Question for anyone who has lived in a new construction neighborhood
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This... in NC??? I know in the last bunch of years in CA, but here? We gotta talk cuz if that's true, I wanna talk about investing in some of the more popular areas.
Look at Chapel Hill.....
Very desirable town,highly ranked school system, every one wants in to Chapel Hill and there is very little development which makes it that much harder.
We saw amazing increase in our homes value over a period of a few years.
Oh by the way, I am a mortgage loan broker and just because you buy the 1st phase of new construction does not mean you will automatically make $$$. I have several clients who purchased first phase homes in California only to find that the builder lowered the prices by $70,000 on the same model home (which had previously sold for $425,000) in phase 2 and dropped it again for phase 3 by another $5,000. Needless to say we have some angry people out there. I am not saying that you won't profit, you probably will but understand it depends on the market and the inventory of new homes available. If it's your home and you plan on living there for many years and don't have a need to access your equity in the form of a mortgage loan then don't worry about it. Buy it because it's a place you want to call home. If you plan on bailing in a couple of years, do some research of new homes in that area and how fast (or slowly) they are selling.
Bought a new home in Union County in FEB. and closed in Dec. The builder has raised the base price 24K since February, a good start for equity. Now, next month we put our Long Island house on the market, we'll see what happens.
I was building a home out here and the builder had raised the price $15k before my permits were even done. It is possible everywhere. Research the builder though and the company's history. If they are notorious for having a bunch of standing inventory and needing to reduce prices, then it isn't smart. My investments have been in Utah over the last 8 years. We had a market very much like the one here in NC - lots of new construction and existing homes trying to sell. We saw a steady appreciation rate but nothing crazy until fall/winter 2005. All of a sudden the California money started rolling in and prices started going up. We had plenty of appreciation without it, but the last year really helped. Patience and research pays off.
I should clarify...the builder raised the price on the other models in the development. I was in an equity position before the permits were even issued. I'm learning the area but I can't imagine the results couldn't be the same here. Some people in Holly Springs told me in the last year their equity was significant. Also Knightdale is supposed to be the place to buy now and watch your equity position grow. We'll see.
Location: Charlotte,NC, US, North America, Earth, Alpha Quadrant,Milky Way Galaxy
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Well I'm going through it now. There are 3 homes being built next to me (while others were being built down our street, fortunately those are finished). I pretty much new it was going to be congested, noisy, etc. Fortunately I haven't had any nails popping the tires (yet), but have had the occasional edge of my front lawn torn up (which they told me they'll fix). It is annoying when there's cars parked on both sides of the street and I can't get out of my driveway without a lot of maneuvering. Eh, it's all good though . I know in about a year, it'll all be done, cleaned up, and we'll have founded a nice community. Actually I find it fascinating watching the construction. I thought about setting up a cam or something to record "house from dirt", and then speed it up. But that thought didn't last to long.
Regarding the cost increase, I'm only speculating here, but it seems that new homes in a new subdiv will be very inexpensive in the beginning of the subdiv development to start the money inflow, and new residences. The builder will steadily raise prices until the last handful of units are unsold at which point they'll probably lower the price (not back to the original start point though) to quickly closeout the subdiv. Some sort of dollar-cost-averaging. At least that's the obversation in my community (my builder has raised the base price $3k/mo since 02/06 when I signed the sales agreement). I asked two totally different employees of the builder and they give me the exact answer (word for word)- clearly they had there FAQ sheet memorized.
We are currently in a similar situation except our home is in a well established neighborhood that was almost destroyed by flood damage from hurricanes Francis, Jeanne and Wilma. Of the 66 homes in our neighborhood, 5 (including mine) were not flooded by 3 feet or more of water. Most were torn down and are now in various stages of rebuilding.
Noise, dirt, etc are all problems but the worst in my opinion has been the traffic. I have been stuck on my dead end street more times than I can count trying to get past construction equipment or trucks that have the whole road blocked. It is really annoying when you are trying to get the kids to school or practice and you can't find the guy who can move his truck.
Sorry if this is a rant. It happened this morning and it took 10 minutes to get past. I'm still mad. Maybe I need a cocktail.
It can be true about the 'automatic' equity. This really worked for us as we contracted for a home in a new community. We were told it would take about 12 months to build, by the time we closed on our new home, the same model home was selling for 60K more.
Sorry if this is a rant. It happened this morning and it took 10 minutes to get past. I'm still mad. Maybe I need a cocktail.
Sounds like your rant is justified. Absolutely. Maybe contact the construction company management directly, and they can try and make certain such inconsideration is avoided.
In the meantime, you may as well use this morning as a good excuse to enjoy the cocktail. Sounds like a great idea!
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. I know in about a year, it'll all be done, cleaned up, and we'll have founded a nice community. Actually I find it fascinating watching the construction. I thought about setting up a cam or something to record "house from dirt", and then speed it up. But that thought didn't last to long.
