A True Story of New Construction in Cobb County
R and S were building their dream home in a beautiful subdivision. They had taken a second mortgage on their current home, and paid the builder for thousands of dollars worth of upgrades. Then the sale of their own home fell through. They found out that in their contract for the new home they were not protected against such a circumstance, and they could lose the thousands of dollars they paid the builder in advance if they could not get their home sold within three weeks. What R and S did not know was that their own interests were not represented when they signed the contract to purchase the new home. What they did not realize, and what you should know:
- The agent you deal with at the sales office or model home REPRESENTS THE BUILDER'S INTERESTS - - not yours.
- You absolutely should have your own real estate agent representing your own interests. IT DOESN'T COST YOU ANYTHING, and can save you untold heartache and thousands of dollars.
- A good agent can help negotiate price, upgrades, and other aspects of the contract - - even when the prices SEEM to be non-negotiable.
- A good agent helps you look past the beauty of the new home and concentrate on value.
- A good agent will protect your interests in the sales contract.
- A good agent is familair with new construction and the local builders, and knows who has a reputation for giving good after-sale service.
- A good agent will help you prepare and negotiate the "punch list" of items that the builder must still address after the closing.
Two good agents run Magic Realtors, and can be reached at 770-653-0756. We have had tons of experience in dealing with new construction all over 0Cobb County.
By the way, when the sale fell through on their home, R and S hired the Magic Realtors to sell their home in time to close on their dream home. The Magic Realtors found a buyer in time. Even though they did not represent them in the purchase of the new home, the Magic Realtors took a look at the construction and recommended that R and S hire a home inspector. The home inspector disclosed a crack in a supporting beam that could have been disasterous, and the builder corrected the problem. And R and S and their children lived happily ever after.
Another True Horror Story of New Construction
K and L bought a new home in Alpharetta, using the agents at the sales office. Less than two years later K was transferred to Texas and hired the Magic Realtors to sell their home. It was under contract in 29 days, but when the buyer's inspector came in he found a list of repairs that totalled $1500 - - all repairs that should have been handled by the builder when the home was built - - plus a serious electrical code violation that could have resulted in fire! The Magic Realtors persuaded the builder's electrician to correct their error at NO CHARGE. If the Magic Realtors had represented K and L on the original purchase, the repairs would most likely have been caught at the onset and the client would have saved $1500.
How important is good representation when you buy a new home? The lack of it cost K and L $1500, and could have cost them their lives!!! If you learn nothing else from this blog, please recognize that you need your own professional representation when you buy a home, NEW or USED.
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