Building a home vs. buying?
Categories: Huntsville / Madison News, Jeff Benton Homes News | Posted: November 26, 2013
(Written by Melissa Gerrish – The Huntsville Times / al.com)
Building a home vs. buying? Each has pros, cons you may not realize, says Realtor
(Huntsville, AL) — Building a new home could be much easier than people think.
Crye-Leike Realtor Carrie Burke specializes in new construction and currently represents Huntsville homebuilder Jeff Benton Homes.
“In my experience, I have found that buyers usually don’t realize how easy it is to build a home. It may take a little longer to build a home versus buy one that is pre-existing, but in the long run it’s worth the short wait to get your brand new home just that way you want it,” she says.
“A typical timeframe is 4 ½ months from going under contract to closing,” says Mark Dunaway, Jeff Benton Homes Chief Financial Officer. “We give our buyers a firm closing date when we start the house so they can expect no delays in closing.”
Burke says there’s something special about being able to personalize everything and to watch it go from dirt to a brand new home where lifelong memories are made. “I consider myself very lucky to have a career that allows me to be a part of such a special and exciting event in people’s lives,” she says.
“With the biggest investment most people will ever make, they should be involved with the building process,” says Dunaway. “Jeff Benton Homes has worked throughout its existence to develop a very customer-focused process to build their new home.”
Dunaway says the buyer involvement starts with the opportunity to personalize his or her home during the contract process. “We have professional real estate agents and design professionals working with them offering assistance in making those decisions,” he says.
“After the plans are signed off and construction begins, our buyers receive weekly calls on the progress of their new home, come out to the site and review their new home at framing stage with our sales and construction professionals, and they walk through the home with our customer care professionals prior to closing to ensure they are getting the home they dreamed of,” Dunaway says. “We want our buyers to enjoy the experience and be proud of their home.”
Burke says a typical process involves the following steps:
• Contract
• Design selections
• Pre-construction conference/plan review
• Frame tour (review of electrical before sheetrock is hung)
• New home orientation
• Final walk through
• Closing
Dunaway says the process for choosing design options can be very difficult.
“Typically homebuilders have you make your choices at each supplier’s location. A few builders, including us, utilize a design studio, where you can make all of those choices together with the help of a design professional,” he says. “The design studio allows they buyer to align their choices together and saves much time and energy. Reducing that timeframe allows the home to get started sooner and likewise get completed sooner.”
And, what about the budget? Dunaway says sticking to the budget can be easy.
“You make all of your decisions prior to construction starting on your new home. By doing this, you will know exactly what the final price is well before closing. No surprises,” he says.
Do you build with resale in mind? “Absolutely,” says Dunaway. “After 26 years in this business, Jeff Benton Homes has refined its offerings to include amenities that our buyers want and add value to the homes. We also maintain the community amenities until it is completely built out and turn it over to the homeowners debt free, to insure your value is maximized later when you choose to resale.”
View the article on al.com here.
