Tips on Buying a New Home in Texas

By Jeff Kessler

©2009-2010 all rights reserved

Buying a New Home can be daunting experience to say the least, especially if you are going to relocate to a new city or state. I have been selling homes for 12+ years and I am still learning new things every week. I have helped close over 750+ so I decide to put some tips together that have worked for myself and my clients.

First off, hire a Real Estate Agent for your new home purchase.  When you do hire an agent please use some common sense to pick one. Most people don’t understand that the Seller pays the Real Estate commission.  If you do not hire a Real Estate agent then you are helping the seller out by saving them a lot of money, plus you do not have anyone representing you.  Even if that agent acts as your friend.   Your Real Estate agent is responsible to represent you and answer any questions you may have about the process of buying a home. Make sure your agent has a lot of experience as 90% of agent will fail in there first 5 years. I have been around 12+ years and going strong. Make sure that you stay faithful to an Agent that is doing a good job for you.

• · Each home buyer has their own wants and needs when buying a new home. When buying a new home from a builder you can either buy “dirt” or a “spec” home. The “spec” homes are homes the builder has started, but has not been placed under contract yet. In most cases if you buy a “spec” home you may not have the ability to change the inside of the home, because the builder most likely has already preselected a package of upgrades. They usually give a discounted price on the home for the inconvenience of not being able to pick your own upgrades. Some builders will actually let you make changes if the house is not to far along. You can then make an offer base on what is done on the home and how far along it is.
• · If you buy a “dirt” home, meaning the home has not started yet, you get the advantage of buying a home on the lot you want and the upgrades you want to place in a home. This has a great advantage if you are moving from out of state or have a lease. You will have about 4 -12 months of waiting time while the home is constructed. Plenty of time to end a lease or move from a different state.
• · If you decide to build a home I would recommend that you visit the home site frequently and take many photographs. These photos will help you identify problems and help you keep a nice journal throughout the construction of your home. You may also need the builder to examine these pictures in case of a problem in the future.
• · The sign of a great salesperson is the constant contact they should be making with you and your Real Estate agent. They should be keeping you and your AGENT up to date each week about the progress of your home. If they are not please contact your agent and let them know. You will also want to get to know your construction manager as you will be working with them throughout the process of buying this home.
• · You will have about 3-4 inspections with the builder throughout the process and I would highly recommend being there for all of them. If you cannot attend have a friend or your real estate agent there for you. This is a great time to ask any questions and look to make sure your home is constructed the way it was meant to be.
• · Soon enough your home will be built and you will do a finally walk through to make sure the home is complete and up to par. I would recommend not moving into the home until it is 100% complete. You may think about moving in sooner, but you will end up frustrated if you do. This will occur, because once you are in the home you will have to be there to let in the construction guys and have the hassle of strange people in your new home. Once your do move in examine the effectiveness of all the appliances in the home including the heater and air conditioner. Even if the weather does not permit for cooling or heating I would try all the equipment. This way when the weather does change, your home and you will be ready. Most home warranty cover the whole home for 1 year and this is the time to get all the kinks out of the home.
• · I would recommend that you wait to move in until a few days after closing. The first few days I would use to install shades, blinds and ceiling fans. Also, it is a great time to make sure the home doesn’t have any defects that you or the builder may have missed. This way the home will be available for the builder to get into and show that you did not cause the damage while you were moving.
• · The builder should give you paint, carpet and tile samples. Make sure you get them in case you want to repaint the home the same color.
  Mortgages
• · Most builders want you to use their lender. By using their lender you can get additional incentives. It still is a good idea to shop around for the best mortgage deal you can get. I would recommend getting a lender that is from your state as they will know all the laws. I realize that you will see some great mortgage deals on the internet, but about 90% of them are just posted to get you into their site. I was a mortgage lender for two years and I understand the process. I can recommend lender that will do a great job for you. Please don’t hesitate to ask me. I hope you enjoyed these tip and if you ever have any questions whether you are buying or not or just want to learn something new please call or send me an email.