. square ft., bedrooms, while creating a list of our "like to have" items on a checklist. We already have a set budget so that's why the new construction has me a little hesitant with all those upgrades that are available. She does have a realtor who she worked with previously and really liked so should be good there as well but we are probably waiting until the first of the year to put the current home on the market.

 

[USFSucks]

I'm so glad I did new construction on my house and would go that route again in a second

 

[EweSeaEff]

We've done both. While there are pros and cons to each (as you mentioned), for me it truly comes down to location, location, location. There isn't enough that can be said about that. I truly believe we'll be in our current house (one that was a purchase) for a long time to come, but it's nice to know that if we ever wanted to move that we would be able to sell quickly and for a decent spread because of our home's location and the supply-demand in our immediate area. That said, the house that we had built in Orlando is in a very desirable area (Baldwin Park), but it's going to take us a little longer to sell and breakeven given when we had the house built. So, in the meantime, we continue to rent it out to cover expenses/taxes (plus a little juice leftover).

If it was me making the decision, I'd weigh where the new construction opportunity is vs. acquisition location. If you can acquire in Winter Park for a comparable price to what you can build in Moss Park, then to me it's a no-brainer. Even if I had to acquiesce on a few of the features that were on my want/need list, I would still go with the more desirable location 100% of the time.

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

From the looking around I've been doing you can still get a lot more house buying rather than building and you're more likely to be able to get into a better area buying existing. I've been going back and forth on this for the last couple years and I can't make a decision, I'm too lazy really.

 

[EweSeaEff]

I'm too lazy really.

So you're saying that you have tattoos?

 

[SublimeKnight]

Buying preowned has a lot of advantages. The house has been lived in and most of the little things have been sorted out (blinds on windows, shitty appliances updated, closets have more than the 2 wire shelves builders put in, etc. If the neighborhood is over 10 years old, the trees have also grown in.
The pros to new construction is that the big ticket items are new and under warranty (HVACs and roof). Also recently (since ~2013) homes new homes need to meet EnergyStar requirements. That means that not only will it cost less to cool the house, it will be quieter and your AC units will last longer.
However, the #1 consideration like @EweSeaEff said is location. You can overlook and live with a lot of shortcomings of a house if your neighbors are great, the amenities are good, your commute is shorter, etc.

I hope I've given you more to think about and made you more confused.

 

[cnsaguy]

The big problem with current new construction, unless you can GC the build yourself, is that they are all built like shit. With shitty materials and very little effort. If you want to upgrade things, you overpay thru the builder and dilute your equity.

Also, most new construction is moving farther away from the city. So I agree about the location aspect. Would you rather sit in traffic for an hour for a new house or 30 min in a used one?

Having a brand new house is nice (I've bought both) but the better value is in a pre owned one.

 

[USFSucks]

The big problem with current new construction, unless you can GC the build yourself, is that they are all built like shit. With shitty materials and very little effort. If you want to upgrade things, you overpay thru the builder and dilute your equity.

Also, most new construction is moving farther away from the city. So I agree about the location aspect. Would you rather sit in traffic for an hour for a new house or 30 min in a used one?

Having a brand new house is nice (I've bought both) but the better value is in a pre owned one.

At least for @NiseyyD and I, when we were looking for houses that had everything we wanted we got SO much more value from a new construction vs a used house. Honestly, our biggest regret is that we didn't pay for a few upgrades that now would cost us 2-3x what they would have then.

Ultimately the location plays a huge part, but if you want a newer house (one of our requirements) they are all pretty much built the same way so you might as well just go ahead and build one to your preferences.

 

[EweSeaEff]

The big problem with current new construction, unless you can GC the build yourself, is that they are all built like shit. With shitty materials and very little effort. If you want to upgrade things, you overpay thru the builder and dilute your equity.

Also, most new construction is moving farther away from the city. So I agree about the location aspect. Would you rather sit in traffic for an hour for a new house or 30 min in a used one?

Having a brand new house is nice (I've bought both) but the better value is in a pre owned one.

I agree with you that production homes (KB, Pulte, etc.) are generally built like shit with the cheapest materials, labor, etc. (I used to be in a business that provided finished trades to the production home industry and have seen this play out over and over again). However, there are national homebuilders that do a better job of building than others. While you will always pay a premium for upgrades vs. what you can do yourself (or contract for yourself), there's a tradeoff between having those things done when you move in and being at least somewhat inconvenienced while work is being performed in your house. There's also the consideration of warranty when it comes to a new home vs. acquisition. If I pay for wood flooring through a homebuilder (albeit with a premium added), I can rest a little easier knowing that there's a better chance that the homebuilder will be in business to honor any warranty work vs. going with Jim-Bob's Flooring and not knowing whether they'll be in business or what type of warranty work they're willing to cover.

 

[ReginaeUCF]

If your building new option is in a Florida ranch neighborhood where you can reach out and touch your neighbors house then buying a preexisting house in an older neighborhood is the obvious solution. If you can afford to build a custom home on land then that is the only obvious choice.

 

[SublimeKnight]

The big problem with current new construction, unless you can GC the build yourself, is that they are all built like shit. With shitty materials and very little effort.

That used to be the case, especially during the housing boom on mid-2000, but in the last few years the energy star standards have forced builders to be much better structurally. I have a friend that is a GC for a big home builder. The energy star requirements were no joke and pushed a lot of builders out of the market.
I agree with you on the extras though. You need to be smart. Don't pay a builder to do a built in, even if you can't DIY you can get someone to do it for 1/2 the price. Ask about upgrading the shingles, using TechShield instead of regular sheathing, etc. If you want a sink in your laundry room or garage have them rough in the plumbing. Add outlets and lights. Things that are much cheaper to do during construction.

 

[UCFKnightfan08]

My house was new construction. I was the 4th person to buy so I got a really good deal, the builder has raised the price by about 2K every month so I have a lot of equity only 2 years in. The biggest advantage for me was that everything is new and I don't have to worry about a new roof, a/c or anything like that.

I like that I was able to pick exactly what we wanted (counter tops, appliances, etc) but costs can definitely add up with blinds, shelving and little things like that.

 

[knight1982]

1) Custom home

2) Pre-owned in a nice, established, non cookie cutter neighborhood







3) new construction

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

So you're saying that you have tattoos?

I just got a neck tattoo a week ago. It's awesome.

 

[mach3ucf]

Congrats on the Growing Family!

I would say, it all comes down to a few things.
Key is the Home has to built right. Some old Homes are built better than new ones, and some new ones are built correct.
The key is this, make sure she gets what she wants! You will have it easier.
I would say main things, good Kitchens, Bathrooms, & Good size rooms, After that, if you want Pool, Patio, Nice oversized living/ family rooms, etc..
Especially with kids, schools become an issue..
Also I know this sounds basic, but less commute to work, leads to a happier life!
Try to keep it under 20-30 min Commute each way. I took this from a friends site, not 100% if correct.. "So each mile you live from work steals $795 per year from you in commuting costs."

 

[jetsaholic]

I've done both and I really can't see myself buying pre-owned again. I'm not a fixer-upper guy or a big project guy. I'd rather be move in ready with everything exactly the way I want it for years to come.

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

I've done both and I really can't see myself buying pre-owned again. I'm not a fixer-upper guy or a big project guy. I'd rather be move in ready with everything exactly the way I want it for years to come.

Obviously has tattoos.

 

[jetsaholic]

Obviously has tattoos.

DING DING DING!!!

$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Knight_Light]

The big problem with current new construction, unless you can GC the build yourself, is that they are all built like shit. With shitty materials and very little effort. If you want to upgrade things, you overpay thru the builder and dilute your equity.

Also, most new construction is moving farther away from the city. So I agree about the location aspect. Would you rather sit in traffic for an hour for a new house or 30 min in a used one?

Having a brand new house is nice (I've bought both) but the better value is in a pre owned one.

I noticed that first hand during a recent project at a large $900,000 pool home in Baldwin Park.

This stately looking home had FAKE PLASTIC SHUTTERS! WTF?

Our out-of-state client was shocked and kept noticing so many short-cuts that the builders took.

 

[HuffyCane]

If you are moving for kids and see yourself down sizing after they are grown, then in Orlando I would move out and get new unless your kids are in private school.

 

[OmniKnight]

mistake one: having a wife

 

[EweSeaEff]

I noticed that first hand during a recent project at a large $900,000 pool home in Baldwin Park.

This stately looking home had FAKE PLASTIC SHUTTERS! WTF?

Our out-of-state client was shocked and kept noticing so many short-cuts that the builders took.

Other than hurricane shutters or interior plantation shutters, what "real" shutters do you see in Florida?

 

[Knight_Light]

Other than hurricane shutters or interior plantation shutters, what "real" shutters do you see in Florida?

Ones that actually worked. These fake plastic shutters were just nailed to wall. At a price home like that, working FL shutters would have been a given in the past. Homes less than that one have working shutters all over town, not just on the coast.