New Constructions Cons?? (new home, buying, square footage)

[citymomma23]

Are there any cons to buying new construction??? Besides it being a little more expensive per square footage? Am I missing something in regards to tax rate?

[KensingtonPark]

Having purchased mostly new construction homes in my lifetime, I can tell you what I think the cons are:

1. Tax Uncertainty. You don't have any tax history against which to judge what you'll be paying. So it's difficult to predict where you will land. Plan for the worst here.
2. Unestablished Settling Patterns. The house is new, so it won't be in its final resting place for a number of years. If one part of the house is going to sink faster than another, then you will find out over time. In my case, we're talking about small differences/issues (e.g., nail pops, door jam issues). However, there are certainly those have experienced some unpleasant results.
3. Simple Things That Don't Work as Expected. While you don't have old things that are on the verge of failing, you will run into things that need to be fixed quite immediately. One house I owned had a AC condensation drain that was hooked up in reverse, which meant that the tray would flood instead of draining. Another had a boiler vent shaft that was installed too tightly, which meant that it would "beep" as it rubbed against an adjacent wood rafter whenever the boiler ran. It sounded like a smoke alarm battery warning.
4. Slightly More Expensive Per Square Foot. I say "slightly" only because if I bought an existing home and immediately contracted to bring everything to a relatively new state, I feel like I end up in about the same place. Not really sure it's all that different.
5. No Mapping. Depending on whether there was already a house on the site before, your house may not appear on map services for quite a while.

That's all I can think of. All in all, I have preferred my new home purchases to my existing home purchases. The pros have outweighed the cons for me.

Good luck!

[citymomma23]

Thank you! That was a very thorough response. Much appreciated.

[thedwightguy]

Almost alll VALID home construction would come with a "New Home Warranty".
Or you certainly would be able to arrange one, unless you did the building yourself.

Local new home buildiers that are established are pretty easy to find out if their work is good.
Most stay in an area and become known for good work.

If you give your money to the aggressive rest you take your chances.