Things To Consider If You Want To Buy A Model Home
Model homes are great to walk through when you are looking for a house to buy, but you should understand that the other homes the builder has for sale might not be exactly like the model you walked through. If you are set on buying a home exactly like the model home, you should make sure you walk through the actual home before making an offer. Here are a couple tips to keep in mind as you do this.
Model Homes Typically Have More Features
Construction companies build model homes as a way of advertising what they have to offer. Because of this, model homes typically have a lot of features in them that you may not find in the other homes the same builder constructs. If you want to buy a home that is exactly like the model, you could do so; however, you might have to wait for the company to build it for you or for the company to put the model home up for sale.
Model homes have a lot of extras so that they are more attractive to buyers. The other homes the builder has for sale might also be very nice, but they are probably not as decked out as the model homes. Keep in mind, that you can get extras in any home you buy though. You may have to pay extra for the home, but the builder will typically be willing to change things if you are willing to pay for the changes.
Find Out How The Home Warranty Works
If you decide to wait for the builder to put the model home up for sale, you may want to first find out how the home warranty package will work. There are actually pros and cons of buying a model home when it comes to the way the warranty works.
The benefit of buying a model house is that all the small issues the home may have experienced are probably fixed already. For example, it is not uncommon for new homes to settle after a few months or years. When this happens, drywall cracks may appear and doors may become slightly out of balance. Luckily, the builder probably already took care of fixing these issues for you, because he would have wanted the house to look perfect for all prospective buyers.
The downside to this is that you might lose some of your warranty time. Homes typically have a 10-year structural warranty period, and this typically starts from the time the home was completed. If a few years have passed, you may have only six or seven years remaining on this warranty. Before you buy a house like this, you should find out exactly how the warranty will work.
If you are ready to buy a home, you may want to start looking at model homes to get ideas. To learn more about this, contact a real estate agent (like those at Diamond Realty).