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Should You Buy New Construction or an Older Home?

New home or existing construction? Most people start the process with a preconceived notion of what kind they like, but it the question deserves a second thought. This can be one of your most influential decisions. Have you really thought about the differences between these two types and the fact that one might be a better choice for you than the other? Here are some pertinent facts to help you compare and make that decision.

Newer Homes Typically Have Modern Construction Features

In addition to new appliances, newly built homes also have modern features that people today have come to enjoy. Granite countertops, great rooms, spacious interior design and other such features are found in new homes.

New Homes Have New Material

When a builder builds a new home, you can expect new materials and appliances. That can mean less maintenance, and less worry about things breaking down, at least for a few years.

New Homes Have Modern Safety Features

With a newly constructed home, you can expect all the current safety features that builders are putting in homes under up-to-date codes. As a result, there are fewer hazards for your family.

Older Homes Have More Traditional Features

If you’re looking for a home like your parents’ home, with a familiar floor plan, a resale home is just right. Older homes have features like formal dining rooms, family rooms and other such features, that were common a few years ago.

Resale Homes Often Have Bigger Yards

With an older home, you generally have access to a larger lot than with a new home. New homes are often built closer together on smaller lots, leaving less room for old-style big yards.

You Can Typically Get More for Your Dollar With Resale Homes

New homes almost always cost more than older homes because they have the latest features and amenities. Another benefit is that older homes are usually taxed less as well, depending on the local jurisdiction.

Resale Homes Are Often More Easily Negotiable

As a buyer, you can usually negotiate a better price on older homes than on new homes. In places where need for new homes is healthy, it is more difficult to get a better price. This can result in getting a larger resale home for the amount you would have to pay for a small new home.

New Homes Have Higher Levels of Efficiency

Window manufacturers and appliance makers have greatly improved the efficiency of their products. Efficient windows mean better insulation in winter and in summer. More efficient electrical and gas appliances mean better energy efficiency and lower monthly bills.

There are definite advantages to choosing an older home, but there are advantages to buying a new one as well. Making the final choice, of course, is often a matter of personal preference. Either way, evaluate your options before deciding which way to go. That’s the best way to get the home you want.

If you have a need to investigate homes in Boulder, try the try Colorado’s AutomatedHomefinder.com for comprehensive free information and immediate updates on homes for sale, for homes that match what you are looking for.

Author: Aubrey Clark

There are many techniques to negotiating a new home purchase. Almost everyone has their own brand and approach to negotiating, as evidenced by the dozens of books written on the subject. There really isn’t a right or wrong way to negotiate as long as you have the basics down. The biggest difference in negotiations is the personality and egos of the people who are negotiating.

That being said, I thought I would chime in and share some of the negotiating tips I have learned over my last 15 years in the mortgage business. These are what I would call “the basics”, with a twist of my personality added for good measure. I hope you enjoy.

The Golden Rule 

Negotiating is a game of leverage, meaning the person that has the advantage in a negotiation is most likely the one to emerge victorious in that round of the negotiations. I emphasized “that round” for a reason, because when buying a home, the price is only the first battle in a long string of negotiations. Knowing who has the advantage in each round of negotiations is a key factor to winning the war.

For example:

Let’s assume that you and your wife have found a home that you love and want to buy. Whether you know it or not, when you make an offer on a home you are negotiating from a position of weakness. The owner knows that you want to buy the house or else you wouldn’t be making them an offer to buy it. Apart from those sellers that are in bad financial shape, the seller will usually win the first battle.

Advantage seller

However, most people forget that the negotiations last throughout the length of the sale until the deal is closed. A mortgage transaction could take as long as a month and maybe longer to close. You still have appraisals, home inspections, mortgage issues and many other negotiating battles to be fought and won. So, don’t be too hard on yourself if you didn’t come out of the first round of negotiations “smelling like a rose,” just get ready for the second round.

Meanwhile, the seller has put a chunk of his own money down on a new home in anticipation of you buying his home. He has scheduled movers, picked out drapes, and applied for a mortgage. The savvy negotiator realizes that the once reluctant seller is not so reluctant anymore. The power in the negotiations has now shifted, just in time for the home inspector. It’s now the seller that needs you to do something for him, namely buy his house. Advantage buyer.

Deal with a motivated seller:

Have you ever began negotiations with someone who has the attitude like “I don’t really care to sell this, but make me an offer anyway?” That’s usually just a negotiating gambit used to get the buyer to make the first offer. Much like the home shopper who plays coy with the realtor or home owner as to how badly they really want the home. However, there really are people in the market who really don’t want to sell and whole-heartedly expect you to make them a ridiculous offer. Your first job in negotiation is to be able to distinguish between the two. If you are dealing with the latter, you should walk away or be prepared to pay a lot for the home.

Know when to walk away: 

I have walked away from a dozen homes in the last 15 years, partially over the mechanics of the deal but primarily over emotions. Personal emotions have no place in a negotiation, and I should know since I have blown quite a few good deals over my ego. The point I am making is for you to be prepared to walk away. I tell most couples in the market for a new home “that after you find the perfect home, go find another one that is near to perfect.” If you are using a realtor, don’t let on which home you want to buy until you have the two homes picked out.

To negotiate price from a position of power, you must be prepared to walk away and you must do it if you don’t feel you have a good deal. Some of the best deals I have made on properties materialized two weeks after negotiations had broken down. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t always get that second call and that great deal, most often you won’t. However, one way to improve your chances of getting that second call is to always leave the negotiations in a civil manner. I always like to use the “oh shucks” method which basically says “I really like your property, and it is probably worth every dime you’re asking, but I just can’t afford it and thank you anyway.” This will leave the door open for further negotiations.

Ask for it all and then some : 

Everyone likes to think that they are a shrewd negotiator and hate to feel like they have lost in the negotiations. The best negotiators in the world get exactly what they want and leave their opponents smiling at the table. The way to do this is to make a fair offer on the home, and by fair I mean a price a little higher than you would like to pay. Then, attach a laundry list of things you would like the seller to address. Ask them to fix the roof, put in carpet, leave the refrigerator, paint the inside and anything else you can dream of.

This creates a myriad of issues that you and the seller can each give and take on. By offering the seller a fair price, you have their attention and haven’t insulted them with a low opening offer. I wince when I see new homebuyers, aided by inexperienced real estate agents, throw a low-ball number at a home owner and expect them to capitulate. The entire negotiation will end with two counter offers and be decided by an impasse on price. If someone could say “I’ll pay that price, but you give me the roof and carpet,” each negotiator has an opportunity to win.

My last bit of advice is that you pick a good experienced Realtor™ who isn’t going to pass you off to one of her newbie buyer’s agents. Begin your negotiations with her commission and keep in mind that you want her to work for you. This means if you beat her up too bad on the commission, she will email you houses from the MLS and call you every two weeks. Pay her a fair commission and make her earn it.

Article Source: https://www.articlesbase.com/real-estate-articles/new-home-purchases-negotiating-tips-for-new-homebuyers-441043.html

Simply Healthy | Banana Cream Pie Smoothie

This rich, creamy smoothie is just right for a wake-up call, but even better as a healthy dessert.

Banana Cream Pie Smoothie
Makes one 12 oz. smoothie

2 bananas
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 graham crackers
4 ice cubes

How-To:
Blend all ingredients in a blender and serve immediately

Step by Step Through the Home Buying Jungle
The process of buying a home for the first time can seem a little too difficult. There are a lot of seemingly complicated things happening at any given time in the process, with so many individuals involved. It’s a jungle out there, it seems: all too easy to get lost in figuring out where the dangers are and which way to go next. This article will explain how the process works.

1. Getting Yourself Pre-Approved

Get pre-approved for a home loan. This will involve completing paperwork about your assets and income. Once you are pre-approved, you will know how much you can plan to budget for your home purchase.

2. Getting Your Ideas Together

Start looking. It is good to begin the search already knowing what you want. You can define your ideas systematically, by making a comprehensive list.

3. Identify Home

Bingo! You’ve found it. The right home could be the first one you find or the umpteenth.

4. Offer

Before making an offer, put some serious thought behind it. Find out what price properties in the neighborhood are selling for. Make an equitable offer — too low and you could insult them, or too much and you might end up paying a higher price than you should. Usually, when you make an offer, you will probably need to put up anywhere from 1% to 5% of the asking price as a good faith deposit. Your offer will cover contingencies and terms in addition to price, such as being subject to inspection, necessary repairs, and your preferred date of closing.

5. Agreement

After a little negotiation back and forth, the seller and you will come to an agreement on all the terms of the sale.

6. Review of Title

A title review, in most states, is normally done by a real estate attorney who examines the title, or ownership records of the property, and gives a written opinion as to whether the seller’s title satisfies the requirements of the contract of purchase. In some parts of the U.S. this is done without the services of an attorney but almost without exception there is a requirement for some kind of title search.

7. Home Inspection and Negotiation of Repairs

Never buy property without having it inspected by a third party inspector. A thorough inspection can reveal problems large and small, from mold to a sinking chimney. If the inspection does uncover problems, you will agree on the cost or completion of repairs.

8. Getting an Appraisal

An appraisal offers a professional estimate on the matter of the property’s value. No lender will write a loan for more than the appraised value of the property. For that reason, if the appraised value comes back lower than the sale price, the deal is jeopardized. Actions or workarounds you could possibly take include your making up the difference in cash, the seller agreeing to lower the price to match the appraisal, or requesting a different appraisal.

9. Commitment

You will feel a big sense of relief when the lender completes a review of the documentation and commits your loan.

10. Walk Through Inspection

Your final walk through takes place just prior to closing. During the walk through inspection, you have your opportunity to assure yourself that the property is in the condition in which you agreed to take it — that all repairs that the seller has agreed to make have been made satisfactorily, and that the property has not sustained any damage since you agreed to buy it.

11. Closing

Closing is the transfer of title to the buyer. You will have to hand over the down payment on the property and your share of the closing costs. Before the day of the closing ask your Realtor exactly how much you’ll need to have on hand.

Done! Once you’ve completed those easy steps, you’ll have your home.

If you are ready to check out homes in Boulder, try the try Colorado’s AutomatedHomefinder.com for free information and immediate updates on homes for sale, for homes that match your exact desires.