New houses (Alamo: HOA fees, mortgage, credit)

[dcjes]

I am currently a resident in Bridgewood area. My family is looking at moving over to the Alamo Ranch area. Our fist house we bought was 2 years ago and was 5 years old when we bought it. I know that there is negotiating prices on older homes, but what about on newer homes? We are looking at a house that does have some incentives (free upgrades), but can you negoitate the final price of the house?? Just curious. Thanks to all who reply.

[banker]

Depends on the builder and if you are building or purchasing a spec/inventory home. My builder wouldn't negotiate at all as we signed a contract to build a house. That said - when it came time to close I went back and asked for an incentive given the current market. They gave me about 75% of what I asked for. So it never hurts to ask.

[kevcrawford]

That's a very good strategy, banker.

You can negotiate the price of the homes, depending on how fast you can close and what they've got under inventory. You can also get a ton of upgrades. Ask your realtor if they know of any incentives, as a lot of builders will market directly to realtors with specials that they don't advertise elsewhere.

[banker]

Originally Posted by kevcrawford

That's a very good strategy, banker.

You can negotiate the price of the homes, depending on how fast you can close and what they've got under inventory. You can also get a ton of upgrades. Ask your realtor if they know of any incentives, as a lot of builders will market directly to realtors with specials that they don't advertise elsewhere.

This is true. Also - the builder may have houses not on MLS. So have your realtor check directly with the builder. Often those houses can be had for good discounts.

[Joer1622]

Also, check to see if the builder is offering large intererst rate discounts. especially on specs.

[SA Greed]

Hey Banker, who did you wind up going with?

[firstclassflyer]

Yeah Banker...who was the builder?

[firstclassflyer]

Credit goes to LatinoCowboy for this:

[banker]

I tried not to even mention it...

[mama76]

Just coming from another direction here, but why do you want to move just two years after buying your current home? You will be looking at addtl expenses when purchasing your new home, like realtor fees for selling your current home, closing costs for the new home, etc...I am not sure how much equity you have already built in your current home, but if you decide you definitely want to move, it may be wiser to have a house built from the ground up so you can get a contingency on having your house sold prior to closing on the new one.

Also consider higher costs like higher mortgage pmts, electric bills, HOA fees and TAXES, esp if you are going with a larger home than you have now. I am not trying to rain on your parade and if you are in the great position of being able to afford a new home, go for it...

I am too looking at buying a newer, bigger home, but I am starting to have doubts, if it will make me "happier." It will mean more stress as I will need to keep a budget (which I never had to do before) in order to afford a bigger home and I'd like to retire before I am 80...so we are probably going to stay in our current home, which is small and older, but works for us and I think I have the cheapest mortgage pmt of everyone I know. This is why I am able to save a lot of cash for retirement, which is more important to me right now than moving to a nicer house.

Anyway, good luck to you and please run the numbers of addtl monthly expenses and costs related to making the move prior to purchasing a new home and be sure you can sell your current home for what you currently owe or hopefully more than that)

GOOD LUCK!