Before you visit a builder

Start here

Talk with your own agent before you tour or sign in with a builder.
Ask what is included in the price and what costs extra.
Bring your budget and questions. Get important promises in writing.

Bring your agent the first time

Some builders only work with your agent if the agent is there, or registered, on your very first visit. Lennar, KB Home and Taylor Morrison work that way. Others don’t. Once you register on your own, it can be hard to change later.

Going in alone means nobody in the room is working only for you. At some builders, it also means they won’t pay an agent you bring later.

Bring the boring stuff. Your ID, a rough budget, and your own lender’s pre-approval if you have one. An outside pre-approval changes the conversation.

Each builder’s rule

Rules differ by builder. Check before you go. Here is what each builder’s own agent page says, in plain words. Their written agreement always wins over our summary.

From each builder’s agent page.
Builder	What their page says	Official page
Lennar	Your agent has to be with you on your first visit (in person, self-guided or virtual) and be named at your first contact with Lennar. Lennar pays an agent only where it offers a commission in that community. Contract within 60 days.	Lennar agent page
KB Home	Your agent comes to your first visit, registers you, and confirms you've signed a buyer agreement. KB wants a copy dated before your contract. Contract within 60 days. KB won't pay more than its own co-op, even if your agreement says more.	KB Home agent page
Taylor Morrison	A referral agreement has to be signed at your first visit to that community, before any contract. Your agent may need to come with you. A visit on your own first can make you ineligible.	Taylor Morrison agent page
Meritage Homes	Your agent sends Meritage a signed registration addendum within 24 hours after you sign the contract. Ask about a first-visit rule before you go.	Meritage Homes agent page
Richmond American	Your agent registers you online and you confirm by email. After that you can tour their communities on your own for 30 days.	Richmond American agent page

Other builders’ agent pages

We haven’t summarized these yet. Each link goes to the builder’s own page. Rules differ by builder. Check before you go.

The buyer agreement, in plain words

If you work with an agent, you’ll be asked to sign a buyer agreement. Here’s what it is.

It’s a short written agreement between you and your agent. Since August 2024, agents who use the MLS need one signed before they tour homes with you.
It says what the agent does for you and how they get paid.
The terms are negotiable. You can ask for a shorter term or a narrower scope.
On new construction, the builder often pays the buyer’s agent. Not always, and not always the same amount.
Before you commit, get what the builder pays confirmed in writing, so you know whether anything would ever come out of your pocket.

More from the source: consumer guide to written buyer agreements.

At the model home

The person who greets you is good at their job, and their job is the builder. Ask:

What’s in the base price, and what’s an upgrade?
Is this model upgraded? By roughly how much?
Which plans are available now, and on which lots?
What’s the current incentive, and what do I have to do to get it?
How many homes are left in this phase, and what’s planned next?
When did prices here last change, up or down?

Be careful what you volunteer. Your top budget and how badly you want a home are negotiating information. Take photos of the plan board, price sheet, lot map and incentive flyer. They change, and they’re often not online.

The incentive, decoded

Builder incentives are real money, but they come with conditions. Find out:

Is it tied to the builder’s lender? Usually, yes.
Is it tied to closing by a certain date, or to one specific home?
Is it a price cut, a closing cost credit, a rate buydown, or a design credit? They aren’t the same thing.
If it’s a rate buydown, is it for the whole loan or only the first year or two? Those feel the same in month one and very different by year three.

The comparison that matters: the incentive with the builder’s lender, against no incentive with your own lender’s best offer. Compare the monthly payment and the cash to close both ways.

The lender question

Get a Loan Estimate from the builder’s lender and from at least one other lender.
Compare rate, points, lender fees and cash to close, not just the rate.
Ask how long the rate lock lasts and what an extension costs. Build dates slip.
You can use your own lender. You may lose the incentive. Do the math first.

How to read and compare them: CFPB Loan Estimate explainer.

The lot

You can change a lot about the house later. You can’t change the lot.

What is the lot premium, and what am I paying for?
What’s going in behind, beside and across from it? Ask for the whole community plan.
Any future road, retention basin, transformer or commercial site nearby?
Where does water go in a monsoon?
Which way does the backyard face? West-facing yards get the hot afternoon sun.
Is there room and access for a future pool or patio?

Arizona things to ask

Special districts: Is the community in a CFD or other assessment district? What does it add to the tax bill?
HOA: What are the dues, what do they cover, and is there a master association on top?
Electric: Is the home served by SRP or APS?
Irrigation: Does the lot have flood irrigation rights or duties? Some West Valley areas do.
Solar: If solar is included, is it owned, financed or leased? A lease you take over is a long contract.
Water: Who is the water provider?

More on CFDs, HOAs and contracts in Buying new construction in Arizona.

Red flags

Incentive terms, the completion date or anything else that matters that they won’t put in writing.
An incentive that only works if you accept terms you haven’t read.
Being talked out of your own home inspection.
Verbal promises about future phases or prices. If it matters, get it in writing.

General information, not legal, tax or lending advice. Builder rules, incentives and contracts change. Confirm with the builder and your lender.

Going to a model this weekend?

Talk to an agent first. We’ll connect you with an agent who specializes in new construction.

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