I just built my house too and word of advice don’t regret anything. Once you move into your beautiful new house you’ll feel so proud and happy that it’s yours! There will always be something you wish you had after a few years because it’s your first house and you start to grow into and out of it and that’s normal but don’t regret anything...we can’t do all the upgrades or we would have a house way more expensive. A new home is a new slate that you get to start decorating and adding things to. So don’t feel bad you didn’t do it all from construction point.
SO true Cristina! I love your perspective. It's definitely so surreal getting the keys for the first time that it all just seems so perfect anyway haha. Thanks for sharing your positivity! :)
We built a new house one year ago and i will always think about things i wished i added and regrets imperfections and and not looking at the positive side of it. your comment really made me feel much better. Thank you
I'm a realtor in Denver, CO who specializes in new construction. I see staged homes all the time, but my favorite is getting to walk the journey with the homeowner to see how they change a house into a home. Great tips. You made a good point about "everything included". You will definitely end up spending thousands of dollars at the design center if you are not intentional about your wants vs needs. One thing I love about new construction is the peace of mind that comes with having a home warranty. Your thoughts are a testament to why it's important to have a realtor with you to help be your bulldog in the fight.
All great tips. Another weird issue we experienced was attempting to upgrade from their builder grade carpet to the design center’s wood laminate. We got an estimate from a flooring company, that was much cheaper than the builder, however the sale couldn’t close without flooring so we ended up having the tract builder install their cheaper carpet and tile then before we moved in had the flooring dealer take it all out and install the wood. It was painful to watch the carpet get torn out. But we saved about $4,000. And beware $1,000 in light fixtures is not a lot of money.
the best best advice is to be one of the first phases/groups of buyers. They give more incentives. If you are buying in their last phase, expect fewer incentives.
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First off, GREAT VIDEO... You guys made some awesome points but the best advice I ever got from a millionaire real estate agent was no home is a forever home. As long as the house is structurally sound and is in a great neighborhood you can always sell later. 1 owner homes sell so fast in well desired neighborhoods but I love how y’all broke it down to people who have no clue what’s going on. We are in Texas and went with historymaker homes(they are AWESOME) and did it with no realtor but we spent over a year researching videos and going to homes. We even took tape measures and levelers to our walk through lol. You do spend a lot of money but always look at it as an investment and never get too attached to where you feel like you made too many mistakes building. As long as you make smart decisions while you are in the home(as far as upgrades etc) you guys will be fine... great vid! PS, glad you guys chose a open concept because it looks like that will be the real estate market for at least the next 15 years
Thank you so much for your kind comment! Yes!! Exactly. Can't go wrong with an investment like that! I'm so glad you guys had a positive experience! Sounds like it definitely pays to do your research and have a builder you can trust haha. Omg levelers to your walkthrough is SUCH a good idea. Wish we would have thought of that haha. Yes!! The open concept was a good investment that we are excited about! Thanks again for your positive and informative comment! Good luck with your home :)
Great video and tips. My wife I built a home about 10 years ago (actually a partial spec home that we got great incentives on and tweaked a couple things), unfortunately had to move a few months later and sold. Right now we're building a new home again, this time choosing everything. A couple tips purely from my perspective. 1) There is no right choice. Everyone is different and your wants and desires aren't wrong. There's a million ways to do things and you'll hear people say do X, don't do Y, spent money on this, but not on that etc. Some of it is generally good advice, in particular about getting value, but beyond that it's just personal preference. Figure out what --you-- want before doing this, look at homes, watch home improvement shows, tour a bunch of models. Get a strong idea in what you like, allow yourself to adapt and change, settle on what's best for you and then go for that. 2) Figure out if you want to put money into the base price vs upgrades. Referring to #1, neither is right or wrong. If you think you won't be happy unless you get a lot of specific upgrades, then that's fine, if you think you're fine with simple upgrades so want to put money into the square footage, location, etc, that's fine too. Though when doing upgrades often you'll hit a point where it just makes more sense to either go all in, or hold them way back. Like that shower you illustrated. Either you stay stock and spend the money later, or you go all in and get all the upgrades so you don't have to re-spend money re-doing half of it later that might require you to re-do other work. Your base price will be usually the square footage, the lot, and the location... if you know you'll want a lot of upgrades and that's more important than one or more of those then come in at a much lower base price and give yourself the room to upgrade a lot. If that's what you want that will be a MUCH more fun experience than if you come in at the very top of your budget before upgrades but wanted a lot of upgrades and have to constantly not get what you really want. Everything is a trade off, set yourself to get more of what you actually want. My wife and I went minimal upgrades and maximum square footage 10 years ago. This time we went smaller square footage (bigger than then, but smaller than what we could get in our current situation) and are maximizing upgrades (but only upgrades that compare favorably with the cost to do it later if we wanted, passing on the ones that aren't a good value). The upgrade process was so much fun since we now have a much stronger idea of what we want out of a house and we got to choose it all! We could have gone larger square footage but quality can be better than quantity depending on the situation. No right answer just what you want. 3) Probably the MOST IMPORTANT advice I could possible give... If you care about value and especially about getting upgrades, COMPARE upgrades between builders. Having done this before when my wife and I were new to buying/building a home, though we looked at quite a bit we were still pretty clueless. Now knowing more, especially what we wanted... we literally looked online at 100+ different models from pretty much every builder. Then we contacted at least 5+ builders. You can get an internal style upgrade sheet from most of them. This gives you the vast majority of upgrades (including appliances usually) and their costs. It's not the easiest thing to read if you aren't used to spreadsheet style things, but it's ABSOLUTELY worth getting and taking the time to understand (they include internal option codes etc, so mostly for internal use to translate what you ask for to the final sheet you confirm with your spec'd options). Then compare the costs for the same or similar things between builders. Along side this ABSOLUTELY compare the standard included features. This usually is a combination of some sort of included features list along side the option sheet that have $0 cost or standard/included labeled options. You will be absolutely surprised to find how much more value certain builders and even specific communities (sometimes community A has much better standards than B, sometimes with a higher cost for the same model but lower than adding those same upgrades elsewhere) offer compared to others. Even things like appliances can be a pretty big cost different, in one case the same 48" refrigerator we looked at was about $6,700 a tone builder and about $11,000 in another. Likewise in one community/model we spec'd cabinet upgrades of $12,000, the same features and upgrades in the other, over $30,000. Even things like bathroom fixtures were roughly $500 in one and over $2,000 in another for comparable choices. So look at standards, get the upgrade sheets and compare those too. Also compare lot premiums. In one community at 14,000 square foot lot was $30,000 and another $4,000. Also as it turned out after working with various builders, the one with the great included standards and very well priced upgrades happened to be the absolute easiest to work with and the least pressuring.
My regrets: 1) not picking the elevation I wanted. (Hard finding contractors for small projects) and you have two weeks of deciding from when you go under contract. Didn’t know 2) not getting electrical outlets where I needed them. Hard getting an electrician to cut the dry wall and run the wire. Real pain. 3) seeing the color home on a 3D model. The color they showed in the catalog was a lot different than what I expected. 4) tub in the bathroom. I don’t like baths but people I sell to May.
These are SUCH good ones! I made this video before we were in the house so I feel like maybe I should do a separate video on upgrade regrets! Thanks for adding on! Great insight!
We’re in our new build for a year and half now, and wished we would’ve seen a video like this. One thing that was eye opening after our first walk through is that there are going to be imperfections, mostly cosmetic. As we’re living in the home, I’m finding more of those imperfections. My thought is: you’ve putting so much money into the home and for the upgrades, and it’s a brand new home, it would be perfect...NOT! Unfortunately, it took me a bit of time to accept it.
I agree with a lot of this. We are building our first home (but not first time buyers) and I've learned in life you need to be assertive. You can be assertive but nice at the same time. It's OK to tell the builder you need to think about something, or please give me a few mins to pick out the color, eetc. When we went to the design studio a few weeks ago they thought we would have all our flooring picked out in advance. We were so undecided. It took us 20 mins and even though the lady was a bit impatient but nice about it, I told her I just needed some time to look in the studio at the samples. They aren't going to give up commission over you needing an extra 10 mins, and if they do then it's not a good builder. I would also recommend yoi hire a realtor, they will stick up for you and look over all your paperwork to make sure you are protected.
EXACTLY!!!! You said it! We were actually expected to pick out our flooring without ever seeing it in person! (It was back in March and the whole design appointment was supposed to be virtual) I had to push to go in and see it in person! SO glad we did! I agree with getting a realtor as well! So important! Thanks for watching! :)
Good video. We are on our 3 new build in 5 1/2 years. First one, rookie mistakes, but we didn't over do for the neighborhood. 2nd one was the jackpot. We got 15 thousand in upgrades, huge lot, 8k toward closing cost and made a ton of money selling it. Our current build only thing that was important was to have the extended structured patio. My advice to anyone is if you can upgrade little by little you will save a ton of money even if after market is same price because you won't be paying interest on money you could have paid cash for. Now, if you are going to wait and then use a credit card or finance, then you might as well do during the build since interest rates are so low.
Good tips here Vincent! You sound like the ultimate new build expert haha! Crazy you guys are on your third build! That's so awesome. Thanks so much for watching and good luck with that structured patio! Sounds like an awesome hangout spot!
One thing that you missed - buying a new build can put your relationship to a real test, and in some cases, folks might be depressed due to financial mistakes. That's something worth mentioning as well.
I suppose that could be true. But I wouldn't say that was a "regret" of ours. We were very blessed and fortunate to have been able to save for two years prior to building. Was there stress? Sure. Were there fights? Sure. But ultimately the build was a positive experience for my husband and I and we would definitely do it all over again.
I’m waiting on my build to finish now and you two are on point with the information. I fortunately avoided a lot of these pitfalls but this would’ve definitely helped had I have watched it prior to beginning the process. The biggest thing that I would add is to get a realtor before you walk into any models. My realtor actually agreed to give me a percentage of what she gets from the builder so I will get a check from her around 10k to use at my discretion right after I close which will be helpful for things that I may need.
I bought a new construction house in Bonney Lake, Washington. 100% the same experience as you. I was fortunate enough to be in the earlier phase (price up $20k & my lot is still just a sold stick on the ground), but it was 20 people & me fighting over the 2 lots they release every month. On top of the later phase price increases, I also received a $15,000 incentive that I used for the corner lot, fireplace, & window upgrades. You guys need to learn to do some things later, tile it yourself for $200 instead of $3,000. Tiling is easy but tedious and labor makes tiling expensive not the actual material/difficulty itself.
That's so crazy it went up by 20K already!! Glad you got in early! Awesome you were able to score a corner lot too! And YES! When we changed our floorplan, we only spent $300 on our shower as opposed to 8K! Thank goodness! Thank you for watching :)
You’re very welcome! You should do a video about the ‘weird’ but seemingly necessary upgrades builders force you to do. Things that made me raise an eyebrow from my builder: Staircase rails were optional, pony/half walls were standard. Wiring for any Ethernet (@ $200/cat6) requires an additional $400 data box package. How the builder tricks you with “free” premium flooring but only includes it in the entry way and to get the reset of the house to match would be an additional $2,000-3,600 upgrade. Sprinklers were an additional $2,600 for the front yard only. The developer at least gave kitchen granite countertops + island for free
@@jenntruong6023 you should it’s fun! There’s a whole LOT of new communities in WA. I’m sure there will still be construction in my area in the next 5 years. I believe there was a study that the Puget Sound region needs ~4 new cities in the next decade to keep up with the population boom. I’m sure it’s the same in Eastern Washington.
Great advice! Working with an experienced real estate agent can also help you tremendously. I knew the builder as soon as you said everything included! A great agent will the ins and outs of different builders. I hope you love your new home!
A lot should be picked and surveyed to see if home is proper for elevation and design ie pool, gardens, and lake variances. Lots and home plans don’t always work together.
I'm glad I watched this before we went to the design studio. Our builder only let us pick certain finishes and no structural upgrades, but we had a 3 hour appointment and used every bit of that time to make sure we were happy with what we chose.
I know what kind of builder you are going through! These “community” builders are all this way! We walked through, and realized after asking questions, that nothing we wanted in our home would have been included without upgrades. Also, the resale value on these houses are horrible(in my area...hopefully not the case in yours). Went with a different builder, who didn’t disclose everything until we had contract on hand...even after 3 meetings...ready to sign, and realized things we talked about weren’t on the contract, and said we needed to pay money to start the build (fine if it would have been discussed before)! We walked away and found another contractor who is giving us sooo much more than the other builder was going to, and for less...on the same street. For anyone reading this, please research and take your time; as they have mentioned. Never be too emotionally invested before you sign on the line!
We're building our 3rd home in 38+ years of marriage. We did everything that you talked about. We learn as we go in life. Enjoy your home regardless!! When it comes down to what's really important, it's who you're with & not the home in general. Enjoy!!! 🥰👍
I’m under contract for a new build and I would say have a realtor! It’s not necessary of course, but my realtor definitely stood up for us and made the process palpable. I agree with feeling rushed and my home is not even custom. Here in ATL homes are going fast fast. New builds and resale. 🥴😂 Great tips guys!
I think more people (myself included) are realizing the value of living in one city vs another. I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life and I can probably have a nice home in ATL or the south for what I’m paying in rent for an apt.
yes it is. I'm in the Atl now waiting on my house to be built. My rent is 1500. When I move into my new house, 280,000, my mortgage will be 1500. its crazy here.
We came in on the last lot to, which was a huge long lot $18000, one the most expensive out there but got it for 10000. We didn't go with any upgrades. I'll do my own flooring later because the hardwoods weren't the right colors and spray my cabinets later to. Lol things are going speedy fast still. Nothing has changed. Great vid. We close on our current home which is a 1950 old home next week and the day after we go sign for our new ready to build home which is the last house of that phase. I will be videoing because of you're advice and we are taking a friend who is a construction worker so he can let me know if my upgrades I want him to do are doable🤗.
Yeah i feel the same, we just bought our first home. I feel rushed i can think of soo many things i would change and add but I didn’t really know what we were doing. We will definitely take our time when we do our final wall through 😊.
Awe congratulations! I feel like it's not a new build experience if you aren't rushed along the way at some point LOL. It's all so new and everything happens so quickly. You got this! Good luck with your final walkthrough, girl!
Just came across your video…We experienced the same thing when we built 2 years ago. All of your tips are spot on. I wish I would’ve had these before we went through the process but overall pleased with the outcome.
Thank you so much for making this video! We are just starting our framing this week so we're still early in the stages of building still and this video was really helpful. Hearing #1 especially, made me so glad we picked a custom homebuilder. We loved them right off the bat, and they are always supportive of me changing my mind and calling them a week later saying I changed my mind about this, or that. I am not a person that can make decisions when rushed, so I really appreciate that my builder tells me to take my time deciding. We almost went with a high-production builder just for a floorplan we really loved, but looking back I'm so glad we didn't ❤
Agree 1000% with everything! We moved into our new build home in September 2020 and the process was exactly like yall explained it. Great video with very good info!
This is a great video. We just finished building and I agree with everything you said. Everything is rushed and super high pressure. We bought several states away, sight unseen, over the phone and our salesperson didn’t even go over all the options. I was pissed later! I have regrets as well from feeling rushed but we are overall happy. I hope you are as well!
Awe yeah I can totally relate to that. But yes, like you said we are overall happy and would definitely do it again. Ultimately, we got what we wanted in the end, so we can't complain. Glad it worked out for you guys too! Thanks so much for watching and the kind feedback! :)
I was so lucky to have found a builder that actually has everything included. Unlike the first ones I looked at, you had to pay for disposal, garage opener, even the freaking hose bib outside would be an upgrade. 😅 With this one we went with, even the deck is included in the price. 😁
Oh my goodness!! Yes this is a first time home buyer experience,I just moved into my newly built track home a month ago too and everything you have mentioned is what I went through and I have so much regret especially with the floor plan, u have both bathrooms sharing walls with bedrooms,the noise is a nightmare and we all have insomnia now. Whenever anyone wakes to use the bathroom and flushes everyone looses sleep. I am so ready to get out of this house and know what not to do next time round. I so hate it with a passion now.
I'm currently buying new construction home and I can relate every single words you said about how they rushed you throughout the process...I have my final walkthrough coming next month and I am gonna make it memorable for sure..
Yes that is true. But after spending time on house forums I learned that a lot of realtors shoot buyers down who want to look at new builds. The reason is they have to wait a lot longer for commission. This is a turn off for buyers who want the best house for themselves. Also from what I’ve read, if a buyer visits a builder even once they can’t go back with a realtor. The builders won’t give a commission to someone returning with a realtor. This is just what I’ve read from other buyers. We are planning a new build in the next few years and I’d love to use a realtor but if they try to talk me out of it I’ll be done with them.
Fantastic video! Our build process has been slower than normal because of COVID! However that feeling of being pressured is so true! Thankfully I am not afraid to speak up (to the dismay of my very nice boyfriend Lol) and I think it paid off. There were definitely a few times they were rushing me to make decisions on design options but I took as much time as I could. In regards to the floor plan I would encourage everyone to learn how to read them like you said and consider all of them, not just the models. We ended up changing our floor plan after signing the papers and I had so much anxiety because I was not sure they would let us do it. We are just getting to the foundation being laid and we are going to take your advice and video every little thing. Thank you for making this!!!!!!
That's awesome Viviana! I'm glad to know we weren't the only ones who changed our floorplan haha. So excited for you guys! It's awesome to see the foundation get laid! Congrats and thanks for the feedback :)
I'm in a new build with Stanley Martin homes. My design center is Mar 1. We have the whole day slotted so they don't rush you. They do have less design options than other builders but they also charge less from what I've seen. Pros and cons of both.
Very great tips.....my husband and I are going through the same process and definitely agree with very thing mentioned....especially looking over all the floor plans before selecting your model and the cost associated with the upgrades....all the best
Congratulations! I went through the process about a year and a half ago and here’s my advice: Don’t just go by swatches, particularly things with small patterns. (Granite, tile, flooring) Try and see them in other builds. You can go and look in any in progress build. (There will likely be other neighborhoods in your area from the same builder so you’re not limited to just yours for these little search missions 🙂) Adding on to what they said about the lot, ask about the grading of the lot. Uneven yards are the worst. (If you’ll have one of course). 100% agree with the floor plan advice they gave: make sure you know what comes with the version of the floor plan you chose. It will vary in the most random ways. (One of my neighbors told me the builders had missed a window in one of the bedrooms because they didn’t pay close enough attention to the lot plan. Don’t hesitate to stop by regularly during your build. And finally, when it comes time for the walk throughs, be diligent. I printed out my own check sheet because they absolutely do try to rush you through it. Check everything. Turn on the faucets, flush the toilets, make sure the hot water is hot and not just warm. Open the windows, Check the outlets. It’s tedious but worth it. (Sorry for this extra long post)
@@wordeeone4996 No worries! Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely add these to preparation documents :P Unfortunately they didn't have a model home for ours, but rather a virtually staged model. So I did some snooping around since they had some of them built in another community (drove to check them out). Did some simple searches on Google since a lot of the units are being rented out, and voila found the listings with photos! So I saved them and will be using those are reference for finishes / what can be upgraded :)
Moving into our first home just two years ago, I can sympathize with you both. Add in a real estate agent from hell and welcome to our world. One thing I didn’t understand about something you said was that the lots were priced differently which was not the case at all with us and that’s shocking. To add more aggravation we were buying a home 900 miles away. One hint to check on if you already haven’t is the crappy. builder grade flat paint they use! Horrible. New to your channel and wish you the best,
Oh my gosh! Sounds like a horrible experience! I'm so sorry! Hopefully you are enjoying the home more-so than the building process haha. Yeah here (in Charlotte) it seems most of the lots vary by desired location... or if a subfloor needs to be added on a specific lot, its a premium since it is more expensive to build. Luckily ours didn't have one though. I will definitely have to look out for the paint! Maybe we can repaint shortly after we are in there! Thanks so much for the thoughtful tips and feedback! :)
Wow I don't know how things work where you live, but I am in the process of building my 2nd home and I have every extra quoted in detail and then I decide if I want it. I don't have to commit to anything before I know the full price of it!!
Ugh really!? Hopefully everything turned out good for you guys still! At least we didn't have anything MAJOR go wrong but still, hopefully people can learn from our mistakes haha. Thanks for watching!
Really good tips! I'd say all builders have pros and cons especially when it comes to the "upgrades" we went to every builder in our town, looked at tons of models, every floor plan on every website and still had a tough time getting everything right. Its not something you do everyday either so these videos are great. Thanks!
Helen Benton Good for you for doing your builder research! We only toured like 3 different ones but felt rushed to jump on our lot so we just went for it. That’s good you guys were patient haha 😂 Thanks for the positive feedback and good luck to you guys! 😊❤️
Add approximately 15% to the price of the home for upgrades. The builders know exactly what they are doing and know you will upgrade. Hold the closing for weeks if necessary. Blue tape everything. Once you close, it will be like pulling teeth to get the builder to fix anything. Get a pre-dry wall 3rd party inspector to check the framing, wiring, plumbing and AC ducting. On upgrades, know which ones add value..cabinets, flooring, large garage, foam insulation, etc... Watch the property taxes...does your neighborhood have a MUD? HOA dues? Many can afford the mortgage, but have to move because they couldn’t afford the property taxes.
Hey Jenna and Michael! Congrats on your new home and thank you for sharing your journey!! You both gave excellent information and I saved this video to reflect back on! I'm at the very beginning stages of my home purchase! YAYY! QQ for you! I've been kicking this around and would like another perspective. Did your builder include the fridge and washer/dryer as an incentive in your package? Did you take them up on the offer or simply go to Lowe's and purchase after closing on the loan. To be honest, I wanted to make this whole house purchase as easy as possible but then I realized I would be paying for these large ticket items for 30 years (technically) instead of maybe just a few years if I purchase on my own. The builders I'm considering are also offering blinds, landscaping, sod, irrigation systems just to name a few! I'm in Austin and looking at counties outside of Austin to get more bang for my buck! Maybe others in your community have experienced this so all feedback would be appreciated. Thanks and again CONGRATULATIONS!!!!🎉🎊
Wow that's so exciting Felicia! Glad you are doing your homework! That's awesome! We ended up just going to Lowes after closing since our builder didn't offer washer/dryer and refrigerator for free (it was much cheaper to just buy it on our own). We also had to buy our own blinds and irrigation but our home came with sod! Good luck with your purchase! It's definitely a fun process :)
1) The sales person and real estate agents are not your friends and don't have your best interest at heart. Don't take it personally. 2) I would put standard carpet in every room so that you can change it out in a couple years easily. Stay away from builder standard floor Tiles. They are not easy to replace. 3) Is Michael a dentist. Both of you have perfect pearly whites :)
A couple more tips: 1. For a bedroom, have the closet placed on the wall opposite the windows. This way you have the other two walls to put your bed against and then a dresser/tv directly across. 2. Put your Mircowave in your island, built in to the lower cabinet rather than above the stove.
@@jjenae629 So that both cooking in the stove and microwaving can occur at the same time without interruption. In my house, it’s inevitable that someone will want to microwave things while I’m cooking on the stove and it’s bothersome. The other reason is so that you can have a real range hood above the stove rather than the kind that is connected to a microwave above a range. And lastly, the microwave in a lower cabinet is easier to reach for both old and young than the upper cabinet microwave.
We're on our second build, but wish I've seen this video years ago when we built our first home! So informative and accurate. It's the little details, a dream may turn into a nightmare real quick lol.
Right?! Building a home DEFINITELY a huge lesson in its self haha. That’s so awesome you’re doing it again! Thanks for the positivity and good luck with with the build 🥰💕
We are in the building process now and this was all great advice!! Some of it I am passed in the process but some I will for sure implement. I hope to see that follow up video about closing.
Bought a new build. We spent $20k for Home Gallery upgrades (premier kitchen, LVP, pre wires) and $14k for structural (added windows, loft, fireplace) upgrades. We signed the contract July 31st. The building progress is a bit slow. The started September and might be completed by end of February or mid March.
Yeah COVID has really delayed a lot of the builds due to high lumber costs and shortages (our builder had a really hard time getting our windows and we still don't have shutters haha) Good luck with your build! Closing day will be here before you know it!
Thank you! Hahah it’s funny cause we actually did use a realtor... but she couldn’t make it to our pre-drywall meeting which was pretty disappointing. Not only would we recommend a realtor, but one who will try hard to be there for you. I think ours was very busy and overwhelmed which didn’t help. 🤷🏼♀️
Hi guys! Thanks for your awesome video. I love when people share their experiences building a home. I can help to those of you looking to build a home. I have dozens of videos that explain everything from the Homes The Process too what you should expect from the homebuilder at your walkthroughs & etc. I will also personally answer your questions. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
We are in the process of new build . Our builder is so slow . We signed our contract in august . Had to switch lots . They still haven’t done drywall now telling us it’s going be March or April to get a closing date.
Oh my gosh I'm sorry! HOPEFULLY they can get a move on it soon! I know there has been a major shortage of building materials right now so hopefully that changes for you guys soon. It will be worth the wait in the end I'm sure. Good luck to you guys :)
1. Have a realtor 2. Hire an inspector to go through your new home. Do it just before “punch list”, or better yet, just before your year warranty is up. It’s worth the expense.
Great video! Currently in the processing of looking for a new build. We are completely new to this. Just today we went to a builder and barely found out that most people add about 60 to 80k in upgrades. That's ridiculous! So thank you for this video! Definitely going to do plenty of research and subscribing to your channel lol. Omw to watch your final walk-through right now haha
Yeah building a home is definitely not something you do every day! So theres SO much to learn! At least that's how we felt when we first started. So glad you found the video helpful. Dang 60-80K is a lot! The general rule (we found) is about 10 percent of the purchase price of the house will be spent in upgrades. If it's significantly more than that, I would maybe look for another builder. But it's at least good to have that in your head going in so you can chose your floor plan accordingly! Glad you're sticking around! I have lots more new build stuff coming. Good luck with your home search and as always, reach out if you have any questions!
@@jennapierce that 10% is spot on. We just went through this process and our upgrades are at exactly 10.19%. it could have been easily more, but we had to do away with some stuffs we don't feel were necessary.
@@saxywale2 Yes exactly! For us it was definitely a balance of making your home look nice but not upgrading it in every way imaginable. Had to make some compromises for sure. Sounds like it went well though! Congrats!
you are right you are getting rushed!!! they dont give you complete lists sometimes of structual options until u show up for meeting and you decide in 20 minutes..then you find out they dont tell you info later... Im building a home in Surprise Az,,, the buider is being greedy and doesnt care..just want you to sign the paperwork and be gone...! So now im flexing on them and will take my time..and not be rushed..
Yes, please more video's on your new home build! Glad I came across this video! We're in the process of building also & you are so right on these tips! Thanks for sharing & best of luck Jenna :-0
But let me add, building that home start price is 16k more now and they are limiting options because of lumber. So I feel very blessed we got it when we did.
It sounds like your builder was a crook! Note to buyers, Research your builder! We’ve built four homes and had different experiences with each builder.
I will say that the first half of our building experience was VERY stressful, which is why we wanted to make this video to help others not have to go through what we did. But our second half has not been the same experience. Was our builder perfect? Absolutely not. BUT we just moved in yesterday and would do it over again with them 100 percent. Crazy you guys have built 4 homes! That's a lot. Thanks for watching!
Glad you enjoyed it! At the end of the day, we definitely enjoyed our new build process. It came with it's own set of headaches but it was all worth it in the end! :)
Yay!! I'm so glad it was helpful! We are currently in the moving process so once we are in there I have SO many more videos coming out about new builds (hopefully within the next month) Thanks for the feedback! Glad this could help :)
Absolutely! Glad you found it helpful! I would definitely think about upgrading things that are hard to change later like cabinets, countertops, etc. Things like lighting fixtures, faucets, and hardware you can always switch out on your own pretty easily. I will do a whole video on our upgrades/what we would have done differently soon! Let me know if you have any questions in the meantime. Thanks for watching :)
I think you just deal with wrong builder. We just build our new house with bloomfield homes in paloma creek, Manager Leslie was so nice and patient, She answer the questions no matter how late or even on her off day. When pick color, Ms. MacLellan pay so much patient and help us to get the job done. most things come with standard without any extra.
I just built my house too and word of advice don’t regret anything. Once you move into your beautiful new house you’ll feel so proud and happy that it’s yours! There will always be something you wish you had after a few years because it’s your first house and you start to grow into and out of it and that’s normal but don’t regret anything...we can’t do all the upgrades or we would have a house way more expensive. A new home is a new slate that you get to start decorating and adding things to. So don’t feel bad you didn’t do it all from construction point.
SO true Cristina! I love your perspective. It's definitely so surreal getting the keys for the first time that it all just seems so perfect anyway haha. Thanks for sharing your positivity! :)
Thank you for this comment it saved me from having to watch the video. I needed this.
We built a new house one year ago and i will always think about things i wished i added and regrets imperfections and and not looking at the positive side of it. your comment really made me feel much better. Thank you
You can get your floor plan through the county clerks office the builder will not provide it to you
Ye sure but where you’ll regret is when you actually can’t finish because you can’t afford to finish.
I'm a realtor in Denver, CO who specializes in new construction. I see staged homes all the time, but my favorite is getting to walk the journey with the homeowner to see how they change a house into a home. Great tips. You made a good point about "everything included". You will definitely end up spending thousands of dollars at the design center if you are not intentional about your wants vs needs. One thing I love about new construction is the peace of mind that comes with having a home warranty. Your thoughts are a testament to why it's important to have a realtor with you to help be your bulldog in the fight.
All great tips. Another weird issue we experienced was attempting to upgrade from their builder grade carpet to the design center’s wood laminate. We got an estimate from a flooring company, that was much cheaper than the builder, however the sale couldn’t close without flooring so we ended up having the tract builder install their cheaper carpet and tile then before we moved in had the flooring dealer take it all out and install the wood. It was painful to watch the carpet get torn out. But we saved about $4,000. And beware $1,000 in light fixtures is not a lot of money.
So agree. I did the same thing. I removed the newly laid carpet one day after moving. Yes, sad, but it was much cheaper.
the best best advice is to be one of the first phases/groups of buyers. They give more incentives. If you are buying in their last phase, expect fewer incentives.
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First off, GREAT VIDEO... You guys made some awesome points but the best advice I ever got from a millionaire real estate agent was no home is a forever home. As long as the house is structurally sound and is in a great neighborhood you can always sell later. 1 owner homes sell so fast in well desired neighborhoods but I love how y’all broke it down to people who have no clue what’s going on. We are in Texas and went with historymaker homes(they are AWESOME) and did it with no realtor but we spent over a year researching videos and going to homes. We even took tape measures and levelers to our walk through lol. You do spend a lot of money but always look at it as an investment and never get too attached to where you feel like you made too many mistakes building. As long as you make smart decisions while you are in the home(as far as upgrades etc) you guys will be fine... great vid! PS, glad you guys chose a open concept because it looks like that will be the real estate market for at least the next 15 years
Thank you so much for your kind comment! Yes!! Exactly. Can't go wrong with an investment like that! I'm so glad you guys had a positive experience! Sounds like it definitely pays to do your research and have a builder you can trust haha. Omg levelers to your walkthrough is SUCH a good idea. Wish we would have thought of that haha. Yes!! The open concept was a good investment that we are excited about! Thanks again for your positive and informative comment! Good luck with your home :)
Great video and tips. My wife I built a home about 10 years ago (actually a partial spec home that we got great incentives on and tweaked a couple things), unfortunately had to move a few months later and sold. Right now we're building a new home again, this time choosing everything. A couple tips purely from my perspective.
1) There is no right choice. Everyone is different and your wants and desires aren't wrong. There's a million ways to do things and you'll hear people say do X, don't do Y, spent money on this, but not on that etc. Some of it is generally good advice, in particular about getting value, but beyond that it's just personal preference. Figure out what --you-- want before doing this, look at homes, watch home improvement shows, tour a bunch of models. Get a strong idea in what you like, allow yourself to adapt and change, settle on what's best for you and then go for that.
2) Figure out if you want to put money into the base price vs upgrades. Referring to #1, neither is right or wrong. If you think you won't be happy unless you get a lot of specific upgrades, then that's fine, if you think you're fine with simple upgrades so want to put money into the square footage, location, etc, that's fine too. Though when doing upgrades often you'll hit a point where it just makes more sense to either go all in, or hold them way back. Like that shower you illustrated. Either you stay stock and spend the money later, or you go all in and get all the upgrades so you don't have to re-spend money re-doing half of it later that might require you to re-do other work. Your base price will be usually the square footage, the lot, and the location... if you know you'll want a lot of upgrades and that's more important than one or more of those then come in at a much lower base price and give yourself the room to upgrade a lot. If that's what you want that will be a MUCH more fun experience than if you come in at the very top of your budget before upgrades but wanted a lot of upgrades and have to constantly not get what you really want. Everything is a trade off, set yourself to get more of what you actually want.
My wife and I went minimal upgrades and maximum square footage 10 years ago. This time we went smaller square footage (bigger than then, but smaller than what we could get in our current situation) and are maximizing upgrades (but only upgrades that compare favorably with the cost to do it later if we wanted, passing on the ones that aren't a good value). The upgrade process was so much fun since we now have a much stronger idea of what we want out of a house and we got to choose it all! We could have gone larger square footage but quality can be better than quantity depending on the situation. No right answer just what you want.
3) Probably the MOST IMPORTANT advice I could possible give... If you care about value and especially about getting upgrades, COMPARE upgrades between builders. Having done this before when my wife and I were new to buying/building a home, though we looked at quite a bit we were still pretty clueless. Now knowing more, especially what we wanted... we literally looked online at 100+ different models from pretty much every builder. Then we contacted at least 5+ builders. You can get an internal style upgrade sheet from most of them. This gives you the vast majority of upgrades (including appliances usually) and their costs. It's not the easiest thing to read if you aren't used to spreadsheet style things, but it's ABSOLUTELY worth getting and taking the time to understand (they include internal option codes etc, so mostly for internal use to translate what you ask for to the final sheet you confirm with your spec'd options). Then compare the costs for the same or similar things between builders. Along side this ABSOLUTELY compare the standard included features. This usually is a combination of some sort of included features list along side the option sheet that have $0 cost or standard/included labeled options. You will be absolutely surprised to find how much more value certain builders and even specific communities (sometimes community A has much better standards than B, sometimes with a higher cost for the same model but lower than adding those same upgrades elsewhere) offer compared to others. Even things like appliances can be a pretty big cost different, in one case the same 48" refrigerator we looked at was about $6,700 a tone builder and about $11,000 in another. Likewise in one community/model we spec'd cabinet upgrades of $12,000, the same features and upgrades in the other, over $30,000. Even things like bathroom fixtures were roughly $500 in one and over $2,000 in another for comparable choices. So look at standards, get the upgrade sheets and compare those too. Also compare lot premiums. In one community at 14,000 square foot lot was $30,000 and another $4,000.
Also as it turned out after working with various builders, the one with the great included standards and very well priced upgrades happened to be the absolute easiest to work with and the least pressuring.
My regrets:
1) not picking the elevation I wanted. (Hard finding contractors for small projects) and you have two weeks of deciding from when you go under contract. Didn’t know
2) not getting electrical outlets where I needed them. Hard getting an electrician to cut the dry wall and run the wire. Real pain.
3) seeing the color home on a 3D model. The color they showed in the catalog was a lot different than what I expected.
4) tub in the bathroom. I don’t like baths but people I sell to May.
These are SUCH good ones! I made this video before we were in the house so I feel like maybe I should do a separate video on upgrade regrets! Thanks for adding on! Great insight!
We’re in our new build for a year and half now, and wished we would’ve seen a video like this. One thing that was eye opening after our first walk through is that there are going to be imperfections, mostly cosmetic. As we’re living in the home, I’m finding more of those imperfections. My thought is: you’ve putting so much money into the home and for the upgrades, and it’s a brand new home, it would be perfect...NOT! Unfortunately, it took me a bit of time to accept it.
I agree with a lot of this. We are building our first home (but not first time buyers) and I've learned in life you need to be assertive. You can be assertive but nice at the same time. It's OK to tell the builder you need to think about something, or please give me a few mins to pick out the color, eetc. When we went to the design studio a few weeks ago they thought we would have all our flooring picked out in advance. We were so undecided. It took us 20 mins and even though the lady was a bit impatient but nice about it, I told her I just needed some time to look in the studio at the samples. They aren't going to give up commission over you needing an extra 10 mins, and if they do then it's not a good builder. I would also recommend yoi hire a realtor, they will stick up for you and look over all your paperwork to make sure you are protected.
EXACTLY!!!! You said it! We were actually expected to pick out our flooring without ever seeing it in person! (It was back in March and the whole design appointment was supposed to be virtual) I had to push to go in and see it in person! SO glad we did! I agree with getting a realtor as well! So important! Thanks for watching! :)
Good video. We are on our 3 new build in 5 1/2 years. First one, rookie mistakes, but we didn't over do for the neighborhood. 2nd one was the jackpot. We got 15 thousand in upgrades, huge lot, 8k toward closing cost and made a ton of money selling it. Our current build only thing that was important was to have the extended structured patio. My advice to anyone is if you can upgrade little by little you will save a ton of money even if after market is same price because you won't be paying interest on money you could have paid cash for. Now, if you are going to wait and then use a credit card or finance, then you might as well do during the build since interest rates are so low.
Good tips here Vincent! You sound like the ultimate new build expert haha! Crazy you guys are on your third build! That's so awesome. Thanks so much for watching and good luck with that structured patio! Sounds like an awesome hangout spot!
One thing that you missed - buying a new build can put your relationship to a real test, and in some cases, folks might be depressed due to financial mistakes. That's something worth mentioning as well.
I suppose that could be true. But I wouldn't say that was a "regret" of ours. We were very blessed and fortunate to have been able to save for two years prior to building. Was there stress? Sure. Were there fights? Sure. But ultimately the build was a positive experience for my husband and I and we would definitely do it all over again.
I’m waiting on my build to finish now and you two are on point with the information. I fortunately avoided a lot of these pitfalls but this would’ve definitely helped had I have watched it prior to beginning the process. The biggest thing that I would add is to get a realtor before you walk into any models. My realtor actually agreed to give me a percentage of what she gets from the builder so I will get a check from her around 10k to use at my discretion right after I close which will be helpful for things that I may need.
That is good advice, Kevin! Thanks for the feedback! Sounds like you are in good hands. Good luck with your move/build!
I bought a new construction house in Bonney Lake, Washington. 100% the same experience as you. I was fortunate enough to be in the earlier phase (price up $20k & my lot is still just a sold stick on the ground), but it was 20 people & me fighting over the 2 lots they release every month. On top of the later phase price increases, I also received a $15,000 incentive that I used for the corner lot, fireplace, & window upgrades. You guys need to learn to do some things later, tile it yourself for $200 instead of $3,000. Tiling is easy but tedious and labor makes tiling expensive not the actual material/difficulty itself.
That's so crazy it went up by 20K already!! Glad you got in early! Awesome you were able to score a corner lot too! And YES! When we changed our floorplan, we only spent $300 on our shower as opposed to 8K! Thank goodness! Thank you for watching :)
You’re very welcome! You should do a video about the ‘weird’ but seemingly necessary upgrades builders force you to do. Things that made me raise an eyebrow from my builder: Staircase rails were optional, pony/half walls were standard. Wiring for any Ethernet (@ $200/cat6) requires an additional $400 data box package. How the builder tricks you with “free” premium flooring but only includes it in the entry way and to get the reset of the house to match would be an additional $2,000-3,600 upgrade. Sprinklers were an additional $2,600 for the front yard only. The developer at least gave kitchen granite countertops + island for free
Nice advice; I plan on building my forever home in a few years so doing some research now. Live in WA too- Spokane
@@jenntruong6023 you should it’s fun! There’s a whole LOT of new communities in WA. I’m sure there will still be construction in my area in the next 5 years. I believe there was a study that the Puget Sound region needs ~4 new cities in the next decade to keep up with the population boom. I’m sure it’s the same in Eastern Washington.
My husband and I are building our first home and this will be our very first house - this was so helpful, thank you!
Great advice! Working with an experienced real estate agent can also help you tremendously. I knew the builder as soon as you said everything included! A great agent will the ins and outs of different builders. I hope you love your new home!
A lot should be picked and surveyed to see if home is proper for elevation and design ie pool, gardens, and lake variances.
Lots and home plans don’t always work together.
I'm glad I watched this before we went to the design studio. Our builder only let us pick certain finishes and no structural upgrades, but we had a 3 hour appointment and used every bit of that time to make sure we were happy with what we chose.
I know what kind of builder you are going through! These “community” builders are all this way! We walked through, and realized after asking questions, that nothing we wanted in our home would have been included without upgrades. Also, the resale value on these houses are horrible(in my area...hopefully not the case in yours). Went with a different builder, who didn’t disclose everything until we had contract on hand...even after 3 meetings...ready to sign, and realized things we talked about weren’t on the contract, and said we needed to pay money to start the build (fine if it would have been discussed before)! We walked away and found another contractor who is giving us sooo much more than the other builder was going to, and for less...on the same street. For anyone reading this, please research and take your time; as they have mentioned. Never be too emotionally invested before you sign on the line!
We're building our 3rd home in 38+ years of marriage.
We did everything that you talked about.
We learn as we go in life.
Enjoy your home regardless!!
When it comes down to what's really important, it's who you're with & not the home in general.
Enjoy!!! 🥰👍
I’m under contract for a new build and I would say have a realtor! It’s not necessary of course, but my realtor definitely stood up for us and made the process palpable. I agree with feeling rushed and my home is not even custom. Here in ATL homes are going fast fast. New builds and resale. 🥴😂 Great tips guys!
Sounds like Dallas
I think more people (myself included) are realizing the value of living in one city vs another. I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life and I can probably have a nice home in ATL or the south for what I’m paying in rent for an apt.
@@MEEE.com. maybe Texas! ATL area is getting ridiculously high including rent. 🥴
yes it is. I'm in the Atl now waiting on my house to be built. My rent is 1500. When I move into my new house, 280,000, my mortgage will be 1500. its crazy here.
@@MEEE.com. so why stay?
We came in on the last lot to, which was a huge long lot $18000, one the most expensive out there but got it for 10000. We didn't go with any upgrades. I'll do my own flooring later because the hardwoods weren't the right colors and spray my cabinets later to. Lol things are going speedy fast still. Nothing has changed. Great vid. We close on our current home which is a 1950 old home next week and the day after we go sign for our new ready to build home which is the last house of that phase. I will be videoing because of you're advice and we are taking a friend who is a construction worker so he can let me know if my upgrades I want him to do are doable🤗.
Yeah i feel the same, we just bought our first home. I feel rushed i can think of soo many things i would change and add but I didn’t really know what we were doing. We will definitely take our time when we do our final wall through 😊.
Awe congratulations! I feel like it's not a new build experience if you aren't rushed along the way at some point LOL. It's all so new and everything happens so quickly. You got this! Good luck with your final walkthrough, girl!
Just came across your video…We experienced the same thing when we built 2 years ago. All of your tips are spot on. I wish I would’ve had these before we went through the process but overall pleased with the outcome.
Thank you so much for making this video! We are just starting our framing this week so we're still early in the stages of building still and this video was really helpful. Hearing #1 especially, made me so glad we picked a custom homebuilder. We loved them right off the bat, and they are always supportive of me changing my mind and calling them a week later saying I changed my mind about this, or that. I am not a person that can make decisions when rushed, so I really appreciate that my builder tells me to take my time deciding. We almost went with a high-production builder just for a floorplan we really loved, but looking back I'm so glad we didn't ❤
You guys have given so much insight. Much appreciated. Congratulations for your new house. Hope your home be bless with lots of happiness.
Agree 1000% with everything! We moved into our new build home in September 2020 and the process was exactly like yall explained it. Great video with very good info!
This is a great video. We just finished building and I agree with everything you said. Everything is rushed and super high pressure. We bought several states away, sight unseen, over the phone and our salesperson didn’t even go over all the options. I was pissed later! I have regrets as well from feeling rushed but we are overall happy. I hope you are as well!
Awe yeah I can totally relate to that. But yes, like you said we are overall happy and would definitely do it again. Ultimately, we got what we wanted in the end, so we can't complain. Glad it worked out for you guys too! Thanks so much for watching and the kind feedback! :)
I listened to my gut and got my best choice. The best advice : wait and be patient
Im super happy we got our lot for free! Its a smaller lot just under 10k sqft but it had a walkout and thats what i wanted❤❤
I was so lucky to have found a builder that actually has everything included. Unlike the first ones I looked at, you had to pay for disposal, garage opener, even the freaking hose bib outside would be an upgrade. 😅 With this one we went with, even the deck is included in the price. 😁
12:04 facts!! I’ll have to remember this and work on it when I started to build my house
This is so extremely helpful! I really don’t like how the sales department makes people feel rushed! Definitely stand your ground!
Oh my goodness!! Yes this is a first time home buyer experience,I just moved into my newly built track home a month ago too and everything you have mentioned is what I went through and I have so much regret especially with the floor plan, u have both bathrooms sharing walls with bedrooms,the noise is a nightmare and we all have insomnia now. Whenever anyone wakes to use the bathroom and flushes everyone looses sleep. I am so ready to get out of this house and know what not to do next time round. I so hate it with a passion now.
I'm currently buying new construction home and I can relate every single words you said about how they rushed you throughout the process...I have my final walkthrough coming next month and I am gonna make it memorable for sure..
We're in the process of our new build and I can relate with the feeling rushed. Great advice!
Hopefully the process will get less stressful as it goes on! Glad you liked the video and good luck with your build! :)
All of the problems you’ve run into could’ve been prevented or at least minimized with representation by a good realtor! Love you guys!
Yes that is true. But after spending time on house forums I learned that a lot of realtors shoot buyers down who want to look at new builds. The reason is they have to wait a lot longer for commission. This is a turn off for buyers who want the best house for themselves. Also from what I’ve read, if a buyer visits a builder even once they can’t go back with a realtor. The builders won’t give a commission to someone returning with a realtor. This is just what I’ve read from other buyers. We are planning a new build in the next few years and I’d love to use a realtor but if they try to talk me out of it I’ll be done with them.
Adding a custom walk-in shower with two shower heads: $8000. Sharing showers with Jenna for many, many years: priceless!
The only bad thing about picking your lot first is you don’t who your neighbors are.
I thought about that... but then I thought people move, and when they do, you can't pick your new neighbors.
Great advice. I hope to not regret on things during our process.
Fantastic video! Our build process has been slower than normal because of COVID! However that feeling of being pressured is so true! Thankfully I am not afraid to speak up (to the dismay of my very nice boyfriend Lol) and I think it paid off. There were definitely a few times they were rushing me to make decisions on design options but I took as much time as I could. In regards to the floor plan I would encourage everyone to learn how to read them like you said and consider all of them, not just the models. We ended up changing our floor plan after signing the papers and I had so much anxiety because I was not sure they would let us do it. We are just getting to the foundation being laid and we are going to take your advice and video every little thing. Thank you for making this!!!!!!
That's awesome Viviana! I'm glad to know we weren't the only ones who changed our floorplan haha. So excited for you guys! It's awesome to see the foundation get laid! Congrats and thanks for the feedback :)
Really appreciated this vid. Especially the final tip! I almost feel for the “wanting to be nice” client. Screw that from now on!
I'm in a new build with Stanley Martin homes. My design center is Mar 1. We have the whole day slotted so they don't rush you. They do have less design options than other builders but they also charge less from what I've seen. Pros and cons of both.
Some wonderful feedback here and I know homeowners greatly appreciate hearing your lessons learned!
Very great tips.....my husband and I are going through the same process and definitely agree with very thing mentioned....especially looking over all the floor plans before selecting your model and the cost associated with the upgrades....all the best
Thanks for this! I am going through the process and I have to force myself to not rush.
Yay! Glad it could help
I hear some similar things from others but this is why having an agent should help. Looking forward to seeing the end result.
I think the very first step is to find a good builder! A good builder will never make you feel rushed.
Thanks for the tips! Just secured a new build myself this past week, so in the process of getting as much info in the meantime :)
That's so awesome! I was the same way haha. Congrats on your new build! That's so exciting :)
Congratulations!
I went through the process about a year and a half ago and here’s my advice: Don’t just go by swatches, particularly things with small patterns. (Granite, tile, flooring) Try and see them in other builds. You can go and look in any in progress build. (There will likely be other neighborhoods in your area from the same builder so you’re not limited to just yours for these little search missions 🙂)
Adding on to what they said about the lot, ask about the grading of the lot. Uneven yards are the worst. (If you’ll have one of course).
100% agree with the floor plan advice they gave: make sure you know what comes with the version of the floor plan you chose. It will vary in the most random ways. (One of my neighbors told me the builders had missed a window in one of the bedrooms because they didn’t pay close enough attention to the lot plan.
Don’t hesitate to stop by regularly during your build.
And finally, when it comes time for the walk throughs, be diligent. I printed out my own check sheet because they absolutely do try to rush you through it.
Check everything. Turn on the faucets, flush the toilets, make sure the hot water is hot and not just warm. Open the windows, Check the outlets. It’s tedious but worth it.
(Sorry for this extra long post)
@@wordeeone4996 No worries! Thanks for the advice! I'll definitely add these to preparation documents :P
Unfortunately they didn't have a model home for ours, but rather a virtually staged model. So I did some snooping around since they had some of them built in another community (drove to check them out). Did some simple searches on Google since a lot of the units are being rented out, and voila found the listings with photos! So I saved them and will be using those are reference for finishes / what can be upgraded :)
Moving into our first home just two years ago, I can sympathize with you both. Add in a real estate agent from hell and welcome to our world. One thing I didn’t understand about something you said was that the lots were priced differently which was not the case at all with us and that’s shocking. To add more aggravation we were buying a home 900 miles away. One hint to check on if you already haven’t is the crappy. builder grade flat paint they use! Horrible. New to your channel and wish you the best,
Oh my gosh! Sounds like a horrible experience! I'm so sorry! Hopefully you are enjoying the home more-so than the building process haha. Yeah here (in Charlotte) it seems most of the lots vary by desired location... or if a subfloor needs to be added on a specific lot, its a premium since it is more expensive to build. Luckily ours didn't have one though. I will definitely have to look out for the paint! Maybe we can repaint shortly after we are in there! Thanks so much for the thoughtful tips and feedback! :)
Wow I don't know how things work where you live, but I am in the process of building my 2nd home and I have every extra quoted in detail and then I decide if I want it. I don't have to commit to anything before I know the full price of it!!
Wow yeah we definitely don't have that here (at least with semi-custom builds). How nice for you though! That's amazing.
Well done! I picked the lot, now the fun begins.
OMG I feel u, we got rushed too :'( u touched every point on our regret list
Ugh really!? Hopefully everything turned out good for you guys still! At least we didn't have anything MAJOR go wrong but still, hopefully people can learn from our mistakes haha. Thanks for watching!
Really good tips! I'd say all builders have pros and cons especially when it comes to the "upgrades" we went to every builder in our town, looked at tons of models, every floor plan on every website and still had a tough time getting everything right. Its not something you do everyday either so these videos are great. Thanks!
Helen Benton Good for you for doing your builder research! We only toured like 3 different ones but felt rushed to jump on our lot so we just went for it. That’s good you guys were patient haha 😂 Thanks for the positive feedback and good luck to you guys! 😊❤️
Thank you I’m a first timer going through the process on a new home in texas
Add approximately 15% to the price of the home for upgrades. The builders know exactly what they are doing and know you will upgrade. Hold the closing for weeks if necessary. Blue tape everything. Once you close, it will be like pulling teeth to get the builder to fix anything. Get a pre-dry wall 3rd party inspector to check the framing, wiring, plumbing and AC ducting. On upgrades, know which ones add value..cabinets, flooring, large garage, foam insulation, etc... Watch the property taxes...does your neighborhood have a MUD? HOA dues? Many can afford the mortgage, but have to move because they couldn’t afford the property taxes.
Tips are so useful! Thanks so much. And you guys looks so cute together in the camera.
Hey Jenna and Michael! Congrats on your new home and thank you for sharing your journey!! You both gave excellent information and I saved this video to reflect back on!
I'm at the very beginning stages of my home purchase! YAYY! QQ for you! I've been kicking this around and would like another perspective. Did your builder include the fridge and washer/dryer as an incentive in your package? Did you take them up on the offer or simply go to Lowe's and purchase after closing on the loan. To be honest, I wanted to make this whole house purchase as easy as possible but then I realized I would be paying for these large ticket items for 30 years (technically) instead of maybe just a few years if I purchase on my own. The builders I'm considering are also offering blinds, landscaping, sod, irrigation systems just to name a few! I'm in Austin and looking at counties outside of Austin to get more bang for my buck! Maybe others in your community have experienced this so all feedback would be appreciated.
Thanks and again CONGRATULATIONS!!!!🎉🎊
Wow that's so exciting Felicia! Glad you are doing your homework! That's awesome! We ended up just going to Lowes after closing since our builder didn't offer washer/dryer and refrigerator for free (it was much cheaper to just buy it on our own). We also had to buy our own blinds and irrigation but our home came with sod! Good luck with your purchase! It's definitely a fun process :)
1) The sales person and real estate agents are not your friends and don't have your best interest at heart. Don't take it personally. 2) I would put standard carpet in every room so that you can change it out in a couple years easily. Stay away from builder standard floor Tiles. They are not easy to replace. 3) Is Michael a dentist. Both of you have perfect pearly whites :)
A couple more tips:
1. For a bedroom, have the closet placed on the wall opposite the windows. This way you have the other two walls to put your bed against and then a dresser/tv directly across.
2. Put your Mircowave in your island, built in to the lower cabinet rather than above the stove.
Why put the microwave there? I’m curious 🧐
@@jjenae629 So that both cooking in the stove and microwaving can occur at the same time without interruption. In my house, it’s inevitable that someone will want to microwave things while I’m cooking on the stove and it’s bothersome. The other reason is so that you can have a real range hood above the stove rather than the kind that is connected to a microwave above a range. And lastly, the microwave in a lower cabinet is easier to reach for both old and young than the upper cabinet microwave.
Great Advice, thank you.
We're on our second build, but wish I've seen this video years ago when we built our first home! So informative and accurate. It's the little details, a dream may turn into a nightmare real quick lol.
Right?! Building a home DEFINITELY a huge lesson in its self haha. That’s so awesome you’re doing it again! Thanks for the positivity and good luck with with the build 🥰💕
We are in the building process now and this was all great advice!! Some of it I am passed in the process but some I will for sure implement. I hope to see that follow up video about closing.
Thank you Amy! Glad you found it helpful! Good luck with your build :)
Bought a new build. We spent $20k for Home Gallery upgrades (premier kitchen, LVP, pre wires) and $14k for structural (added windows, loft, fireplace) upgrades. We signed the contract July 31st. The building progress is a bit slow. The started
September and might be completed by end of February or mid March.
Yeah COVID has really delayed a lot of the builds due to high lumber costs and shortages (our builder had a really hard time getting our windows and we still don't have shutters haha) Good luck with your build! Closing day will be here before you know it!
OMG thanks, this video was needed!!! my husband and I are thinking about getting a house built. Great info.
Gwen E. Yay I’m so glad! Good luck on your search 🥰
Great advice, also Sounds like you guys didn’t use a realtor. We made the same mistake 😬
Thank you! Hahah it’s funny cause we actually did use a realtor... but she couldn’t make it to our pre-drywall meeting which was pretty disappointing. Not only would we recommend a realtor, but one who will try hard to be there for you. I think ours was very busy and overwhelmed which didn’t help. 🤷🏼♀️
What's a realtor ? 🤔😕
Ok thank you I just bought the lot and am having the house built in like a month or two. I needed this video
This was great wish I had taken time to review a few weeks ago.
Thank you! Hopefully you can still find some things helpful! Appreciate the feedback :)
Very helpful and honest suggestions. Thanks guys
Thank you so much for this advice. We hope to begin the process this year.
Hi guys! Thanks for your awesome video. I love when people share their experiences building a home. I can help to those of you looking to build a home. I have dozens of videos that explain everything from the Homes The Process too what you should expect from the homebuilder at your walkthroughs & etc. I will also personally answer your questions. Please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.
We are in the process of new build . Our builder is so slow . We signed our contract in august . Had to switch lots . They still haven’t done drywall now telling us it’s going be March or April to get a closing date.
Oh my gosh I'm sorry! HOPEFULLY they can get a move on it soon! I know there has been a major shortage of building materials right now so hopefully that changes for you guys soon. It will be worth the wait in the end I'm sure. Good luck to you guys :)
Great points! Rushing the buyer, that sucks! Who’s the builder?
Would love to see your layout and what Custom group did you go with ? "Loved the video" from Oregon Ohio😊
Great video and great advice before I start this process!!
1. Have a realtor
2. Hire an inspector to go through your new home. Do it just before “punch list”, or better yet, just before your year warranty is up. It’s worth the expense.
Great video! Currently in the processing of looking for a new build. We are completely new to this. Just today we went to a builder and barely found out that most people add about 60 to 80k in upgrades. That's ridiculous! So thank you for this video! Definitely going to do plenty of research and subscribing to your channel lol. Omw to watch your final walk-through right now haha
Yeah building a home is definitely not something you do every day! So theres SO much to learn! At least that's how we felt when we first started. So glad you found the video helpful. Dang 60-80K is a lot! The general rule (we found) is about 10 percent of the purchase price of the house will be spent in upgrades. If it's significantly more than that, I would maybe look for another builder. But it's at least good to have that in your head going in so you can chose your floor plan accordingly! Glad you're sticking around! I have lots more new build stuff coming. Good luck with your home search and as always, reach out if you have any questions!
@@jennapierce thank you! Definitely will be asking questions lol
@@jennapierce that 10% is spot on. We just went through this process and our upgrades are at exactly 10.19%. it could have been easily more, but we had to do away with some stuffs we don't feel were necessary.
@@saxywale2 Yes exactly! For us it was definitely a balance of making your home look nice but not upgrading it in every way imaginable. Had to make some compromises for sure. Sounds like it went well though! Congrats!
Thanks for this video. Appreciate sharing your insights. Will definitely will take our time. 😉
Yay! So glad you found it helpful! 🤗 Good luck with your build! It’s definitely a fun process!
you are right you are getting rushed!!! they dont give you complete lists sometimes of structual options until u show up for meeting and you decide in 20 minutes..then you find out they dont tell you info later... Im building a home in Surprise Az,,, the buider is being greedy and doesnt care..just want you to sign the paperwork and be gone...! So now im flexing on them and will take my time..and not be rushed..
This was definitely insightful guys, great job!
Glad you found it helpful! Thanks for watching :)
Yes, please more video's on your new home build! Glad I came across this video! We're in the process of building also & you are so right on these tips! Thanks for sharing & best of luck Jenna :-0
Will do Debbie! Thanks so much for the kind feedback and glad you enjoyed! :)
So informative. Thank you so much!
Great advice! Thank you both!
Grateful for this video guy’s! Thank you ! 💕
Yay! I'm so glad it could help! Thanks for watching
We are having are forever home built. We were given 15k in upgrades but spent an additional 30 on top! Lol.. this market rn is crazy!!
But let me add, building that home start price is 16k more now and they are limiting options because of lumber. So I feel very blessed we got it when we did.
get a home inspection before and at the 11th month...worth the money
Great tips!! I could definitely see myself making all of those mistakes.
Glad it was helpful Tanya! Thank you for watching :)
It sounds like your builder was a crook! Note to buyers, Research your builder! We’ve built four homes and had different experiences with each builder.
I will say that the first half of our building experience was VERY stressful, which is why we wanted to make this video to help others not have to go through what we did. But our second half has not been the same experience. Was our builder perfect? Absolutely not. BUT we just moved in yesterday and would do it over again with them 100 percent. Crazy you guys have built 4 homes! That's a lot. Thanks for watching!
Wow. This is all really great to know. Thank you so much for making this.
You are so welcome! Thank you for watching! :)
Wow, this was very interesting. I thank you for the wisdom. I want to be happy about my new home, this was very good video.
Glad you enjoyed it! At the end of the day, we definitely enjoyed our new build process. It came with it's own set of headaches but it was all worth it in the end! :)
We’re building too! Are you building with m/i by chance? We had similar experience
Thanks for sharing this with us. It is very helpful!!! Please make more videos about your new house :)
Yay!! I'm so glad it was helpful! We are currently in the moving process so once we are in there I have SO many more videos coming out about new builds (hopefully within the next month) Thanks for the feedback! Glad this could help :)
Yes!! Got me in that. But they did give me $15,500 allowance which helped 👍
Great great tips! Thanks for sharing! What upgrades do you think are worth having the builder do vs doing yourself later?
Absolutely! Glad you found it helpful! I would definitely think about upgrading things that are hard to change later like cabinets, countertops, etc. Things like lighting fixtures, faucets, and hardware you can always switch out on your own pretty easily. I will do a whole video on our upgrades/what we would have done differently soon! Let me know if you have any questions in the meantime. Thanks for watching :)
Thank you for this video, just started going through this process and we can totally relate!
I loved this video! Thank you so much for your knowledge! I can’t thank you guys enough! Outstanding!
Thanks for sharing I really appreciate this video
So glad it was helpful to you! Thank you for watching!
I think you just deal with wrong builder. We just build our new house with bloomfield homes in paloma creek, Manager Leslie was so nice and patient, She answer the questions no matter how late or even on her off day. When pick color, Ms. MacLellan pay so much patient and help us to get the job done. most things come with standard without any extra.
Very good video! Thanks for sharing. Please do more videos during the building process. Want to see house updates.
Yay! I'm so glad you found it helpful. I will definitely do that! Thanks so much for watching
Did you use your own realtor when you bought this house?
Great advice! You guys are too cute. 😊