Question, as my partner and I plan for a real estate purchase in the near future. (Though it will be his final decision, not mine.)
Most people here agree that it's usually better to buy a used car, as cars depreciate so quickly, but what about a used house?
If you were choosing between a brand-new, from the developer, house/townhouse, and a newish 1-5 years old house, which would you go for? What price decrease per year would sway your decision one way or the other? For example, if a 5 year old house was 10% less than a new one, would you get the new one?
Or do you prefer a new or used house for reasons not related to money? Personally I'm a little leery about buying a new house (or any house, really) as I've heard such bad things about new home builders: that the work is shoddy, home warranties don't work, etc, plus I've "been there/done that" regarding home ownership, had the hassle and expense to prove it.
Any new home buying experiences to share? Anything we should watch out for in particular?
Some more info about us:
- he has never bought a property before but really wants to
- I've owned 3 houses before
- we'll be purchasing what he can afford with his own income; my money is just bonus/cushion/down payment assistance
- we'll be putting 20% down
The area we are considering has high enough rents that rent vs buy doesn't have a clear financial winner either way; comes down to preference. However the area also appears to be at the beginning of a downturn. There is quite a glut of the 3 bedroom townhouse condo style that is in our price range. We probably can't afford a single-family home, though will probably get one eventually.
We plan to live in it at least 10 years.
I'm going to be checking out some showhomes in the area in a couple weeks and will be trying to get specific prices on some new home options. Then we can better compare the cost of new to the used home prices. TIA for your thoughts.