# Which is better? Buying a pre owned house or buying a brand new one with a bulider?



## jmbagsy (Mar 14, 2017)

Hello everyone! Can somebody please give me their insights and pros and cons in buying a preowned house or buying it with a builder? I've been reading online too about the pros and cons but I'd like to hear it from those who've had their learning experience from either options. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


----------



## Pluto (Sep 12, 2013)

Pre-owned is usually better. New are usually about 25% premium over same thing used. have a look at comparable listings for used in same area as a new one.


----------



## mikep (Mar 13, 2017)

jmbagsy said:


> Hello everyone! Can somebody please give me their insights and pros and cons in buying a preowned house or buying it with a builder? I've been reading online too about the pros and cons but I'd like to hear it from those who've had their learning experience from either options. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.


I've done both. 

Pro's of a new build:
New roof
new furnace
new windows
not living in someone else's dirt
new everything

Cons:
The price is usually a bit over current market value and it's not going to be built for a year and a half. 
When house prices are trending up this is good, when the reverse happens.. bad. 
If it's in a new subdivision you'll be living in dirt for about a year after you move in and constant construction around you and their vehicles always parked everywhere
No mature trees
Have to put in an A/C unless you have the builder charge you double
Have to build a fence, possibly deck and other landscaping that can be costly
No driveway for a little while
Hopefully you don't pick up nails in your tires driving thru the construction site

Lots of new build houses are built quite shoddy. The building inspector doesn't go through all of them. If a builder is doing about 30 houses the inspector might just pick 5 at random. 
It really depends who your builder is. 
In Hamilton, Losani is a lot better than Landmart/Liv communities but i have no one else to compare the two.


----------



## Just a Guy (Mar 27, 2012)

I own a lot of places, build quality wise nothing today compares to houses built before say 1970. I doubt many homes built today will last even close to 100 years.

I also think it's important to live in a few houses before you spend the money to build a place. You need to know how a room functions, especially a kitchen. Building as your first place means you're picturing it in your mind only to discover that reality is different...meaning you are eithe unhappy or doing renos.

New houses usually are also in new areas...meaning schools, shopping, roads, busses, etc. Can all be issues. 

Once you've got some experience, building a place can be a good idea but be prepared for delays, cost overruns (up selling) and other issues...


----------



## mikep (Mar 13, 2017)

Just a Guy said:


> I own a lot of places, build quality wise nothing today compares to houses built before say 1970. I doubt many homes built today will last even close to 100 years.
> 
> I also think it's important to *live in a few houses before you spend the money to build a place*. You need to know how a room functions, especially a kitchen. Building as your first place means you're picturing it in your mind only to discover that reality is different...meaning you are eithe unhappy or doing renos.
> 
> ...


That's exactly what my mother told me lol.


----------



## jmbagsy (Mar 14, 2017)

Thank you all for your inputs. This is going to be our first time buying a house but not until in a year or two. Just in a process right now of getting all the important information i could get before diving into buying one. Been doing reading online stuffs as well. Any books about this you guys can recommend for good reading?


----------



## Mechanic (Oct 29, 2013)

I prefer pre-owned for all the same reasons. I recently bought a 5 yr old place. All the landscaping and irrigation is done and we just need to add some shrubs etc, the driveway is done, the deck is built etc. Only downsides are it needs a few repairs and an interior paint job and the deck needs refinishing but most of it is DIY projects that I can handle myself.


----------



## SW20 MR2 (Dec 18, 2010)

We've done both, and it's pick your poison. We liked being able to pick our own colours, modify the layout, etc, but we hated the things that mikep pointed out. To me, it's more about location since new houses are typically located in less-desirable areas. One day, we'd like to do a teardown and build our own house. That would give us the perfect balance of everything...except cost. LOL...


----------



## MrsPartridge (May 15, 2016)

I like pre-owned as well. With new, you'll have to install the driveway, pay for hook-ups like hydro etc. Put in all the window coverings etc. Then you may not get the closing day they promised because construction ran over and timing the move can be affected.

It seems it's way more expensive to buy new. Also when you buy from a plan, realize that the room dimensions are measured into the drywall about an inch into each wall. I've seen some really small rooms and it's because the original owners bought off the plan and couldn't picture how small a 13 x 10 room might really be.


----------

