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Hey Goblue,
We are looking at homes in a Centex community here in CA. They do
change their incentives like underwear First they told us
3% towards upgrades for local heros program, then last time it changed
to 3% off total price. And they have dropped their prices 20k in just
a couple months. AND they are itching to get rid of inventory, they take
bids for sure. So, maybe its all up to management and the local area
conditions. They are just starting phase 6 and have about 13 or more phases
to build. Times will get tougher, yay for us Oh, they are also building a
separate townhome community with this too, more inventory and glut.
You would think the building would slow down, considering they aren't selling what they have. I know what you mean by glut though... we have a townhuse community being built by where we live now. We checked it out because it would have been convenient to not move as far away. However, we discovered that they were stacked townhouses! Each townhouse building was 4 stories but the houses themselves were 2 each. Each house got a one car garage on the bottom floor, and they were all 2 bedrooms each and from the plans we saw they all looked tiny. The houses were for sale for almost $200k each! In the area they are being built you could buy a bigger new SFH for that much! That's greed if I ever saw it. They don't have a lot of land so they're making small stacked houses just to get as much in their pocket as possible...
A little off topic, sorry... but it made me think of it.
You would think the building would slow down, considering they aren't selling what they have. I know what you mean by glut though... we have a townhuse community being built by where we live now. We checked it out because it would have been convenient to not move as far away. However, we discovered that they were stacked townhouses! Each townhouse building was 4 stories but the houses themselves were 2 each. Each house got a one car garage on the bottom floor, and they were all 2 bedrooms each and from the plans we saw they all looked tiny. The houses were for sale for almost $200k each! In the area they are being built you could buy a bigger new SFH for that much! That's greed if I ever saw it. They don't have a lot of land so they're making small stacked houses just to get as much in their pocket as possible...
A little off topic, sorry... but it made me think of it.
Blue, did you get any response to your offer yet?
They really have no choice but to keep moving fwd. Some good deals
are most likely to be had on the inventory houses, but we want a certain
plan and there are none like it in inventory. Darn, but, we just keep hoping
for more price drops which is more than likely what will take place.
When your dealing with a builder such as Centex the decision probably comes from a regional manager that has set prices on the homes. Being a tract builder as they are they probably average out the cost of homes. Thay buy a home package (a framing kit with a blueprint and most things included in the house, that are delivered over a period of time from start to finish) from whoever Centex uses at a particular cost and build with a budget in mind. Unless they build a lot of homes they do not make a lot of money on each home itself considering how much they spend for each home. That is why the smaller builders are in trouble now. I am not a big Centex fan. Go for it offer what you want, but if they accept hire a home inspector to inspect through out the process...Bill
We offered at $42,000 below list (11.5% off). They countered at $20,000 below list and claimed that is the best they can do. Our next offer is going to be $35,000 below list. We need them to come down more or we won't be able to afford the place.
What if they could pay points toward interest instead? So they give you $20 off, but buy your interest rate down 1/2 percent, so that the extra 15K is affordable in a 30 year fixed payment.. (just thinking out loud..)
Good luck. We got a free upgrade (worth $15.5K) on our Ryan home that we're building (after they'd already reduced the prices significantly) - they're all willing to deal somewhat, you just have to ask.
What if they could pay points toward interest instead? So they give you $20 off, but buy your interest rate down 1/2 percent, so that the extra 15K is affordable in a 30 year fixed payment.. (just thinking out loud..)
Good luck. We got a free upgrade (worth $15.5K) on our Ryan home that we're building (after they'd already reduced the prices significantly) - they're all willing to deal somewhat, you just have to ask.
Thanks. The interesting thing is that the price they countered with is still a tremendous value for the neighborhood. There are 3 neighboring communities and all are 15% more expensive for a comparable home. This one is only cheap because they dropped their base prices by a big amount in Sept, plus added $20k off in negotiation.
Unfortunately, their new price is still about 6% higher than our max budget. So basically we need to decide if we're willing to stretch our budget to buy a great place that is a great value.
Go Blue
I am NEVER in favor of stretching ones budget. BUT, if this is a home you can stay in for a long time without the itch to move again, maybe you could borrow some money from family to make it work? We are in VA and when our home sells we would LOVE to buy a single family, however they are still pretty expensive here. BUT, family has agreed to help us out if we find the perfect single family so A) we won't feel the need to move again for a LONG time due to space and B) if and when the market comes back up we are afraid we will get priced out of the single family market. We need to take advantage of the slump...Know what I mean?
If you can't get help from family and it really would be a stretch to get that home, then you shouldn't go with that home. (My opinion) You could talk with a financial advisor as they are skilled at finding places where you can cut back to afford the home.
Whatever happens, I wish you the best~
I'm not sure what area you are looking in but that home could easily become available at a lower price if not sold by the end of the year. If you don't need to move right away, why not wait a month if they can't or should I say, won't, come down in price. They will possibly change their tune if that house is empty a week or two before Christmas when nobody is out looking or buying. Good luck with your home buying adventure
Well good news to report..we countered back and forth and they finally accepted our offer. We are getting it for $33,500 below the asking price, which is actually only $8,500 more than our initial low-ball offer. And this is on top of a 13% price drop they did on base prices recently. My agent and I looked at comps and this is a great value for the area. Even though the home won't be ready until March, it was considered an inventory home (b/c upgrades are already chosen). I think that helped with getting a deal.
We are going to sign the contract tomm. Hopefully no complications between now and closing!
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First they told us
Oh, they are also building a
Darn, but, we just keep hoping
