Buying or Building a House? See Which Is Best

If you intend to acquire your own home, but you still have not decided whether it is better to buy or build a house, discover the advantages and disadvantages of each option below.

When you want to buy your own home, many questions arise, especially related to its design and the required budget. On this occasion, we help you to make a comparison that answers your question: what is better, buying a house or building it?

Buying or Building a House? See Which Is Best

Learn about all the advantages and disadvantages of buying or building a house below, and based on them, make the decision that best suits your ideas, needs, and possibilities.

Should you build a house?

These are the main advantages and disadvantages that you will face when building a house, starting from scratch:

Advantages of building a house

• It is a cheaper option: in many cases, the reason why it is convenient to build and not buy a house is the benefit to the pocket. This is because you can find land at extremely affordable prices. You can also consider different options in the prices of materials and labor for the construction of your home. The sum of these factors can result in much lower figures compared to investing in an already built home.

• Design to your liking and ideals: another of the greatest advantages for which it is convenient to build is that you can design the house of your dreams from scratch. That is, you can give it the shape, size, and spaces that you want, instead of just limiting yourself to choosing the furniture and decorations. When buying a ready-made house you must adapt to the way it is structured or invest in modifications or repairs.

• You can finish the long term: If after building the essential spaces to inhabit the house you run out of financial resources for other areas, such as the garden or terrace, do not worry, no rush. You can begin to inhabit your home and change or improve its appearance to your preference and ideals with freedom of time.

Disadvantages of building a house

• It is a slower process: deciding to acquire land to build a house, implies that it can be inhabited in the medium or long term since the construction time usually takes time. Therefore, if you decide to build a house, you should be aware that the waiting period to be able to inhabit it will be much longer.

• You can have a negative result if you skimp on expenses: it is true that one of the reasons why you should build a house is that it allows you to save. However, skimping on essential expenses can bring negative results. If, for example, you opt for the cheapest materials, or you try to save excessively on labor and do not consult with professionals, the result of your house may not be what you expect. A construction carried out in this way could cause your home to suffer future damage to its structure or collapse over time. This translates into higher expenses when you re-invest for repairs.

• Situations can arise that delay construction: whether it is a delay in the delivery of architectural plans, building permits, or the volatility of the prices of construction materials, as well as their shortage at a certain time, there are factors that could delay the construction of your home. A big disadvantage is that the period to inhabit it could be longer.

Should You Buy a House?

Already built homes are ready-to-move homes, but they also have certain advantages and disadvantages:

Advantages of buying a house

• You can inhabit it immediately: one of the most important reasons why you should buy a prefabricated house is that you will avoid dealing with the entire planning and construction process that can often take years, and you will be able to inhabit it immediately.

• You will not have to take care of the entire construction process: when deciding to build a house you should start by considering whether the land is suitable for the type of home you want and, later, consult with professionals. You will have to establish good communication with experts, including architects, and with the people who will be dedicated to the labor and the search for the purchase of the materials. All of the above is something you can avoid when buying a pre-built home.

• You can pay it through a mortgage loan: another reason why it is convenient to buy a house is that, despite its higher cost, there are more options for mortgage loans than construction.

Read Also: Top 10 Best Mortgage Banks in Nigeria

Disadvantages of buying a house

• It will not always adapt to your preferences: buying a pre-designed house will not always fit the house you have in mind, so you will have to adapt to its design. It probably has different characteristics than what you imagined or it does not have some areas that you considered important. It may also be that you must adapt to the type of ornament and decoration with which it is already established.

• It is usually more expensive: one of the points to take into account to know whether to buy or build a house is that the houses already built are usually more expensive, precisely because they are already ready to live, with everything designed and implemented. The capital gain that was generated and all the professional help and labor used to build the house are included in the final price.

• If it is in poor condition, you will probably need to rebuild part of it: you must be very careful when choosing whether to invest in an already built house. Make sure it does not have areas that, due to age or poor construction, are vulnerable, and over time they can collapse or be damaged since you could have to invest in repairs and improvements.

Now what, buy or build a house? 

There is no single or definitive answer to the question of what is best, whether to buy or build a house since it depends on the wishes, needs, and possibilities of each buyer. It is important that before doing so you take into account the pros and cons of each of the options and thus, choose what best suits your ideal and your pocket.