I think it’s safe to say that the residential building industry has grown up over the last20 years.

I remember when I first started in the industry and there was a limit in the knowledge of building, building products and interior design. There’s a lot of proof to that point still around in Perth. Just take a look at the apricot coloured basins and toilet suites, terrible colour schemes like ‘pink and grey’ and overall hodgepodge in many homes. Another contributing factor was the limitations of selections available. There just wasn’t that much selection available in the market place and those providing materials also weren’t as professional as they are now.

Buying a new home is a daunting task under any circumstances, but buying a home in this economy can be downright frightening. The process can be quite intimidating, especially if you don’t know if you want an older home or a new home. New homes are a great investment, even during an economic downturn. Many builders are selling homes for pennies on the dollar, just to break even. Add this to the fact that many builders are offering free upgrades, and it’s a win-win situation for both the buyer and the seller. The builder avoids foreclosure on the property, and the buyer can customize to his heart’s content.

An example of how you can benefit is when the builder offers to pay your closing costs. Closing costs can take a chunk out of your budget, money that could be better used in customizing your home. It also keeps you from having to worry about multiple checks on closing day.

Although the used home looks exactly the same as the builder’s model, let’s examine what might be hidden from view just because the used home was built only a few years ago. The first thing, and one of the big items, is the furnace efficiency. Just a couple years ago, an 80% Efficient Furnace was considered a high-efficiency furnace. The customer doesn’t know what to look for and assumes, albeit incorrectly, that the furnaces were equal. In the builder’s model that furnace was a 92% Efficient Furnace. What that means to you, the consumer, is that for the entire life of that furnace, you will be paying higher heating bills with the used house.

Upon closer comparison, the used home had a 10 SEER Air Conditioning unit which was considered the standard in efficiency a few years prior but a 13 SEER unit is now the standard. What that means to you? Higher cooling bills for the life of the air conditioner in the used home.

Next there are the aluminum windows in the used home that was made by a company that has since gone out of business versus the more energy-efficient vinyl low-e double pane insulated windows now used by the builder. Visually, both windows look nearly the same.

Next, what’s under the Vinyl Siding of the used home? Nothing. The builder sales representative made a point to draw attention to their company’s use of Tyvek house wrap and its ability to prevent water from getting into exterior walls which could result in the growth of mold. The used house had no such house wrap. When it was built, house wrap was considered an option, a luxury, for those who felt it necessary and chose to pay extra for the option. Since then, the builder, tired of dealing with water infiltration problems and mold, on their own initiative, has made house wrap a standard feature to prevent thousands of dollars of warranty repairs and potential future law suits. The original purchaser of the used home didn’t feel it necessary leaving the subsequent purchaser open to thousands of dollars in expense in the event that water infiltration and/or mold develops at some point in time.

Perhaps the most altruistic motive of building a home is that you’re putting people to work, while enhancing your lifestyle. Someone has to build your home, and with all of the above advantages, you can go to sleep knowing that your purchase is contributing to the community and the country. You will have to wait longer to move, but the time spent will make you appreciate your purchase even more through the years.

 

Technorati Tags: