Holley by the Sea - Whitworth Builders, Inc

  The purpose of this blog is to address the advantages of building a new home in the Northwest Florida, Okaloosa County area.  Building codes are different from state to state depending on the requirements of your area.

I have been a Realtor in the Okaloosa County area for 5 years selling preexisting homes as well as new construction.   Therefore, I am familiar with the challenges that are facing both Sellers and Buyers in today's market.  These challenges affect us all.   It affects you, in that the market has made it difficult for you to have any "wiggle" room when negotiating the sale or purchase of a home.  It affects me, as the Realtor, because it is difficult to sell or help purchase a property when the Seller is upside down, or the insurance rates are high because of the age of the property, or a home is so dated that a buyer would have to spend thousands just to update it to the new millennium. 

                                          These very challenges are why I decided to forego selling existing homes and work exclusively with a builder.  I chose Whitworth Builders because they have been building homes within this area for the past 43 years.  They have a reputation for building a good home, both within the general public as well as within the Real Estate community. 

   So, back to my original question, should you build a new home?  My answer is yes.  And here are the reasons why.  First of all, it has been my experience that when you look at a preexisting home built before the 2002 Hurricane Building Codes were put into effect, you are buying a home that might not fare well in a Hurricane.  Our homes meet or exceed all current hurricane requirements (in the above pictures you can see the wrapped trusses and J-bolts used to anchor the home).  

Each of our garages come with a vertical "Hurricane Bar" (to help anchor the pull up door during high winds.  The picture to the right shows the damage a house can sustain, both to the interior and roof system when a garage door fails and allows straight line winds to enter the home).  

   A preexisting home that is not built to current code raises your insurance rates, and that affects your pocket book.

   When you are looking at a preexisting home, you are looking at a home that was built and designed for someone else, possibly during another decade.  If it has a dated floor plan, the floor plan will always be dated (I don't think low ceilings will come back in style like bell bottoms did).  And after you have owned it for several years, it will be more dated still.  This affects the resell value of your home.  Because of this, buying a home with all the updates current to the market makes more sense.   And buying a home specifically designed for your tastes, brings you less stress than buying a home that you will have to remodel.

According to the National Association of Home Builders, new homes offer a number of advantages over existing homes, including:

• More amenities/convenience. New homes feature built-in appliances, including dishwashers, and nearly all have central air and heat. They also feature more electrical and cable outlets. Amenities include vanity cabinets, whirlpool tubs, separate shower.
• Safety. Occupants of new homes are almost six times less likely to die from fire than occupants of older homes. Many new homes come equipped with hard-wired smoke detectors on every level, complete with battery back up should the power go out. Fires are diminished due to the lack of need for space heaters and because of more efficient central heating systems and better insulation. Electrical power systems in new homes are properly sized for the heavier electrical demands of today's homes, and wiring systems are less likely to cause fires. Circuit breakers have replaced fuse boxes, which can be overloaded by using the wrong-size fuse. Ground fault interrupters for bathrooms, kitchens, and outside receptacles reduce the chance of fire and electrocution. Today's glass in tub enclosures and patio doors in new homes must be tempered so that it will crumble if broken instead of shattering into large jagged pieces that can seriously injure people.
• Health. The building industry has responded to the health risks of certain products by building with products and systems that make new homes better for your health. Asbestos, which can increase the risk of respiratory disease, has been eliminated from shingles, pipe, cement board, roof tar, floor tiles, ceiling tiles, and insulation. Lead, a potential poison, is no longer used as an ingredient in paint or as solder for plumbing. Formaldehyde emissions from particleboard and hardwood plywood have been greatly reduced in new homes. And urea-formaldehyde finishes on most kitchen cabinets are now baked or cured to minimize emissions. Builders are now installing systems to control radon gas, where it is a problem. These systems usually include installation of gravel and polyethylene film beneath basement floors and concrete slabs, and provide for later installation of vent pipes and fans, if required. Older homes frequently have no gravel in which to collect the gas, no polyethylene film to retard movement of the gas through the slab, and no vent pipes. Mitigating radon from an existing home is generally far more expensive than building radon prevention techniques into a new home.
• Energy efficiency. Because of better windows, more efficient heating and cooling equipment, better control of air infiltration, and greater use of insulation, new homes consume half as much energy as homes built prior to 1980. Old homes tend to be drafty and less comfortable, and frost and condensation are more likely to appear on windows, drip down, and cause deterioration of wood trim and walls.
• Lower maintenance. New homes require less maintenance. New homes are available with siding, windows, and trim that never need painting. Wood decks are typically made of pressure-treated lumber resistant to rot and insects. Pressure-treated wood is also used where wood comes in contact with concrete.

   When you are considering buying a home it is frustrating to find one that you like and not be able to negotiate with the seller because they don't have much equity to play with.   Right now, in this market, that is the situation whether the Seller built just 4 years ago, or they built 20 years ago.  Many homeowners refinanced their homes and took out their equity during the mortgage lending boom of 2005.   If a seller built a new home right before the housing prices started to drop in 2006, then they are most likely upside down in their home, and will also have a difficult time in negotiating a contract. 

   And trying to purchase a short sale (the owners are selling for less than their mortgage) is one of the most frustrating and time consuming situations that you will ever be involved in.  Most of them do not close, and it may take months to get an answer on an offer. 

    The advantage of buying a pre-sale or spec home from Whitworth Builders is that you will be working with a seller who is motivated and has the means to help you get into your home.  And with new construction prices being historically lower in our area than preexisting homes, you will be getting a better deal all around.

   So why did I decide to start selling new construction in Crestview, Florida?  We all know that in order to be competitive in this market, Sellers have to stage their home beautifully, as well as price aggressively.  And since new construction prices in our area are historically lower than preexisting home sales, and the homes being built in Wind Meadows show like a model home, I have the best of both worlds with every listing I have.  You can have the best of both worlds, too.  A newly built home that is designed to your tastes, safer for your family, as well as priced below preexisting homes. 

The homes are beautiful in Wind Meadows subdivision in Crestview, FL.  Wind Meadows is an upscale, distinguished neighborhood with homes priced between 250,000 to 335,000.  The smallest floor plan Whitworth Builders is building is 2156 square feet, and the largest is 3233 sf.  We have many floor plans in between.  These homes are all brick, with vinyl soffits.  They are sodded front and back and have a sprinkler system on a timer.  Bull nose corners, 10 ft orange peel ceilings, formal dining and living rooms as well as kitchen nooks, Armstrong Brand wood cabinets, decorative tile, marble stand alone showers and marble jetted tubs, granite counter tops, under cabinet sinks, ceiling fans in every room, lanai's or covered porches are just some of the amenities offered.  We have a many floor plans to choose from, there is even one featuring a 3 car garage.  All of our lots are 100 x 140 on up. 

Building your own home has value.  Value in getting a home exactly like you want, value in supplying your family a home built to current code standards, and value in the lower price per square foot when compared to existing homes.

Come by and see our model home at 5904 Wind Trace.  It has 3233 square feet of living space with 4 bedrooms and 3.5 baths.  It is a 2008 Parade of Homes Award Winner.  It is open daily from 12 - 6pm.  If you can't stop by, enjoy a link to the virtual tour. 

Virtual Tour - Santa Maria III Model Home