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Old 06-01-2007, 07:49 AM
 
5 posts, read 14,575 times
Reputation: 10

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we were looking around north austin and in a master planned community for new homes and seen a model home of a builder for sale and loved it ... the pricing too seems to be attractive but i was wondering is buying a model home a good idea ??
this is gonna be our first home so that;s making me more nervous ..
the sales consultant was ready to strike a good deal as most of her homes are sold .. and she wants to close this asap and def the model home had lovely upgrades though we werent a big fan of the color of the walls and wallpapers . but thats cosmetic and we could always change that later

currently we r renting an apt and its lease wouldnt expire until few months
and we r ok with breaking the lease as long as we get a good deal with the builder

so has anyone any experience buying a model homes is it worth the price?
is there any hidden ceveat in there that we have to be aware of ???????
any suggestions and tips will be truly appreciated any agents ur suggestions pls
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Old 06-01-2007, 08:03 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,245 posts, read 35,505,155 times
Reputation: 8587
Have never bought a model home, but there are a few questions I guess I would want to know.
  • Is the house located right at the front of the neighborhood, where every single resident is going to drive past you?
  • You obviously did not pick the options. Can you live with the options, or will you need to spend $$$ to change them? Paint is easy, but tile vs wood vs carpet, or an island in the kitchen vs no island, are harder to change.
  • You did not get to see the construction in progress, so you might need to spend a little more time(money) on inspection.
  • How long has the house been completed? Has it been properly maintained (AC filters and toilet mechanisms come to mind)?
  • Is there anything so odd about the house you couldn't resell it easily?
Really, though, if you are flexible, then I don't see any inherent problems. For a first home, you usually go with affordablility over perfection (I did). So you wanted an office with french doors, and there aren't any...well, work up to that the next time...or maybe you won't want it by then. If you kill yourself trying to find the perfect house on a limited budget, you may never get there.

Don't know about breaking the lease.
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Old 06-01-2007, 10:16 AM
 
Location: SW Austin & Wimberley
6,333 posts, read 18,010,638 times
Reputation: 5531
I would evaluate it no differently than you would any existing home, other than making sure you have clarity about having the driveway installed (it's probably landscaped where the driveway will be) and the garage converted back to a garage (if they've used it as an office, as is often the case).

If they've used the garage as the office, you also have to have the HVAC ductwork redone so you aren't cooling your garage.
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Old 06-01-2007, 10:19 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
15,245 posts, read 35,505,155 times
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Quote:
If they've used the garage as the office, you also have to have the HVAC ductwork redone so you aren't cooling your garage.
Well, now, my wife (the potter) would LOVE to have an ACed garage .
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Old 06-01-2007, 01:06 PM
 
5 posts, read 14,575 times
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thanks guys for the pts , ya i would also love an ac garage but later be bombed with the energy bill

the model is right nr the entrance but there is another model home right beside the one we r contemplating ,i dont think the noise should be too much of a problem ab;t the upgrades they r something that we can live with except for the tiles its bit too dark in color but i can live with that as of now rest of the upgrades are stuff that i would definately want in a home .....

they are ready to give us a warranty so incase i detect a problem with toilet or ac filters i think they would def fix that ,at least thats what the sales consultant told us

we definately are going to get the house inspected with some home inspector hey would anybody be knowing any good and affordable home inspectors i would welcome that pls PM me with the info

i cant think of any odd pts or i dont know i am just being blind and so overwhelmed by the new home
though i definately agree over affordability i think we can manage as of now
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Old 06-01-2007, 11:06 PM
 
Location: Austin
206 posts, read 1,308,937 times
Reputation: 81
You can always get a great deal on a model home. Builders tend to discount heavily when they come to the point of selling the models. Usually building a new home with all the options/upgrades that a model home has can really burn a hole in your pocket. A very important point for a person like me who is on a tight budget.
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Old 06-02-2007, 08:52 AM
 
5 posts, read 14,575 times
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thanks guys we will be going to finalize this weekend ...
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Old 06-05-2007, 07:57 AM
 
Location: Austin
206 posts, read 1,308,937 times
Reputation: 81
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovelyhome View Post
thanks guys we will be going to finalize this weekend ...
So...did you guys make the move ? How'z the home?
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