We MOVED! & Bought a New House (Fixer Upper vs. New Build Pros & Cons)

The past few months have been a whirlwind of emotions on so many levels. 2020 has been a year of trials for the whole world and the daily life trials for every individual just go on top of all that, ya know?!? Thus, my absence from the ol’ blog once again…(oops). But, the main topic I wanted to update you on was that we did indeed sell our beautiful Arizona home and bought a fixer-upper and we are officially CALIFORNIA homeowners! So here’s why, pics of the new house, and I wanted to give you a breakdown of the pros and cons of owning a fixer-upper vs. a new build.

Why did we move?

When we told our friends and family we were moving back to California we got a lot of “you’re going the wrong way, everyone from Cali is moving over here to AZ!” haha, and while we saw that quite prominently in our community (we lived in Eastmark and I will rave about it to anyone who asks!) from the masses of new neighbors moving in all stating they were former “Californian’s”, we really didn’t have much choice in the matter because two words……The Military.

Have you lived in CA before?

My husband is going on his eleventh year with the Marine Corps and his time being a Recruiter (one of the worst jobs in the military I’m convinced but will save that for a later post) in Arizona was up. Since he plans on retiring we knew that being a Career Recruiter was out of the question for us because it took such a toll on us as a family. So, we put in our top three requests for where we would like to be stationed next and ended up back in California (we lived here from 2014-2016 previously). It was our top choice because it was still only a six-hour drive back to our family and friends and we where familiar with the area.

Our first home was a new build…

We first began building our Arizona home in Feb 2016 and moved in by October 2016. Building your own home is quite the treat and taught us a lot. We came in knowing that we would eventually have to sell or rent it from the beginning and choose the area we did because of the way the community life was growing and the potential to invest since we knew the market was going to go up there! And without doing what we did there, we never would have been able to get into our new home here in Cali….well not never, but way later lol. A new build is quite different than buying an older home or one that needs renovating in many different areas. Things to consider with this are all the hidden fees and things you probably don’t know about home buying unless you are a realtor or work for a brokerage. There is earnest money, closing costs, PMI, home inspections, lenders, HOA disclosers, inspections, appraisals and so much more to deal with. But that’s for another post as well. I wanted to write about our experience of building a new build vs. buying a fixer-upper for those who are looking to buy their first home or just a new home in general. For financial reasons, I’m soo so glad that we went with a new build, “cookie-cutter house” first because it was a little easier to deal with all those things above than it was when buying an older home. Here she was in all her glory!

Pros/Cons of Buying a New Build Home:

Pros –

• New homes are typically more energy-efficient than older houses, are built with newer building materials, and better insulation, and will come with a home warranty that will cover the cost of most issues that arise typically in the first year.
• There are little to no worries about asbestos, mold, lead, or other health hazards since everything must be up to the current building code.
• You can begin as soon as you move into making it “pretty” without having to worry about any electrical/plumbing/AC or heater maintenance updates first.
• You can begin to learn about DIY projects and you should be given the home’s original blueprint which is convenient for knowing each room’s exact measurements.
• There is less yard maintenance since there is usually less vegetation / fewer trees if any at all.
• It’s easier to predict and STAY on a budget because there are fewer surprises.”
• Incentives are a big contributor when designing a home. Some builders offer cash incentives towards upgrades and closing costs. For example, when we built our home we got a $15,000 incentive towards upgrades, $5000 towards closing costs, AND their current promotion of a “free” update to a gourmet kitchen.
• Buyers of new construction homes typically have an edge on closing costs because builders sometimes offer incentives to buyers if they use a preferred lender which means closing costs may be lower than that of a purchase of an existing home. In our case, this applied to us and our closing costs were considerably less.

Cons –

• Your house from the outside will not be one-of-a-kind. Many houses will be built in the area just like it.
• New construction is typically not as solid foundationally as some older houses. The walls may be thinner and they go with cheaper materials.
• Smaller yard, less established trees/neighborhood, and most often the backyard will be left completely unlandscaped which you will then need to factor and budget for. We did not get our backyard done for two years after moving in for this very reason.
• There will be far less room for customization through the builder. Once you begin building and go to the design center you will learn what comes standard in the home and what is an upgrade.
• Upgrades add up fast with the countless options you will be given, from the floors to the arches or doorways, the doors, counters, sink styles, faucets, and windows, and so forth! Nearly everything is an upgrade you will notice when you compare it to the model home. A model starting at $295,000 for instance can typically rake up to nearly $320,000 or more after adding all wanted and sometimes necessary updates.
• There is less room to negotiate on the price.
• Less personal charm and character to the home.

Pros and Cons of Buying An Older Fixer Upper:

Pros –

• An established neighborhood with wider streets and more trees that are almost full-grown if not already.
• You’re investing in a property that needs some TLC to gain more equity in the home.
• A yard with established gardens typically landscaped already and in the front and back – more privacy.
• Beautiful character and features like crown molding, old fireplaces, chair rails, and lots of windows that are perfect for more natural light.
• You get to customize the home to your liking making it easier to make design choices that are more classic and high-end.
• Typically a bigger chance to make a profit on resale as long as the market is high and you add value to the home as you fix it up.
• Solid walls and older building material that is often sturdier.

Cons-

• The cons list seems to never end. So far since we moved in the garbage disposal broke, we’ve had to call pest control for some issues with pests and spiders sneaking in, and we’ve run into issues with the plumbing in the garage. As well as a slab leak and our main water line burst! 😅
• Dealing and negotiating with sellers can be a headache unlike with a new build. There are things you may want done that the seller refuses to fix up and you’ll just have to decide if that’s something you can let go of or want to walk away from the hassle.
• Difficult to stick to a budget. You never know when you will run into an unexpected problem.
• Time-consuming to take on necessary home improvement projects. As an impatient person who likes to get things done fast..this just isn’t the case when you’re waiting on contractors/ electricians/ deliveries and so forth.
• Safety concerns about asbestos, mold, and fire hazards in old wiring are unnerving sometimes.
• Since landscaping is usually complete it can be more challenging to maintain it and fix necessary cosmetic issues.
• Closing costs and negotiations can be a real hassle with these types of homes when sellers refuse to “chip in”. Closing costs are typically 3-5% of your loan amount and unlike with the potential with new builds, there is less room to bring these costs down.
• Not as DIY-able. It may be in your best interest to call on professional contractors to make sure you don’t cause more issues for yourselves with unexpected hiccups for larger projects.

So basically…

If this is your first time owning a new home funds are tight, and you’re not very handy or have anyone that could help you, I would buy the new build house time and time again. Knowing what I know now I guarantee if we bought a fixer-upper first we would have been stuck in massive debt and wouldn’t have known the ins and outs of home improvement nor all the extra costs that come when even purchasing a home. Our first house allowed us to wear our training wheels for a few years while we got the hang of homeownership without the hiccups that could have occurred with a fixer-upper. Of course, this is just our own personal experience. As we get into tackling the improvements we would like to make with our new home I’m sure that the pros and cons list of owning a fixer upper will grow. After owning both, the appeal of having a house with a little more character and most importantly to us, a landscaped backyard is quite the welcoming experience. But who knows, five or ten years from now when we decide on our next step feelings could change. Whatever the case I’m just so grateful that we have a home, each other, and the means to fix up and do what we can. Be sure to follow along as we post more about our renovations, ideas, and more!