Buying a home from a builder (pre-approved, financing, reduce, Atlanta)

[anuvenki]

Is buying a home from a builder a better deal than from an owner?

We have looked at two new homes in a neighborhood we really like, which are priced 221K and 235K and want to close on one.
The pricier one is only about 200sqft larger..
the cheaper one still needs to be finished and I can choose upgrades on it.
Both are priced 20K over the base price..

There was a lot of discussion about the sellers paying 1 point to lower the rates,can we expect the same with the builder?

What are the factors that can be negotiable?

Is there a website that can give me more info about the negotiation process?

Thanks,
AV.

We have been pre-approved for 230K mortgage !

[ooodsie]

i just bought from the builder.. most times they wont budge on price, but i did get her to throw in some upgrades totalling about 10k.

[MDMontemayor]

Can't really say if a new construction is a better deal or not. It really depends on what you want and many other factors. Have your Realtor do a CMA and determine if your getting a good deal. When builders offer to get you a better deal on financing, they usually make up for it in the price of the home.

[GLS]

Originally Posted by anuvenki

Is buying a home from a builder a better deal than from an owner?

We have looked at two new homes in a neighborhood we really like, which are priced 221K and 235K and want to close on one.
The pricier one is only about 200sqft larger..
the cheaper one still needs to be finished and I can choose upgrades on it.
Both are priced 20K over the base price..

There was a lot of discussion about the sellers paying 1 point to lower the rates,can we expect the same with the builder?

What are the factors that can be negotiable?

Is there a website that can give me more info about the negotiation process?

Thanks,
AV.

We have been pre-approved for 230K mortgage !

We just recently bought from a builder for a variety of reasons. However, to address your question specifically, in this area the builder was more "motivated" than private owners. First we got them to reduce their current list price from $274900 to $250,000. Then negotiated them paying $5000 toward closing costs which included a 1 point buydown to 5.125%. We also got them to include some new furniture from one of their models, and window blinds.

The ultimate decision (sometimes just a gut feeling) is to go with the house that puts a smile on your face. However, negotiate aggressively to test how much the seller will compromise. Good luck!

[Go Blue 99]

Here in Atlanta, buying from a builder is definitely the better value. New home inventory is running high and builders are doing some massive price cuts (e.g. our new home price is 19% lower than their original list price). Private owners simply cannot match builder price cuts at this point here.

[anuvenki]

Originally Posted by GLS

We just recently bought from a builder for a variety of reasons. However, to address your question specifically, in this area the builder was more "motivated" than private owners. First we got them to reduce their current list price from $274900 to $250,000. Then negotiated them paying $5000 toward closing costs which included a 1 point buydown to 5.125%. We also got them to include some new furniture from one of their models, and window blinds.

The ultimate decision (sometimes just a gut feeling) is to go with the house that puts a smile on your face. However, negotiate aggressively to test how much the seller will compromise. Good luck!

Are you serious?Do they really go that far?
Can you give us some tips on how to negotiate?
This neighborhood is pretty new so I cant find comps online..
You got a great deal.

[TheBudsMom]

I was a realtor for a builder for about 5 years and sold only his houses. I will tell he was more willing to budge on price in the winter.
You can negotiate anything at all!! Down to them replacing some of the things that have already been finished. (We replace flooring in a brand new house for a buyer once.)
I knew what my builder would accept and agree to on what house depending on how long that particular house had been sitting there.

Are you dealing wiht the builders agent or do you have your own? If you are only dealing with the builders agent there is more play room there for him since he dont' have to pay the extra in commission. Lets say there is an extra 3% off the bat that he can decrease the home price, pay points, give upgrades, or anything like that with.