Sacramento Real Estate Views

5 Reasons You Need a Realtor when Buying a New Home

Buying a new home is substantially different than buying an existing home.  I would know, I’ve sold many resale homes and I’ve also worked for one of the largest, publicly held home builders in the nation, Pulte Homes.

This gives me a depth of knowledge when working with a new home buyer that other Realtors who haven’t  had this experience can’t possibly know.  No amount of fancy letters behind the name of any Realtor can substitute for successfully selling new homes for a builder and working in that environment.

The Pitch: Buying a new home? Call me.  It would be a mistake not to let me represent you with my experience in tow.

Now, beyond that, here are some other reasons you want representation when purchasing a new home.

The Contracts and Disclosures

The paperwork in buying a new home is vastly different than purchasing a resale.  Realtors selling a resale use, mostly, California Association of Realtors (CAR) forms approved by the CAR attorneys in concert with the Department of Real Estate.  New home builders do not.  You’ll need someone who understands these differences to explain it to you.  Can someone whose never seen them do this adequately?  Your call, I’m just asking!

Warranties and SB 800

New homes are legislated far more than the resale side of the business.  Ask most Realtors what SB 800 is and you’ll get a blank stare most of the time.   Understanding this will help you to realize why buying a new home is so beneficial.  This is a MAJOR difference between buying new and existing homes.

Use the Builders Lender?

Using the builders lender can be tricky.  Some of the builders are using outside lenders while others have their own lenders who are under the same umbrella and affiliated with the builder.  Some Realtors will tell you that using the builders lender isn’t a good decision.  The proof will be in the fees charged and the incentives offered.  I generally recommend that the buyer uses the builders lender as the cost of using your own lender won’t be offset by incentives.  Incidentally, Pulte Homes has the best team of mortgage people I’ve ever run across.  I would ALWAYS recommend using their lender when purchasing a Pulte or Del Webb home.

Construction

New home sales consultants are trained in the current building standards of the homes they sell.  It’s part of objection handling and knowing the difference between one builder and another.  Understanding quality workmanship is critical to buying a new home.  Trust me on this.  The builder who built my home built it with components that won’t hold up in a stiff wind.  Every sales associate that works for the builder who built my home lied about quality.  They had to or they were not trained to know the difference.  Do you want to take that chance?  Knowing the difference between builders and what they build is critical to peace of mind.

and finally

GET THE BEST PRICE AND TERMS

You don’t work in the sales department of a homebuilder like Pulte without learning a thing or two about what they will do and what they won’t do.  Once I had a Realtor come and “negotiate” a sale for his client on a home that was a month from being finished.  He was trying to discredit the community and it’s pricing in an effort to get a better deal for his client.  I simply told him we don’t negotiate and asked if he needed me to leave the room to chat with his client which I did.

When I came back he asked me for a $5K discount on the home priced at base plus upgrades.  $5K…$5K!!!  I smiled and excused myself to chat with my community manager to tell her that I just saved the company $10K.   I had been authorized to give up $15K to make the deal work if need be.  By “negotiating” he cost his client $10K she didn’t have to spend.  INEXPERIENCE COST HIS CLIENT THOUSANDS!

The reason for this is knowing how the builders figure costs and where to ask for discounts. It’s not hard once you’ve worked in the industry to get the best possible price for your client.  The $5K discount cost the builder about $1,500.  That’s no discount.  This is where I can really help.

Well that’s my take.  I wouldn’t trade my experience at Pulte Homes for anything.  Some of the most professional and caring people I’ve ever worked with.  What I learned there will help me to be successful in the future.  I will always favor Pulte and Del Webb homes because they are one of the best production builders out there, bar none.

If you need representation purchasing your new home, and believe me you do, please call me at 916-532-7653. I’ll be happy to help you  or someone you know.

By the way, there are WAY more than 5 reasons to be represented when buying a new home.  Check Gena Riede’s article about her take.  It’s a good one.

Tags: cambridge, Del Webb, lennar, meritage, New homes in Sacramento, pulte, syncon, tim lewis

Listen to your Grandma! News from the trenches..

The Sacramento real estate market over the last few years has left much to be desired but the signs are there that this nightmare is coming to an end…the proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” is appearing, the angels are singing on high…Oh the Rapture! aahem! Sorry, it’s been a good month for us so far and I’m excited.

With all of the negative media talk, it’s hard to hear through the shrieking to get to what’s going on out there right now.

In the new homes market, builders are generally the last to feel the market pinch and the first to see the signs of recovery. One of the reasons for this is that the larger builders are publicly held companies that have boards of directors and stock holders to answer to. They will do everything they can to get homes sold, meet goals and that means they price their homes right, some offer incentives or give things away to motivate people to buy.

This last weekend, the builder I work for, Pulte Homes, Inc., had a sale. It was a nationwide event where we offered 4 free options, this primarily was directed at homes that are “out front” or yet to be built or six months with no payments, closing costs paid, directed toward inventory or 30 day escrows.

Our national goal for this event was 60 homes sold for our division. We shattered that goal, shattered I tell you!

Of the homes sold that weekend about 45% were sold in the active adult communities of which there are 2 in the division. This is significant. Why, you ask? The active adult buyer is one of the most savvy buyers in the market. Typically they have bought and sold many homes. They have been through many downturns and know what the signs of recovery look like.

While they may have years of equity in their current homes, they are generally on fixed or limited incomes and don’t often like to take risks unless the risk is minimal.

Traffic at our communities is up 39% since the first of the year and cancellation rates are down 8%. More people are looking and less people are canceling. If fewer people are canceling and most who are buying have homes to sell, the resale market must be picking up as well.

Mike Lyon from Lyon Real Estate is quoted as saying recently that the pending sale number doubled from December to January. I spoke to a Coldwell Banker agent today who told me he lost an all cash offer he made for a client on a property recently. Why?

Because there were 8 other offers on the same property. Multiple offers? In this market?

45% of sales in the active adult communities. Are your grandparents trying to teach you something? Something that even the SacBee doesn’t want you to know? I think so.

Ignore the headlines…this is an awesome article by a nationally known money guru…take it to heart. Your Grandparents have!

Tags: New homes in Sacramento, Sacramento homes, Sacramento real estate market