You have heard it a thousand times: your home will probably be the single largest investment you ever make. It stands to reason that your new home purchase will involve one of the biggest sales pitches you ever get. Understanding the sales process before you step into the model home will put the ball in your court and help you keep control of the process. Good salespeople are savvy enough to judge your experience and knowledge related to buying a new home and look for weaknesses to exploit. Contrary to their pitch, they are not there to be your friend or advocate. The hook! Larger builders know how to set that hook using the model home as bait. Most model homes employ a steering technique that was perfected on farms to guide livestock into pens (that’s how it feels anyway). If you have been to a few model homes, you know what I mean. Most builders convert the garage of the model home into a sales center and make you walk through that sales center to gain access to the home instead of going through the front door. It is in that sales center where you will most likely be introduced to the salesperson for the community or one of their assistants. Model homes are decorated in a way that demonstrates the benefits of the floor plan but mask the home’s imperfections. The model home will generally display every option available in the home, but in so doing confuses the potential buyer as to the real cost of the home. To confuse things further, some builders use high-end “designer options” unique to the model home and not even offered by the builder on a standard production home. In most cases, home buyers do not “deck out” their home to the extent that home builders do in their model home. The price of a “loaded” model home is not only too high for many customers, but impractical. As a rule, it is never a good idea to have the most expensive home in the neighborhood, as the models tend to be. If the builder displayed the home with the options that most people really purchase, the home would seem common or boring and would not be as enticing to the customer. Turn the Tables: Take Control! If you have to walk through the sales trap to get to the model home, use it to your advantage. Ask the salesperson to supply you with the following: 1) a floor plan. 2) specifications sheet (spec sheet). 3) standard features sheet. 4) a list of features included in the model home you are about to tour. Here is a list of other documents you will eventually need to get from the builder (these documents are explained in more detail later): 1) purchase contract, along with Standard (preprinted) Contingencies and Addendums. 2) copy of the warranty. 3) standard closing forms and any other legal documents you will ever have to sign. 4) copy of the neighborhood Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions. 5) copy of the Homeowner’s Association Manual. 6) plot plan. Try to collect as much information about the builder as you can at this point. It will help you with some of the exercises mentioned later in the book. Use the included features sheet to ensure that items are included and to create a baseline when performing comparative analysis with similar homes (“comps”). For instance, one builder may include a concrete back patio and another might not even mention the patio because it is not included in the price. This way you can compare apples to apples when looking at price. Ask the salesperson to tell you the major differences between the model home and the standard plan. The salesperson who hesitates in answering this question is trying to hide the fact that the model has many upgrades. Find out before you step through the door if the model includes: 1) optional living space such as a “bonus room,” finished lower level, a “sun room,” or additional bedroom(s). 2) higher ceilings or other expensive structural features. 3) additional windows and doors. 4) “bump outs” to the original floor plan. “Bump outs” are additions to a room that add square footage to the home. An additional bay window in the kitchen or additional floor space added to a living room that extends out behind the house are common options. Be aware that the cost per square foot of these “bump outs” will probably be higher than the rest of the house. Most people know when they go through a model home that the furniture, the whole-house audio system, and even the fake fruit are not included in the price of the home. However, if you walk into the kitchen and see an eating area, you would expect that to be included in the price. But you may be wrong. Have that information before you walk into the model home, and don’t forget to consider the outside of the model home. If the builder offers optional elevations (exterior designs), they may be on display with the model home. The home might be upgraded with brick, stone, or stucco when the standard is only vinyl. Your assumption that even simple things (like gutters) are included may be wrong. Do the research and know what you are actually buying. The trap many people fall into is that they fall in love with the model that “starts in the low $200’s” but is shown with all the upgrades and goodies that would cost $300,000 to duplicate (even without the fake fruit). As the price begins to inch upwards, people get emotional and begin justifying or selling themselves on their ability to afford that home. This is a bad move. Flaws masked A number of tricks used in decorating a model hide some problems with the design of the home or highlight some impractical option. The most common tricks happen in the bedrooms to make them seem larger or more functional. Decorators will: 1) use smaller scale furniture. 2) leave out pieces of furniture like dressers or desks. 3) make a bedroom into an office or sitting area, masking the fact that you could never comfortably fit a bed and other furniture in the room! 4) use a whimsical theme such as a jungle look, thus allowing the decorator to, for instance, exchange a hammock for a bed. Some builders remove the interior doors of the model to make the rooms flow together to give the illusion of larger space. This also masks design flaws, such as a situation in which one door has to be closed before another door can be opened. Many people do not notice any imperfections in a model home because the fancy painting, wallpaper, and decorating captivate attention and mask flaws. The next time you are in a model home, take a closer look at the details. Look behind doors for imperfections in paint or for cracks in the drywall. Take a close look at the hardwood floors for cracks, scratches, or putty where nail heads have been covered. Take a look at the bath area for cracks in the tile grout or scratches in the bathtub. Builders generally spend extra time trying to correct these imperfections. If you look closely, you will find them. Some customers don’t look for these imperfections in the model, but are then outraged when they find them in their new home. Don’t be naïve. Models have flaws, and your new home will, too. To get the best representation of the finished product you may want to skip the models altogether. Instead, tour a house that is nearly complete. You will be much better served to tour a market or “spec” home of the floor plan that has captured your interest. This will give you a better idea of the actual quality of the finished product. Lawrence Thomas is the author of Home Building Pitfalls. The guide provides step-by-step, non-technical information on how to avoid the pitfalls of having a new home built. You can download a sample chapter or read the entire book on his site: http://www.homebuildingpitfalls.com