Are you planning on buying a new home? You would have to look for a number of homes before you find your dream home. These days, people are investing in model homes in Omaha. Model homes are the first-builds that builders use to showcase their brilliance. Buying a model home might sound like a brilliant idea (given the rise in real estate prices), but you’d need to inspect even the minutest detail when you buy a model home.
Buyers should acquaint themselves with the specifics of the model home they’re planning to buy because new homes often come with hidden prices. So, what kind of hidden costs should you be looking for?
Model homes aren’t usually sold early on during the process of selling the neighbourhood, until recently, when a greater number of people started investing in model homes. Some people mistake model homes to be the best work of the builder. Sometimes, people fail to notice the construction flaws, which are very well hidden behind solid staging, until they start living there.
To avoid burning your pockets to fix the latent defects of a newly constructed home, it is important to conduct a thorough inspection before you give your nod. Research the builder’s credibility before committing.
A model home usually comes with certain standard amenities. It might not necessarily cover every interior essential or exterior feature that you want. These missing features could be anything such as a window covering, fencing, or landscaping. Once you start living in your new home, you would need to set aside extra money to factor these purchases into your budget.
Before you commit, you can look for what is included and find out what is missing. Research the costs for the missing items. If you think these costs can’t be covered within your budget, look for a place that would be worth the money you’re investing.
Does your new home come with furniture? If not, are you willing to pay to set up furniture for your new home? Once you invest in a new home, you’d be left with no or little money, which might not be sufficient to cover up the costs to purchase and install new furniture.
Inquire with your builder and find out whether the new model home that you’re buying comes with furniture or would that be something that you’d have to factor into your budget?
You might be wondering what kind of repairs a new home would require. There is a possibility that the builder used low-quality materials for the construction of this model home. Also, some unexpected accidents could lead to unforeseen damages.
But most new homes come with warranties, which is good. However, it is important that you clearly check what type of damages your warranty covers.
This is something that most people are aware of, but most often forget to check before investing in a new home. Again, these fees differ from one community to another. Some of the communities might have associations that require homeowners to pay fees at specific intervals. Also, the frequency of the fees and the amount to be paid would be different for each community.
Make sure you inquire these details before you commit.
After considering all these hidden costs, do you still think a model home is what you need? Model homes might look beautiful and flawless, but remember such homes do have pitfalls – as goes the saying “all that glitters is not gold.”
You might be hoodwinked into believing that you’re getting a great deal on the model home that you’re investing in. But are you really? It is important to do some research before you close the deal.
It would be ideal to start with the builder. It is important that you research the builder’s history. See what people have to say about the builder. Get in touch with people who have brought homes, especially model homes, from that builder. If there are a greater number of people complaining about the quality of the homes and lack of customer support, it might not be a great idea to buy the home.
Don’t seal the deal on the first model home that you’re shown. Most builders have multiple model homes available. Looking through multiple homes will give you an idea of the choices you have before you choose the best. Also, it would be helpful at deciding if buying a model home is the only choice you have.
This is one factor that you always need to consider before buying a model home. Most new homes come with a 10-year warranty period. For a model home, the warranty clock has already started ticking as it has been around for a couple of months or years. Subtract this timeframe from your warranty coverage.
The warranty period of the appliances would be less than two years, which means by the time, you move into your new home, the warranty coverage for these items would have expired.
The construction of model homes is usually rushed through as the builders want to quickly get the word out that their new project is up for sale to attract potential buyers. This rush might lead to mistakes. But you can always hire a home inspector to check for flaws before you commit.
A good agent would give you all the necessary information that you need to know about the builder and the property. This would help you to make an informed decision.
If you are planning to buy a home in Omaha, make sure you do your research before investing. Don’t rush through the process. If you want help with constructing or buying a new home, contact us.
