Ten Reasons to Buy an Existing Home

Buying a home is an emotional decision for most people. Whether to buy new or used has been a topic of discussion for years. While there are some advantages to purchasing a new home, here we will discuss many benefits of buying a resale home.

1. Existing features. Finished basements, water irrigation systems, fences. When you buy an existing home, you buy the extra improvements that have been made to the land and structures.

2. Land. New homes tend to be built on smaller lots. In some cases, home or garages can be too close for comfort to someone who likes their privacy. When you seek to purchase an older property, you can often find a home with a larger yard or even acreage.

3. Established neighborhoods. From their tall, mature, tree-line communities to the residents that have been living there for years, resale homes in established area have the benefit of long-term stability going for them. You can meet your neighbors before you move in. New subdivisions are generally on the outskirts and all of the residents are new or may not have moved in yet.

4. Mature Landscaping. When you purchase a resale home, upkeep on the land is less strenuous. Installing landscaping elements yourself can be costly. Established lawns and existing landscaping require less money and maintenance than new plantings.

5. Cost savings. Existing homes are usually less expensive per square foot, in part because of escalating land costs in new subdivisions. The modern building materials that new homes are constructed with also cost more. In addition, the price of labor associated with building a home has gone up considerably in recent years.

6. History. When you purchase an existing home, there is a record how much the property has appreciated over the years.

7. Character. Though new homes are customizable in many ways, they still tend to be built in a somewhat generic manner. Homes with the same floorplan may be just across the street. A resale home could be a pre-Civil War farm house, a beautiful Victorian, or a Greek revival as easily as it could be a rambler, a split-level, or a ranch-style house.

8. More room for negotiation. Builders have a number of costs to recover when developing a new community. Often they have a minimum amount of money they must receive and will not budge on their price. When purchasing a resale home, you may have more flexibility with an eager seller.

9. Availability. Waiting for a new home to be finished can take forever. And if there is still construction going on the area, you will have to navigate around construction workers and vehicles, daytime hammering, and stray nails for months. A resale home is already there waiting for you to occupy it.

10. Taxes. Newer homes tend to spring up in less-developed areas, which may impose higher taxes for services such as fire and police coverage, sidewalks, sewers and possibly even a new school. An existing home in an established area has a more predictable property taxes.

When you're ready, the Realtor team at Barker & Hedges can help you buy a home.