Should you buy pre-owned?
By Russ Downing
L
ast month I wrote about my
client’s experiences in buying
a home in Hua Hin. Quite
frequently the type of home they
originally thought they wanted was not
the one they signed on the dotted line
for. Whether it was more expensive than
what they had originally in mind or it
was a new home versus used or vice
versa.
What I’ve learned over the last almost
ten years in the property business here in
Hua Hin is that it’s best to keep an open
mind and explore all of your options
before making that big decision.
In last month’s article we looked at the
advantages of buying a new home. This
month we’ll focus on the advantages of
buying a pre-owned property.
MOVE IN RIGHT AWAY
In Hua Hin there are only a couple of
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developers that are building homes on
“spec”, without waiting for a buyer. The
normal scenario here is you view one or
more show homes and then pick the plot
that you would like your house built on
making any design changes along the
way. The disadvantage is that you have
to wait six months to a year to move in.
When buying a pre-owned home you can
usually move in right after the purchase
contract process is complete, which is
usually 30 days or so.
ACHIEVE A LARGER
DISCOUNT
A big perk of buying a resale home is
that the purchase price is usually more
negotiable with a pre-owned home than
it is with a new home from a developer.
Popular developers with a proven track
record don’t feel the need to discount
because they know they will sell out
based on their good reputation. A
private homeowner on the other hand
just wants to sell his one home and move
on, consequently it’s normally easier to
achieve a descent discount.
PEACE AND QUIET
A common fear of buyers purchasing
in a new development is that they
can’t be guaranteed how long they will
be living on a building site. If you’re
buying a home to use as a holiday home,
when that holiday finally rolls around
you don’t want to be floating in your
pool listening to jack hammers and pile
drivers. Almost all resale homes are in
fully finished developments. Which
leads into another benefit of buying a
resale, you most always know what the
development is going to look like when
it’s finished, because it is finished. A
finished development that is planted out
with nice landscaping has character and
charm which is lacking in developments
with continued construction.