Existing vs. New Construction Homes

published: November 2, 2014

Deciding between an existing home and a new construction home can be difficult. But knowing the risks and benefits of each can help make your decision easier. Every home has maintenance costs, but they can differ significantly depending on the age of the home and the quality of the construction.

Key Takeaways
• New construction homes can offer custom amenities, but can be difficult to envision.
• Existing homes can include older components, but may have more character.
• A home inspection is a good idea for both existing and newly built homes.
• New homes are typically priced higher than existing, but this can vary in certain markets.

Videos are for informational purposes only and represent the opinions of the speakers. Chase does not warrant the completeness, timeliness or accuracy of the content.

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VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

Greg: When you’re buying an existing home you know what you’re getting cause it’s built, it’s there, you can walk through it, you can smell it, see it, you know. When you’re doing new construction you’re basically building a dream.

Shirley: You pick out your floors, your pick out your carpet, your paint, your backyard. You can go ahead and have it created for you just as I did. It’s yours and you picked it out.

Michael: I think the key thing to hone in on when you’re deciding if you want to build new or buying an existing home is primarily just what are your specific needs. Some people enjoy being the first one to be in a bathtub or to sleep in a bedroom.

Duane: Most people will have an inspection done on an existing home because they know that the house is going to have some wear and maybe some older components and the inspection process will reveal those things. A new build has its own set of issues and that would be let’s say left out from the construction process.

Michael: Looking at an existing home you tend to find, maybe if it’s older, some more character and maybe even a different quality of construction.

Duane: The age of the home is important because it will mean that the systems will have changed over time. So for example if you had a fifty year old home, fifty years ago it may not have had air conditioning.

Michael: Energy Star appliances or energy efficiently built homes specifically can qualify for some tax credits.

Greg: As far as financing features you know typically when you’re building a new home the builders going to want you to get a construction loan. Basically, go finance the construction of the property. Then once it’s built then you would get a thirty-year fixed conventional mortgage to pay off that construction loan.

Michael: In many cases there is a higher sticker price for a new home based upon what goes into it. Sort of like buying a new car versus a used car. It’s pretty much the same, but at the end of the day it’s market driven.

Shirley: I decided to build from the ground up. It’s different then you going into an existing home. It’s already here in the spot and that may not be a great spot for you, but now you can think about, ok what am I going to put in this room and how I want it situated? So now I can have this designed around what I want to place in the room. That is just satisfying to me. For me to pick out what I like.