The attraction of buying new construction is obvious. Everything is new! A very small portion of people ever get to be a home’s first owner, and there is something to be said about that new home smell. But before you head to the site sales office, there are some things you need to know.

If you go to a new homes site without your Realtor, you’re making a huge mistake.

When you hire a Realtor to represent you, you have a professional who’s job is to look out for your best interest in the transaction, and to educate you so you can make informed decisions. The agent on site represents the builder, not you. They can put together a contract right there on the spot, get you pre-approved and have you on your way to making custom counter top selections in no time, but they are doing all this with the builder’s interests in mind, not yours.

Just like your Realtor’s job is to get you the lowest price, the builder’s agent is trying to get him the highest price for his product.

Something else to consider is resale. Eventually you will sell your home, and making sure you made decisions that add value to your home in the eyes of buyers is important, and something your Realtor will help you with. The site agent on the other hand, doesn’t care if you make decisions that will hurt you when it comes time to sell, they only have one job; sell all the builder’s inventory, then move to the next build site.

Having representation in a new construction purchase costs you nothing.

Your agent is paid by the builder. So you don’t lose anything by having representation and you gain protections and a wealth of knowledge.

Things your Realtor will help you with:

• Researching the builder. Not all builders are equal and the quality of the final product varies greatly. You need to make sure your builder has a good reputation for not only build quality, but repairs and warranty work.
• Evaluating pricing. You are buying new construction, so you are going to pay more than resale homes in the same area, but you need to make sure the price is comparable with other new construction in the area from other builders.
• Smart upgrades. Most builders will have a list of standard options, and upgrades. The price they are charging to put in ceiling fans, or finish the garage may be twice as much as a contractor would do it for.
• Keeping the build on track. You will get an estimated completion time, but there are a lot of variables in a new construction home. If they are working on the exterior and it storms for a week, this may prevent them from working. There can be issues with materials. There are a hundred things that can go wrong that extend the build time. Your Realtor will be in the loop and on this so that you can plan your move accordingly.
• Most builders use contracts created by their lawyers and everything is set up to protect them. On every new home sale I’ve done I have had to add to their contract in order to protect my client. These may be small changes, but if something goes wrong it doesn’t matter what you though it said, only what it said. 

Buying new construction is exciting! You may get to customize everything from the style of the floors to the layout of the kitchen, and when you are done, you move in to a brand new home with all new systems that can give you years of peace of mind. But there are a lot of possible pitfalls when you are making these big decisions, and there is no reason why you should be making them without representation.