I'm been through countless "used" homes and have come up empty. I'm going to look toward some new homes now in Fort Bend County. One planned community has some inventory homes that have caught my eye. A buddy of mine tells me I should not offer what they are asking. He says they want to get rid of them so they can move on to their next phase. I guess I can see the logic in that but I've never heard of that working. In fact, I've looked at these homes a month ago and they've gone UP by $1,000 since I last looked. He tells me if I tell them I don't own a home and can close soon that they will grab the money. I have a broker who was helping look at the used homes. I'm guessing she could help. As always, any insight you home owners have would be appreciated. os
The builder that I'm using always keeps around 6 homes in inventory for people that want a home immediately. I'm not sure about other areas, but my builder requires closing within 30 days when someone buys an inventory home. In my community, the inventory homes sell pretty quickly so I'm sure that they don't have to haggle too much on the price. Of course all these things will vary greatly depending on the community. Hope this helps.
Builders borrow funds to build inventory (spec) homes. They hope to make a profit on these homes, but they also build them to advertise their product. Think about it: how bad-ass did these new homes look to you? Would you be interested in a new home if all you had to go by was some pictures? That one spec home will probably sell half a dozen other "semi-custom" homes. The builder will take that floor plan and modify it with upgrades that new home owners want and are willing to wait for. Upgrades are expensive as hell, and the builder makes a tidy profit on them. Meanwhile, the builder is paying interest every month on the spec or inventory home. She's also paying a maid service to keep the place clean and a yard service to keep the lawn mowed. There's also interest, property taxes, electricity, gas, water, and the cost of having sales people show the house. Can you get a better deal on a spec home? You're damn right you can. Can you get an even better deal if the neighborhood has "closed" and the builder has set up shop in a new neighborhood? Absolutely. How 'bout if you can close soon and don't need to rely on selling a current home? Yep. Your buddy is absolutely correct. I'd come in at 15% off of list, and tell them that you can close as soon as they want. Don't use your broker or she'll get 3% of your possible savings. Be careful when they tell you that "yes," we'll accept your offer, but you have to use our lender. You'll typically pay at least half a percent over market as the builder makes money on the back end too. Anyway....just my $.02
Pole, Are you getting inventory homes confused with a "model" homes? The homes I'm looking at have been inventory from the get go as far as I can tell. They won't be completed and ready for move in until the end of the month or sometime in May. I've already told my broker of my intention of having her help me with the new home...that was before I heard of this. She's been really great over the past few weeks and I'd like to keep her in on this deal if it happens. Maybe I'm just a sucker. os
UPDATE My agent says it's worth a shot so we are going to give it a try. I'm going in Friday with the hopes of finally landing a home. os
Only tract home builders do this. True custom home builders don't do this, nor do they make a huge profit on upgrades. I true custom home builder will charge you more for upgrades, such as better carpet or more expensive hardware, but this usually is just the mark up that he has to pay from his supplier.
a true custom home builder doesn't build inventory homes, so your point is mute. man.....I've been waiting to use that new word I learned here.
Yes they do, except they are called specs. I guess you could say that since they aren't built for anyone in particular they aren't "custom," but trust me, custom builders all build specs. You have to have some inventory or nobody knows how good of a builder you are.
Most builder's today pass themselves off as "true" custom builders when in fact, they are semi-custom as I mentioned above. They use their own floor plans which they occasionally will modify like adding a few feet here or there or moving this wall or that wall, but for the most part, they use their own floor plans. If you have your own architect draw up a floor plan for you, and you happen to get one of these guys to build a home for you, you're getting a "true" custom home. Nevertheless, you're having it built by a semi-custom home builder.
My dad is a custom home builder and I am going to be a custom home builder and all my dad's buddies are custom home builders and my uncle is a custom home builder. I know how it works.
