East Nashville TN Real Estate expert Monte Mohr is here to offer some advice if you are thinking about building a brand new home.

1. Is New Construction Better Than an Existing Home When Buying East Nashville
TN Real Estate?
East Nashville TN Real Estate expert Monte Mohr is here to offer some advice if you are
thinking about building a brand new home. Below are some things you should know before you
sign on the dotted line.
Angie from Franklin sent in the following question…
“We have been watching you on Channel 4 and appreciate your up-front approach to
answering questions about buying and selling homes in today’s market. My husband and I are
trying to decide if we want to buy a brand new home, or an existing one; can you share your
perspective of which is the better way to go?”
Well I don’t know that there’s really a “better way to go.” There is nothing like a brand new
house, or a brand new car, but it comes with some costs. It really comes down to priorities; if you
want a really big yard with mature trees, than it’s probably going to be an older home. If you
have to have big closets and a large bathroom, than you probably want to go with a new home
but it comes with some risks.
Know this – even if money was no issue and you built exactly what you think you want – next
time you’d do it differently. A lot of people don’t realize that will happen.
Jeff and Kara from Mt. Juliet asked…
“We are considering having a new home built in a new development. The on-sight agent has
said that the builder will not negotiate price; is that true? We thought everyone would
negotiate in this market.”
That is a good question, and honestly, a good builder typically won’t negotiate price. What they
would rather do, for everyone’s benefit, is negotiate upgrades like granite countertops,
washer/dryer, refrigerator, a bigger deck, or something like that. The reason for that, is to keep
“the comps” consistent. For example, if you buy a $200,000 home, you would want to make sure
that the comparable sales in the neighborhood will justify that price. If the builder negotiates
price all over the boards, then the appraisers will have a problem with that.
This question brings up a couple of other good points:
1. If you are going to buy in a brand new development make sure you’re going to be there for the
long haul because things can happen along the process. One thing that can happen is, those who
need to sell within a couple of years before the development is completed, end up competing
with new construction making it really hard to develop any sort of equity. Just keep that in mind.

2. 2. Many times if there is not a strong developer or builder they will start with one criterion, let’s
say it’s “all brick with a side-entry garage”, but then that builder doesn’t work out so they bring
in another builder. Now that builder may not have the same level of quality or criteria, and
suddenly your “all brick” neighborhood is now just “front brick with front entry garages” or one
car garages instead of two car garages – there are all those kind of variables to consider. These
are things to pay attention to if you are looking at a brand new development; be cautious.
Before we review the last real estate question of the day, there are some new homes on the
market in the Forest Hills and I thought they were worth pointing out to you today.
Deborah from Brentwood wrote in and asked…
“We are having a custom home built in Nolensville. We have heard you say to always get an
inspection done prior to buying a home. Is that true for a new home as well? Or realtor said
it’s probably a waste of money since the builder is providing a home warranty with our new
home. Please advise.”
That is a really good question. The assumption is that since it’s a brand new home you don’t
need to get an inspection. But I never recommend buying a home of any kind – brand new or
otherwise – without having somebody go through the property.
Here’s the problem: even though there’s a one year warranty on the property, a lot of times
problems take years to show up. So if you decide to sell the home 5-10 years later and there was
a problem during construction that wasn’t corrected properly, than you’ve inherited that problem
and it’s now your problem that has to be corrected. So a home inspection is really worth it.
I saw one case where a subcontractor has cut through some floor beams to install the air
conditioner. If that had not been caught, it would’ve been the homeowner’s responsibility to
correct the issue later. So always get a home inspection.
Let’s take a look at some Happy Customers!
Carlton and Jonelle are a great couple and a great example of the concerns mentioned
previously. They bought a townhome in an early development and when they decided to sell a
few years later, they were competing with a brand new builder who was charging a lot less than
what they had paid for their property. They were able to save $3,900 with my “We Sell Homes
For Free” program, but it was still a very painful experience having to sell for less than the
competition.
Mayra just closed a couple of weeks ago and she also took advantage of my “We Sell Homes For
Free” program and saved $3,750 when selling her home in Antioch. She then was able to buy a
new home with Goodall; there are some really good builders in town, as well as some that I
wouldn’t recommend, but Goodall is a really good builder.

3. BJ and Kara were very patient. They saved over $6,500 by utilizing my “We Sell Homes For
Free” program and then we found a super deal on a wonderful custom built home and they
bought their Dream Home in Nolensville.
I encourage anybody who is looking to buy East Nashville TN Real Estate, but has one to sell
first, to call me and use this program – it will save you thousands of dollars.