A New Home: Should You Buy or Build?
Buying & building,much house should you buy,should You buy
Once you think that you are fairly well settled in life, with a family,
and a good job that puts you on a firm financial footing, you are likely
to start thinking about getting a house. You have two options: you can
either buy a house in the neighbourhood of your choice or get one built
to your specifications. A host of different factors are involved with
each of these options – here is an analysis of the advantages and disadvantages
involved that will help you decide whether to build or buy a house.
Buying A House
Broadly speaking, the process of buying a house is not a complicated
one. All you have to do is choose a house you like and that fits your
budget, and make an offer to the realtor who is dealing with the sale
of that house. Of course, there are some things you should bear in mind
when you are thinking of a buying a home that was originally built for
someone else.
Advantages
One major plus when it comes to purchasing rather than constructing a
house, is speed. You will be ready to move to your new residence within
a much shorter period of time as compared to when you actually get a house
built.
And of course, buying a home that is already ready is much simpler and
more convenient. Often, you can get an independent house, where residence
is not subject to any restrictions, such as those laid down by co-operative
apartment owners’ groups.
Your new home is also likely to have a better developed and landscaped
garden with fully grown plants when the house has been around for a while.
When you build a new home, you have to start from scratch s far as the
garden or yard goes.
In the case of a previously owned home, you are likely to get better
value for your money. The price could be negotiable, and usually, fixtures
and some appliances are included in the price of the property. This can
save you a fair sum of money. Also, an older home could have sounder construction
than a new house that has been hurriedly constructed along with scores
of others by a property developer.
Disadvantages
The main disadvantage of buying rather than building a home is that it
will not fit your desires and needs perfectly. The house could have more
or less bedrooms than you need or want, for instance. Then, an already
built house is obviously older than a house you build yourself. There
could be many attractions with an older house, but problems can come with
it, too. There might be expensive repairs or upkeep to undertake, and
this could be a big drawback as far as your home purchase is concerned.
Of late, there have been many instances of people thinking they are getting
a great deal on a house, but they found themselves mistaken when they
discovered that the house they had agreed to buy was in very poor condition.
A lot of these houses required the expenditure of considerable sums of
money before they were rendered habitable. Such a situation is called
foreclosure fallout, and since you as a buyer are usually unprepared for
these extra expenses, you could find yourself in debt and paying high
interest on loans that you were forced to take to meet these unexpected
expenses. One more disadvantage of buying an existing house is that you
may find that facilities and electrical connections are not quite up to
date. An already built house is also likely to consume more energy, resulting
in more expenses for the buyer.
Building A House
Some people tend to shy away from building their own houses, thinking
that it is far too difficult and stressful. But don’t dismiss the idea
of constructing your own house out of hand. These days, building one’s
own home is not as complicated as it used to be. Now, designers and property
developers offer ready to use floor plans and a whole range of attractive
choices that make things very simple. Constructing your own home has plus
points in favour of it, as well as some negative points that you should
consider before coming to a decision.
Advantages
The pros of constructing your own house exactly as you want it are numerous
and undeniable. Every single detail can be in accordance with the needs
and desires of you and your family. Every aspect, from the colour of bathroom
tiles and the size of the shelves in the kitchen to the number of bedrooms
and the kind of landscaping to be done will be exactly as you want. You
will find yourself growing emotionally involved in the construction of
your home, and your entire family will feel a sense of responsibility
and pride as far as the house is concerned. In addition, all the contents
of the house, such as furniture, appliances and so on, are likely to be
new and in good working condition. Plus, you will be following the latest
standards of safety and environmental friendliness as well as principles
of eco friendly construction. Also, all the latest trends and styles will
be mirrored in your new home. There are also some financial and tax advantages
to be gained from building your new home. Experts believe that proper
building can be profitable with interest, property tax being deducted
during construction.
Disadvantages
Ike any activity that involves a lot of people and people and materials,
there are disadvantages when it comes to building a house from scratch.
Sometimes construction can take a lot more time than planned, or require
more expenditure than estimated. This can be annoying and you can get
very upset because of postponements due to bad weather, supply problems,
inspections that are not done on time or a slow contractor. Usually, if
you use one of a developer’s standard floor plans, the house should take
a little more than half a year to finish, but you should budget for an
extra 100 days or so. Financial tightness can also be a result of building
your own home, since you have to set sets of costs such as mortgage payments
and utilities costs, and this can add to quite a lot. All this can be
quite discouraging when you are building a new home.
We have talked about the advantages of living in a newly developed locality,
but such a locality can also have some drawbacks. Living in a newly created
can carry extra home owner charges, and staying in a place where a lot
of building is going on can be very noisy. The noise is caused not only
by the construction that is taking place all over the neighbourhood, but
also by the large number of visitors who will be visiting the area with
a view to moving in.
Greater expenses will be incurred if you build rather than buy – for
the same area, it will cost more to construct. You have to factor in the
cost of additions to the house, too, and the time and money invested in
conferences with your architect, and in choosing designs, colours, materials
and a host of other details. One last disadvantage of building your own
house is that you could be bound by the limitations of floor plans offered
by developers and may not get everything just as you like it.
It’s Up To you
In the final analysis, we see that whether you build or buy a house,
there will be positive as well as negative aspects. You must consider
all the factors involved, and make a sensible decision that will best
suit you as far as your money situation, family needs and position in
life are concerned.
