New Northern Virginia Home Caveats (Part Two)
Continuing on our previous post, below are additional checklist items to review before buying a brand new Northern Virginia home.
- Upgrade Intelligently
It is only natural to want to customize your new Northern Virginia home with the best of everything available. However, you should understand that when you are upgrading, you are paying retail prices and there are no price breaks included. We recommend that you decide on which upgrades you think are essential at the onset with the knowledge that you can always upgrade and install the other items yourself at some point in the future.
- Sign a Completion Clause
When building a new Northern Virginia home, issues come up that inevitably change the timeframe of completing the project. Before you commit to anything make sure that you and your builder are on the same page, establishing milestones and a concrete completion date in writing. A Completion Cause provides you some protection should the Northern Virginia home not be completed by the agreed upon date.
- Explore Earlier Phases
If the development you are looking to buy in to is in Phase Two of development or beyond, look around to see if any Phase One homes are available as these homes are often less expensive. Also be sure to check in with neighbors, collecting feedback on their experience with both the builder and the Northern Virginia home itself.
- Know Your New Northern Virginia Neighborhood
As you walk around the development scouting your lot location selection be sure to think about logistics such as how close your neighbors will be or how the other homes could impact your view. Can your neighbors see right into your master bedroom window? Will the kids be safe playing in the yard? How about the neighborhood outside of your development – is it a safe area? All these questions are good to ask before you make your final decision.
- Schedule a Home Inspection
Because the home is being built from the ground up it is easy to think that there is no need to spend the extra money on a home inspection. However you would be wise to not fall into this trap as paying a little money at the start could help to save you a lot of money later. You can also look into hiring an inspector or outside contractor to check in throughout the building process to make sure no corners are being cut and the home is being built correctly.
When you are ready to begin your new Northern Virginia home search, whether it is for a brand new Northern Virginia home or an older one, be sure to give Homes Re-Imagined a call at 703-552-1372 and let us help!