New Construction Homes in Albany
There is nothing like being able to move into a fresh, new home. Being the first owners of something completely new is just exciting and a real honor. It is especially an honor if you get to design this home yourself, rather than building an already built but brand new home. New construction homes in Albany County and surrounding counties, especially in Bethlehem, Guilderland, and Colonie and absolutely exploded in recent year. In fact, builders have been fronting the money to build these homes through “end loans” that are favorable to buyers. With low interest rates, building has also never been cheaper. If you or a loved one are looking for new construction homes in Albany, learn about them and how to build your dream home today.
What you Need to Know about New Construction Homes in Albany
Building a new home is always exciting, but it can also be stressful. There are so many options to choose, beginning with the builder and town. Other options you may expect also include price range and bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage. But other options you may not consider are considerations such as plot position in the building envelope, water control, and extras even as basic as outlets in soffits for holiday lights. All of these options make building fun, but also difficult. Ask our real estate broker about new construction homes in Albany, New York and how we can help you with everything from placing a lot hold, through selections, plot position, final walkthrough, and then closing. The choices you make today can dictate what happens for the rest of your time at that home.
Some basic considerations:
- What type of loan will the builder accept: end loans or draw loans?
- What regulations and codes does the town have for the project, or future projects?
- How much of a down payment is needed?
- What extras does the builder offer? Are there any incentives?
- What do other homes look like the the builder did?
- Does the builder offer followup repairs and maintenance checks for cracks due to settling?
- What is the home warranty?
- Estimated taxes for the town?
- How much can I customize?
- What comes standard?
- How can i change kitchen appliances?
- Are there are ways to get credits?
Planning New Construction
Many people ask great questions about building new homes. The questions range from what builder do you recommend, or what builder do you not recommend. These are basic but very important questions that most people will ask, and the answer is to check online for reviews and look at style. Yes, go to projects and go to other houses built by that builder and see what the houses look like and the neighborhood looks like. Talking to people in that development is also very important. Other questions include how to pay for a new home and whether it is worth it. Asking a bank or mortgage broker for help on whether you can afford it is a great idea before you contact a builder. But there are so many other considerations that individuals should consider before building a home.
Building and Framing
Framing out new home construction in Albany, New York. Framing is the important part of building a home when your home has its “bones” built. This allows you to see what rooms will look like and how the house will generally look outside. It also shows how the house will look on the plot and ground. Framing is very important to make sure it is done properly. It is important to also realize that, while important, rooms can be reframed inside and moved to your liking. However, main support rooms and walls generally CANNOT be moved, which means some planning is important.
Framing is usually down with “framing lumber,” or lumber that has high tinsel strength and is generally straight and defect free. But framing lumber is not perfect lumber like it would be for wood that can be seen. Framing lumber is just meant to help lay out the support for the house and the drywalls for the home. Framing lumber can be moved and adjusted after it is laid, but exterior framing is not normally moved. Exterior meaning lumber for the outside walls and structure. But inside framing of rooms can be changed before the house is done, unless it is for support of laminated beams or support posts.
There is always the option to add or change your house as you go through the process, usually with a “change order” but that can cost extra money. Sometimes there is also a materials fee or even a design fee for making late changes. While inconveniencing, it is still very important when you do not like something in the house before you close.
The majority of your design and building is already done for you when you meet with the builder. This is because most builders offer model homes with set blueprints and designs. This is great because some builders have dozens and dozens of designs to choose from.
After you pick a design, most builders let you modify and change that plans. This can allow you to move walls, “bump out” or extend kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms. Or you can move parts of the house, such as changing door frames or flipping hinges. You can even move washer/dryers upstairs to take up a closet as opposed to having it downstairs. This design ideas and changes are often FREE when done in the planning stage. But once you are done with planning and blueprints, it has to be approved by an engineer and/or architect, and sometimes with the town planning board. This means that changing the blueprints can be much harder to do, but not impossible.
Even after building, a family could decide to take down certain wall for making an addition or changing the house the way the family grows.
We Can Help
NAB Your Next Home with NAB Realty Group
New Construction Homes in Albany
Real Estate broker and lawyer
Our real estate broker is also a licensed lawyer in New York, giving you a well-trained and educated representative to help you with your home building.
FOrmer chairman of planning board
Our real estate broker is also the former chairman of a town planning board, giving an insider level of experience and skill in building.
actual new construction home customers
Our real estate broker not only helps customers build their dream home, but also have been a customer and JUST finished building.
Other Options for Building inside
Lots of Options–Overwhelming
Once you have picked the overall design and blueprint of the house–the layout–you will need to chose other options that can be endless. This includes everything from refrigerator size (yes, there are multiple sizes) and even covering the refrigerator with cabinet, to color of hardware on doors or kitchen cabinets, outlet locations, lights, ceiling fan provisions, and other important parts of building a home. Even ideas such as sinks and sink options can be overburdening for some people, as these options need to flow with the rest of the house and other options chosen. And these are just inside options, there are seemingly endless outdoor options as well.
Common Options
- Kitchen Appliances
- Wall Color
- Dryer/washers
- Exterior siding
- Roofing material
- Flooring
- Lighting
- Electrical options
Interior Design photos
Choosing the interior structure and ideas, options, appliances, colors, lighting, flooring, and other options is daunting. Especially in just the kitchen area. Learn how we can help make these selections with you and give you options that you may need help with.
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What Sets Us Apart
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Designing your plot
Plot plan and position in building envelope in Albany, New YOrk
Another common question and issue is also plot location. Once you have a blueprint and your builder is ready to dig the foundation, you will need to decide where the footprint of the home will be. This generally needs to be within the “building envelope” or the permitted area of the lot per town code to build. Placement of the home is very important because it can dictate size of the front, back, or side yards, as well as other expenses such as length of driveway (longer means more asphalt and more money, whereas shorter means less asphalt and usually cheaper, but also means closer to the road). Other considerations also are water flow of surface water (rainwater and snow melt), as well as closeness to neighbors. Another common and tricky aspect is light, not just the sunlight but also other lights from neighbors or buildings nearby. These are very important considerations that an experienced real estate broker can help you with your new construction home in Albany, New York
Let Us Lead The Way
Building your dream home sounds very daunting, but it is not as difficult as it actually is with the help of an experienced real estate broker can do for you. Here at NAB Realty Group, not only do we help others go through the process but we just did the process through Hodorowski Homes in Bethlehem, New York. We know all of the steps it takes and we understand how stress it can be to make these selections because we just did it and closed on our home. Thus, we not only are a good “coach” but also a “player” in building homes because we did it.
We can help you build your dream home in Bethlehem, Colonie, Guilderland, or anywhere else in Albany County or the Capital Region. Contact us today to learn how we can help.