Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer or returning to the process, you probably have questions. We’ve tried to help you out with these answers to frequently asked questions.
Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage is the best first step. Spend a few minutes on the phone with a lender and you’ll know how much you’re likely to be able to borrow for the purchase of a new home. You’ll then receive a pre-approval letter that you can submit with any offer, showing the seller you are a qualified buyer.
You don’t need a construction loan when you contract with Shaddock Homes to build your home in one of our communities. There’s one closing, when your new home is ready for you to move in.
When you buy a home to be built or one that is under construction, you provide earnest money, which is a small deposit due when you sign the contract. The earnest money is deducted from the down payment at closing.
When your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price, you’ll need to pay for Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). The amount—which is usually between 0.5% and 1.0% of the loan amount—is paid monthly as part of your mortgage. The PMI protects the lender in the event the home goes into foreclosure. When you have paid enough of the principal to equal 20% of the loan, you can cancel the PMI.
We can’t use plans from another source. Shaddock Homes provides a wide range of floor plans to choose from, with many options to personalize them to your style. We have experience building from these plans and know that they are accurate. Unfortunately, we can’t count on the same reliability from other plans, and when there’s a problem or error, the homebuyer assumes the cost for fixing the problem.
From the time when we actually begin the construction process on-site, you can expect your home to be completed in about 4 to 5 months. Click here to learn more about the process for building a home.
We do our best to accommodate your needs. If the desired change doesn’t impact the structure or progress of your home’s construction—like a different bathroom vanity that hasn’t yet been ordered—we’re ready to help. If, however, you want to remove, alter, or replace something that we’ve already built, bought, or installed, we’ll need to discuss the cost for doing so, both in time and money.
Yes! You’ll move into your home with a fully-sodded lawn and sprinkler system to help maintain it.
If you’re already working with a licensed Realtor, we welcome this team member, but it’s certainly not required. Every Shaddock Homes community has a professional salesperson on-site who will help you find the right home that meets your criteria for location, features, and budget.
When your home is completed, you will finalize the purchase at the “closing”. You’ll sign all of the loan documentation and pay a variety of fees (also known as “closing costs”). These fees include appraisal, title search, attorney fees, home inspection, loan origination, property taxes, homeowner’s association fee, and transfer taxes, to name a few. Some are rolled into the loan (e.g., property taxes, HOA fee), while others must be paid at closing.
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