Archive for the 'Home Buying' Category
If you seriously value happiness, then this decision should be an easy one. Buy the smaller home inside of the city. Research has shown that people adapt to various sized living spaces (and after living in my 400 sq. foot studio in Los Angeles I can vouch for this). People never truly adapt to long commutes however. In fact, most people find themselves increasingly frustrated at the time their commute robs from them keeping them from being with their family or pursuing other leisures.
Getting the smaller home will buy you something the large suburban one cannot provide. More free time.
If you find yourself in the market to purchase a new home from a builder, and are considering buying without an agent, then there are a few things you’ll need to learn in order to avoid trouble.
First, chances are you’re going to need to find a builder. Doing so should be fairly easy through any of the following methods:
1. Local home builder’s association
2. Word of mouth.
3. Find neighborhoods where custom builders build and talk to homeowners (feel free to knock on doors…it works!)
If you think you need an Agent because you think your builder is screwing you, then you should really consider finding another builder. Homes are plentiful, and you should always be ready to walk away if something seems fishy.
If you find a builder that already has a listing agent. (Most big builders do) then proceed carefully. Attempt to contact the builder directly, and avoid dealing with the agent first. Most builder’s agents will try to double-dip on the commission if they find out you don’t have an agent, which will cost the builder extra money and save you nothing (as well as get you inferior representation!).
Once you’ve located a house/builder you’d like to deal with, if you need help analyzing the builder-friendly forms you are probably asked to sign, hiring a lawyer will certainly be far cheaper and much more effective than hiring an agent. A lawyer will also be in a far better position to advise you regarding some of the provisions you may want to include in a contract to best protect yourself and to build yourself some outs in case there is a problem with the builder down the road.
Whenever you contact a builder be sure to ask directly what exact benefits they can offer to you for not using an agent. Often they can offer upgrade incentives of 3 to 7%, or even price cuts of 2% to 5%. Don’t expect huge savings, but every little thousand counts!
Often when buying homes, people encourage each other to buy the most land possible. While there is certainly some value to buying the largest lot in a nice suburban area that you feel will grow in value, you should always opt for actually being in that nice suburban area regardless of the size vs owning several acres in a completely undesirable area (Look on eBay, people can’t GIVE AWAY plots of land in Box Elder County).
The ample supply of inaccessible acreage in the Florida swampland or locked in the Rockies should be a warning sign to buyers that size should never be the primary deciding factor. Location, particularly neighborhood, is generally a better benchmark for finding a good deal.
Of course if the land happens to be filled with Oil you may strike it rich…but there are cheaper lottery tickets out there.