Houston is growing by leaps and bounds, both in population and in new construction. Many of the newest residents are buying brand new custom and semi-custom homes in beautifully planned communities.
Before the final settlement, builders will do a final walk-through with the buyers in Houston. New homes will have a chance to show off their features and special touches that were built into the home. For the buyer, it’s a chance to get to know about their new home and spot any things that need to be adjusted or repaired before the final closing.
Many buyers are so excited at the prospect of closing on their new place in Houston. New homes are not taken full advantage of by the opportunity provided by the final walk-through. Here are some tips from the Greater Houston Home Builders Association for how to get the most out of the walk-through on new homes.
Many builders will use the walk-through to fill the buyers in on things like how to operate the home’s appliances and components, maintenance that will be the responsibility of the homeowner, explanation of the warranties and how to get warranty coverage, even information about the community itself.
The builder or builder’s representative may take the opportunity to show the new homeowner how to operate the water heater, the kitchen appliances, the heating and cooling systems and any other operating systems that are part of the home. Taking the time to listen carefully and take notes on the information can help you avoid overlooking something important or making a costly mistake. Among the important information you should ask about or listen for:
- Maintenance and upkeep of all appliances and home components
Most new homes come with a one year warranty on workmanship and materials. The warranty will usually only be valid if the homeowner follows the instructions for maintenance and upkeep, which the builder will usually provide in a booklet or packet of materials. If the builder doesn’t offer it, ask about warranty information and maintenance instructions for all of your new home’s systems.
- Warranty procedures for your new homes’ systems
Many Houston new homes builders have specific procedures that must be followed when requesting warranty service for your home or any of its systems. In many cases, you’ll be required to submit your request for service in writing to prevent miscommunication.
- Follow-up and scheduled repair visits
Many home builders will schedule one or two visits in the first year after your home is completed to make any necessary adjustments and to perform repairs that are not emergencies. Many minor problems are due to the home settling and can be dealt with in one visit toward the end of your first year in your new home.
- Information about the community
The builder may provide a packet of information about your new community to help you get to know it. It’s a courtesy that most new home builders in Houston offer, especially to those moving to the area from far away.
- Repairs and adjustments checklist
Before the walk-through, make a checklist of all the items in the house that should be checked, and check them with the builder present. Note any items of concern on the checklist, and discuss it with the builder. The list should include everything that needs attention, and you and the builder should agree to a timetable for the repairs to be finished.
- Examine all surfaces in the house carefully – floors, walls, counter tops, fixtures – everything.
If you find any damage to any surface, make a note of it on the checklist. Be certain that you don’t sign off on the checklist unless it accurately reflects all the points that you and the builder have discussed during the walk-through.
- Ask questions whenever you’re not sure you understand something.
Take notes on the answers so that you’ll have a reference. It’s far too easy to forget something important in the excitement of closing on your new home.
- If there were repairs needed after the home inspection, pay particular attention to be certain that they were completed properly.
The walk-through is an excellent chance to get to know your new home and learn the things you need to know to enjoy it thoroughly.
Watch the video related to new homes
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Help answer the question about new homes
Does anyone know what kinds of incentives KB homes is offering right now for purchasing new homes in CA?My husband and I are thinking about purchasing and it is finally dawning on us that it might be a good idea to look at new homes as well because of the $10,000 CA tax credit. I know a lot of home builders are giving incentives right now. Does anyone know what KB is offering? I was trying to avoid calling because I didn't feel like getting a sales pitch. Thanks!
Have you tried searching "Edmonton realtors" to see what you can find? That's the easiest way to find a website.
i know here in nc if we use electric water heater high eff. that the power company will send the homeowner a $ 50.00 rebate check…..also check with ur hvac company about rebates…
lic. gen. contractor
@Boxbeatingnot Hahah I think it’s because they leave him for us, the fans. <3 haha ^.^
mexico es el mejor y s.h.e un poco es mejor perfume
Well, a 2500 sq ft home and based on the 2nd answerers amount of 50 cents…that cleaning would cost $1250.00. And I think that would be outrageous. At 10 cents per sq ft would be too low at $250.00.
Possibly 25 cents a sq ft would me more reasonable
.25 x 2500sq ft= $625.00. Since you are disposing of the debris removal I would add another $25.00 to that for dumping charges. But the charges you would have to check out and price according to your area. Every area is different.
Cutest video EVER!!!!
@kirachoujin i agree its remind me of sclub7!!!
howcome when jiro/aaron sing it only sounds like 1 voice? same for calvin/wu chun? i can only hear wu chun’s voice in that part of the verse.
It sounds like you mean, what if the government just gave away a trillion dollars worth of houses.
Well, you'd make existing homeowners pretty mad because that would trash the value of everybody's house.
You'd have a bunch of people moving in, and then what happens when they can't afford to pay their property taxes. Oops.
And you'd make all future generations mad because they will end up paying taxes to repay the borrowed trillion dollars to give away houses to somebody else.
You'd make a few people really happy, until the tax assessor forecloses on them and they get evicted for non-payment of taxes.
And you'd make a lot more people really really angry.
@WYiXiang i love them too
If I was looking for work I would want the number of homes to be increasing.
If a was =1 then the number would stay the same year after year. if a was < 1 then the number would decrease,
if a > 1 then the number would increase, so that is what I would want.
thats where this song is from… romantic princess… when i first saw the mv with fahrenheit ft hebe i knew i heard it from a drama be4…
Hi ya, I won't lecture about being irresponsible, but would advise that you take the mother away now as she's probably had more than enough of them and they are able to eat anyway. They can physically leave the mother from now, but for socialisation purposes I'd recommend you leave it until week 7 or 8. They need to learn how to interact with each other better and teach each other the perils of biting etc which will make them less 'nippy' when they go to their new homes. If you want me to email you a puppy pack (I'm a qualified behaviourist), drop me a line at joanne.wood@fsmail.net and I'll help you out. These are good to give away with each pup as they help with toilet training, chewing etc. Cheers, Josie. x
i have heard of closing costs of $12,000, but that's usually with more expensive homes, or borrowers that were tougher to qualify. but get a good faith estimate to detail the costs. and you can usually negotiate them lower. builders across the country are desperate to sell their properties.
the $15,000 incentive will be detailed on your purchase contract, the incentive should go on your loan app page 4 – a very short line though, you could have missed it.
sounds like you don't have a real estate agent? you should get one. also, get an independent mortgage broker to help you too. getting you to sign a loan app with no income disclosed? that's not a good sign.
oh, and you probably won't get all $15,000 in incentive either… lenders usually don't allow seller incentives/credit more than what the closing costs are. so negotiate to have your purchase price lowered instead.
Good luck!
i love fahrenheit and SHE!!!!!!
if you cant sell the old one, try to sell the new one, you might be able to get some of your money back that way. I guess it depends on the NV homes, how peeved are they gonna be, but if you cant do it, well then you cant do it, declare bankruptcy that might void it.
Hebe should be with aaron..calvin should be with the triangle
There are currently 144 cities and municipalities in California that have some form of residential sprinkler ordinance. It is true that the state will most likely adopt the International Residential Code which will make them mandatory in all new construction.
As for the comment in the other reply, yes, sprinklers add SOME additional cost. Average per square foot cost of a stand-alone system is $1.60 (this price actually drops in areas that adopt sprinkler regulations because of competition and supply). For a 2000 sq ft home selling for $300,000, that equates to roughly $8.80 a month when divided by 360 months ($3200 total).
Now calculate the savings in reduce insurance costs. Most companies will offer 10-25% reductions in premiums for homes with sprinklers. Avg annual home owners insurance is around $600. On a $300K home as above, that totals out to $216,000 for the life of the loan (not accounting for increases). For this example, we'll use a middle figure of 15% premium reduction. That comes out to a savings of $32,400 over the life of the loan. Your savings is literally 10X what was originally spent.
Since we're on the subject of costs (something the home builders associations love to bring up to scare you into choosing granite countertops over sprinklers), lets look at avg cost of damage to homes when a fire occurs. The US Fire Administration issued a report that tracked residential sprinkler incidents from January 2003, to June 2007. Of the 448 reported incidents in homes equipped with sprinklers, 434 of them resulted in less than $10,000 in damages (the majority was actually less than $1,000). Average loss in a home without sprinklers: More than $250,000.
Its clear the homebuilders associations which have pumped millions into anti-sprinkler campaigns are only concerned about the bottom line. Save a house with sprinklers, and you take away their money. But we in the fire service dont care about that. We care about people. You cannot put a price on someones life! Each year in America, over 2,600 people die in residential fires, (80% of the total deaths from fire); in those jurisdictions which have residential sprinkler ordinances: 0! Not one person has died in a residential fire where sprinklers and smoke alarms are present and operational.