When you decide its time to buy a new car, do you hop in your car and drive to visit a dozen or more car dealers? Do you register with each one, giving them your name, address, cell phone and email address? You do realize they are sales people that work for the dealer, right? If you did give them all of your contact information, how many calls did you get at dinner time and how many email solicitations did you receive telling you Now is the time to buy that new car from ____ (fill in the blanks).
When you're buying a new home remember that New Home Sales People are employees of the builder much like a new car salesman is employed by the Dealership.
The new home sales people are notREALTORS, they are not licensed real estate agents, they do not represent you, the BUYER; they represent the Builder, aka, the SELLER.
When we are working with a Buyer client, we do not simply put you in our car and drive you around to every new home community and sign you up. By doing that, called registering you with the builder, we are protected which means that if you buy in that community, we are guaranteed to be compensated in some way, even if you forget to mention you have been working with us. But that is not necessarily the best way to represent you the Buyer.
Some Builders prefer we drop you off
They may not want us in the way of their sales effort. You see, we are not there to sell you any particular house in any one community. They are and that is their job. Now that the market is back in full swing, it is even more important that you have a professionalREALTOR, on your side. There are so many things to know about new construction and new home communities, things that can make a huge difference in closing costs, monthly expenses and future costs.
Its all in our spreadsheet
If you are like me, as things get complicated I create a spreadsheet. That way I can put all of the data in columns and rows and compare and contrast all of the different neighborhoods we have here in Delaware. It started out simple with the number of homes, the property taxes, the range of prices, etc. Then I began to add rows for the more complicated questions:
- What is the Capital Contribution?
- Does the Builder split the Transfer Tax?
- Is there a Water/Sewer Impact or Hookup Fee? Does the Builder split that cost?
- Does the monthly fee include grass cutting? trash pickup? snow removal?
- How many pets can I have and can I put a fence in the backyard?
- Do they offer Natural Gas or Propane?
- Who is the Electric provider?
Whew! The type is getting too small to print the spreadsheet on a single page but it is growing as well learn more about all of the communities that seem to peak our clients interest. We have also learned a whole lot about what is important to our clients and we make them aware of these important details before they make a purchase decision.
So, know this it does not cost you more to be represented and prepared when you are buying a home in Delaware. Start your search by choosing a goodREALTOR to be your Guide and your advocate. No, I will not send you my spreadsheet, but I will refer to it often when we are working together.
Got Questions? We have Answers.
Its not unusual to have questions. CLICK HERE to read our Buyers most Frequently Asked Questions, a.k.a. our FAQs page. If you dont see the answer, email us, we look forward to helping you! Retiring and ready to consider Delaware as your destination? Sign up for our FREE Publications, order your FREE Buyers Guide.