Are you thinking about buying new construction but aren’t sure what to expect? In this video, I’m going to go over some of the pros and cons of buying new construction. We’ll look at everything from brand-new appliances to Mello-Roos tax so you can make the best decision on your next home.
A Brand-New Home
First, let’s start with some of the pros of buying new construction. As we all know, one of the biggest pros is that no one's ever lived there. No one has used appliances, no one has been on the carpet, and no one has sat on the toilet. Everything in the property is brand new, which is great.
Another pro is that you’re going to have all brand new windows. This means everything is going to be state of the art. Additionally, most of them are smart homes, so they're going to come with all kinds of features that you just don't usually find in a resale home.
In addition, a lot of new homes also come with solar. And because the home is brand new, it will have the most up-to-date insulation and everything for the property. This means your utility bills are usually a little bit less.
Upgrades And Lot Features
Of course, there are some cons to buying new construction. One con is that with new construction, you’re usually paying a little bit of a higher price because it’s brand new. If you want to pick out all of those upgrades—which is awesome because you get to pick exactly what you want—you’ll need to be prepared to pay a premium for those options.
Another con is that a lot of the homes are closer together. The lots are a lot smaller these days than the older homes have. in addition, some of the neighborhoods feel very cookie-cutter, partly because they have not been developed enough.
Because of this, people have not been able to go in and put their own touches on their homes. Over the years, things will change in most neighborhoods. When this happens, you will be able to get away from that cookie-cutter feel. However, a lot of the homes do have associations, so you won’t be able to get away from that cookie-cutter feel completely.
Landscaping And Windows
Another con is that you don't have the mature trees that you get in an older neighborhood. Because of this, you don't have the shading and the feel of having vegetation around you. The vegetation is going to be very minimal. Also, when you buy new construction, most of them don't come with landscaping—at least not in the backyard. You will have to think about putting landscaping in the backyard of the home.
Another con of buying new construction is that you are going to have to put in all of your window treatments. Those usually come with a resale home and may not be exactly what you're looking for. However, you won't have to do them before you can move into the house, so you don't have to worry about window treatments.
Mello-Roos Tax
A big con is that most of our new construction has Mello-Roos, which you do have to factor in. Of course, there are resale homes that have this tax, too. If you buy a little bit older home, however, they often don’t include a Mello-Roos tax.
In about 95% of new construction, we do have an additional Mello-Roos tax. If you don't know about Mello-Roos, please reach out and I'd be happy to explain it to you and how it all works.
Getting Into Your New Home
I hope this gave you a good idea of the pros and cons of buying new construction here in Santa Clarita. We have quite a bit of new construction going on in the area, and I'd be happy to go over that with you. Also, a lot of new construction builders are actually offering incentives to buy as of December 2022. This includes things like buying down your interest rate, paying some of your closing costs, and giving you a credit towards upgrades.
So if you’re thinking of buying new construction, give us a call. We have all the information about different neighborhoods here and what they're offering, and we'll be happy to share that with you. Don’t forget to subscribe to this so you're notified every time we put out a new video. We talk about all things Santa Clarita, from pros and cons to activities to do with your kids.
If there’s something we haven't covered that you're interested in hearing about, please put it in the comments and we'd be happy to make a video about it. Stay tuned to see what I feature next!