January 16, 2012 – The rewards of buying a new home are great – but getting to the finished product can be a bit of a roller coaster ride. I often suggest that my clients talk with other new-home buyers for a glimpse of the emotional ups and downs of the process. I recently had a frank conversation with homebuyer Patti Solilo, who spoke openly about her experiences, and also offered some practical advice.
Selecting the lot, model and finishes. What could be more fun than creating a home to suit your individual tastes? But coordinating so many details can also be overwhelming. “We took an existing plan and tweaked it,” Solilo says. “We moved the stairs, vaulted the living room ceiling and replaced a post in the basement with a steel beam. You really have to trust your builder to tell you if something won’t work well. Ours was phenomenal; they even made suggestions that made more work for them, like adding an outside door to the powder room because they knew we were installing a pool. I never would have thought of that.” Still, she says, it was difficult to be confident that the final plan was perfect. “It was really challenging to sign off on the blueprint. If we hadn’t trusted our builder so much, it could have been really scary.”
As for the finishes, Solilo felt unsure. She ended up hiring an interior designer to look over her samples and paint swatches before she committed to them. Among other things, the designer pointed out that the taupe-coloured tiles the Solilos had chosen would read as pink – not exactly what they had in mind. “For 150 bucks, it was so worth it!”
Digging and building the foundation. To be honest, the hole itself is not much to look at. But, as the first physical step in the building process, it can feel momentous. “We arrived home from March Break, drove down the street and it was so exciting. We were like, ‘There’s our hole!’” Still, Solilo remembers feeling anxious that the foundation looked so small. “We definitely started to feel better once the framing went up.”
So far, the homebuyer’s emotional journey contains uncertainty, apprehension, gratitude and relief: and this is only half the construction story! Next issue, Patti and I will walk you through the remaining steps.
Contact marniebennett@bennettpros.com for your free report on “10 Tips to Save You Time and Money: The Homebuyers’ Guide to New Homes.”
Marnie Bennett is the number one realtor worldwide for KWRI, and is in the top one per cent of North America’s realtors. She is a broker with KWVIP Realty and team leader of Bennett Real Estate Professionals, a full premium service five star real estate team specializing in marketing and selling new and resale homes, condominiums and investment real estate. Marnie is the host of the weekly radio show the Real Estate Hour, a millionaire real estate investor and a real estate wealth management coach. bennettpros.com