If you’ve dreamed of building a new home, but fear it’s just not in your budget, think again. The hidden costs of buying a used home can actually make a new home more cost efficient in the long run. There are three main areas for hidden costs – design, maintenance and energy efficiency. When building a new custom built home you can avoid or lessen the costs on all three of these areas because technology has improved so much. Even homes that were built just ten years ago aren’t as cost efficient as homes built today.
Hidden Costs of Buying a Used Home
Design – Older homes have dated floor plans. In a nutshell the home is compartmentalized. Rooms are closed off to one another which makes heating and cooling more expensive. Eventually you’re going to want to remodel some of those rooms and open them up. There’s a reason an open floor plan is the top wished for element when purchasing a home. An open floor plan is easy to clean, easy to maintain, great for entertaining, and is conducive to bringing a busy family together. Other trends that won’t be leaving anytime soon include Jack-and-Jill bathrooms for the kids, laundry room located on the second floor, rear foyers and attention to organization and storage. Purchasing a home with an outdated floor plan can cost thousands in remodeling costs down the line.
Maintenance – Buying a used home means buying a used roof, used water heater, used furnace, used dishwasher, used air conditioning and well, you get the idea. An older home demands an average of 2-3% of its purchase price for annual upkeep — and that list can be never-ending. Every component in a house has a usable life. When you buy a used house you’re buying the pro-rated life of each component (e.g. a furnace with a 10 year life expectancy). Sooner than you think, and usually when it is least convenient, you’ll have to start replacing the roof, the electrical, the appliances, the furnace, the garage doors, and even things like light fixtures and plumbing fixtures. When you build new you now only get brand new everything, but they also come with a warranty. So if something does break down, you’re covered.
Energy Efficiency – Today’s light fixtures are designed for CFL bulbs and you’ll have the ability to completely outfit your home with CFL, LED or Halogen bulbs. Any of these options will save you dollars on your electric bill. Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems all use fans to circulate air in your home. Today’s systems use dramatically less energy to turn all these fans saving you more dollars. All of today’s plumbing fixtures including shower, sink and toilets are designed to use less water and save you money. Landscape irrigation systems are designed with sensors to shut off watering times if the soil around your home has just been watered by Mother Nature. Forced air furnaces and boilers are required to be 90%+ efficiency. These appliances not only keep more of your money in your pocket, they also provide better heating when combined with the correct ducting ventilation.
As you can see, building a new home can actually save you quite a bit down the line. Add to that the fact that you get to build a home for the way you live, in the location that you want and with all the amenities you desire, and there really is no case to be made for buying a used home, especially with so few homes on the market these days.
If you’re thinking about building a custom home in Omaha, give us a call at 402-896-9200, we’ll answer any questions you might have.
