If you’re in the market for your next home, you might be considering whether you should build a new home or buy an older resale home. Here are the top five reasons (that you may not have considered) to buy new instead of resale.
1) You can really make your home your own
Forget about bad wallpaper or carpet in the bathroom – when buying new, you don’t need to inherit someone else’s décor! Starting by picking your favourite floorplan, personalizing it through different plan options, and selecting beautiful finishes for the interior to dress it up. The finished product will be something that reflects your unique needs, tastes and personality.
You won’t be able to get the same high-level of personalization in a resale home without extensive work (and investment) after you’ve moved in – and living in your home while you’re renovating is never pretty. Selecting your finishes is a much easier option, especially when you choose a builder with excellent standards to begin with (like Activa, where each of our detached homes comes with stunning granite countertops in your kitchen, elegant hardwood floors in your great room, and lofty 9-foot ceilings on your main floor!)
2) Built better, built smarter
Don’t settle for drafty windows or squeaky stairs – construction innovations behind the walls make new homes more long-lasting, energy efficient and comfortable to live in. Some of these innovations, like better air-sealing and insulation, even save you money on energy in the long run (since you won’t be paying to heat the outdoors!)
Plus, new homes must be constructed in accordance to the Ontario Building Code – which continues to push the standard of building quality in Ontario higher and higher – meaning that new homes must be built better than they were even just a few years ago. At Activa, we aim to for our homes to surpass Ontario Building Code regulations, like how our ENERGY STAR® qualified homes are built to 20% more comfortable and efficient than code.
3) Communities designed for modern living
Today’s master-planned communities are designed for your modern lifestyle. You’ll notice that newer communities have a greater emphasis placed on walkable neighbourhoods, vibrant live-work spaces, and easy access to trails, parks and other greenspace. This offers great perks for homeowners – for instance, did you know that in all Activa communities, no home is more than a five-minute walk to the park?
Buying new can also prevent the “right house, wrong location” dilemma, since many of our homeowner’s favourite floorplans are available in multiple communities.
4) No surprises
You might have dreams of knocking down walls to create a modern, open-concept floorplan in a charming century home, but the reality of renovations is that old homes come full of surprises that are far from dreamy (like knob and tube wiring, or corroding galvanized pipes). Not to mention, even if you don’t plan on renovating your home you can never truly know the extent of what DIY “improvements” or neglected maintenance from past homeowners that are impacting the quality of your home.
When you buy new, you don’t have to worry about these unpleasant surprises. Your build journey is outlined from start to finish so you know what to expect during construction and years after move-in. If you build your new home with Activa, you’ll also have a chance to participate in the build process (and see the progress being made on your home’s construction) at key moments like your Design Studio Appointments, our unique Pre-Drywall Appointment, and the Pre-Delivery Inspection, so you can enjoy a transparent, predictable experience from start to finish.
5) Worry-free warranty
Tarion is the provincial organization that protects the rights of new home buyers while overseeing the activities of new home builders. Every new home built in Ontario comes with a Tarion Warranty, including:
- Deposit protection up to a maximum of $40,000
- 1 and 2-year warranties against defects in workmanship and materials
- A 7-year warranty against major structural defects
- Protection against unauthorized substitutions
- Compensation for delays in closing
With a new home, and Tarion Warranty, you can relax knowing that someone is there to protect your investment. There’s no option for worry-free protection quite like this when buying resale – so if a previous homeowner DIY’d the bathroom plumbing and now the whole room is flooding, you’re on the hook.
Is resale right for you?
Whether you’re looking for a more personalized home, smarter construction, a master-planned community, or a stress-free experience, building a new home offers surprising advantages you might not have considered before.
If you’re considering buying new instead of resale, you might be interested in checking out our floorplans here, or registering to receive exclusive updates about Activa communities and promotions down below!