Laura Schillmoeller has plenty of reasons to be thankful for the brand-new townhome she bought in February 2017. Located within the Lexington Crossing community in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, Schillmoeller’s 1,700-square-foot home has an open-concept floor plan with a half-bath downstairs and two bedrooms with ensuite bathrooms upstairs. Schillmoeller shares her home with her 15-year-old daughter, Charlotte, and their dog, Knuckles.
“My daughter and I lived in a big, old vintage home that was more work than I wanted to deal with and filled with some not-great memories,” Schillmoeller says. “We decided to get a fresh start, so that was what prompted the move.”
1. No more old stuff
The long list of things Schillmoeller says she loves about her new home starts with the fact that it’s all new and there’s nothing vintage about it.
“Vintage homes are charming,” she says. “But they weren’t built for modern living. There are never enough outlets. They weren’t built for the internet. There was never a good place to position the TV. Our new home is easier in all these respects.”
2. More time together
Schillmoeller is also thankful that she and her daughter had the opportunity to choose the finishes they wanted for their new home. Among the special items they selected were crown moldings for the main level, a gas fireplace and an upstairs floor plan with two larger bedrooms instead of three smaller ones.
“The open floor plan has been more wonderful than I could have imagined,” she says. “I love having an island in my kitchen and having people sit there and converse with me while I prepare a meal. My daughter and I spend more time together now.”
A large kitchen island is a feature many buyers appreciate, says Jeff Benach, principal at Schillmoeller’s builder, Chicago-based Lexington Homes. Other features on his list of things that buyers like are flex spaces that can be used for a variety of purposes, added storage space, buffets that can be added in the dining room and larger walk-in closets in many master bedroom suites.
3. Get what you want
Schillmoeller isn’t alone in being thankful for the chance to choose the finishes she wanted in her new home rather than, as she puts it, “inheriting someone else’s taste.”
“Purchasing a new construction home provides the opportunity to customize and design your home exactly to your lifestyle and design preferences and to hand-select the most ideal location for you,” says Jenny NeSmith, marketing director at Edward Andrews Homes, a home builder in Atlanta.
NeSmith also points out that buyers can lower their monthly utility bills by purchasing a newly built home that has energy-saving technology, appliances and building materials.
4. Covered home repairs
New construction homes usually come with another benefit to be thankful for: a builder’s warranty, says Robert Rosa, a Realtor at Berkshire Hathaway Home Services in Wethersfield, Connecticut.
“When I had a big beautiful new home built for me, I loved the idea that the builder would come and fix items as needed during the first year of ownership. I was a young professional with not much homeowner experience or time to work on a home,” he says.
5. Promise of wealth-building
Being thankful you bought a new home isn’t just about floor plans and finishes. It’s also about your investment in your future.
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) said in statement that a home continues to be the largest asset for most households and “an important building block for long-term financial security.”
Those conclusions come from the Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances.
“Homeownership is a primary source of net worth for many Americans and is an important step in accumulating personal financial assets over the long term,” says NAHB Chair Randy Noel, co-founder of custom home builder Reve in LaPlace, Louisiana.
Add up all of these reasons, and it’s no wonder so many homeowners are thankful they purchased a brand-new home.
Marcie Geffner is an award-winning freelance reporter, writer and editor in Ventura, California. In the last decade, she has penned more than 1,000 published stories about residential and commercial real estate, banking, credit cards, computer security, health insurance and small business, among other subjects. Editors describe her as “detail-driven,” “conscientious,” “smart” and “incredibly versatile.” Her award-winning reporting has been lauded as “rock solid,” “spot-on relevant,” “informative,” “engaging,” “interesting” and “nuanced.” Her stories have been cited in seven published nonfiction books and two U.S. Congressional hearings.
Prior to her freelance career, Geffner was senior editor of California Real Estate magazine. Later, she became managing editor of Inman.com, an independent real estate news website. She also has prior employment experience in technical writing, corporate communications and employee communications. She received a bachelor’s degree in English with high honors from UCLA and master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She enjoys reading, home improvement projects and watching seagulls at the beach.