If you know David Weekley Homes, you know they build lovely homes. We just signed a contract on a spec home of theirs (or someone built it and couldn’t go to closing… we don’t know) which has been around more than 160 days, listed at $525k, we got it for $485k, but that’s just the start.
Builder subsidized financing… 3% year one, 4% year 2, 5% year 3, 5.5% years 4-30. It’s fixed, but they buy-down the first three years. They pay the closing costs. Their home insurance partner is $500 less per year than Allstate (special discount to Weekley customers for ten years). They are paying the relator fees for the agent selling our old home (also one of their affiliates).
In the old house, I pay HOA, water / sewer, trash, and I pay someone to cut my lawn.
In the new place, the HOA does it all for less than I was paying at the old place. One head to pound, too. And it’s gated, HOA covers that, old place wasn’t gated.
My utilities are going to go way down… tankless hot water heater… the insulation is so good, on a 95 degree day, it was 80 inside the attic. The AC unit is smaller than for an older home of comparable size.
I asked them about the HOA fees… I asked them if Weekley Homes wasn’t buying down the rates to create a “teaser”, and after they’re done building and leave will the HOA fees make a gigantic jump? They said no, the fees are the set the same as similar established communities.
I mean - WOW - talk about customer service.
Now we have to sell the old one. I think we’re going to have to go to the mat on price, it’s slow and a buyer’s market now. The bond market turmoil goosing up mortgage rates is definitely worrying. The only way to cure that as a seller is - cut the price. Buyers shop for monthly payments.
Fortunately, we can close without selling the old one, though it’ll be painful to carry two properties, and I don’t want to rent the old one out, I just want it gone.