As soon as buyer signs the new builder contract, they are told by Sales rep to setup design center appointment quickly to select their options for their new home. The problem, Buyers are not really ready. They just went through a decision making process to finalize the builder and plans and now they have to go through another daunting process to select the options. But they don’t have choice as they have to complete the option selection before start of the home.
Usually builder provider 2-3 weeks time to complete the design center appointment which might seem lot of time but it is not. Buyers also should understand design center appointments are crucial for getting the dream home the way you wanted. I have compiled few tips which should help Buyers to get them prepared for the design center appointment and also guide them to be on budget.
1. First thing first, put a list of things which you really want and need separately to have in the house other than standard features provided by the builder. For example, Tile in family room. Is it a must now or you can upgrade later? Wood flooring, carpet upgrades, fireplace stones, power outlets etc., Also put a budget or number towards the total upgrades you want to add on top of builder incentives.
2. In order to make the above list, it would be beneficial to find out what builders standards look like. Most of builders allow you to go and check out the options provided either online or personally at the design center before appointment. Also you can ask for the model home in and around town for your same plan and try to visit to get an idea how they look in the plan. You can also ask for the option addendum for those houses and see any other options would be of your interest.
3. If you have an option to split the appointment hours, do it. Don’t use all the hours at one time. Make 2 appointments if possible which will help a lot. First appointment to go through the options provided both standard and upgrades and pricing and second appointment to finalize.
4. After you been to your first appointment, revise your list and take time to visit inventories and houses which are about to complete for your floor plan. Builder/Sales rep should help you in finding and giving you the address for them. Check out the upgrades you want and how it looks and make decision accordingly.
5. Don’t underestimate the need of smaller items which helps to keep your house clean and look organized. For example, prewiring for security sensors, prewiring for speakers, prewiring for TV wall mounts, getting gas hookup or water softener loops, power outlets in places like floor, walls etc., You can do these things after construction but won’t look good.
6. Stick to your budget like you don’t want to go over $10k in upgrades even though you are tempted to do so by design consultant. It might be difficult task because most of the standard options provided by builders won’t look good and you are forced to upgrade them. In that case, you can use next tip.
7.Try the compliment approach. If the granite counter top is not the color you wanted and upgrading is expensive and also counter top color is not good as well. Just try to upgrade just one of these items to match the coloring to get the way you wanted together. Avoid upgrading both unless really necessary.
8. Get only very important items upgraded and get standards for those which can be upgraded later after construction. For example, you can always change to tile flooring from carpet later but changing cabinets is not easy one to do. You cannot add gas outlet in the back yard after construction so you should add it for future use.
9. In the second appointment, try to stick with your finalized list and don’t try to add anything more. First make sure you have everything you wanted to make the house look good and worth for the money. if you have lot of money to do upgrades put them in use for improvements which adds value overall and don’t waste in unnecessary things. For example, you can increase ceiling plate which many builders provide for $1000 or $1500. You can also add stone elevation instead of back patio which you can add later.
10. Finally, don’t make changes after design center appointments which won’t come cheap. Make all your changes when you meet with your Sales Rep after Design appointment, after that most builders will charge change order fee to make any changes.
In Summary, put a need and want list, reasonable budget and try to stick with it by adding essential upgrades and not going overboard. I know it’s not easy task when it comes to decision making and it gets even tougher when two humans with different brain structure is involved. Try to enjoy these appointments by working together by coming up with an unified list to build your dream home.
Riverstone
A Fort Bend area master-planned community where luxurious homes, water features and resort-style amenities define the landscape, Riverstone is one of Fort Bend County’s most desirable addresses. Riverstone residents enjoy an enviable lifestyle with a superb selection of new homes with Sugar Land and Missouri City addresses. Plus, with varied highway access and an array […]
Sienna
Sienna is a comprehensive 7,000-acre master-planned community. Sienna is more than houses inside one of the top Fort Bend County subdivisions. Neatly tucked between the acclaimed cities of Missouri City and the City of Sugar Land, it is a community in the truest sense of the word. Every effort is made to maintain a sense […]
Bridgeland
Imagine a place with vast open spaces and spectacular sunsets. An 11,400 acre master-planned community in northwest Houston where flocks of waterfowl glide across natural lakes. A refuge from the chaos of your workday. A place where you can find true balance. The new home community of Bridgeland is such a place. Bridgeland attracts and […]
Towne Lake – Master Planned Community, Cypress
Towne Lake reflects its Texas-sized appeal in a 300-acre lake, with beautiful views. Lake coves allow neighbors easy access to the water and to the many amenities and destinations throughout, bonding the community together. Towne Lake Charm is all these things and more, reflected in a community steeped in Texas pride. Caldwell Companies has perfected […]
Cypress Creek Lakes
Cypress Creek Lakes is a beautiful master-planned new home community nestled in the charming Northwest Houston suburb of Cypress, Texas. Mischer Development has carefully designed the 1,600-acre community to respect the natural beauty of the land while developing approximately 2,000 new home sites. Its convenient location on Fry Rd. just off of Highway 290 also […]
Ten Things to know before going to New Home Design Center Appointments
Houston accolades for 2013 – Grads Top City, No. 1 Diverse City and much more…
We see it everyday in the roads, restaurants, grocery stories, parks and many more places that changes are happening in our community and transforming to a diverse city every day. Everyone is moving to Houston these days due to the job opportunity, inexpensive housing, diversity and lot more… It helps to put us in nation’s radar by placing us in good spots on many recent surveys and ratings. Do you want to hear some, here you go…
Top City for College Grads
Houston is the No. 1 city for recent college graduates, a survey says. The survey by msnNOW ranked major cities by a combination of job growth, affordable living and “vibrant” 20-something populations. The article urged young people to “pick up and move” to Houston, or one of the other cities on the list.
Houston had 6.7 percent unemployment in June, according to the most recent U.S. Census data. Houston fared better than state of Texas overall, which had a slightly higher unemployment rate, 6.9 percent, in June. The MSN also reported that 20-somethings make up 17.6 percent of the population. Austin came in third. This isn’t the first time Houston has topped the charts for happy young professionals.
Among Top 10 Cities – Ethnically diverse food
Houston is also among the most diverse in terms of ethnic cuisines available, GrubHub.com reports. The Chicago-based online and mobile food-ordering service analyzed restaurant offerings in more than 500 cities across the country to identify which cities offered the widest variety of the site’s 69 different ethnic cuisines. Houston ranked No. 10 on the list of most food-diverse cities, with 28 ethnic cuisines available.
Meanwhile, GrubHub also analyzed which ethnic cuisines were gaining in popularity nationwide. Pakistani topped that list, with a nearly 97 percent increase in GrubHub orders year over year. Caribbean, Halal, Spanish and African rounded out the top five.
No. 1 – Diverse City
Our town is now the most ethnically diverse major metropolitan area in the entire United States, according to the latest report from the Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University. We’ve gone from frontier contender to cosmopolitan champion in national arena of ethnic diversity. What’s more, this dramatic upgrade in the city’s demographic status has taken place over a relatively short period of time. Diversity has brought sea change to some parts of town I can hardly recognize any more. Booking a tour of Houston requires multiple visas outside the Loop.
A key indicator of diversity is an abundance of ethnic restaurants. The local menu now includes a global smorgasbord of authentic cuisine along with chicken-fried steak and barbecue. The inundation of diversity is also evident in shifting population statistics and foreign-language billboards.
What do you think? Are you feeling good about living in this great city or not? You better feel happy to be here…
Source: Houston Business Journal
U.S. Housing Survey – Some Interesting Stats
Every odd year U.S. census bureau does a housing survey and release the results to the public later. The recent census report gives some interesting information after the great recession we had between 2007-2011.
What’s the median monthly mortgage payment of home owners? $1,015, according to the newly released American Housing Survey, conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The survey reveals a range of data, from who is living in homes to characteristics of the homes themselves. The latest survey reflects 2011 data. The survey is conducted only on odd years.
Among the survey’s findings:
Home owners paid 2.3 percent more for their homes in 2011 than in 2009 — with the median purchase of price of homes $110,000 in 2011 compared to $107,500 in 2009. Meanwhile, new construction median purchase prices were higher at $235,000, which was below the $240,000 median in 2009.
The median monthly expenses for home owners was $151 for real estate taxes; $121 for electricity; and $58 for property insurance.
The median year occupied homes were constructed was 1974.
72.5% of the owner-occupied homes had central air and 46.3% had working carbon monoxide detectors.
The highest percentage of homes had three bedrooms and two or more bathrooms.
The most popular selected home amenities were porch, deck, balcony, or patio; telephone available; separate dining room; and usable fireplace.
“The last five years remind us how central housing is to each of us personally, to the fiscal health of our cities and counties, and the national economy,” says Kurt Usowski, HUD’s deputy assistant secretary for economic affairs. “From the American Housing Survey, we can see why people chose to move, how often homes need repairs, and the extent to which housing costs are outpacing income growth. All this information can help inform policy making around continued recovery in the U.S. and in metropolitan areas around the country.”
Click here to go the U.S. Census bureau to discover more stats to educate yourself.
Mortgage rates are going up & up – What is the Impact?
It is recent worry for many buyers and prospective buyers. They don’t know what the rates will be in a month or may be next year. We have enjoyed historic low rates of 3 – 3.5% for 30 year fixed for almost 2 years or so. That luxury is no longer available for many future buyers.
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage took a large jump in the week of Jun 28, rising from 3.93 percent last week to 4.46 percent this week — its largest weekly rise since 1987, Freddie Mac reports in its weekly mortgage market survey. It was the highest the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has averaged since July 28, 2011. A year ago at this time, 30-year rates averaged 3.66 percent. It’s 4.51 percent with an average 0.8 point for the week ending July 11, 2013, up from last week when it averaged 4.29 percent. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.56 percent. See the graph below:
What’s the reason?
Fixed-rate mortgages soared with bond yields amid the Fed’s recent remarks on June 19 that it might soon reduce its bond purchase program, which has helped to keep mortgage rates at historical lows. The Fed plans to moderate its purchases of bonds later this year and end purchases altogether by the middle of 2014.
Mortgage rates moved higher again this week as speculation continued about whether the Federal Reserve will end its future bond purchases, which have kept rates at historical lows. But remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday(Jul 10,2013) may indicate that the Fed won’t be ending its program immediately. On Wednesday, Bernanke said that unemployment is still high and inflation too low. He said the Fed would not raise short-term rates until the unemployment rate reaches 6.5 percent. The jobless rate is currently 7.6 percent. The Fed has been buying $86 billion a month in government bonds to hold down long-term interest rates, which have helped mortgage rates in recent months reach all-time lows.
What’s the Impact?
The major impact is for the buyers whose affordability level has gone down a bit and they have to pay little bit more in mortgage payment for the same house compared to a month ago. It might not have a big impact on the credit approval but some buyers might not be able to afford bigger house for the same price compared to a month or year ago. Rates are still historic low and demand in many metros are still in historic high. This rate increase might help the soaring home prices to settle down a bit. Builders might wait or atleast think twice before rising the price due to expected slow housing demand because of the interest rate increase. See the graph below:
Many buyers were waiting in sidelines hoping the ever increasing home prices to settle down or at least reach a saturation point before the interest increase. But it seems things are happening in other way around. So it is a big blow to those buyers interests and they might think they have lost the boat and now its too late. I would say that the rates are still decent compared to 6-7% during the years 2003-2007 and 8-10% during 1980’s. They should take those high rate dog days into consideration and make decision accordingly and try to make use of this opportunity to buy decent place to live by getting a dream house. There are still lot of deals around and don’t lose hope as the rates will come back down before the end of year and you should be able to take advantage of it.
Happy Independence Day!!
This is the time of the year, we’re reminded of what makes our country great: liberty, diversity, and enterprise. We’re fortunate to have such an abundance of opportunity.
Take some time on the 4th to enjoy what means most to you. After all, the Declaration of Independence affirms that the pursuit of happiness is a protected right for every American.
Have a safe and happy holiday..
