Buying A House? Here’s What You Need To Know
Something I’ve learned over years of working in real estate is that many new or inexperienced homeowners aren’t aware of all the options they have when it comes to buying a new home. Especially in this current, fast-paced market, even experienced home buyers are having to look into less well-known methods for securing a new home.
That’s where I (and this blog) come in! Thankfully, while every house is different, there are five main ways to find a home, and a good Realtor® will help you navigate each one when the opportunities arise. But what are these options, and which one might work best for you in your search for a home?
Let’s dive into it together!
Build From Dirt
Building a home “From Dirt” means that you will be the one choosing the lot, elevation, and floor plan before the home has even been permitted. Certain design choices will also be left to you to decide, such as floors, cabinets, countertops, and so on. All in all, the process will generally take between 9-12 months.
Don’t let the name fool you, though. Building from dirt is not the same thing as building a custom home. Rather, the builders will provide you with a list of options or design packages you can choose from, often with additional design costs associated with any upgrades. This is the builder’s way of creating a community that looks and feels cohesive.
Unfortunately, in today’s market, building from dirt is a lot more rare. Plus, even when it is an option, your choices may also be significantly more limited. This stems from the fact that many builders have few “from dirt” opportunities, and most have lengthy waitlists that get longer by the day. As such, it is far more likely for the builder to pull up the latest family on the waitlist, give them a handful of home options, and ask them to choose from those.
Because of this, building from dirt is a great option for folks who are ready to go under contract quickly (meaning they have no contingencies) but can stand to wait to move while they get through the waitlist and then the inevitable 9-12 month construction period. If you really want to build from dirt, get in touch with me to see what we can do!
Spec and Inventory Homes
A “Spec” or Inventory home is one that the builder has already permitted and begun building prior to offering the home for sale. Like in building from dirt, these homes are brand new, with the primary difference being that the buyer does not choose the elevation, floor plan, design options, and so on. Each builder has different timing and methods for releasing these homes for sale. Some will offer them right away while the house is still being built, and others will wait until the home is nearly finished before putting it on the market.
One reason that builders may choose to fill a lot with an inventory home as opposed to opening it to be built from dirt is to help them better control the timeline. In an inventory home, the builder is able to order windows and trusses ahead of time, which are parts of the process that can often cause delays when building from dirt.
Unfortunately, inventory is incredibly low at the moment, but we always make sure to snag any home that comes our way–assuming it meets your family’s needs. There are still new developments in our area, and with new developments comes the opportunity for new inventory homes!
Buying A Resale Home
Resale is probably the first thing people think about when they hear the phrase “buying a home.” Resale opportunities are those homes that have been owned and lived in by another owner. In Horizon West, a lot of these homes are still pretty new compared to other areas, meaning you can secure an almost-new home without having to go through the entire building process.
When these go up on the market, they are posted to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Eventually, some of this listing information will make its way to public websites like Zillow…but by then, many houses are already spoken for (even if they show up as available on the site). I have had listings for multiple homes go up in one morning and had multiple offers on all of them by that afternoon! Suffice to say these homes go quickly, and especially in such a competitive market, it’s essential that you have a good agent by your side who knows exactly how to put the best possible offer forward and advocate for you when making a deal.
Part of the reason why these homes go so fast is because there simply aren’t a lot of homes on the market at any given time. We have a lot of hopeful buyers, and not nearly as many resale homes to put them in. Because of this, buying a resale home is a game of laying out what you need from your new home, then watching the market like a hawk for the moment something fitting becomes available. Unless you have a Realtor®, in which case, they’ll handle all that stress for you and let you know when an opportunity has come up!
Contracts Falling Through
This is a home buying opportunity not everyone knows about, but it can be one of the best ways to find a house in this current market. A percentage of homes under contract will inevitably fall through, meaning they will come back on the market after having previously been spoken for. There are plenty of reasons why this can happen, and it is certainly bittersweet when it does–after all, we all want to see happy families in happy homes! However, the fact remains that these are great opportunities to step in as a new potential buyer, because in many cases you can skip waiting lists.
However, unless you’re working with an established, knowledgeable real estate agent, you may never see these opportunities come up. When a contract is about to fall through, some builders and agents will reach out to their industry contacts in search of a new buyer before the home even officially goes on the market. I’m proud to have fantastic relationships with the builders, agents, inspectors, and more in my area, and I’ve had an incredible amount of success getting my clients into these homes when they do pop up.
The biggest negative side of this whole process is that we never truly know when an opportunity is going to come up—and even then, who’s to say that the home will be right for you? As a general rule, most home buyers who end up in their dream home this way will do so as a happy accident thanks to a hard-working Realtor® and a little bit of luck!
Off-Market Homes
This one is definitely a lesser-known way to buy a house…because it’s incredibly rare. Essentially, if you see a home you’d like to buy, a home you just know is perfect for you, you can “make an offer” on something that is not actually listed for sale by approaching the current residents.
It might sound unheard of, but it has happened! The only thing to consider with this method is that there is no guarantee that the current residents will want to move, and you will need to make a pretty convincing argument (and likely a VERY generous offer) if you want even a shot at securing a home this way.
I personally have seen this work out for some of my clients in the past, so if you find the perfect house and have the funds to pay way over market value, it might be worth taking the shot!
What Is The Best Way To Buy A Home?
You might be anticipating this answer…but it depends on your needs and the homes that are available when you actively start looking for a home! As your real estate agent, I work hard to ensure we find you a home, however that may be. The market may be moving fast, and opportunities may be scarce, but with some flexibility and a good agent by your side, we can help you find the home of your dreams.
For more “trade secrets” on buying a home, check out my other posts on this blog or follow me on social media. This one in particular has some valuable advice for any home buyer looking to move in this crazy market!
If you’re looking to buy a home (or sell your current one!) in the Horizon West area, shoot me a text at 407-848-8042 or fill out a wish list right here on my website. I look forward to hearing from you, and Happy House Hunting!