Do you need a realtor if your buying a new construction home? 

Do you need a realtor if you're buying a new construction home?

I've gotten this question more often lately so let's talk about it because buying a resale house versus a new construction is a very different process.

Yes, realtors represent buyers all the time on new construction purchases, and here’s why. So when you go to a model home and the sales rep provides all the information and answers your questions… don’t forget they work for the builder & have the builder's best interest in mind, not yours…and you should want someone to work for you too. Many realtors like myself are very familiar and specialize in new construction which means we can win bigger for you when it comes to price, upgrades and negotiations. Now before I get into it, remember, all builders have different offerings. Ok?

 Now- Builders don’t typically like to negotiate their base prices, they want to keep them similar because they’re selling lots of the same models and as long as people are buying the homes, they have no reason to negotiate the price. However, the right realtor will know some builders actually entertain “offers'' on their homes to be built! Also builders are more receptive to negotiating upgrades or giving closing credits instead of them giving a $10,000 reduction in the price of the house. You could have your agent ask for a $5,000 credit at the design center, You can ask for closing cost contributions, rate buy-downs and much more… just don’t expect to get EVERYTHING AND, not every builder is going to give you a credit. It depends on how popular their product is and what inventory they need to move, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask.

Lastly let’s talk about those new construction home closing costs. Every builder is different, but no matter which one you go with, pay very close attention to the closing costs. Most big builders push a lot of their closing costs over to the buyers side. This can be thousands of dollars in extra closing costs that you wouldn’t pay if you were purchasing a resale house so again, having a realtor to negotiate these things is going to benefit you and it doesn’t cost you a thing. In most cases, it actually puts money back in your pocket! So if you’re like a lot of my buyers recently, swooning over these new construction homes, call me! Let’s spend some time together, looking at new communities, find you the perfect plan, and then let me start negotiating on your behalf!