Home Buying Basics

If you are reading this, the odds are that you have reached the conclusion that you are considering building a new home. Maybe you have been looking for that perfect pre-existing home, in move-in condition, in a great neighborhood with just the right floor plan, but you just haven’t been able to find it. (Does it even exist?) Or maybe you don’t want to deal with the maintenance and repair issues that come with buying an existing home. Or maybe you are just looking for the home of your dreams. For a young family, maybe you are hoping for room to grow and raise the kids. For a more mature family, maybe you are looking to downsize and get that master bedroom on the first floor. Whatever the reason, you are considering building a new home.

So, where to start? We suggest that anytime you are considering purchasing property, the first thing you need to do is to understand what you can afford and what size and style of home, in what location will be available to you based on your budget. So a call to your banker to help you understand what you can afford is a great place to start. If you don’t have a banker that you want to work with, we have several that we can refer you to that feature the type of lending programs that you will need in order to build your dream home. So getting pre-qualified by the right lender in the beginning will save you steps later.

Once you know your budget, we can get to work. You likely know what town or towns you are considering building in. At this point, we should explain that MacNaughton Real Estate and MacBuilds LLC work hand in hand with you to help you through this process. We will provide as much or as little assistance as you need or want. MacBuilds develops neighborhoods and we would be thrilled if you wanted to live in one of them. But, there is not always a match. That is where MacNaughton Real Estate goes to work. We have access to virtually every lot for sale in the area and we have already seen and are familiar with most of them. We can help you find just the right lot for your new home.

So, you have a budget and you know where you would like to live. First, you need to know that building lots in our area vary in price dramatically, due to supply and demand and other economic factors as well. For example, compare a two acre wooded lot in Simsbury with a two acre wooded lot in Granby. The land looks the same. The neighborhood looks the same. They may be located only a mile apart from one another, but the Simsbury lot may cost twice as much as the Granby lot.

So you have a fixed budget to buy a lot and build a home. The more you spend for the lot, the less money you have to spend for the home. So you can see how much home you can get for your money will vary dramatically from town to town. MacBuilds will help you determine the best town or towns to build in, based on your personal preferences and your budget.

Once we establish a budget for your lot and identify your location, we will help you find the best lot for you. We are lot and land experts. We can walk the lot with you and point out the pluses and minus of each lot including potential problem areas. We can show you where the house works the best on the lot and draw you a picture of how things will layout. Once you identify the lot that you would like to build on, we will help you purchase that lot, looking out for your best interests as your agent. Once you have a contract to purchase a lot, we will assist with the due diligence to ensure that the lot can be built on and there are no zoning, conservation or wetland violations. We will make sure that you can build the home of your dreams on your lot.

As we are searching for a lot, we will be helping you to find just the right building plan for your dream home and we will give you a proposal with a locked-in price for the construction of your new home. We are custom home builders and as such, we are happy to build any size or style of home that you want. We will work with you to customize your building specifications to ensure that every phase of construction is completed to your liking.

Once we find the lot, pick out the building plan and agree on the price, we are ready to go. You say “Go” and we get started preparing building and engineering plans and applying for building permits. While we are getting ready to break ground, you are finalizing the details and getting ready to close on a construction/permanent loan with your lender. Sixty days from when you say “Go”, we break ground. Eight months later, you are moving in to your dream home.