Top 6 Things You MUST Know Before Buying a New Home

1) Use an Experienced New Home Realtor to Negotiate

Use a Realtor to Buy Your New HomeWhy Would I Use a Realtor to Buy a New Home?

This is a question that comes up quite a bit and I am always MORE than happy to explain.  Let me first say, I can see how many folks would be confused on this topic but hey, that is exactly why we are here to help!

For whatever reason, the inventors of “how real estate operates” thought it would be a great idea to make this entire process as complicated as possible for home buyers and sellers to grasp.  Let me start with the biggest misconception and/or myth about using a Realtor to buy a new (or even pre-owned) home.

BUYER REPRESENTATION (ie: using a Realtor) is 100% FREE to you, a home buyer.

The commissions are negotiated and approved between the seller/builder (who actually pays all the commissions) and their listing agent BEFORE a house is ever even listed for sale.  What does this mean for you, a home buyer?  This means you would be CRAZY not to take advantage of an experienced Realtor’s knowledge and expertise when you head off to make one of the biggest investments of your life!

We have a very experienced and knowledgeable team of New Home Experts ready to assist you TODAY!  Not only do we stay on top of the BEST DEALS for YOU, we also have a wealth of information that you NEED to know before making any decisions.  There are TONS of variables that you should consider before you even step foot inside a model home, much less before signing a contract.

If you would like more information on this process, would like to schedule a time for us to take you on a New Home tour of Forney or need anything else at all, feel free to call/text us at 972-236-5060, shoot us an email at info@newhomesinforney.com or complete any of the forms on this page.

We TRULY care about YOUR needs and strive to create an awesome relationship with you to not only find you the PERFECT new home today, but also to be your real estate resource from now on.  Oh yeah, we’d also love to add you as a new friend as well (in real life, not just on Facebook). 

2) Get Pre-Qualified First…Save Yourself a HUGE Headache

Stress Free Home BuyingWhy would I need to get pre-qualified until I find the house that I love?

Well…let me share just one quick example of why this is so important.  I had the pleasure of meeting and assisting a home buyer, let’s call her Jane.  Jane and I spent many hours viewing pre-owned homes until one day, we finally stumbled across the perfect house.  Although I did mention on several occasions that calling my lender to get pre-qualified was definitely in her best interest, she preferred to hold off.  For the record, I am absolutely NOT a pushy “sales” type of guy so the last thing I intended to do was nag her about calling the lender until she got fed up with me and decided to find another agent to help her, so I left it alone.

Now that Jane had found the perfect home, she knew she needed to get pre-qualified so we could present a letter from her lender stating she was good to go.  This also makes it much easier for me to give the listing agent the “warm and fuzzies” about accepting our offer.  Jane called the lender, filled out the application and waited 24 hours to hear back.  By this time, not only did we allow others to view and submit offers on the property, we lost any chance of getting a good deal, now that 12 other buyers were in the picture. 

Needless to say, we did NOT get the “Perfect” property for Jane and she was so discouraged that she decided to hold off buying a home for a while.  She renewed her lease for one more year which was $1,500 per month.  $18,000 DOWN THE DRAIN for the next 12 months.  UGH!  Ain’t nobody got time for that!

3) Know Your Builder Before You Sign Your Life Away

There Can’t Be That Much Difference Between Each Builder, Right?

I can’t say too much, I’d probably think in a similar manner if I didn’t “Real Estate” every day for the last decade.  BUT, I would have been WRONG and it could have ended up costing me (or YOU) in the long run.

New builders pop up more than acne on a teenager.  A thousand bucks for an LLC, a clever name, a cheesy website and VIOLA, a new “builder” has been born.  You owe it to yourself to make sure you investigate every nook and cranny of each and every builder who may be an option for you and your family.  I mean, this is one of, if not THE biggest expense you’ll ever have in your life.  Shouldn’t you be well informed before you pull the trigger?

All builders offer a “warranty”, but do you know which ones actually stand by them?  How about energy efficiency?  Which builders do the bare minimum requirements and which go above and beyond to make sure you are getting the BEST overall bang for your buck?  We focus our attentions every day towards staying on top of every builder, in every community, every incentive and every GREAT deal available to save you time, energy and MONEY!

The BEST part…we are paid by the builders when we bring them a buyer.  This means you don’t pay a PENNY for our services!  That’s right, you heard me correctly, our services are FREE TO HOME BUYERS!

4) Find Out if You are Buying in a MUD District or City Limits

Forney MUD TaxesYUCK, I Don’t Want to Live in MUD!  

Don’t worry, it’s not actually mud, but you do want to be aware before you buy.  Property taxes are one of the most overlooked variables of buying a new home, yet they are extremely important to understand since we cannot avoid paying them….ever….ever-ever!

So…What are MUD Taxes?  The acronym, MUD stands for “Municipal Utility District”.  This is considered a political subdivision of the State of Texas authorized by the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to provide water, sewage, drainage and other utility-related services within MUD boundaries.

What does this all mean?  The short answer is, MUD’s are typically created for subdivisions that are outside city limits, therefore do NOT have access to city services like water and trash.  In order to provide these services to homeowners, a MUD must be created.  These are typically funded through bonds and passed through to the homeowners on their tax bill.  The homeowners pay this extra tax over the years to pay the bond back.  Each subdivision will vary as to the length of time and amount that homeowners will have to pay before the bonds are eventually paid off and the MUD portion of taxes are removed.

Bottom line, your taxes will likely range from being a little higher, to sometimes much higher in a MUD district than if you purchased inside city limits.  This will end up affecting your monthly payment.  Sometimes only a small amount but it can potentially increase by $200 per month or more, depending on the subdivision.

5) Get Your NEW Home Inspected!

Why You Should Inspect a Brand New HomeWhy Would I Want to Pay for a Home Inspection on a Brand New Home?

Sounds crazy, right?  Obviously the home is being inspected along the way so I should just trust that that they know what they are doing.

NO!!!  DON’T DO THAT!!  Let me explain…

While yes, there are certain points throughout the construction process that certain “inspections” take place before proceeding, if you really knew exactly how in-depth (or lack thereof) they really were, you would change your position immediately.

Here’s the deal…you are about to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a building you and your family will live in for years to come, why not make CERTAIN that everything is in proper order?  Sure, you get a “warranty” for up to a year after you close but I sure don’t want to move into my new home and then have to worry about calling the builder back out several times after I move all my stuf in.  I want it done perfect (or at least as close to perfect as possible) the first time.

The best part is that when we present a list of inspection concerns to the builder, they almost ALWAYS clear up all of the issues without any problems at all, so why not spend $250-$350 and make sure any issues that may have slipped through the cracks are once and for all, resolved!

6) Don’t Be Told You Got a Good Deal…KNOW YOU DID!

Good Deals Aren’t Always Exactly How They Seem.Get a Good Deal on Your New Home

Pretty, shiny new homes coupled with a slick salesman can easily cloud our judgement and cause quick decisions that could either turn out great or be an absolute nightmare for years to come.  That’s ok though, that is why we are here to guide you through the entire process of buying your new home. Always keep in mind, the sales agents you run across at each and every model home you may visit have one goal in mind, SELL THEIR COMPANIES HOME FOR AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE!  It sounds like common sense but it is very easy to lose sight of this fact when shopping for a new home.  It is so easy to get caught up in the emotional aspect of buying a new home which makes the salesman’s job that much easier. Remember, it’s all an illusion…(lol)!  Stay calm, put on your strongest poker face and whatever you do…do NOT seem overly excited!  That automatically puts a big, red target on your back and then you might as well just hand them your wallet and walk out the door.  These sales agents are GOOD!  They will make you feel like they are giving you the best deal that has ever happened in the history of good deals, that is their job. The best way to avoid all of this is to call us at 972-236-5060, TODAY!  You can also email us anytime at info@newhomesinforney.com.  Our team of experienced new home agents spend countless hours, days, weeks and years staying on top of EVERY builder and EVERY community.  We specifically do this to make this process as smooth as possible for you and ensure you get the BEST deal possible. BEST PART….and I know this sounds too good to be true, but it is…Our Services are 100% Free to You!  If you sell a house, new or used in Texas, buyer representation is completely free!  The ONLY time (well, almost always) that you pay real estate commissions are when you are selling your home, not buying.  By the way, we assist our clients even further by reducing our commissions when you are ready to sell your home.  This is just an added bonus as a “Thank You” that we love to provide to our clients!

Give Us a Shout, We'll Take Care of YOU Like Family!

As you can probably tell, there are a lot of moving parts to buying a new home.  We hope you found some of this information useful but as always, we would love an opportunity to show you around Forney, introduce you to the best builders and answer any questions you might have before making your final decision.  Remember, there is absolutely no-obligation to call us, we are always here and happy to help you out in any way we can!