Has anyone bought a brand new home? One that has not even been built yet. My fiancee and I are signing a contract with a builder this coming Monday for a new home. It's customized to our liking with options we want.
It's a town home with a 1 car garage. Each townhome is part of a row of townhomes (8 in a row). They begin construction on the row of homes once all 8 have been sold. From my understanding, 6 have been sold already, 1 more is scheduled to be sold on Sunday, and we are purchasing the last one on Monday.
The builder has given us an estimated completion/move-in date. I understand that weather conditions may postpone a completion date slightly. But my main concerns are the econcomic conditions that may put the builder in a position to delay construction. Has anyone faced this worry before?
***06/28/08 UPDATE***
I just found this out last night, and now I'm not sure I want to move forward with this purchase. The builder cannot give me an exact completion/settlement date. The estimated date is Nov-08 to Dec-08, but nothing is written in stone. I just found out that we can't lock in our interest rate until 2 months before settlement. I have no idea when settlement is; it could be this December, or it could be next year. We face the risk of increased mortgage interest rates, and we can't lock in any rate until the house is finished at an "unknown date". Two things: 1, the interest rate could rise, as analysts are predicting. Or 2, rates could drop as they have historically in the winter months.
I'm thinking about pulling out of this purchase now. It's like agreeing to purchase a house with a blindfold on. I have no idea what interest rate we'll be able to lock in once we commit.
***07/01/08 UPDATE***
Well, we purchased the house. We went in yesterday and signed all the papers and put our initial deposit down. We went through every feature and customized it to our liking. Although the sales rep explained every piece of paper we signed, my fiancee signed every paper without entirely reading it. I read each contract/paper, and signed everything, which was essentially a one-sided contract with the buyer bearing all of the risk. We got to meet our neighbors as they stopped by to drop off some papers. They were nice people; I wonder what they do for a living and whether or not they're married. Anyways, all 8 townhomes in the row have been sold and construction is scheduled to begin at the end of this month (July). Estimated completion/move-in is scheduled to be mid-November.
Now that it's all over, I am getting excited. It's a brick townhome with a 1 car garage and a driveway. We have cherry hardwood floors through the living room/main floor/kitchen. We have stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and an island in the kitchen. Recessed lighting is going to be placed through the whole house. Those are the main upgrades we purchased. We are purchasing our refrigerator separatly, and the house does not come with a deck. I'll have the deck built at a later time.
Now all I can do is wait.
It's a town home with a 1 car garage. Each townhome is part of a row of townhomes (8 in a row). They begin construction on the row of homes once all 8 have been sold. From my understanding, 6 have been sold already, 1 more is scheduled to be sold on Sunday, and we are purchasing the last one on Monday.
The builder has given us an estimated completion/move-in date. I understand that weather conditions may postpone a completion date slightly. But my main concerns are the econcomic conditions that may put the builder in a position to delay construction. Has anyone faced this worry before?
***06/28/08 UPDATE***
I just found this out last night, and now I'm not sure I want to move forward with this purchase. The builder cannot give me an exact completion/settlement date. The estimated date is Nov-08 to Dec-08, but nothing is written in stone. I just found out that we can't lock in our interest rate until 2 months before settlement. I have no idea when settlement is; it could be this December, or it could be next year. We face the risk of increased mortgage interest rates, and we can't lock in any rate until the house is finished at an "unknown date". Two things: 1, the interest rate could rise, as analysts are predicting. Or 2, rates could drop as they have historically in the winter months.
I'm thinking about pulling out of this purchase now. It's like agreeing to purchase a house with a blindfold on. I have no idea what interest rate we'll be able to lock in once we commit.
***07/01/08 UPDATE***
Well, we purchased the house. We went in yesterday and signed all the papers and put our initial deposit down. We went through every feature and customized it to our liking. Although the sales rep explained every piece of paper we signed, my fiancee signed every paper without entirely reading it. I read each contract/paper, and signed everything, which was essentially a one-sided contract with the buyer bearing all of the risk. We got to meet our neighbors as they stopped by to drop off some papers. They were nice people; I wonder what they do for a living and whether or not they're married. Anyways, all 8 townhomes in the row have been sold and construction is scheduled to begin at the end of this month (July). Estimated completion/move-in is scheduled to be mid-November.
Now that it's all over, I am getting excited. It's a brick townhome with a 1 car garage and a driveway. We have cherry hardwood floors through the living room/main floor/kitchen. We have stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and an island in the kitchen. Recessed lighting is going to be placed through the whole house. Those are the main upgrades we purchased. We are purchasing our refrigerator separatly, and the house does not come with a deck. I'll have the deck built at a later time.
Now all I can do is wait.
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