If you’ve ever checked out a display home, you know that this type of house is extremely tempting. Display homes have been built and furbished in such a fashion that once you’ve actually laid eyes on one, that’s all that will be on your mind until you give in and sign the deal.
But let’s stop for a second and throw this frequently asked question out there: is a display home worth it? The answer is yes, although there are a lot of things that can make buying a display home a disaster. Make sure that you’re on the safe side by understanding what you should look for in such a product.
Affordability
More often than not, people buy display homes even if they can’t afford them. They’re marketed so well that one could have a thousand financial advisors screaming “Don’t do it!” from the top of their lungs at unison and they would still have no impact on that mesmerised buyer.
Again, all display homes are built to sell themselves. Don’t fall into this trap, because the house might not be worth the investment.
The Land It Built on
Does the display home you’re checking out have a good orientation? Is the land itself good and properly plumbed? Don’t make any decisions unless the developer you work with says that everything’s alright.
Your developer is the person that knows way more about constructions and what makes a good house than you do, so respect his/her opinions religiously.
The Feasibility
The style of a display home can be maddening for some people: it’s got state-of-the-art couches, an impeccable kitchen that you feel like you’d spoil it just by cooking in it, AC and other accessories and amenities that are to kill for.
Don’t forget that it’s all about marketing and that things that look too good to be true are in the vast majority of the time, ersatz. No number of impressive pieces of furniture and style will make up for the poor positioning or overall construction of a house.
Whether It Suits the Needs of Your Family or Not
If you buy a display house well-knowing that it’s not 100% suitable for your family, you’re doing a huge mistake. You’ll most definitely have to sell it in the future in order to buy the house that you should have bought in the first place.
Consult with the members of your family and take a unanimous decision. The house will have to serve well all of you, after all, not just yourself.
The Bottom Line
Display homes are designed to make you go nuts and throw caution to the wind. There are plenty of stories from people who bought such houses and realised almost instantly that they didn’t get quite the bargain they had hoped for.
A developer’s counsel is indispensable if you want to get a reliable and affordable house, therefore we do not advise anyone to go down this road thinking that they know everything there is to know about the property.
