Starting Fresh Can Save You Money
Maybe you’ve settled on a neighborhood or area you want to call home, but you are still house hunting. Reality television makes renovation of older homes look incredibly easy. And fast. But as many people know from experience, owning and fixing up an older home in real life can be stressful and costly. According to research compiled by New Home Source, a residential construction industry advocacy group, counselors cite home renovation projects as one of the top three factors in divorce.
Sure, plenty of home renovation projects have happier endings. But from a financial and environmental standpoint, New Home Source has compiled some interesting numbers that show how building new versus buying a used home can save money, time and resources over the long term.
- Newly built homes use 3,449 fewer kilowatt hours, on average, each year. That’s enough energy to power your coffee maker for 32 years.
- So far this year, owners of older homes have spent nearly $1.4 million more than owners of newly built homes on repairs and maintenance.
- Home insurance, on average, costs 15 percent less for a newly built home compared to an older home.
- Just today, roughly 1,000 owners of used homes have had to replace their water heater at an average cost of $2,000.
- Building a new home with superior insulation and energy efficient windows, appliances and other materials can save you enough money each year to buy two plane tickets to the beach. Plus, your family will enjoy comfortable indoor temperatures year round.
- When you design and build a custom home, you get exactly the features and materials you want, and you get to fully enjoy your home as soon as you move in — no costly and inconvenient kitchen or basement renovations needed.
With careful planning and a highly qualified builder, you might be surprised to learn that building a unique custom home is not only affordable, but can cost about the same as purchasing an existing home. Want to learn more about the benefits of building new? Contact us and we’ll be happy to talk to you about our energy efficient building materials and techniques.