[vatonv]

OK you wonderful people - one last question.

We were thinking of buying a house but now are thinking of building. Here in VA the builders are offering a TON of incentives to get people to buy. Are you seeing that there or is the influx of people moving in not slowing down the market?

THANKS

[MomMom]

Originally Posted by vatonv

OK you wonderful people - one last question.

We were thinking of buying a house but now are thinking of building. Here in VA the builders are offering a TON of incentives to get people to buy. Are you seeing that there or is the influx of people moving in not slowing down the market?

THANKS

The market has slowed down here in LV considerably, but people are still buying, just not at the frenzied pace in which it was, and the builders here are also offering incentives... some are good deals (like no closing costs) and others are just OK..

Anything built new is going to have those smaller, postage stamp size yards, especially in Summerlin. If you're not buying a huge house (that needs a larger piece of property for the house to sit on) that's what you're gonna get when you buy new in most new tracts around the city...

[Golfinnova]

Originally Posted by vatonv

OK you wonderful people - one last question.

We were thinking of buying a house but now are thinking of building. Here in VA the builders are offering a TON of incentives to get people to buy. Are you seeing that there or is the influx of people moving in not slowing down the market?

THANKS

We just bought a Pulte home in the NW part, there were some incentives like $5,000 towards closing costs or a new 42" plasma TV if we go with their financing. I don't know about the other builders in the area; although, Pulte is guaranteeing that we will not spend more than $145 in utilities for the first 3 years. That will be nice compared to what we're spending now in VA with Dominion.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Golfinnova

We just bought a Pulte home in the NW part, there were some incentives like $5,000 towards closing costs or a new 42" plasma TV if we go with their financing. I don't know about the other builders in the area; although, Pulte is guaranteeing that we will not spend more than $145 in utilities for the first 3 years. That will be nice compared to what we're spending now in VA with Dominion.

Pulte Mortgage offered us the same $5k deal on our new house in GA. Bear in mind that it's "up to" $5k, and they fluff the figures up with all kinds of junk fees to make the number as close to $5k as possible. In reality, you're probably saving $2-3k on your origination fee, title costs, etc., but it's not the $5k bargain that they make it out to be. Still better than nothing, but the plasma TV may be the better deal if you need one....lol.

Bob

[olecapt]

There have been numerous spifs offered of 10 to 15% of the value of the home for standing or almost standing inventory. These are funny money spifs...ie flooring upgrades, better appliances etc. In general I would value them at 10 t0 15 cents on the dollars as to impact on resale value. Hard money spifs have been a lot smaller...closing costs or HOA dues.

I still consider Builders pricing to be well above market. If you tried to sell your new home the day after you bought it you would likely have to discount 10 or 15% and eat the selling costs. This will of course go away in four or five years so it is not a big deal if this is a long term purchase.

[ejl127]

My wife and I just bought a KB Home and the incentive (going thru their lender) was $20K to put towards whatever (down payment, upgrades, or both). New to yet be built home in the SW.

Right across the street Rhodes homes were offering no incentives at all.

[5kingsinvegas]

We just bought a "used" home, built in 2004 by Pulte. It is in Aliante and is 4br, 4ba, 3200 sqft with a pool and the yard is "good sized" for out here. Originally they were asking $475,000 and we ended up purchasing it for $375,000. The seller paid all closing costs. We did look at some bran new homes as well as building one and buying a "used" home got us the most "bang for our buck". Many people out here have had their homes on the market for a while and have either already moved away or are risking foreclosure so they are willing to deal. In our case the owners had purchased a $600,000 home and were getting strapped making 2 mortgage payments.

[olecapt]

Originally Posted by ejl127

My wife and I just bought a KB Home and the incentive (going thru their lender) was $20K to put towards whatever (down payment, upgrades, or both). New to yet be built home in the SW.

Right across the street Rhodes homes were offering no incentives at all.

Don't do upgrades. Take it as down payment. There is a four or five X difference when you get to the value of the home. Put up with the "standard" and replace it later.

[vatonv]

golfinnova - where do you live now? we are in manassas

[Golfinnova]

Originally Posted by vatonv

golfinnova - where do you live now? we are in manassas

I'm in Ashburn, about 10 minutes from Redskins Park. Are you in Manassas or Manassas Park? You're probably ready to get out just like I am