I am going to start building new construction homes in the first time buyer type price range (120,000-170,000). They will be 1200-1600 sq.ft., three bedroom, two full bath homes with attached two car garages. My question is, what other types of features would make these an attractive deal to new home buyers? Any ideas from financing ideas to sugestions on interior or exterior features are much appreciated!

Upgrade the Cabinets to knotty alder, Upgrade texture, 2 tone Paint, and keep everything else simple. As far as Financing is concerned if you are in a rural area the government has a 1% loan for poor first time homebuyers.

Knotty alder looks expensive we don't have a whole lot of room for pricey items. Define upgrade texture. Thanks for the suggestions!!

Stainless Steel and granite counter tops j/k

3 Bedrooms always sell better than 2 so that sounds good.

Leave a lot or two empty and put in a park for the kids or a community center, a swimming pool etc...

There are a lot of soldiers coming back from Iraq who will have the GI loan to help purchase their first home. (I used it for my first place)

What's your market like? is there a void in affordable homes? How is the location that you plan on building in?

In my local market I see many of the lowest priced new homes being the future slums. It's sad to see developers spend $ on something that will go to pot after just a few years.

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Roll in financing into the purchase price - advertise the monthly payment on an FHA loan w/ a Down Payment Assistance program.

As far as the home - for that size, do a 1-story (obviously) w/o a dining room & a kitchen that overlooks the living room. Stay away from brass fixtures. If you have an IKEA, check them out for finish out.

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If your appraisals will cooperate, raise the price of the homes so that you are in a position to offer full closing costs to the buyer. The only items left that most lenders won't allow you to cover are prepaid interest , hazard insurance and taxes. Obviously, if the buyers close at the end of the month, prepaid interest will not be a problem. There are some programs out there that don't require reserves which would be nice for the buyer's.

Typically with all the restructuring of guidelines out there today, the lowest fico score for a 100% financing full-doc loan is a 550 middle score. If the borrower needs to go stated income you're looking at a 640 middle score with most lenders (although I think I know of one company who will go down to a 580) .

Also, another nice feature for first time buyers is having all the appliances included in the purchase (washer / dryer , refrigerator). It doesn't have to be fancy, but it is just one less thing the buyer doesn't have to worry about when budgeting for the home purchase.

If you haven't chosen your floor plans yet, maximize the space on the smaller homes with a Great Room concept as opposed to having a Formal Dining Room. Most of the first time home buyers I work with these days feel that Formal Dining Room's are a waste of space.

Of course as always, check out your competition. Offer a little more than they offer standard. If the competition has 12" tile, make your standard tile 16."

Hopefully one or two of these items may help with your marketing.

Just my .02 cents of course.

Good luck!


Sorry, these thoughts just keep going through my head. Another comment I always hear from my buyers is that they do not like oak cabinets, so if it doesn't stretch the budget too much go with maybe a maple cabinet with a darker type of stain.

This is great stuff! Keep 'em coming, I'm taking notes!!

Knotty Alder accually costs the same as standard cabinates according to the builder I work with. It just sounds expensive.

Thanks Cedar, I'll definitely look in to it. I showed a picture of them to my wife, and she said they were beautiful!

I find this thread interesting and need to get some info on new construction selling however I can't see how to subscribe to the thread...sorry to be off topic...but I can't find it. Thanks in advance