As we have mentioned a couple of times, we are currently looking for a house in Ontario, Canada. We just moved to Ontario last year and have been renting our place for more than 1 year now.
We are getting really close to make our decision. We have found a location that we like. There is a nice resale home there. It needs a small renovation; but it should not be a deal breaker. It has a good location and nice neighbourhood. It is very close to a good school too (although we don’t have kids yet).
We also found a new construction home nearby. The base price is even cheaper than the resale home for similar size. The construction has not been started yet because the builder is still waiting for permit from the city. However, they are confident that their schedule will be on time.
Now, we have to make our decision whether we should go for resale home or new construction home. We tried to list advantages and disadvantages of new construction home vs. resale home.
Advantages of new construction home:
- It is just “brand” new.
- We are able to choose the design and color that we want.
Disadvantages of new construction home:
- There is no guarantee that we see is what we get. Of course, the builder has a model home, but they have done a lot of upgrades. If we buy just standard home, we have no idea how good the quality is.
- There will be very high closing cost at the end. We need to spend money to pay for utility hook-up, landscaping, home warranty, buy window covering, install a fence, etc, etc. In fact, we have no clue how much money we will need at the end.
Advantages of resale home:
- What we see is what we get. No surprise at the end.
- The neighbourhood has been well-established. No more construction going on when we move-in. It may take a couple of years to build a community from an empty land.
Disadvantages of resale home:
- We have no control over the design. It is given. We can still change the color though, by just applying a new paint.
- Some resale home, like the one that we want, needs a small renovation. It means more $$$.
(Picture is from stock.xchng.)
