New Home Realtor – David DuMont (10/04/2024)
If you mention to a group of friends or associates that you’re considering having a home built, the ensuing conversation is always the same; “Don’t do it! I have a friend that had a home built and it was a nightmare!” “That’s awesome! My sister had a home built because they couldn’t find what they wanted in the homes that were on the market, and they got exactly what they wanted.” “Do your research first! It may not be something you want to do.” “You’ll love it! We had our home built and it was fantastic getting to pick everything out ourselves and not have to pay for something someone else did to their house 10 years ago!” If you’re considering having a home built, you’ve probably already had several of these conversations. Buying new construction is one thing, having a home built from the beginning is another. Buying a new construction home that’s already built can be ideal for those that want everything new, with warranties on the home and products in it, and hopefully a good home builder standing behind what they built. Having a home built from scratch is far more involved and time consuming, but for someone that wants exactly what they want when they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, it’s the only choice.
The process of having a home built from scratch is extremely predictable and possibly full of surprises at the same time, depending on the project and the builder you choose. For this type of project, working with the right new home Realtor can make all difference. Experience is key! The #1 complaint in new construction is “not knowing what to expect”. Having an experienced and knowledgeable new home Realtor that is good at communicating will help save your sanity, get you more of what you want from the process, improve your comfort level throughout the build, and possibly save your marriage (if you’re married that is)! Building a home is complicated, and so is trekking across Africa. If you were going to trek across Africa, would you rather have a rookie guide who has done it a couple of times, or an experienced expert that knows every animal, every trail, has the right gear for emergencies, and back-up plans for just about every contingency? Of course you’d go with the experienced guide, and that logic applies to choosing a new home Realtor.
There are 2 ways to have a home built: full custom or pattern built. Full custom is just what it sounds like; from scratch, from custom plans never before built, with every facet of the home needing to be chosen, built on land also selected by you, in hopes that once done it’s what you hoped for. If that sounds like a lot, it can be. Coming from a new construction specialist and real estate agent with 20 years of experience, option 2 is far far less daunting. Pattern building is where a builder has repeatedly built the same floorplan(s) over and over again. If the builder is established and successful, it means that the homes they build over and over again are because people love them and keep choosing them! From the consumer point of view, there’s a lot of comfort to be gained when you know a plan has been built repeatedly. It likely means any problems, any ugliness, any floorplan flow issues, roofline issues, ceiling and window placement issues have all been worked out. The builder I’ve represented for the last 17 years is Shaw Homes. While they used to build full custom homes as well as a long list of established plans, they are now a pattern builder that sticks with 48 plans they’ve built over and over again, knowing that any issues have been ironed out over time.
Choosing a builders established floorplan takes an immense amount of guesswork out of the equation. If they’ve built it repeatedly, they should be able to show you what each and every room, ceiling, closet, bathroom, front and rear elevations, and the garage looks like. There shouldn’t be any mysteries! That is one of the primary reasons that Shaw Homes ceased building full custom homes and focused on building what they have already built and perfected. They have plans that they’ve built over 100 times, taking customer feedback into account, rethinking everything, taking in new trends and styles. As the new home Realtor for Shaw Homes, officially titled the Real Estate Manager, I purchased a “Market Ready Home” that had just been completed. Some builders call homes they’ve already built that are for sale “spec homes”, or “market ready homes”. Like everyone else, I love to get exactly what I want. When I walked into what would soon be my new home, there were things I would have done differently if I had it built custom. But let me be clear on this subject. Getting 85% of what you want isn’t much different than getting 100% when it comes to a home, especially when the most important factor to you is that it’s a brand new home. For myself, I would like a larger bathroom and closet in the Primary Suite. The reality of it for me is that I don’t need either. The closet is just fine for the amount of clothing my wife and I have. The bathroom is just fine, as long as we don’t want to dance in it. I would also like a 4th car garage and an outbuilding for storage and working on vehicles. If I had to have these things, I would have needed to spend an extra $60,000-$100,000 for a larger homesite, additional square footage, and the cost of the outbuilding. In the end, those things just weren’t that important to me, and I’m completely happy with my home. If you take some time and scroll thru pictures of some of the Shaw Homes I have listed, there’s a good chance you’ll see something you like enough to go look at with me. I list private sellers homes as well as Shaw Homes, and you’ll be able to tell which is which very easily when you click here: My Listings.
I hope I’ve shed some light on the process of buying a new construction home. I’m sure you have questions, so call me at (918)409-5195 and we’ll talk. You can also email me at [email protected].