Top Ways to Save Money When Building a New Home

When a person is in the process of building a new home, they would wish to economize a bit. When you are in the procedure of building a new dwelling, there are innumerable ways and means by which you can save some money. These are the top ways by means of which you can save some money when you are building a new home.

In the first instance, it is essential to avail the services of a reputed and skilled general contractor. This has the likelihood of a major financial debacle in case you hire a general contractor, who is not apt for the job. In this regard, it is advisable to steer clear of general contractors who are fraudulent or do not have suitable answers to your queries. These fraudulent contractors would proffer their services at a low rate, and as soon as you have signed the contract, they would incorporate additional fees when they are building your house. These extra costs would escalate the total cost of building the house, and would lead to unnecessary problems, amidst you and the contractor.

Another thing which is advisable is to maintain a fixed budget and see to it that the expenses which are associated with building the house are within the budget. You must ensure that your contractor realizes the fact that you wish to work within a stipulated budget and if he is not capable of building the house, within the estimated amount he has to be told that he would not be entitled to additional remuneration for his services. There are contractors who give the house owners a lesser price estimate so that they are entrusted with the responsibility to finish the job after which they make the owners pay for all the minute and extra changes so that they are entitled to additional profit  when you have finished building the house. It is better to learn from the mistakes of others so that this does not happen to you, in the long run.

You must ensure that your general contractor gets a minimum of three verifiable bids from associated subcontractors within your locality. There are certain contractors who get kickbacks from other subcontractors which they utilize on a daily basis. This would lead to a lot of unnecessary expenditure, when you are building your new house. You could try getting some bids on your own, if your contractor is not interested in procuring them.

Thus, it is quite important that you should avail the services of a reputed as well as affordable general contractor as this would go a long way in ensuring that you are able to significantly reduce the cost of building your new house. It is irrelevant as to whether the person concerned has a greater degree of expertise as compared with other associated contractors. There have been instances when haughtiness, conceit, lack of knowledge and also someone’s religious philosophy have led to unnecessary hassles for the house owners as well as the related contractors.

Thus, it is better to seek a suitable option and choose wisely and this would lead to substantial savings when you are in the process of building a new house.

Santa Fe real estate market

The Santa Fe real estate market continues to remain in a situation with mixed signals and conflicted information. As long ago as February, Santa Fe was in a negative but stable situation, a conundrum that continues to the present day. According to a February 23, 2010 article in the New Mexican, “For the last quarter of 2008, the number of homes sold in the county fell from 132 to 106 and the median price dropped from nearly $550,000 to $427,500. And that’s after some discouraged sellers took their homes off the market. Most everything is taking longer to sell, especially higher-priced properties.” The article, written by Anne Constable, continued to say that “The good news is that there are relatively few foreclosures in Northern New Mexico compared to other parts of the country, and few people are under water – owing more on their houses then they are worth…New Mexico escaped the worst for various reasons…”

Another article in the New Mexican emphasized the muted effect of foreclosures on New Mexico homes for sale as compared to the rest of the country. The article found that “The number of U.S. households facing foreclosure in January increased 15 percent from the same month last year, and a surge in cash-strapped homeowners who’ve fallen behind on mortgages could be on the way.” The piece, also released by the Associated Press, went on to note that “There were 107 foreclosures in Santa Fe County in January, according to RealtyTrac…In New Mexico there were 1,281 new foreclosure filings and nine foreclosure sales, according to RealtyTrac…The rate of foreclosures in New Mexico remains low. In his most recent newsletter, Santa Fe title company executive Alan Ball said foreclosures in states such as California and Florida exceeded 400,000 last year. In New Mexico, by contrast, there were just over 7,000 foreclosures.”

Similar news for Santa Fe real estate was reported in an April 14, 2010 article in the New Mexican, which said that “Home sales bounced a bit in the first quarter of 2010, with sale volumes increasing across all sectors of the Santa Fe market, according to several measures. The Santa Fe Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that the total volume of city-county detached home sales increased 16 percent from a year ago to 205.”

Raleigh real estate market

The Raleigh real estate market has been starting to recover slowly from the economic recession, according to the most recent indicators available. Although there are still trouble spots, the general trend of Raleigh seems to be positive, at least partially driven by the federal buyers’ tax credit. According to an April 30, 2010 article in WRAL News, “Real estate agents are hoping the housing market will continue its current pace, even after the home buyer’s tax credit expires on Friday. ‘We’ve just seen a nice, good pace for the first four months of this year,’ said John Hawkins, a real estate agent with Fonville Morisey. Hawkins hopes the trend continues but admits he has some concerns.” The article, written by Bruce Mildwurf, continued to say that “The credit for first-time buyers is believed to be playing a bigger role in stimulating home sales this spring. Sales of new homes surged 27 percent last month from a record low a month earlier; it was the biggest monthly increase in 47 years.”

Raleigh homes for sale may be negatively impacted by an increased number of foreclosures, which increased from last year’s levels. According to an April 15, 2010 article in the News Observer, “The number of foreclosure filings in the U.S. in March reached the highest monthly total since at least January 2005, according to a California research firm, while filings in the Triangle were up compared to the same period last year in Raleigh and Cary.” The piece continued to note that “Foreclosure filings in Raleigh and Cary totaled 633 in March, up 120 percent from March 2009. Durham filings in March totaled 100, down 15 percent compared to the same period the prior year…The number of foreclosure filings in Raleigh and Cary during the first quarter of the year totaled 1,470, a 42 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2009.”

Thankfully, construction on new Raleigh real estate has started to resume, according to a May 6, 2010 article also in the News Observer, which stated that “Triangle homebuilders that have spent the last few months replenishing their stockpile of land are beginning to crank up their construction arms as the supply of new homes dwindles.”

Balboa Island Real Estate

A neighborhood in Newport Beach, Balboa Island, California, is actually made up of three artificial islands in Newport Harbor. As such, the community has only a limited amount of space for homes and thus demand is quite high. Therefore the area has built up some very high real estate values over the years as home seekers crave to find a spot of their very own on this beautiful island. But, like so many other community in Orange County, the market has seen its share of calamity over the past couple of years brought on by the effects of the collapse of the U.S. real estate market and the ensuing recession.

Balboa Island ranks third in all of Orange County for price cuts, with a full one-third of homes for sale having seen a cut, according to the Orange County Register. These homes have seen average cut of 10% in the original price for a monetary value of nearly $300,000, offering what could be some great deals on Balboa island homes for sale for potential buyers, but what might also leave many homeowners underwater on their higher-priced mortgages.

Near the end of March, Balboa Island had an inventory of 43 homes on the market, enough to comprise an 11-month supply, according to the HOM real estate group. Four of the homes were in the lowest-priced market of $1 to $1.5 million, while two were in the highest bracket of more than $8 million. Most of the Balboa island real estate currently on the market, however, lies in the $1.5 million to $4 million range. Of those homes, none were short sales and none were bank-owned properties. But 22% of homes currently in escrow were short sales or bank-owned homes.

At the peak of the real estate bubble, the average sales price for a home on Balboa island was nearly $3.1 million, in 2006. In 2009, the community saw its median price for homes slip by more than 16% compared with a year previous, down to $1.8 million. Unlike many Orange County communities, most of which saw an increase in sales volume despite lower prices, Balboa Island saw a double negative, with a dip in sales activity as well over the year: 2009 accounted for just 14 sales in the area, a fall in volume by 30%.