Once you’ve decided to build a home in a new construction community, the next major decision you need to make is choosing your home site. It might be difficult to pick out a home site, especially if the neighborhood is still being built, and there are lots of factors to consider. Keep reading for some quick tips on how to choose the right home site for you!
First Things First: Choosing the Right Community
Sterling Real Estate Group New Construction Specialist Christa Swistak recommends focusing on three elements when choosing a new construction community: location, property value, and builder quality.
Factors that may impact your choice of location include your commute to work, how far you are from your children’s school or other family members, or even the distance to local shops, dining, and entertainment.
The property value is vital because “you’re investing a substantial amount of money, likely the most you will ever invest at one time, and you’ll want to be sure their investment will appreciate over time,” Swistak says.
Finally, builder quality is important to ensure the longevity and durability of the home. You don’t want to have to invest money in repairs and maintenance before anticipated.
For each new construction community represented by Sterling Real Estate Group, we include a separate page all about the builder, so you can read up on who you want to work with.
How to Choose One Home Site Over Another: What to Look For
1. The Direction the House Will Face
The direction of the house is not just a factor for feng shui enthusiasts to consider. Which way the house faces can influence how effectively the home will block or absorb sunlight, how long snow will take to melt in the driveway, and where you may want to place a garden.
2. The Slope of the Yard: It’s Not Just for Sledding
The slope of the property can affect how effectively water drains, whether or not the site is suited for a walkout basement, how easy or difficult it will be to perform the landscaping you want on the yard, the placement of items like pools or decks, and yes, whether or not your kids can sled at home or will need to go to a nearby hill.
3. Proximity to Other Houses & The View
You’ll want to think about not only where the home is in relation to the rest of the neighborhood, but also how close it is to streetlights, traffic, or commercial businesses, if applicable.
Similarly, the view is an aspect of new home buying that can be easy to overlook. Have a good idea of what sights you’ll see when sitting on the front porch, or looking out your bedroom window. Will you look down on your well-lit backyard garden, or is there a giant tree blocking your sightline?
4. What the Neighborhood Will Look Like Down the Line
Just because the home site you’re looking at has empty space with an uninhibited view behind it now, doesn’t mean it necessarily always will. Consider what is around the community now, and what could potentially be there in five years.
It’s advantageous for new home buyers to look at local zoning and building regulations, and development plans for the area. Is there a potential for a business or shopping mall or condo to be built closer than you’d prefer?
5. See the Forest for the Trees: Look at the Community as a Whole
Bringing us back to the beginning when we considered the community as whole – once you decide on the right neighborhood, choosing your home site should become infinitely easier. When you’re confident in the community, the builder, and your real estate agent, the entire process is simplified.
Look at the layout of the community, what’s surrounding each home, and how the flow of the neighborhood will feel, and you’ll start to be able to narrow down which home site to take a closer look at.