To Buy or To Build Your Home, Here Are The Pros and Cons

For any potential new homeowner, questions of whether they should buy their dream home or build one themselves will always linger in their minds. While each has its advantages, they each also have some disadvantages.

Depending on one's needs, one may be able to evaluate against the pros and cons of each and see which one will best suit them and their needs. 

This article attempts to show you some of the pros and cons of each in a quest to make your decision more strenuous. 

Buying an already established house

Advantages:

Be clear on what you expect

Having a clear vision of what you intend your dream house to look like is vital as it will help you keep in mind the costs you may have to incur when you purchase an existing house. 

While you may know the vision, you may need to seek the help of professionals such as home inspectors who may offer you all the knowledge needed in purchasing the house. When a home inspection isn’t done to the required standard, issues of repair might be noticed later which might prove costly.

Buying homes should be done with due diligence so as to avoid the regret of an enormous proportion that could have been avoided with prior care. Having a real estate agent will also be helpful as they may offer guidance according to what you seek.

It's more convenient

Buying an already established house will save you the hustle of constructing one from scratch. Which in most cases is more expensive.

Additionally, when you obtain a loan pre-approval, you begin the search for homes or houses that match your taste and budget.

An existing house will offer background knowledge of what the neighborhood security is like, schools, shopping malls, hospitals, road networks, and your potential home community.

Disadvantages

Legal Issues

Is the property for purchase situated on riparian land? It is important to ensure the property’s ownership isn’t done thru “back door’ deals. This will incur legal cases that are strenuous and costly. Is the documentation of the property done legally in accordance with the property law of the jurisdiction of the State? 

Adhering to the terms and conditions of the purchase is equally imperative. Do not sign a deed of ownership of the property if you don’t have the required documents i.e. title deed, contract agreement, and transfer of ownership.

Less design flexibility

An established house or property can’t have nearly 100% house design to your specifications as this is expensive.

For example, if the living room or bedroom’s space is not spacious enough to accommodate your design taste, design shouldn’t be done haphazardly.  The major renovation project would take time and accrue too many expenses.

Constructing a house

Advantages

Cost

The cost factor of building a home cannot be overemphasized enough. In building a home, funds can be obtained as commercial house loans, savings, and housing Sacco. The construction process will also dictate how much the home will cost.

Additionally, the cost will cover raw materials of building the house and legal issues of the home “ownership” such as documents and title deed. It is important to note that while building a new home might be expensive, there will be higher capital gains for homeowners who will in the future rent their property for use.

More design flexibility

Interior design encompasses house painting, furniture, curtains, floor, ceilings, etc.

Building a home gives you all the “freedom” to design your property. The interior designer will suit your home in accordance with the home owner’s needs, tastes, and preferences. The seven principles of interior design include Space, lines, form or shape, pattern, light, color, and texture.

Disadvantages

It’s less convenient to move

You only move to a new home after construction is done. If you decide to live near your home while construction is ongoing, disturbance such as noise would hugely be a bother.

Delays in construction

If the right builder and construction personnel are not found, delays will be unavoidable. This will ultimately lead to extra costs, probably the poor quality of work and extra cost of unnecessary refurbishment.

The construction personnel should be licensed by the relevant authorities. In Kenya, the licensing will be conducted by the Kenya Association of Building and Civil Engineering Contractors (KABCEC).

In buying or building your dream home, housing needs to be met should be a priority. With the right housing Sacco, building a home or even buying an existing home won’t be a herculean task.

A real estate agent will answer all your home “questions” while the right construction personnel will walk with you as the transformation of your dream home materializes into reality. Whether you’ll build or buy a home, be flexible with the housing trends of the 21^st century.

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