Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1367488
enjoy.Thisamenitycen- terwillconsistofare- sort-stylepoolandpool house,astate-of-the-art fitnesscenter, com- munitygarden,bocce ballcourts,TheRanch HouseandEventsBarn. TheRanchHouseisthe communityclubhouse thatwillshowcasesev- eralmultipurposemeet- ingspaces,acafeanda largecoveredpatiowith afirepit.TheEvents Barnisasecondary spacethatwillbeused forlargereventsand ishometoabusiness lounge,artstudioand craftroom. Locatedjustashort walkfromClubLiberty istheRacquetCenter. TheRacquetCenter, whichopenedlastsum- mer,includestwotennis courtsandfourpickle- ballcourtsforresidents toenjoy.Summitat Libertymakesiteasyfor residentstoenjoythe bestyearsoftheirlifein anexciting,amenity-rich environment. LGIHomesisof- feringanarrayoffloor plansthathavebeen carefullyconstructed tomeettheneedsand desiresoftheactive adultbuyer.Homesin thiscommunityrangein sizefrom1,446square feettojustover2,000 squarefeetwithavari- etyoftwo-andthree- bedroomplansavailable. Residentswilllovethe thoughtfuldetailsbuilt intoeverynewhome suchasopenlayouts, chef-readykitchens, widedoorways,walk-in showers,coveredfront porchesandbackpatios, aswellasanabundance ofwindowsmaking everyroomfeelairyand bright. Insideeverynew constructionhome atSummitatLiberty isahostofdesigner- selectedfeaturesand finishesincludedatno additionalcost.Spar- klinggranitecounter- tops,oversizewood cabinetrywithcrown molding,afullsuiteof stainlesssteelWhirl- poolkitchenappliances, 2-inchfaux-woodblinds installedonalloperable windowsandluxuri- ousvinyl-plankfloor- ingarejustafewofthe noteworthyupgrades outfittedineveryhome. Homebuyerswillalso appreciatetheincluded energy-efficientfeatures suchasdouble-pane Low-Evinylwindows,a programmablethermo- stat,LEDflush-mount EnergyStarlightingand includedsolarpanels. Newhomesinthis communitystartinthe $420,000s,withquick- move-inopportunities available.Toaccom- modatebuyersduring thistime,theSummit atLibertyinformation centerisopenfortour byappointmentonly.To learnmoreorschedule atour,pleasecall(877) 899-1091,Ext.51,orvisit SummitAtLiberty.com. Contentprovidedby LGIHomes LGIHomes frompage1 Want to avoid a bidding war with other buyers? Consider building new By Erik J. Martin CTW FEATURES Worriedthatyou havetocompetewith severalotherhome shoppersandoverpay forausedproductthat willlikelyrequirecostly updatesandrepairsbe- forelong?Instead,why notstartfromscratch —literally—byhaving anewhomebuiltexactly thewayyouwantitand whereyouwantit? Inventoryofexist- inghomesremainsin shortsupply,dwarfed bythecontinuedrobust demandfrombuyers —manyofwhomare willingtopaytopdol- larforaresidencethat's likelyseveraldecades old.That'sabigreason whymanyhomeseekers todayareexploringnew constructionintheform ofapredesignedorcus- tomfloorplaneitherina builder'sdevelopmentor onatear-downorinfill siteoftheirchoosing. "Whenyoupurchase aconventionalresale home,you'relikelygoing towanttochangecertain thingsaroundsothey're moretoyourliking.But unlessthehouseisre- allyoldandtheneeded upgradesarereflected intheprice,you'relikely losingmoneybecause you'llneedtocomplete improvementsafteryou movein,"notesThomas Jepsen,CEOofPassion Plans,aRaleigh,North Carolina-basedcompany thatsellshomefloor plans. Bycontrast,witha newconstructionhome youcancreateaone-of- a-kindlayoutorchoosea presetdesignthatcanbe tweakedtoyourprefer- ence. "Youcancreateyour owncustomizations andenjoyabrand-new propertyversusanolder one,yourlocationcanbe exactlywhereyoudesired tobe,andyourreturnon investmentcanbemuch greater.Plus,you'llavoid biddingwars,possibly savingyoutime,money, andhassle,"saysRick Abbiati,ownerofColony PropertyInvestmentsin Nashua,NewHampshire. Withanewlybuilt home,youdon'thaveto worryaboutintensive maintenanceorrepairs, outdatedsystems,orthe hiddenhazardsoftoxic materials. "Yournewhome willbebuiltwithhigh- qualityinsulationtohelp maintainproperclimate, updatedwiringtokeep yousafefromelectri- calaccidentsandfires, andupdatedplumbing tohelpavoidcorrosion, leaks,andotherissues," explainsLarryWagner, ownerofLeavetheKey HomebuyersinLong Island,NewYork. What'smore,witha newconstructionhome youprobablydon'thave tofretaboutyourmort- gagelender'sappraisal cominginlowerthan whatyou'veofferedto pay,whichisalwaysa riskwitharesalehome. Theflipsidetobuild- ingnew,ofcourse,isa relativelyhigherpricetag. "Withlumbercosts skyrocketingthisyear, theexpenseofbuilding anewhomeisusually dramaticallymorever- suspurchasingaused home,"cautionsJason Gelios,aRealtorin southeastMichigan. Anotherdisadvantage isanuncertaintimeline involved,whichcanput yourmove-indatein limbo. "Manyprojectsthat havebrokengroundin thepast12to18months arebehindtheirpro- posedschedules,dueto shortagesandsurging pricesofcriticalmateri- als,"Wagneradds."I've workedwithsellerswho areplanningtomove intonewlydeveloped communitiesthatare running12monthsbe- hind." Additionally,ifyou plantobuildonan emptylotorteardown site,financingcanbe complicated.That'sbe- causeyoumayhaveto makeseveralseparate transactions:first,pur- chasetheparcelofland, thenpaythebuilder, lastlygetamortgage loanforthefinished home.Fortunately, manylendersoffercon- struction-to-permanent loansthatrollallthese transactionsintoone loanwithoneclosing, althoughtheinterest ratesandfeescharged forthesecanbemoreex- pensivethantraditional mortgageloans. Despitethesechal- lenges,theexpertsagree thatmorebuyersshould considernewconstruc- tioniftheycanwaitout theprocessandaffordit. "Newlybuilthomes tendtobuildandsustain communitiesbyadding anincreasedamountof homestotheexisting area.Plus,theyinfuse moretaxdollarsintothe localmunicipality,which canleadtomoreoreven betterservices,"Gelios says. Newconstructionis essentialtosustainthe suburbanhousingboom, Abbiatiinsists. "Theyhelptokeep pricesdownaswellas feedtheinsatiableappe- titeofAmericanslook- ingtosecuretheirslice oftheAmericandream," hesays. Beforecommitting tobuildingahomefrom thegroundup,prepare todoyourhomework. "Carefullyconsider thesquarefootageyou willneedsothatyou cangrowintothehome asyourfamilyexpands. Also,thinkaboutthe leveloffinishesyouwant toincludeonboththe interiorandexterior, whichwillgreatlyaffect yourfinalprice,"Abbiati suggests. Also,researchandvet buildersandcontractors thoroughly. "Youwanttoen- surethatthebuilder youchoosehasasolid reputationforcrafting qualityhomes,"Gelios recommends. By Marilyn Kennedy Melia CTW FEATURES Moneyforadown payment—fromafew thousanddollarsinlow- costareastomorethan $25,000inpriceyhous- ingmarkets—isavail- ablefromnonprofits,city, countiesandstatesat levelsclosetowhatwas availablepre-pandemic, reportsthewebsite downpaymentresource. com. Thesitecounted 2,305programsatthe endof2020,with81 percentofthemcur- rentlyhavingfunds forqualifyingbuyers, despitepinchedgov- ernmentandnonprofit budgetsoverthelast year.Thechallenge isn'tmoneybeingthere, saysSeanMoss,SVP ofDownPaymentRe- source,it's"gettingthe wordout"tobuyers. Typically,first-time buyerswhoseincome fallsunderacertain threshold,suchasthe medianinthecounty, canbeeligible.Find yourcountywithanin- ternetsearch;thebig- gerthehouseholdsize, thehigherthemedian. Withsomeprograms, veteransdon'thaveto befirst-timebuyers. Firstresponders,edu- catorsandhealthcare workersalsoareoften eligibleforspecialben- efits. Buyerswhodotap fundsusuallyhavebeen directedtoaprogram bytheirlenderorreal estateagent,Moss notes. Forthemanywho maynotlearnaboutit thatway,Mosssuggests usingthetoolatthesite tofindyoureligibility andthencontactinga mortgagelenderlisted. Officialsatprograms administeringfunds arealsolisted,butit's besttocontactalender, agreesToddLudlow, vicepresidentofChe- noaFund,anassistance program. Lenderslistedas involvedinprograms areequippedtoaddress specificborrowerquali- ficationquestions. Moneyisn'toftenan outrightgift;it'saloan, buttwo-thirdsofpro- gramsdon'trequireim- mediatepayback,Moss explains.Thefunds mightbe"intheformof asecondmortgage,and youdon'tpayitback untilyoumoveout." Ormonthlypayback mightbeginafterafew years. Moreprograms allowthepurchaseof amanufacturedhome. Thatdescriptionmay bemisunderstood. Manyoftoday'smanu- facturedhomesare site-builtincommuni- tiesthatlooklikeany otherdevelopment, Mosssays. "Pricesarelower onmanufactured homes,"akeyfactorfor buyersneedingdown paymentassistance,he concludes. Down payment help is available for select buyers Over 21 years experience and 5 star Yelp reviews Bayview Residential Mortgage 51 E. Campbell ave #110 Campbell, CA 95008 CA Broker DRE#01498198/ NMLS#329189 Call today for rate quote! Rob Heath 408-482-8080 CA DRE#01241953/NMLS#319548 Apply at my personal secure loan application at www.excellentmortgageloan.com Product Rate Points Fees % Down APR 30 Yr Conf. Fixed 15 Yr Fixed 5 Yr Jumbo ARM 30 Yr Conf. Jumbo 3.125 2.75% 3.25 3.50 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000 $0 $0 $0 $0 20% 20% 20% 30% 3.125% 2.75% 3.67% 3.50% JUMBO REVERSE MTG, 5* Yelp reviews. NO CLOSING COST LOANS are available. 3.125% 30yr Conf Fixed 2.875% $0 UW $0 UW $0 UW $0 UW 2.875% 2.75% 2.99% 3.375% 0.00 2.25% 2.25% 40% 20 Yr. Conf. Jumbo 15 Yr Conf. Fixed 30 Yr Fixed APR 2.99% 40% 40% 2.75% Product Rate Points Fees % Down APR 2.875% 30% Yr Fixed APR H6 BAYAREANEWSGROUP 111 Homes | Advertising Section