Works for: The builder
The builder’s sales agent
Often called the on-site sales consultant or new-home specialist.
- Shows you the model homes, the available lots, the floor plans, and what can be built or bought right now.
- Explains the builder’s pricing, options, and the incentives on offer this month.
- Writes up your purchase on the builder’s paperwork and keeps your build moving through the builder’s office.
They know this builder and this community better than anyone, and a good one is worth listening to. Their job is to sell this builder’s homes.
Works for: The builder
The builder’s lender
Usually a mortgage company the builder owns or partners with.
- Pre-qualifies you and quotes a loan for this home.
- Handles the financing the builder’s incentives are often tied to, like a rate buydown or a closing-cost credit.
- Keeps the loan on the builder’s construction timeline.
The lender may offer a good deal. Your agent can help you compare it with another lender before you decide.
Works for: The builder
The builder’s contract team
The people behind the purchase agreement and every form that follows it.
- Prepares the purchase agreement, the addenda, and the disclosures, all written by the builder.
- Processes your deposit, your option selections, and any change orders.
- Sets the deadlines and the rules you live under from signing to closing.
The contract is the builder’s standard document, written to protect the builder. That is normal. It is also where buyers most often sign something they didn’t fully understand.
Works for: You
Your agent
The one person in the deal who represents you and only you.
- Registers you with the builder before or at your first visit, so you are represented from the start.
- Compares the whole package: price, lot premium, options, incentives, and what a comparable resale or another builder would cost you.
- Gets you a second lender quote, so the builder’s lender is a choice rather than the only option.
- Goes through the builder’s contract with you, points out the deadlines, the deposit terms, and the appraisal clause, and tells you when a lawyer should read it.
- Lines up an independent inspection and walks the final walkthrough with you.
Your agent has done their job when the deal is right for you.
Before your first visit
Bring your agent with you the first time you visit any new-home community, and make sure their name is on the sign-in sheet. Most builders decide who represents you on that first visit; if you sign in alone, many will not let your agent in later. Builders differ on what they want: your agent there in person, your signed buyer agreement, or both, and some let your agent register you online before you go. One call to your agent before you visit settles it.
General information, not legal or financial advice. Every builder’s process is a little different; your agent can walk you through this one.
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