Buying A New Construction Home? Buyer Beware!

Buying A New Construction Home? Buyer Beware!

(Pssst! The Sales person does not have all the answers!)

The Sarasota Suncoast Team presents tips about buying new construction. You can contact them at www.sarasotasuncoasthomes.com or contact the team at 941.894.4063 for guidance when buying or selling a home in Sarasota, Bradenton or Venice, FL

If you’re considering buying a new construction home, you should not rely solely on the sales person at the new home builder’s site to know everything about their product and the lot restrictions. You can hope that they would, and they typically do do a great job in guiding you through what will work for you, however, they occasionally miss details that in the end may leave you more than frustrated. If you sign a contract and get locked into something that can’t be changed, you might end up a very unhappy buyer.

Our client’s Peter and Laura wanted to buy a new construction home and nearly signed a contract for a lot that the sales agent recommended as being a perfect fit for their new two story home. At the recommendation of Anja Buetergerds (my team mate and very wise wife), they decided that before signing the contract, they would take the paperwork home and read through the fine print. Then after sleeping on it, they would finalize everything. Thank goodness they took her advice.

What they found in the fine print was that the lot the sales person recommended for the two-story home they chose had a restriction that did not allow for a two-story home on that lot. You can’t believe their shock. What was even more surprising was that the sale agent was mortified that she had recommended the lot. She should have know the lot restrictions and her product.

As it turned out the only other two lots that fit their home of choice were either backing up to a street or had a premium that was way over budget. In the end they had to dump their dream home and regroup. The mistake of the sales agent was not intentional, and this builder would not have made them follow through on the building of the home, however this could have taken months to discover if they hadn’t read the details. It saved them a huge headache.

As a buyer, having an agent working with you can save you a great deal of money and headaches. However as a consumer you have to maintain control and not release all the reigns to the sales people around you. Take their advice and check up on what they are saying. Don’t become a zombie and when you are walking into the biggest purchase of your life. As it was famously said, “Trust, but verify”. 

A great agent will try to do everything they can to assist you, but don’t rely solely on your agent. Although they are very good at handling the minute details of a sales transaction, they are human and they are working with many buyers and sellers and contracts, so they may not be able to catch every detail. Check your contract yourself and be sure to have a real estate attorney check your contract before you enter into any agreement. Ask your agent for a copy of a sample contract so you have time to familiarize yourself with it before you find your dream home. A good agent will guide you and go over the details, but then you need to go home and read the fine print again! Buyer Beware, this is a big deal!