Are You REALLY Saving on Your New Home?
October 11, 2009
Automatic Lawn Sprinkler
When buying a brand new home in the Killeen Ft Hood area, it’s tempting to try to cut corners by not including your fence and sprinkler system in the price of the home. Some buyers rationalize that they will save about $6000 by not getting the irrigation system and privacy fencing. But are they REALLY saving?
Even with the best intentions, it’s hard to take care of a lawn in the Killeen Fort Hood climate in the summer. Home owners must be dedicated to moving sprinklers around the yard on a very strict schedule to maintain a healthy lawn. Even if you don’t care how your lawn looks, when it comes time to sell your home, a prospective buyer WILL care.
Many buyers plan to put up their own privacy fence to save money, also. Then they discover that the geology of the area makes installing fencing very difficult, as we are on solid bedrock not too far under the surface (3-18 inches usually). It takes special equipment to dig the post holes, so they don’t install that fence.
Privacy Fencing
Now, some intrepid buyers do succeed in installing a fence by the sweat of their brow, so it is possible! But when it comes time to sell their home, they will have to pay $450-500 for a new property survey that shows the new fence that was installed after they bought the home. AND they are anywhere from $2000 to $2500 0ut of pocket to put in the fence, on top of that. Don’t forget that the city requires a building permit so add that on, too!
The numbers say that a home buyer will save about $34 a month at current interest rates (5.5%) on a thirty year loan by NOT purchasing the home with a sprinkler system and privacy fencing. At $34 a month, it will take 176 months to recover the cost of the fence and the sprinkler system. Most buyers stay in a home around 3-4 years at Fort Hood, meaning they will pay out about $1,500 for their fence and sprinkler system before they sell the house.
It’s much less expensive in the end to go ahead and purchase the home with the sprinkler system and privacy fencing. You’ll have a property survey that shows the fence, your lawn will be healthy and easy to care for, your backyard will be a private oasis, and your entire home package will be much more desirable when it comes time for you to put your Fort Hood real estate on the market in a few years!
