Should I buy a new home or a previously owned home?

Q: Should I Buy a New Home, or a Previously Owned Home?

A: This question's an easy one to answer:  It depends!  See!  Pretty easy!  

Ok, all kidding aside, my wife and I have owned 3 homes over the past 12 years. Two of those were new construction. That shows my personal taste. However, there's always two sides to the story, right?  I mean, you can't buy a new, 1907 Victorian home in Redlands, and you'd be hard pressed to find a brand new home in a with 90 year old oak trees. So what are the benefits of new construction, beyond that obvious ‘new home smell!’ 

Here is a list of reasons that might compel you to buy a brand new home as opposed to one that is pre-owned. 

• Choices - With little to no change in sales price, new home builders often offer choices as to colors, styles, and features of your home. No, these aren't “upgrades”, but they're still choices. Carpet color, tile, vinyl, counters, cabinets, etc.  You'll often have 3 or 4 standard choices in each category to choose from at no extra cost.   I don’t know many home owners who’d give you that flexibility.
• Negotiating Tools - Builders often use their own lenders. This gives you several opportunities to negotiate the price of the home, the terms of the loan, closing cost credits, and/or design center credits.
• Newly Finished Interiors - In my family, we had little-ones crawling and rolling around on the floors. It brought us peace of mind knowing that not just the carpet was new (and in a color we loved)...but the carpet pads and sub-flooring was new as well.  No smokers, no pets, no allergies, and no spills that are going to resurface 4 months down the road.
• Less Competition - Typically you're not going to compete with several other buyers for the same house like you might with a previously owned home. You'll likely have the choice of many new homes and models, or even the same floor plan on different lots.
• New Infrastructure - When you buy a 35 year old home, you've got 35 year old...everything else...attached.  Infrastructure: In new home communities, you've typically get new sewers, streets, lights, and more.
• No Home Inspections - Everything is new!  What's to inspect?  With pre-owned homes, you've got those anxious days between the time you write an offer and the time you receive your pest and home inspections.  New home construction likely allows you to skip this step altogether.
• No Appraisal Concerns - Yes, your new home must appraise in order for a lender to fund, even on new construction.  That said, it behooves the builder to price their homes accordingly.  Have I seen new homes NOT appraise?  In those cases the builder simply reduced the purchase price to the appraised value.
• FHA and VA eligibility - Virtually all home builders will sell to FHA and VA buyers!  These buyers are typically well qualified and committed to the process.
• No Additional Home Warranty Needed – Why not? It comes with one!  Wait...it comes with several: Foundation, Roof, Finish, Appliances...everything.
• Builders reputation – When you buy new construction, you've got a builder's reputation at stake, and they'll stand behind their product.  With pre-owned homes...the sellers’ have likely moved on, and you'll never see or hear from them again.

I could easily create a list that's just as long and just as compelling advocating the purchase of pre-owned homes.  In fact, I'm sure I will.  However, at this point in my personal life, and with a young family in tow, I feel very peaceful living in a newly constructed home and I'm always at peace when I help a client negotiate a deal with a home builder.