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New Construction| Negotiating a New Home Construction Contract

Questions New Home Buyers Have On New Construction in Tallahassee, FL

Can We Negotiate On A New Construction Home Price?

build Yuour Dream Home with our Team at HomeSalesofTallahassee.com Debbie Kirkland RealtorYes! There are many opportunities to negotiate a sales price on a new construction home in Tallahassee, FL. Depending on what stage of new construction a home may be in, is very important for negotiation purposes. With the help of your Tallahassee, FL Realtor, the earlier you negotiate your price, the better, avoiding cost overruns and changing prices during the construction process. There are some hard costs of new construction, and most builders today are very close on their budgets if they are smart businessmen. Knowing if a builder is financially solvent, researching their reputation, and asking the right questions of your home builder is critical to choosing the right builder on your new home.

What Can We Negotiate On A New Construction Home?

You can negotiate many things, for example:

  • Special Features to build into the home, or to leave out to cut costs.
  • Floor Plan changes – Not often negotiated after a slab is poured or permits are pulled. Get on this in then planning stages.
  • Closing Costs – Building in builder paid closing costs may save you money at the closing table allowing you to do other things in your new home once you move it.
  • Financing and Rate Buy Down Terms – Not as popular now, but during times of higher interest rated, this worked in the advantage of the buyer to be able to purchase the home when the contractor would use closing cost monies to buy a rate down for a few years until a family got settled or in anticipation of their income increasing.
  • Price Itself – Depends on a contractor’s inventory and need to sell to close their construction notes. Timing is everything! Your Tallahassee Realtor and New Construction Specialists will most likely know this information.

Once you have signed a new construction contract, changes that you make in the plans can be costly. “Change orders,” cost the builder extra time in redrawing plans, possibly time and labor costs as well as costs from changes in scheduled inspections.

When do we put a binder deposit down on a new construction home?

Most every contractor will require an up-front, non-refundable deposit that is significant if you are building a custom built home with specialty features not typical of their initial plans. If you are buying a new home just recently finished, a  binder deposit is negotiable, however if you are in a competing offer situation, making a serious offer of a binder deposit may be what wins you the competing offer. Binder deposits are made at time of contract signature.

Who writes A Sales Contract for New Construction?

If you have going into to a tract builder or planned community without representation, you may be told that you must use the builder’s standard contract.  Some contractors have pre-written contracts. Never sign a contract without review from a licensed attorney. It is your right, no matter what kind of pressure you are getting from a salesperson.  Reputable builders will never pressure you into signing something without stating that you should have an attorney review it for you. A builder’s salesperson DOES NOT represent you, they represent the builder. Hire a Realtor who specializes in new construction to help you negotiate the terms of your contract with new construction builders.

Do you want representation from a new construction Realtor who represents you, who can represent you with multiple builders? If you would like a new-construction consultation, please CONTACT US. We can help you understand the intracacies of the new construction process, introduce you to reputable builders in our community that you decide best fit your new home needs.

Searching for new construction neighborhoods or lots and land for sale in Tallahassee, FL? We will help you with your search. We will take you to all the new neighborhoods, introduce you to the builders, and be there when you make your decision to purchase or design a new home and negotiate the best deal for you with your Tallahassee, FL builder.

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