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OFFICIAL MAGAZINE OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Daily Real Estate News  |  September 8, 2008  |   Unfinished Homes Can Be a Great Find
A small number of buyers are acquiring homes that the builder hasn’t completely finished so they can do the job themselves, and save money in the process.

For ambitious do-it-yourselfers, it sounds like a great deal. But finding an unfinished new home that a builder will sell isn’t as easy as it might sound, even though builders are awash in unsold inventory.

Builders say they're reluctant to sell unfinished homes because it can be difficult to get an occupancy permit, even a temporary one, from a municipality unless the property is complete.

Plus, subcontractors likely will object to such an arrangement. There’s also the question of liability. Who’s responsible if the buyer gets hurt while working on the property?

Nonetheless, if you get this kind of request from a potential buyer, it doesn’t hurt to talk to the builder, says Don Augustin, vice president of Kenneth James Builders in the Chicago area.

"The way things are right now, you have to do above and beyond what you normally do because you don't just want a house sitting there," says Augustin.

Source: Chicago Tribune, Mary Ellen Podmolik (09/05/08)


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