Before I met The Builder, I was a regular visitor to display homes. You could almost say I was addicted to the dream of building a new home. I have a rather different perspective on them now that I work within the industry, though I still love to visit for ideas.
5 Tips For When Visiting Display Homes
Best In Show
The idea of a display home is to sell, however that is really difficult to remember when you walk in the door and instantly fall in love. Spec home builders will often have 3 or more versions of a plan, ranging in size from small to large. The display home will always be the biggest of these plans, sometimes even with extras, for example patios, or deck, outdoor entertainment areas or garages. It is a great idea to ask about the floor plan prior to entering the home, ask if it is available in smaller sizes to help keep in perspective what you would actually receive for your money.
Upgrades, Upgrades, Upgrades
Display homes are built with all the bells and whistles, never with the standard range of fixtures and fittings like most homes are actually constructed with. Those gorgeous European appliances are not included with the base price, nor are the light fittings, or the stone bench tops. When inquiring about the display home, check what inclusions are included for the base model and assume everything else is ‘dressing’.
Quality
Display homes are built to the finest standard of the builders quality, however this may not always be true indicator of the quality you can expect to find in your own build. If an option, it is always better to see a home built by your chosen builder, after a family have lived in it for some time. This will give you a fairer understanding of the quality of the tradespeople used.
Interior Design
I confess one of the reasons I love visiting display homes, is to immerse myself in the interior design. This interior design is created for the sole purpose of making your fall in love with the home. It’s a sale tool, used for the same benefit of staging a home for sale. The idea is to have you make an emotional connection with the home, because that’s where the sales pitch starts.
Sales Staff
At the end of your adventure checking out the gorgeous display home, you will find the sales staff. Their job is to tap into the emotional connection you have just made with the home and get you on-board as a client for their builder. This will be your first contact with the company until you move through to the construction phase, at which time you will be handed over to your site contact. The sales staff are excellent at their job, and can be very persuasive when necessary. If you are keen to work with the builder of the home you have just visited, I would strongly suggest having a list of questions ready for the sale staff once you reach their station. These people will be very knowledgeable on the processes of the company and likely to be your best source of information.
Visiting display homes can be a valuable exercise when you are looking to build a home. If you remember these 5 key points you will be best situated to take the most out of the experience.
Are you looking to build a home? Have you visited a display home recently?
Nicole xxx
