Location, Selling your Home, and Budget Buffers: Mistakes Made When Building a Home

In our first installment of this two-part series, we attempted to open your eyes to common Mistakes Made when Building a Home. In this post, we will remind you of four more mistakes that homebuyers can easily make if they have not completely familiarized themself with the process.

5) Location, Location, Location…Take it into Consideration and Avoid Mistakes Made When Building a Home

When we are talking location as it relates to our list of Mistakes Made when Building a New Home, we will provide you a list. (Yes, a second list…) On our list of things to remind you of regarding location, we will show you four reasons why this is a mistake you DO NOT want to make. Don’t just go for the least expensive lot at the neighborhood you choose. Remember, the lots are priced as they are for a reason and remember though you are excited to be building a new home, at some point you may be reselling this same home. Think about the long term return on your investment when selecting a lot.

Do some research on the land viability where you are building. Again, when thinking of the overall value of the lot you’re purchasing, you really want to be knowledgable of things such as terrain, water table, slope, utilities, etc.

Specific Items to Search for in Purchasing a Home Lot

• Don’t just go for the least expensive lot at the neighborhood you choose. Remember, the lots are priced as they are for a reason and remember though you are excited to be building a new home, at some point you may be reselling this same home. Think about the long term return on your investment when selecting a lot.
• Do some research on the land viability where you are building. Again, when thinking of the overall value of the lot you’re purchasing, you really want to be knowledgable of things such as terrain, water table, slope, utilities, etc.
• The lot size is also something to factor into eventual return on investment. Also, while you are living in the home this is important. Do you prefer a lot that is closer in distance ton a neighbor? Or would you rather have a more spacious lot that is built at a greater distance from a neighbor?
• How close are you to the necessities? A gas station, grocery store, schools, etc. Depending on you, your family size, and personal taste you may want to be sure to be relatively close to things like this. Then again, some prefer a quiet, more spaced out, and more private location.

6) Budget with No Buffer!

First and foremost, you need to come up with a budget when you are building a home. Sticking with our theme of helping you avoid common Mistakes Made when Building a New Home when you build this budget, you want to keep a few things in mind.

First, the budget you create needs to include a “slush fund.” This is a “little extra” to take care of incidentals that happen along the way. This could include any unforeseen circumstances or overages in the building process. Also, special or additional features you may decide you want when in the building process will need to be covered. Again, this is where the slush fund would come into play. 

Before you find yourself making any mistakes, calculate the baseline price and add in any extras or upgrades before putting a deposit down. Trust us, you will be happy you did!

7) Never Assume that Your Previous Home is a Sure Thing to Sell Before the New Home is Built!

In all honesty, to assume anything in this process could earn inclusion among our listing of Mistakes Made when Building a Home. But to just figure in the cost of your previous home as “money in the bank,” could prove to be a very large mistake.

Depending on your previous home location or the local economy at the time you have it on the market, there is certainly a chance your home will not sell by the time the new house is built. For our recommendation for being prepared in this situation, we again turn to a list…to keep you away from making mistakes on our overall list. Here are your options to consider and keep in mind.

• You move into the new home and rent out your previous home while still trying to sell it.
• Make payments on both the new and previous home at the same time. This could obviously get costly in a hurry.
• Try and find a realtor other than the one you initially hired that has not seen the home sell. Some realtors are just frankly more creative and better at their job than others. This could be the difference in finding a buyer.
• Lastly, you can walk away from the newly built home and lose the deposit money from it and stay where you are at.

8) Do Your Homework to be Sure You Have not Selected the Wrong Builder

The final of our 8 Mistakes Made when Building a Home is quite probably the most important of any. The last thing you want to do is select the wrong builder for whatever the reason. Put the time in to research the builders that you are considering and asrrive at an educated decision you are comfortable with on this.

How do you arrive at this educated decision you may ask? Well for starters find their website and take a look through. Look for examples of their work. Likewise, you can get background on who you are dealing with and asking to “build your home.” Also, check for actual customer reviews, look at Facebook or Google reviews. Seeing how others viewed working with a builder can certainly be beneficial to you moving forward. 

Lastly, ask the potential builders to give examples of their work to you. You can also tour some of the neighborhoods in which each builder had worked previously. This is another chance to ask people about their experiences.

To read our initial post on Mistakes Made when Building a Home, follow the link below.

Belmont Lake Preserve- Blog– “Mistakes to Avoid When Building a New Home”

This concludes our two-part series on Mistakes Made when Building a Home. For some floor plans, ideas, and even photos of homes at the Belmont Lake Preserve NC golf community, visit belmontlakepreserve.com