With the house market in full recovery, and home inventory tightening up nationwide, you as a home buyer have a very significant choice to make when deciding the type of home that you would like to buy. Location is always important, and price is normally a deciding factor, but there is one other huge consideration you should make when purchasing your home – choosing to buy a new home vs. buying an existing home. Below are 10 reasons to buy a new home vs. an existing one.
1. Tax Benefits: Each month as a renter, you spend about the same amount of money as a mortgage and get none of the benefits while your landlord pockets your rent, increases equity, and writes of property tax costs. As an owner of a new home, you will receive all of the tax benefits of owning your own home PLUS, if you have savings from a retirement IRA account, you can pull out $10,000 from this account – tax free – as long as the money is used for a down payment on your home, and you are a first time home buyer.
2. New Home Warranty: Buying a new home vs. buying an existing home gets you brand new everything – windows, doors, paint job, carpet, appliances, and all of your lighting and trim. When you buy an existing home, you may have the unwanted chore of constantly replacing worn out parts of your home. Also, your new home comes with a 1, 2, 5 warranty per Louisiana law which protects the home in its entirety the 1st year, all major structural components for 2 years, and framing and infrastructure for 5 years.
3. Repairs and Maintenance: In addition to replacing components, existing homes come built-in with a honey-do list. You could be repainting the interior and exterior, upgrading / renovating the kitchen cabinets and countertops, and replacing door knobs, hinges, and other pieces and parts of the home. With a new home, you don’t even have to worry about things falling apart for a few years at least if you have purchased a quality-built home in St. Tammany Parish.
4. Energy Efficiency: Green building has become standard for many home builders in St. Tammany Parish, and Ron Lee Homes is a Certified Green Builder by the National Association of Home Builders. By installing all green building features, you will not only get the benefit of owning a brand new home, but you will save money in the long run with lower energy bill as well as the environmental satisfaction of reducing greenhouse gases. With previously owned homes, especially homes older than 1980, you will be dealing with less efficient home openings, insulation, and HVAC systems which will increase the cost of heating and cooling your home.
5. Smarter, Safer, Well-Built: New systems installed in new homes now come with smarter and better working fire alarms, security systems, and smoke detectors. There is even certain types of primer boards, plywood, and sheetrock that is fire resistant to withstand a fire event.
6. Credit and Financing: Buying a new home allows your mortgage company, lender, or banker more options in choosing the right loan for you. Especially if you are investing wisely, your home may appraise for a higher amount allowing more equity and better interest rates.
7. Low Interest Rates: With all of the worry that the Fed is about to increase interest rates, rates are historically low and are still at record-breaking lows compared to any previous year of buying a new home. Because you get to write the interest off on your taxes, it is a win-win situation when buying a new home.
8. Holding Its Value: Because you are buying new instead of previously owned, your home is in better shape and will last longer as long as you chose the right builder. No matter how wonderful a previously owned home is, it will still “fall apart” eventually faster than a new home because it is older and more worn out.
9. Avoiding Health Risks: With the new information about lead paint and its effects as well as asbestos, many people are very aware that older construction can contain these hazards. As long as you have hired a quality builder to build your new home, you will never have to worry about hazardous construction materials that could drastically affect your health.
10. Fun Choices: When building a new home, you get to put part of your personality into it by making selections such as cabinetry, countertops, paint, siding, flooring and much more. In addition to being a part of building your own home, you can take comfort in knowing that you are making the biggest financial investment of your life – one that will give you equity and security for the future.
If you are ready to build your new home in St. Tammany Parish, Contact Ron Lee Homes, a custom home builder, at 985-626-7619 or E-mail [email protected].
