Closing new construction house in late December or early January

Closing new construction house in late December or early January

Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 83 posts · 80 votes

I am buying a new construction home in Austin, Tx as my primary home. I have the options to close the house in last week of December or first week of January. Any advice on how to think of trade-offs?

1. Property tax- since this a new home, is there any benefit of NOT owning the house on Jan 1 for property value assessment for tax purposes.

2. Construction year -  If I close on January 2, 2023 will the construction year of the house be 2023 or the construction years depends on the occupancy certificate date?

3. Closing cost- I understand if I close in end of December the closing cost will be lower because of lower prepaid interest than if I close in first week of Jan.

4. Current home - I plan to rent out my current home when I move to this new house. Not sure if this should be a consideration 

5. Any other considerations I should think through?

Thank you!

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Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
3y

Ply hard ball with the builder, they are desperate right now to sell. Ask for tons of concessions, rate buy downs, negotiate price even harder 

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  • Jordan MoorheadBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y

    @Pretty Khare are they locking your rate until then? That would be my biggest concerns as I've seen predictions that rates will get up into the 8's by then

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 83 posts · 80 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Jordan Moorhead:

    @Pretty Khare are they locking your rate until then? That would be my biggest concerns as I've seen predictions that rates will get up into the 8's by then

    Yes I have a rate lock.
  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    3y

    Ply hard ball with the builder, they are desperate right now to sell. Ask for tons of concessions, rate buy downs, negotiate price even harder 

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 83 posts · 80 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Eliott Elias:

    Ply hard ball with the builder, they are desperate right now to sell. Ask for tons of concessions, rate buy downs, negotiate price even harder 


     Unfortunately that ship has sailed. I locked into a contract many months ago and now taking delivery of the new house. They give some concessions towards buying out points for interest rate reduction, but nothing more than that.

  • Jordan MoorheadBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y

    @Pretty Khare you can still negotiate hard after that's done. We just got a $60k price reduction on a new build a few weeks from closing.

  • Member since 2022 · 5 posts · 1 vote
    3y
    Quote from @Jordan Moorhead:

    @Pretty Khare you can still negotiate hard after that's done. We just got a $60k price reduction on a new build a few weeks from closing.


     Curious ... what did you say?  What was your angle after closing?

  • Jordan MoorheadBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y

    @Noel Segura it was after the option period was over. We just kept finding issues and negotiated

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 83 posts · 80 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Jordan Moorhead:

    @Noel Segura it was after the option period was over. We just kept finding issues and negotiated


     Jordan- thanks for your insights. I wonder if you have any thoughts for closing end of December vs Early Jan

  • Jordan MoorheadBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    3y

    @Pretty Khare I can't think of any reason except that if you close early Jan your first mortgage payment won't be due until march vs feb

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