WHat is the average deposit on a new (built) house?

[mpls_mm]

This is the key right here. The builder wants what he wants, but that doesn't mean you have to agree to it.

When I found a builder I liked, I asked if he employed his own tile setters, wood floor guys and painters. If they work for him, then he pays them and there is no way way around it, however if he subs out, he is just as happy to have me contract them. Fewer bills for him to pay, but I have to be very considerate of his schedule and worksite. In a hot market builders won't let you do any of your own work. The builder agreed to let me do my own tile and counters and supply my own lighting and plumbing fixtures. I'll probably be using the same guys he would but it will cost me far less. I am able to get the in floor heat and a more custom tile layout than he would have done. Home Depot has a great website where they close out their vessel bowls and lights and other fixtures from their Expo stores. Paying cash for that stuff keeps my mortgage lower. In another time he wouldn't have even heard me out, but this is a buyers market.

 

[shelly3girls]

Whatever you do make sure you require in the contract that your deposit goes into an escrow account and is not used for building. If you do not do this you can lose the whole deposit if the builder goes belly up before closing on the house (may be different by state). I had a friend in PA lose more money than you could imagine b/c the builder went out of business with the house half complete. The bank then owned the property and my friend ended up getting pennies on the dollar after bankruptcy court. We ended up buying our first home after the original developer went bankrupt.

We walked away from our dream neighborhood b/c the builder wanted 20% down on a $700k and refused to escrow the money. It was not a risk we were willing to take especially in today's market.

 

[haveitall]

We built our home 4 years ago. We got a 100% loan. We paid a $1000.00 ernest check. Our builder paid the closing cost. When we went to sign at closing they gave us a check for $994.00. So we only paid 6.00 down. great deal.
We chose our own:

appliances
lighting
fixtures
counter top
carpet
upgraded hardware for all the cabinet etc
upgraded carpet and pad
upgraded the spindles on the stair railings

WE were excited to watch the building. We went to our lot every weekend and took pictures of the progress. I have a very nice scrapbook. We also took pictures of all the walls and now know were every stud is and the plumbing.

Sylvia in MN

 

[DebMcDonald]

We gave our building $10,000 to start our house and then put down the rest at the time of closing.

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

I think every builder is different.

When we bought our home in '04, it was a brand new "redi-home". We only had to put $1000 down with our contract.

Now, I think if you're actually BUILDING the home, it's different. We plan on building a new house next year and the builder's requirement while building is $10K, in different increments....

Good luck with the new house!

 

[amez]

When we signed the contract with our builder we put down $1000. That was a completely different agreement then with financing. When we signed the contract with our builder we also knew (roughly) the final cost, so then we secured financing. Here it may get confusing we borrowed 100%, but we pulled out certain things and paid them ourselves--like our driveway and our watertank system. So on paper we had 0% down but we still have out of pocket expenses. Once we had financing the builder would do a "pull" on the money from the bank. We would have to sign off that we were okay with the work at each level and sign that they could take the next % of money. Upfront we had recieved a breakdown of when and how much. For example (I'm just shooting from the hip I don't have the paper in front of me), once the basement was erect we would sign and they would get another 10%, affter the house was framed maybe 15%, plumbing and electric 15% etc. At closing they would get the final amount and if there were any overages or shortages the money would also be exchanged. Our builder was excellant about letting us know all along what would cost more or what would save us money. Sometimes they dont' know until they start digging--for example we had the cost of adding a drainage pipe away from the house for the downspouts, curtan drain etc. When they began digging they found an field tile--tested it and were able to use it and save us a little bit of money.

For us also our utilites hookup from the utility company were a separate bill we had to pay upfront. We had to pay for the electric company to come out and put in a temporary pole and then a permant box. However the wiring to run fron the poles/box to our home was included in the builders.

So really although you can get 0% down you have to figure in the cost of utility hookup, any test that your county requires (we had a spetic system), and realize that you will be making an interest payment on the money that the builder pulls out of the escrow account.

 

[RMulieri]

I bought my house in 2003.The builder required $5000 just to start building it( at the time my home was 201,000)Then with financing thru the mortgage lender we needed a minimum of 10% of purchase price as downpayment or we got hit with mortgage insurance .

 

[PaulaSue]

Thank You, Thank You , Thank You...Everyone!!!

TG the house is almost finished so we don't have so many options. Just picking out the things I know we can seems overwelming enough. I don't know if Dh and I could remain friends if we had too many choices and had to pick everything from scratch.

 

[DebMcDonald]

Our realtor said if you can build a house together then your marriage can survive anything.....

 

[audrabolster]

it depends on financing. Here in Southern California, the avg. is 15-20%

 

[Anjelica]

Ours originally required 10% of the purchase price of the house (builder that is) before they would even start. They brought it down to 5% before we ended up signing to get more folks in the front door (this was in 2001). I wouldn't be surprised if some of the new home builders around my area only require 500-1000 now.

But be FOREWARNED - be very careful who you buy a new construction house from. In our area alone, which is one of the markets that really hasn't taken a hit from the housing crisis, some of the builders went bankrupt, etc. There were people who closed on the house and were already living there when some of the sub-contractors put liens on the house because the builder did not pay them. Very sad as some new home purchasers are getting the shaft out of these deals. With that being said if you do a little research, etc. you should be able to find a good quality yet stable home builder.