Two reasons to build a new home instead of buying an existing property

If you need to move and are trying to decide whether to buy an existing house or build a new home, here are two reasons why you might want to opt for the latter.

You can customise it

It can be difficult, if not impossible, to find an existing property which meets all of your personal criteria. In most cases, people who purchase an old house usually do so with the intention of renovating it so that it will better suit their personal requirements.

This can be both expensive and time-consuming. Additionally, when renovating an old property, there are usually limits to what a contractor can achieve, and they may not always be able to deliver the exact results that their client desires.

For example, if a client wants to knock down a wall between two small rooms, so that they can create one large room, their contractor may not be able to do this, if the wall in question is a load-bearing one that provides structural support.

As such, if you have a long list of specific features that you want your house to have, it is generally better to hire a team of new home builders to construct it for you. This will enable you to customise it so that the layout, room sizes and general design of the property perfectly suit your lifestyle and needs.

Your home won't contain asbestos

One of the biggest advantages of having a new home built, instead of buying an existing property, is that you don't have to worry about the possibility of your house harbouring hazardous materials that could endanger you and your family's wellbeing.

For example, up until about three decades ago, many builders used asbestos to construct houses; it was frequently used to make floor and ceiling tiles, as well as pipes, beams and roof shingles. Asbestos is now known to be a carcinogen which can cause mesothelioma if it is inhaled.

If you buy an older property that was built with this material and you choose to have it renovated, there is a risk that the asbestos in the house could become airborne during the renovation process. If this should happen, you or other household members could end up being exposed to it.

Conversely, if you opt for a new home, there is no danger of this happening, as asbestos is no longer used as a construction material.