Smart moves for a quick move in

Maybe it’s a matter of moving before the school year ends so that the kids can feel at home before the summer break. Perhaps the twins’ due date is July 4 and the family must be settled into a new house in May.

Perhaps the grandparents listed and sold their old house so quickly that they’re moving in with the younger generations sooner than expected. Or maybe the lease on the buyer’s current home has seven weeks left on it.

Enter the inventory home, the quick-movein home, the move-inready home, the spec home and the model home, each of which is a different term for a new construction home that is complete.

After you’ve found it, let yourself be the buyer who gets a new home in a hurry without making major sacrifices — and perhaps gaining unexpected bonuses. All that’s required is mindfulness of some key factors.

Are changes easy to make?

In an inventory or move-in-ready home, all the major and most of the minor decisions have been made, ranging from the home plan and elevation to paint colors and the faucets in the spare bathroom.

Ask the builder about the complexity of any design changes you have in mind.

Let’s say the builder put carpet in the firstfloor bedroom, but your family needs that room to be everything from a home office to the kids’ dance studio, which requires hard flooring.

How quickly and for what cost can a

solid surface flooring be installed in that room, including any permitting? If the builder cannot take on the new flooring before you move in, how long are you willing to wait to find and replace the flooring after you move in?

Alternatively, the builder may have chosen sleek, dark gray kitchen cabinets with gorgeous, light-colored quartz counters. If you had your heart set on a bright, white kitchen, are you willing to compromise?

Inspect

To build confidence with buyers, builders may automatically provide a recent inspection report for an inventory home. This report might look similar to the punch list of final to-do items for the builder that the preconstruction buyer would have signed off on at final walk-through.

Ask about these reports and review them carefully. It also might be helpful to have an unbiased third party walk through the home for a visual inspection, whether that’s a professional home inspector hired by the buyer or a good friend who happens to be an HVAC, electric, plumbing or construction expert.

Representation

A buyer in a new-home community does not need to have their own real estate agent who is not a member of the builder’s sales team. In a hot market, some buyers may even feel that adding another person to the transaction might slow down the transaction.

Builders respect the fact that some buyers have already established relationships with real estate agents. It’s important, then, that any outside agent is registered with the builder at the initial meetings and takes part in all activities thereafter.

In most cases, the agent the buyer brings with them does not work as a traditional buyer’s agent who shares in sales commissions. Instead, this agent is more likely to act as a consultant to the buyer in exchange for a flat referral fee paid by the builder.

Ask about warranties

On a model home that was completed more than a few months ago the home warranty clock may have started ticking before you found it.

The great news for buyers is that, by California law, new-construction home warranties protect the original new-home buyer for a full decade after purchase on major structural issues. That’s more years than the average Northern California family lives in their primary residence.

Ask the builder what you can expect should an issue come up after the warranty expires. Most buyers provide supplemental warranties, which might cover, cabinetry, flooring trim and other interior finishes. Buyers also receive manufacturers’ warranties for appliances.

Nothing like a quick turn

When it comes down to the final minutes before agreeing on a quick-movein new construction home, how you sleep on it may be the deciding factor. The sweetest dream would be envisioning yourself turning the key in the front door of a finished brandnew home in less than six weeks.

Check out our New Home Finder map (https://www.newhome finder.news/) to find communities that may have move-in-ready homes available soon. You can also watch videos highlighting builders in the Bay Area, Sacramento or check out communities Beyond the Bay.