Negotiating on new construction?

[cclee]

You know Mike, I don't know that they really would have negotiated with you.  Last year my sister was doing a loan for a guy in that development, Pulte failed the final inspection (nothing major but it was something they had to take care of).  They were trying to say that if the guy didn't close by so and so date, that they were canceling the contract, but it was their fault!  They told him they could sell it for 40k more than he purchased it for, this was right when things picked up again.  Obviously that didn't fly and the guy closed, but makes me think that they would have probably just sold your lot to someone else.

[Mike_B03]

Not sure if you're just trying to make me feel better or if it's a true story but I appreciate it.

No but really, that has crossed my mind, that the lot could have been sold if we didn't snatch it up. They were only releasing 3 lots per month and we only liked 2 of the 3 they released when we were ready to buy. One of them sold so then that sort of put the fire under our butts and we moved forward. There are only 74 lots in the community and only about 20 were still left when we bought but for the orientation we wanted (garage facing west, backyard facing east) plus with a the garage on the left, this was the only lot left in the whole community. So yea, I guess I can take some comfort in thinking maybe we wouldn't have gotten it at all if we tried to negotiate.

[Anonymous]

We bought a spec home and negotiated quite a bit. I offered 16k less than they were asking and also asked they take the carpet out from upstairs and on the stairs and replace with hardwood and also that they pre-wire the media room. Ultimately they agreed to 9k under asking and a 50% discount on the upgrades I was asking for which came to 5k for my share.

My favorite part of the negotiation was that they wanted me to close in March and I wanted to close in May. I told them I didn't want to pay rent and mortgage in May. Ultimately we agreed to a $2,000 closing credit, which is equal to one months rent. Even though the other things I negotiated were worth more that was my favorite get. I just felt like it was pretty unusual (it was my realtors idea).

[cclee]

True story and trying to make you feel better