An inventory home is a brand new home built by the builder but without an owner. Either the person who wanted the house built backed out of the contract or the builder built it as a way to keep his staff working, or a model, or a way to add built homes to the neighborhood.

Whatever the reason of the inventory home, it can be a bargain for you. Builders hate having empty houses sitting around. They try to build as fast as possible and move to the next area. If a home is already built and sitting empty it is called an inventory home.

Builders often have specials on these homes. They offer great deals to get the home sold. But most do not offer the deals to people without Realtors representing them. So check to see if a Builder you like has any inventory homes and get your realtor to negotiate for you.

Builders get loans to build houses. The longer a home is sitting there empty, the more payments and interest the builder has to pay on that house. So the builder wants to unload it, quickly. And to do this, the builder will reduce it several thousand dollars. It will cost much less than having the builder build you the same model from scratch.

The only drawback is that the appliances will already be installed and you will not get to pick the model or lot. But if you happen to like an inventory home, there is no difference between it and any other home the builder builds. In fact, if it was an inventory home, you know that everything in the house works, and it will have the best of the best upgrades.

If there is anything you do not like about the home, you can ask the builder to replace it or change it at no cost. For example, my wife and I went to look at a condo complex recently. They only had one left. And it had wood floors. I prefer carpet, so the builder was more than willing to take out the wood and put in top of the line carpet, at not cost. The condo also had the best appliances as well. If we had bought this same condo earlier and chosen the top of the line carpet and the same appliances we would have paid thousands in upgrade charges.

Buying an inventory home or condo is a great deal. You get to see what the house will look like when you move in, the builder is desperate to sell it, and you get a brand new house or condo for less than what your neighbors paid. That is instant equity!

If you are looking to buy a new house or condo from a builder, an inventory home is a great way to save you several thousand dollars. And you can have an agent represent you and save thousands on the commission like I discussed in Tip #1. You get the best of both worlds: you save several thousands of dollars and get a brand new house.