Buying a new home is quite different than buying a resale home--especially if you decide to have a home built for you. Instead of negotiating based on move-out dates and repair items, the new home experience includes decisions about builder & lot selection, maximizing incentive offers, making equity-building structural changes, and even timing your offers to leverage the builder's financial calendar.
Down the road when you sell, these buying-time decisions can be the difference between a $100k+ profit and a break-even return.
Expertise in the new home space is only found through experience, and we've negotiated thousands of new home purchases in Houston--with most of the 100+ Houston-area home builders. Our clients make new home buying decisions with confidence...and they're rewarded with a new home that they love
Reach out to get started (even if you're already shopping), or read on about why you want us on your side.
Neighborhood Evaluation
The new home buying process starts with neighborhood selection and that's one decision you simply must get right. Master-planned lifestyle or quiet pocket neighborhood? Which developers follow through on their promises? What about flood risk mitigation? You'll end up with a long list of questions when it comes down to selecting a community...and we can help you answer them with confidence.
Builder Selection
Good luck finding home builder reviews to help you make this decision! You won't find any Amazon-style review collections for home builders, so you'll likely start with unsolicited advice from friends & family. Ultimately we will educate you about each builder's sales process, during-the-sale experience, after-the-sale warranty approach (one of the biggest factors), construction quality, and most importantly: the company culture-driven characteristics like honesty, integrity, and good will. In short, we can tell you which builders to seek...and which builders to avoid.
Negotiating Price & Incentives
Price negotiation with any builder is much different than the resale back-and-forth dance. You'll see offers related to financing incentives, design center credits, rate buy-downs, and option-cost specials. Each of those incentives impacts the builder's bottom line from a different direction (and with varying weights) - which makes for an unpredictable negotiation if you're inexperienced in this space. We know what to expect - so you will too.
Timing Offers
They say you should only buy a car at the end of the month--when the dealer needs another sale. A similar concept applies with new homes, though it's a bit more involved, sometimes related to the builder's financial calendar (for the bigger builders), and always related to a variety of metrics that you'd never expect.
Lot Selection
Smart lot selection, especially in the larger developments, is one of the easiest ways to create instant equity. Here's why: builders assign lot premiums based on benefits (size, view, etc.) and costs (fence perimeter, grading, etc.) from their perspective. Later, when you sell, the market has a different perspective on what determines value. We know what to look for.
Structural Options
If you have a home built, you'll typically be offered structural options (add bay windows, extend the patio, convert a half bath to a full, etc.) These options can be rather expensive...but sometimes not selecting them can be more expensive when it's time to sell. Building a home is an exciting, emotional experience, and floor plan designing can be fun - but those decisions have major impacts on your future bottom line.
Design Center
The design center experience (selecting counter tops, paint colors, flooring etc.) can be overwhelming & expensive or efficient & profitable--depending on who you have as your guide. Luckily our beloved Realtor/Owner Tifany Teague spent over a decade as an award-winning home builder salesperson...there's just nothing like a design center experience with her in your corner.
Walk-throughs & Inspections
Before closing on your new home you'll have an independent inspection done (just like for a resale purchase), but you'll also have a pair of walk-through opportunities. On the first walk we will identify any & all imperfections (scratches, paint touch-ups, etc.), and on the second walk we will make sure the builder addressed those noted items. Every builder handles these walks with a different approach...but it's our job to make sure they follow through and take care of you properly.