Home | Newsletter | Advertise
loading...

Looking Beyond Foreclosures: Deals from Home Builders

  • February 27th 2009

by Will Smith

✉️ Want to forward this article? Click here.

Looking Beyond Foreclosures: Deals from Home Builders: Figure 1

Agent Julie Emery says that home buyers should expand the scope of their property search beyond foreclosures and short sales to include new homes from builders. While such properties are not as plentiful as foreclosures and short sales, they can offer a number of advantages including comparably low pricing, a smoother and faster purchase process, and deal-sweeteners like upgrades and modifications.

“These homes can be tremendous deals. Builders don’t want and, usually, can’t afford to sit on inventory. It ties up cash they need to pay off loans and move forward with other projects. So they’re typically priced attractively to start and an even better deal can be negotiated.

Unlike typical new construction, these homes may have the basement already finished. And you’re likely to see a fair number of upgrades already included. And, if you don’t like exactly what you see, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want. While they’re not going to gut the house and redo it to suit your taste, there is probably room for some changes.”

Also recall our post of a few weeks ago about builders offering below-market interest rates, yet another reason to widen your search.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/looking_beyond_foreclosures_deals_from_home_builders/594.

DC Real Estate Guides

Short guides to navigating the DC-area real estate market

We've collected all our helpful guides for buying, selling and renting in and around Washington, DC in one place. Start browsing below!

First-Timer Primers

Intro guides for first-time home buyers

Red Flags Revealed During a Home Inspection Top 5 Tax Breaks For Homeowners Tax Relief for DC Homeowners
Condo Fee Tutorial What is a Rent Back? 10 Ways To Tell If a Home Renovation is Well Done
Obtaining a Basic Business License For Your Rental What is an Adjustable Rate Mortgage? The Splitting the Rent Formula
How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House? Is This Condo Building Financially Healthy? Interest Rates and Mortgage Points
The Scoop on Mortgage Insurance

Unique Spaces

Awesome and unusual real estate from across the DC Metro

The Most Intriguing Loft in DC The R Street Firehouse DC’s One-Room House
Dupont Circle’s Old Frat House To Become Alley Home Best Transition From a Garage To a Home The Roundhouse
Tilden Gardens Restaurant-Turned-Home Hits Market Next Week Logan Circle’s Most Intriguing Garage Frank Lloyd Wright Goes Green in Kensington
Sears Bungalow Gets a Modern Makeover Old Town General Store Becomes Three-Level Home Making the Most of a Skinny House
A Studio 27 Renovation on Capitol Hill Once a Carriage House, Now a Home The Bank that Became a Home
From Pie to Hooch to Heroin to Home The Live-Aboards of Gangplank Marina A Treehouse with Rock Creek Park As A Backyard
Modern Tranquility in Sperryville Saddle Up For Stable Living Throwing a Curve at 550 Square Feet
A Modern Hilltop Retreat Tilden Street Restaurant Becomes Spacious Home Focus on Design: A Vastu Unit at 22 West
The DC Area’s First Net Zero Home A Yankee Goes Green DC’s First Carbon Neutral Home
Eco-Friendly Alley House Off H Street The Gym, The Stables and The Firehouse