Key takeaways
- New construction homes may look flawless, but often come with cosmetic issues and settling-related problems that show up in the first year.
- Staying organized with builder and appliance warranties — and getting inspections before they expire — is essential to avoiding costly fixes later.
- Expect ongoing construction, missing “standard” accessories and extra projects like landscaping or storage upgrades as you settle into a developing community.
Moving into a newly constructed home comes with a few extra steps. That's because new communities have unique challenges, and moving in is not always seamless.
Depending on what you bought, you might need to spend more money to add a few things to complete the home — installing window treatments or adding a remote garage door opener, for instance, or finishing lawn and landscape improvements. Or you might find a few imperfections.
"New homes often have a variety of issues that you wouldn’t expect in a new construction, especially when built en-masse," said Jordan Benjamin, president of Done Rite Services in Tucson, Arizona. "We often see cosmetic issues like chipped paint, gaps in trim or other minor flaws. Depending on where the home is located and how it was built, settling also occurs, which can cause additional problems during the first few years, including things like cracked drywall and offset door frames."
The actual process of moving in should be almost identical to moving into a resold home. Organizing your move and coordinating any help will be very similar. Setting up a newly constructed home should be easier because the properties are designed to be turnkey. The home should only need cosmetic attention.
Prioritize the punch list
From the final walkthrough, you should have a list of things the builders need to touch up. As the home settles, keep a running list of maintenance issues, such as cracks in the drywall or a nail that has popped out. Maybe a cabinet door is misaligned, and you found a gap that needs to be caulked. While you will look for those things during the walkthrough, you might not notice things until you move in.
When you arrive on moving day, take the time to document the home's condition again and update the punch list.
"On move-in day, take a video of everything," Gluch said. "Every cabinet door, every window seal, every square inch of the flooring. If you find a scratch on the sliding glass door three weeks later, the builder will say you did it. If you have a timestamped video from move-in day, they have to fix it."
What's not included
When you move in, the neighborhood could still be under construction. You might be dealing with construction crews, traffic and lack of amenities like a community center for a few months.
You might be surprised what the home doesn't come with. While the big stuff in the kitchen is there, sometimes homes don't have common features that are important to daily life.
"People spend $600,000 and are floored when they realize the house doesn't come with towel bars, toilet paper holders or even a garage door opener remote," Gluch said. "Builders call these accessories, not standards."
You might need to invest in more storage as you start to move your belongings in. Closets will have rods, but shelving and other storage options are probably not included unless you got a custom closet.
Landscaping will either be immature or need to be added. Look at putting native plants in the ground that can survive with low maintenance in the climate.
Other expenses you might consider are security systems, window treatments, automatic sprinkler systems and electric dog fences.
Keep warranties organized
Physically moving in might not be that different than moving into a resold home, but how issues are handled is different. New homes will have warranties from the builder and for the appliances.
"Always work to have an exact understanding of what your warranties cover, what they don’t and how long the period of warranty is," Benjamin said. "In my experience, new homes built by major companies often have a one-year warranty."
Have a file to keep a paper trail of all the warranties from the builder and appliances. Make note of the warranties' length. Before they expire, check to make sure you don't need the builder to come back. You can get another inspection if you are concerned.
"Before your one-year builder warranty expires, have a pro go up on the roof, check the foundation and run the systems," said John Gluch, a real estate agent at eXp Realty based in the Phoenix, Arizona, area. "Take that professional report to the builder and say, 'Fix this before my warranty is up.'"
Appliance warranties often last longer than a year, so keeping them in a file will be useful for any future issues.
"Keep manuals from the gadgets as well to make sure you can troubleshoot," Benjamin said.