Northeast Florida Real Estate> Real Estate Buyer

Buying or Building a Home in Jacksonville or Ponte Vedra Beach?

People ready to purchase a home are confronted with a choice. Should you buy an existing home or build a new home? Here lies a difficult decision because both methods have advantages, disadvantages, and unforeseen costs.

Buying an Existing Home

So you want to buy a home that is already built? This is a formidable task because with an existing home you don't know exactly what you are getting. Take precautions by getting home inspections, pest inspections and appraisals. These methods will give you some piece of mind, but they won't tell you everything that you might what to know to make an informed decision. Of course, the sellers are going to be as honest as they can, but there are sometimes things that are unknown to the seller.

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Existing Homes Have A History

Some advantages of purchasing a pre-owned home result from what you already know about the home, especially if you buy in a developed neighborhood. The most obvious advantage is that the house is already built and ready to move in.

Some other things you can find out before buying are:

  • what kind of neighbors you have
  • how much the property taxes are
  • how much the average utility bills cost
  • how the house has withstood extreme weather and what the current owners like about the house.

Existing Homes Have Improvements

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These owners have already been through some of the growing pains of a new home. They've taken on the headaches of getting the homebuilder to fix things, they've made repairs along the way, and they know what improvements the house needs.

The other advantage is that because the home is available in a developed market, you can get a good idea of its local market value and what the previous owners paid for the home. If there were multiple owners, you can track the sales of the house since it was first purchased and study how its value grew over time.

You Can Walk Through Existing Homes

The last advantage is that the house is already built and you can walk around it and discuss the ways you would like to decorate and improve the house.

Building a New Home

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Thinking of visiting homebuilders and picking the right house plans to match your dreams and your pocketbook? It can be an exciting process to design your own house and watch it being built step by step.

It's Your Choice

Some other advantages are things you can choose:

  • appliances
  • colors for internal and external paint
  • fixtures for the kitchen and bathrooms
  • lights for every room and custom windows and doors.

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When the house is finally finished, the builder may or may not have constructed the house satisfactorily, but now you are committed to buy it. You can lose a lot of money if you walk away from the final closing.

What are some other advantages?

  • Building a new home in a newer neighborhood can be attractive because you can pick a location with few neighbors and live in the area as it gradually gets developed.
  • You can situate the house on a property that you prefer.
  • You can locate a property in a desirable school district and close to essential services.
  • Building a new home offers all the advantages of choosing everything for yourself, but you will have to be happy with it when you finally move in. Just like an existing home, a new house comes with its own problems, big or small.

Buying a home is a very important decision. Talk to your realtor about your needs and concerns using their knowledge and experince to help you make your decision. Either way, you will end up with the same end result, a new home to call your own.

 

Please contact us at 904-273-0125, 800-999-0245 or fill out the form below if you would like our help locating an existing home, locate a builder to to build your new home or find a lot to build on.

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