Should You Build or Buy Your First Home?

Getting your first real house is an exciting time in life, even with all the big decisions you need to make. One of the first decisions you might encounter is whether you should build or buy your first home. Both options have their ups and downs, but one of the choices will probably come out on top after a little digging. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of building versus buying.

Benefits of Building

Probably the biggest and most obvious benefit of building your home is that you can get exactly what you want. The right number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the right amount of open areas, the right floor plan—you can achieve all of this by building a new house. You also won’t have to worry about repairing anything broken or the building not being up to certain codes. The interiors of newly built homes also allow for full customization of colors, styles, and layouts.

Downsides of Building

One of the largest annoyances of building a home is the wait for it to be finished. Building a home often takes multiple months, so if you’re looking to move in somewhere soon, this choice may not be for you. Unexpected costs will also almost certainly pop up during construction. Finally, the price of building a new home is often much less negotiable than if you were to buy one.

Benefits of Buying

The benefits of buying a finished home include making fewer decisions about location, building style, materials, and landscaping. You can make decisions about upgrades and renovations at your own pace rather than all at once. As we stated above, building a home often involves a long wait before move-in, but buying a new home correlates with a much shorter wait time. Negotiating for a better price than the listed one is also much easier; in fact, it’s usually expected.

Downsides of Buying

Rarely will you get everything you want from a premade home. The location might not be right or it might be smaller than you expected—these are just things you must deal with. If you’re buying a particularly old or outdated home, the cost of making sure the building is safe will fall on your shoulders. In fact, you should be prepared to make multiple repairs or updates to get your home up to your standards.

When deciding if you should build or buy your first home, make sure you keep these points in mind. Both are completely valid choices for a new home, but one might stand out as more of a hassle to you than the other. Know what you can handle, and make your decisions accordingly.