11
70 Ways for Home Buyers to Save Money When Buying a Home: Tip #20
10 Comments · Posted by admin in owner builder
Tip #20 in our series of 70 ways to save money when buying a house is to buy a new home from a builders inventory.
An inventory home is a brand new home built by the builder but without an owner. Either the person who wanted the house built backed out of the contract or the builder built it as a way to keep his staff working, or a model, or a way to add built homes to the neighborhood.
Whatever the reason of the inventory home, it can be a bargain for you. Builders hate having empty houses sitting around. They try to build as fast as possible and move to the next area. If a home is already built and sitting empty it is called an inventory home.
Builders often have specials on these homes. They offer great deals to get the home sold. But most do not offer the deals to people without Realtors representing them. So check to see if a Builder you like has any inventory homes and get your realtor to negotiate for you.
Builders get loans to build houses. The longer a home is sitting there empty, the more payments and interest the builder has to pay on that house. So the builder wants to unload it, quickly. And to do this, the builder will reduce it several thousand dollars. It will cost much less than having the builder build you the same model from scratch.
The only drawback is that the appliances will already be installed and you will not get to pick the model or lot. But if you happen to like an inventory home, there is no difference between it and any other home the builder builds. In fact, if it was an inventory home, you know that everything in the house works, and it will have the best of the best upgrades.
If there is anything you do not like about the home, you can ask the builder to replace it or change it at no cost. For example, my wife and I went to look at a condo complex recently. They only had one left. And it had wood floors. I prefer carpet, so the builder was more than willing to take out the wood and put in top of the line carpet, at not cost. The condo also had the best appliances as well. If we had bought this same condo earlier and chosen the top of the line carpet and the same appliances we would have paid thousands in upgrade charges.
Buying an inventory home or condo is a great deal. You get to see what the house will look like when you move in, the builder is desperate to sell it, and you get a brand new house or condo for less than what your neighbors paid. That is instant equity!
If you are looking to buy a new house or condo from a builder, an inventory home is a great way to save you several thousand dollars. And you can have an agent represent you and save thousands on the commission like I discussed in Tip #1. You get the best of both worlds: you save several thousands of dollars and get a brand new house.
Ameen Kamadia
http://www.articlesbase.com/non-fiction-articles/70-ways-for-home-buyers-to-save-money-when-buying-a-home-tip-20-59010.html
No tags
Doug · March 11, 2010 at 8:55 pm
First time home buyer, can you offer sound advice?
OK
Without revealing too much personal information i will say right now my wife and I are living paycheck to paycheck. We have debt in credit cards over 15k but under 20k. I have a college loan in repayment, paying for 1 new car, and rent is very high. We have never missed a payment on anything and my credit rating (and hers) is stellar.
We live well and make a very respectable wage.
Now if we were to consider buying a house right now we would have very little to put down however the way the market is our mortgage would be less than our rent so saving money there. To add to that the market will increase (eventually) giving us ridiculous equity on whatever home we buy.
Option two is a three year plan. We move out when the lease is up in march and downgrade to another apartment for near 1/2 to 2/3 of what we are paying now, and in three years be credit debt free and have over 10k for downpayment.
Monitarily either situation is feasible but which one is better? I would like to hear from people with experience in the matter or experience with home buying. If you do not have this experience i would prefer you keep your comments to yourself.
Thank you
Estielmo: I am not sure why you are angry but you may want to speak to a therapist – furthermore there is a fine line between happiness and flat out being cheap. You are far too in the cheap for me however your advice is certainly sound and weill informed for people who are in far more deperate times than myself. As I said I am paycheck to paycheck but not in any risk of missing payments or otherwise.
src50 · March 12, 2010 at 1:57 am
Option 2 is probably more realistic. However, you might want to try approaching a lender for preapproval to see if you can realistically qualify for an FHA loan. There is no fee for preapproval.
References :
Vinnie · March 12, 2010 at 1:59 am
My wife and I were in the same boat about 2 1/2 yrs ago. We were also living pay check to pay check. We found a house that we liked and and did all necessary stuff we needed to get into the house. The only thing we did wrong, was not get the house inspected before we bought it. We didn’t think we needed to because it was a brand new home. Well we are paying for it now, I had to go through and rewire most of the house and had to install all new light fixtures. My advice to you is to find the house you really want that is in your price range and get it inspected before you sign anything. And if they do find something have the current owners fix it before you buy it. Honestly I cant stand living in an apartment, so that is why we bought a house.
Good luck
References :
Emily · March 12, 2010 at 2:01 am
I would go with option number 2, you are living hard for a few years but in the end you are substantially better off. The way the market is now many mortgage companies won’t give you a mortgage without a 10-20% down payment and they are looking a lot more closely at your debt than they were a few years ago (for obvious reasons).
References :
Luna* * · March 12, 2010 at 2:03 am
I will recommend you to try NACA (Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America) http://www.naca.com
NACA, Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, is a non-profit community advocacy and HUD certified counseling agency. NACA has been in the forefront of fighting discriminatory and predatory lending for over 20 years. NACA provides the most affordable mortgage solution for both homebuyers and homeowners.
You need no money down, and what is great is that your interest will be th same for 30 years.
I got my house thru this program and is Great.
References :
NACA
http://www.naca.com
estielmo · March 12, 2010 at 2:05 am
Never depend on "ridiculous equity." That’s one thing the schmucks in trouble now did. I like the idea of down-sizing and cutting your budgets to the bone to pay off debt and build some savings.
Most modern people have no freaking idea how to live frugally. Living in big apartments and buying new cars while deeply in debt is obviously not the way.
I always recommend buying all clothing and household goods at yard sales and thrift shops. The only things I never buy there is socks, underwear and toothbrushes. Stop buying prepared foods at the grocery store and learn to cook. Cut the cable/satellite back to ‘basic service’ and get rid of the sports and movie channels.
Keep an Expense Diary for a month and write down every penny you spend and at the end review it and you’ll be shocked at what you see (I was). This will be the best tool to economize.
Lower your expectations on the kind of house you "deserve" and buy one well within your actual budget based on the here and now. Look for "acceptable" houses in great neighborhoods, rather than the best house on the block. In your case, I would try very much to buy a house you can afford on a single income, as you never know what’s around the corner as far as kids, layoffs or illness.
And never expect a question you throw out to the masses to not draw unwanted opinions. If you want to cherry-pick your answers then pay a financial adviser for private sessions.
References :
Hanz H · March 12, 2010 at 2:07 am
Buying a house can be better for both of you in the near future. First-time buyers like you can take advantage of several programs from the government that can help you get a house without paying too much. You can apply for a FHA loan.
There are other housing programs first-time buyers can benefit from. And since you mentioned that you have good credit, I believe you have a very good shot at getting the best loans possible.
Try to go online and search about FHA loans to give you a better understanding. You can check out:
http://fha.gov
http://new.housingassistancenetwork.com
http://hud.gov
Hope this helps
References :
Casie · March 12, 2010 at 2:09 am
Option 2 might would probably be better. When you apply for a loan, you’re debt is calculated into the equation. A mortgage lender would probably inform you of this when you talk with them.
Unless you plan on keeping your house for over at least 5-10years, you probably won’t see "ridiculous" appreciation in value (not in the current market). Things aren’t going to turn around for a while! Many professionsals feel it will be a min. of 5 years before values start increasing again. In my area they are still declining. Many new buyers feel like they are making the best decision of their life buying a house, but make sure you are well informed and (like the other guy said) the house has had a Home Inspection and survey.
Good Luck!
References :
Real Estate Appraiser in FL
glenn · March 12, 2010 at 2:11 am
Either of the two ways could work if you are disciplined.
#1 When you buy a house the location is extremely important. Noise levels and expected noise levels. Nearby parks. Good schools. How good do your neighbors take care of their homes? Transportation. Close to your job and church?
You can change almost anything about your house much easier than the location- don’t let yourself get fooled into buying something shiny that is not quite as good a location. Businesses spend huge amounts just to get a few feet closer to a busy corner- you would be wise to spend more to get a better location.
#2 Hire an independent home inspector, be there in person and ask him lots of questions, both about the condition of the house and suggestions for future upkeep.
#3 OK –hidden way down here is an opinion that you may not like.
By far the vast majority of the people do not really ever change. Most overweight people remain overweight. Most people that have high credit card debt always have high credit card debt. Figure out how much interest you are paying and think about what you could do with that money if you were not paying that interest. Also think about what you really spent money on to get into that debt in the first place. A lot of students I know could have borrowed less if they had worked hard or cut expenses or both.
If you really want to change, you and your wife need to come to a formal agreement. Read Dave Ramsey’s book "Total Money Makeover". Follow his steps. You may very well end up taking the second of your two choices- but don’t do that unless you are both very committed to this.
References :
Fedora L · March 12, 2010 at 2:13 am
You can try follow this link. And find what you need.
References :
http://creditcardsarea.gigazu.com