Many times when faced with the thought of relocating, the potential mover is faced with this thought: should they build a residence or buy one? There are advantages to both; lets look at the following quick summary below and hopefully it can help you with this tough decision:

To Build

1. You can make it exactly how you want.
2. You can cover more of your own costs (X amount on the kitchen, X on the living room…)
3. It will be brand new; you are the first owner.

Not to Build

1. It involves a lot of extra people (contractors, city officials, builder, electricity/gas/waterline engineers, etc).
2. Time frame doesn’t just depend on you; it depends on all of the other extra people and beware that there may be a line.
3. Closing cost, what closing cost? You are building it, so you pay it all. (Advice normally given to home builders states to save a cushion of 10-20% of your overall expected building cost, for any changes, delays, etc)
4. Risk: If anything falls through, you are left without a residence and with a lot of legal/money tie ups.

1. You can look at many homes first before deciding; sometimes its nice to go with what was someone else’s vision. What you see is what you get.
2. Some one intelligent, professional, and knowledgeable could be there to help you (a realtor).
3. If you don’t like something, maybe fixing it can be included in the closing costs before you sign on the deal.
4. You can set a time frame: all must be done by X day or the deal falls through
5. If one home seems too expensive, go to the next one; you are shopping for the best deal or fit for you.

1. What if you buy and later on down the road, something breaks (waterline, gas line…)? If you have a guarantee all is fine, but if not…?
2. Again price; what if you are doing a bid and have your heart set on a certain home and someone out bids you?
3. If you use a realtor, you have to pay (although you might save a lot less then paying all that other extra people that come with building).