Why You Need an Agent When Buying a New Construction Home

My father always bought his cars from the same salesman at the same dealer. My dad had a good working relationship with the man but always told me to remember who that man was working for.

I feel like we are all pretty well trained to walk into a car dealership a little on guard knowing that the sales staff can be very helpful and informative but that they aren’t necessarily on our team when it comes to actually negotiating a car deal.

I wish more new construction buyers would have the same mindset. If they did, they would have a real estate agent on their side every time.

Buying or even building a brand new home is an exciting thing. We get to choose our paint colors, finishes, floor plans and even the lot where we want to live. In most cases, the builder welcomes you to a beautiful model home where you can enjoy free snacks and drinks while considering all of your different options.

The first steps in buying new construction are fun. They are exciting. Even most of the builder’s salespeople are generally friendly, nice, helpful human beings. But remember, in almost EVERY case, these same salespeople work directly for or represent the builder…not you.

Let me explain that a little further. 

Many salespeople have a fiduciary duty to the builder. Sure, they can be helpful and nice…again, in many cases they are. But their established legal obligation is to prioritize the builder. And believe it or not, some salespeople don’t even have to hold a real estate license. If the salesperson is an employee, no license is required.

Here are a few things to understand about having your own real estate agent and why it is a no-brainer:

1. It is customary for the builder to pay your real estate agent’s fees. So when you “hire” an agent, you aren’t being charged a fee.

2. A new home purchase can be complicated. In our area, it can take 6 months or more and involve many, many meetings. A real estate agent experienced in new construction, can help you navigate the process.

3. YOUR real estate agent will be working for you. There will be plenty of times when you need someone in your corner to advocate for you. If you have your own real estate agent, you will have a professional representing you who is invested in making sure you are happy with your new home.

4. Builder contracts are not at all like a standard real estate agreement. Builders generally spend plenty of money up front to have THEIR attorneys draft contracts that are very one-sided to protect the builder. An experienced agent can help you understand what you are getting into and in some cases, even work to have certain clauses changed for your benefit.

5. An experienced new construction agent on your side can help you manage expectations and reduce stress. This may sound like a small thing but can actually save you loads of headaches and even substantial money. A good agent can help you understand exactly what is and isn’t included in the purchase (model homes are always built with the best of the best options everywhere you look). A good agent can help you understand a realistic timeline…sometimes a builder can over-promise. And a good agent can even help you add or change things that aren’t part of the normal builder process.

I want to stress that I am not anti-builder or anti-builder’s salespeople. We need good builders to build nice homes and we need builder representatives to help us work through the process. Just remember who’s team everyone is on and make sure YOUR team has a head coach to help you.