What are some of the pitfalls of buying a home?
Undertaking a homebuilding project is a major commitment. Unless you are an experienced general contractor, or have lots of money and time on your hands, don’t be your own general contractor. In planning your home, don’t think too big. Talk to local real estate brokers about the price range, features and locations that will make the house marketable in five years. Many people build retirement houses that are too large, require too much maintenance or have features that contribute little to value and detract from marketability. When a retiree’s health starts to fail, as it inevitably will, an overbuilt house is often sold at a loss, because the custom features aren’t to most buyers’ tastes. Many of the best homebuilding contractors don’t advertise because they don’t need to. Look for orderly local construction sites of the type that interest you, and talk to the contractors there. Local attorneys often know which homebuilders are reputable. Remember that some builders build 100 houses a
