I think it’s safe to say that the residential building industry has grown up over the last20 years. I remember when I first started in the industry and there was a limit in the knowledge of building, building products and interior design. There’s a lot of proof to that point still around in Perth. Just take a look at the apricot coloured basins and toilet suites, terrible colour schemes like ‘pink and grey’ and overall hodgepodge in many homes. Another contributing factor was the limitations of selections available. There just wasn’t that much selection available in the market place and those providing materials also weren’t as professional as they are now.
Buying a new home is a daunting task under any circumstances, but buying a home in this economy can be downright frightening. The process can be quite intimidating, especially if you don’t know if you want an older home or a new home. New homes are a great investment, even during an economic downturn. Many builders are selling homes for pennies on the dollar, just to break even. Add this to the fact that many builders are offering free upgrades, and it’s a win-win situation for both the buyer and the seller. The builder avoids foreclosure on the property, and the buyer can customize to his heart’s content.
It’s understandable how it happens… people walk into a shop, see something they love and say ‘I want that one’ (Little Britain Style). Then they proceed to the next shop, without taking a sample of the previous choice and fall in love with another colour. ‘I want that one’ (rinse and repeat). The problem is that when these selections are combined, they are terrible! The colour tones clash and the overall finish of the new home is not as it should be.
What should you look out for with your display home? Remember a display home is marketing tool by the builder, so when walking through one it may seem like the perfect place for you to live in, but you must ask a few questions and make sure that the home is suited to what you require.
Every home must have an inspection before the sale is completed, but new homes have the added advantage of inspections not unearthing nasty, expensive problems. Builders will often pay for a home inspection as an added incentive to buy, another great help to your schedule and your budget.
It’s my general recommendation that all people thinking of building consult with an interior designer to assist with decorating and the general colour selections. Sure, you can do it yourself, but getting this one element right can make the difference of living in an amazing home, to living in an average home.
There will be many stories of buildings gone wrong regarding display homes, but when there are thousands of homes built each year, there are always going to be a few disaster stories and this can be due to the client not being on top of things or sheer bad luck. As a consumer you will have a lot of protection from any issues that can arise with constructing your home there are building commissions in each state which will have information to assist you and protect you.
We recommend that you get quotes from 2 – 3 builders before choosing the one that will work for you. Ask them for a list of past customers that you can call and find out how punctual the builder was, if the price changed & how well they cleaned up after the job was done.
Paul Amos His latest website is about Possible reasons why you may wish to Refinance your existing mortgage Provides guides about Mortgage rates
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