https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 08 Apr 2026 02:27:41 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556390 Wed, 25 May 2016 14:41:19 +0000 kodybear 2556390@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: yeah both times we owned homes before. before the first new construction we had to sell our condo first, then we lived with my parents for 4-5 months. the second time it took longer to sell our home so we somehow were able to time the close of escrow better. we had 2 weeks between closing where we lived with my parents again. we would've done a rentback if we could but you need the buyer of your house to be on board, and ours weren't :-/ </p> <p>if you reserve a home thats already in the process of being built its possible that theres alot less time between selling the old home and new home. so i think it can vary. but in our experience they require you to put your house on the market within a week of reserving a house. if sales are slow though i can seem them accepting more contingency sales. </p> <p>yeah we had to put down money first so that came out of pocket. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556367 Wed, 25 May 2016 14:17:45 +0000 runnerd 2556367@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@kodybear: so did you own a house before you bought your new construction? did you sale, then rent temporarily?</p> <p>ETA: NM.. I see where you said you put down the earnest money instead of using money from house sale </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556354 Wed, 25 May 2016 14:08:05 +0000 kodybear 2556354@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: wow thats weird. in our neighborhood the new houses sell fast though, so i wonder if it has to do with the urgency they need to build these. like there are a million construction cars/trucks in our area every day and they pump out houses like hot cakes ;-) our 3000sqft house took 4.5 months to build! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556345 Wed, 25 May 2016 14:00:25 +0000 runnerd 2556345@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@kodybear: I wonder why it is taking them so crazy long to build these townhouses across the street??? they started last July or August, and the front row have had "sold" signs in the windows for as long as the windows have been placed in. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556335 Wed, 25 May 2016 13:53:52 +0000 kodybear 2556335@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>we've lived in 2 new construction homes and both times the process was the same. we had to put down an earnest deposit ($10000) to reserve the house. It usually took about 5 months from laying the foundation to being ready to move in. the builders usually build the houses in phases, so each phase they'll release a certain number of lots. so the whole process from building out all the homes usually takes a year or two but each individual house shouldn't take more than 5 months. just like a regular sale, about a month before the house is ready to move in you have to start all the loan paperwork.</p> <p>if you need equity from your previous home for the downpayment of the new construction, you would need to sell your house in advance. they usualy won't do contingent sales (at least in our area). so you have to list your house within a week of putting a deposit down (in our experience). then you have to sell the house within a month of that. they do give you some leeway, esp if the new home sales are low. but generally thats what they aim for. </p> <p>our first home we had a 4 month gap between selling our condo and closing on the new house. the second time we were able to have only a 2 week gap. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556333 Wed, 25 May 2016 13:53:19 +0000 sunnyday 2556333@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@runnerd: Not scary. We have never done anything different, so it is "our normal".</p> <p>Any upgrades we did were rolled into mortgage, things like sod, driveway paving, etc. were included in our purchase, but I know in like a "real" builder experience more one-off versus developments like ours were the added extras like driveways and lawns can be a crazy addition cost that is out of pocket to you. We also paid a lot premium to be in a "better" spot on the second house. I had wanted to buy an older home with a bigger lot, DH wanted new build, so our compromise was new build on lot that backs onto greenspace/trail, park and soccer field. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556325 Wed, 25 May 2016 13:46:31 +0000 krispi 2556325@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, the only brand new house I've ever bought was already complete, but I worked for a new home builder for 10 years.</p> <p>As Sunnyday mentioned, there could be a deposit schedule along the way, depending on how far in advance you buy, but that should be all laid out in advance and shouldn't be a surprise.</p> <p>Extra costs along the way would probably be due to upgrades or other design decisions you make. Builders may require you to pay for any upgrades out of pocket before they install them. </p> <p>My previous job was to source and price out the upgrades for customers. If you stick with the brands the builders typically use but just want a different model or something, that's usually more cost-effective. It's also better for your wallet to make decisions ahead of the construction schedule. Where things can get really pricey is if you have to have some custom piece that's really obscure. (The builder won't have a purchasing agreement with that company and will have to buy at retail then mark it up to cover labor.) Or if you want to redo something that's already installed, that's going to get pricey too. (They'll have to charge you for demo labor plus labor and materials on what you want. What's already there could get damaged during demo, so you can't count on getting that credited back to your account either.) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556262 Wed, 25 May 2016 12:58:06 +0000 runnerd 2556262@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@sunnyday: that sounds a little scary!! :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556251 Wed, 25 May 2016 12:52:18 +0000 BSB 2556251@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@krispi: Are there a lot of unexpected expenses in a new home? In the actual building part? (I know after you own the home, you have to deal with putting grass down and other stuff.) I think I remember my sister and BIL scrambling for $10k to pay for something that came up. Or could it be that my sister and BIL decided to put hardwood in at the last minute instead of carpet so that changed pricing. Or could you decide hardwood and all of a sudden the builder says they can't get that hardwood anymore and it will be $ more. As for my brother and SIL, they upgraded and changed the layout of their home. I'm sure there were so fees associated with it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556238 Wed, 25 May 2016 12:46:29 +0000 sunnyday 2556238@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We have done two "through the builder" new constructions. At time of offer on the home we put a deposit, and ahead of that through the salesperson learned of the deposit structure throughout the build. Both were very different! We had to save our butts off to meet some of the deposit requirements, and on closing the second house used what we "made" on the first to finish the deposit requirements and then lower our mortgage amount.</p> <p>We were in a contract and all deposit money was non-refundable had something fallen through on our end in both agreements prior to closing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556234 Wed, 25 May 2016 12:44:46 +0000 krispi 2556234@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>The house would be under contract, so you would be responsible for earnest money up front, but it wouldn't close until completed and ready to move in, like a regular finished house. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/can-someone-explain-new-construction-financing-to-me#post-2556218 Wed, 25 May 2016 12:31:55 +0000 runnerd 2556218@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So, there are some new construction townhouses being built across the street from me that are pre-sold. The listings on realtor for the townhouses were posted last April (over a year ago), and they still look like they have months to go before anyone can move in.</p> <p>Can someone explain to me how this works? Do you just sign a contract, or have to put up some sort of capital - surely you don't have a loan on something you can't live in yet?</p> <p>We currently own a townhouse, so our down payment money for our next home is tied up in our property. If we were interested in new construction down the road, and capital for it was tied up in townhouse (which we would need to live in if it took a year to build like these townhouses!), how does the logistics of financing work? </p>