7 Steps to Buying a New Construction Home in Florida by Seb Jay
Congratulations! You've decided that Florida is the place to buy your dream vacation home in the sun. Now all you've got to do is figure out how to go about turning that dream into a reality. Here's how...
1) Choose a location
There are many fantastic places in Florida to buy a vacation home. The south of the state, from the Keys to Miami, is a very popular location for second home purchases. The climate is at its warmest down here, the countryside is peaceful and the beaches of pure white sand are simply breathtaking. Unsurprisingly, it is also the area with the highest property prices.
If golf is your thing why not look to the Gulf coast between Naples and Fort Myers. Spectacular Florida homes abound in this region, many of them being located on the plethora of golf courses in the area. Northeast Florida (near Jacksonville) and Orlando in Central Florida are worthy of consideration too for golf enthusiasts. Where Orlando scores highly though is in its proximity to Florida's major theme parks. If you're looking to rent out your Florida home in the months that you are not there and make a sizeable rental income, Orlando is the place to be!
2) Choose a Florida home type
There are many types to choose from - villas, condos, family homes and townhomes being the most popular with second home buyers. The best vacation homes to buy are those that are located in self-contained gated communities. This is because everything you need for your vacation can be found 'on-site', including shops, restaurants and entertainment. Outside gated communities you'll typically have a wider choice of home types, but often won't have the benefit of the facilities that you want all being in one place.
3) Find a supplier of new construction Florida homes
In today's Internet-driven world it makes a lot of sense and saves time if you go online to find the Florida home of your dreams. Websites like http://www.1st-for-florida-property.com have a wide selection of new construction homes in Florida as well as a selection of resale properties. Some sites have 'alert systems' that you can sign up for too. Every time a new listing is added the alert system sends an e-mail informing you of the details.
4) Arrange viewings / inspection visits (optional)
Once you've found a home that you like the look of its time to contact the listing agent to get more information and to arrange a viewing or inspection visit. Remember, homes in the pre-construction phase won't be much to look at on the ground. Normally you'll visit the sales office to see artist impressions of the buildings.
5) Reserve your Florida home!
The first step in reserving your new construction Florida home is to complete an 'Intent to Purchase' document direct with the developer. To show you're serious you'll be asked to put down a refundable deposit of around $500 to $1000 to secure the lot. The document is not legally binding and if you don't progress with the purchase you'll get a full refund. Most buyers choose to make this initial payment on a credit card.
6) Contract signature
On receiving your intent to purchase document and your initial lot security deposit, the developer will work up the sales contract. You'll receive this in the mail some two to six weeks following your lot reservation. It is strongly recommended that the contract be taken to your lawyer / solicitor before putting your signature to it. Remember, the sales contract is a legally binding document. Once your name is on there you're committed to buying the home as per the wording in the contract. If you need to obtain funding you should consider with your lawyer / solicitor adding clauses into the contract that subject it to you successfully raising funds through a mortgage or similar home loan.
On signing the contract the developer will require you to make a down payment equivalent to between 10% and 30% of the purchase price. The down payment can in general be made by any means.
7) Arrange your Purchase Funds and then Celebrate!
Once the contract is signed all that is left for you to do is to arrange the funds to pay for the balance of your purchase. US mortgages offer second homeowners very competitive rates of interest. In most cases the developer will be able to point you in the direction of a competitive mortgage broker.
New construction homes in Florida tend to be on a build schedule of between 9 and 12 months. The balance of the purchase price is paid to the developer at closing when the keys are handed over.
About the Author
Seb Jay is a freelance writer and co-owner of http://www.1st-for-florida-property.com -- the #1 site on the Web for Florida property sales.