New Construction in Commack: Ideal For You

By Craig Axelrod
August 17, 2009

If you've ever thought about purchasing new construction on Long Island, then now is the time for you to be looking. With the real estate market where it is, it is more affordable than ever for you to purchase new construction. On Long Island, your options are limited. The amount of free real estate available in this once farmland area, is basically completely developed. Many neighborhoods have placed restrictions on construction, preserving the remaining farmland and open areas.

New construction is still available and can be ideal for the new homeowner. If you've been looking for real estate, you can consider this:

1. Older houses, while "charming" on the outside, are, in fact, old homess. Over time they age. Many homes in the 50 to 75-year-old range have become "knock downs" bought by builders to put up new construction. If you're purchasing an older house, it can cost you more in the long run with maintenance and improvements.

2. New construction gives you more flexibility. Very little people ever find the "perfect home" of their dreams. Usually, they need to paint, tile, change carpeting, re-locate walls, renovate bathrooms and kitchens and a list of other projects that become increasingly expensive. That older home that looked like a bargain becomes extremely expensive once you've completed the repairs and changes you need.

3. With new construction, you do not have to live through remodeling. Kitchen remodeling, expansions and modifications to your home can take months-even years. All the while, you are living in a hazard zone.

4. You also have the added expense of doing these renovations, which must be paid on top of the purchase price of the home. Many families have to save for many years to have the available cash renovations. Others can try to take second mortgages or home-equity loans, but this may prove unsuccessful-especially with more rigid lending requirements. You may look to borrow an additional $200,000, but your house is not worth an additional $200,000 today. Therefore, you lack the collateral to justify the home equity loan. In contrast, new construction, even if slightly more expensive, has the full value in the home already, which is what mortgage companies want to see.

5. When choosing real estate, and evaluating existing houses, you have very few options. The real estate is "as is"-meaning the lawn is what it is, the plantings are what they are, and the yarn is what it is. Generally, with new construction, it is either newly landscaped or in raw form so that you can landscape as you choose (generally, unlandscaped new construction is less expensive than landscaped). With new construction, you are getting gorgeous new property or freshly graded land that is ready for landscaping.

When you're ready to consider new construction, be sure to keep all of these factors in mind. As you examine the cost of the home, consider the actual costs beyond the purchase price. Many families discover far better values with the newly built house versus a less expensive existing house that needs renovation. Even if you are handy, renovations are not free. You also need to come up with the cash to pay for those renovations (whereas with new construction, those costs are factored into the asking price and are covered by the mortgage).