Realtor for new construction

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you already start building? Could be too late. Check your contract.

At the very least hire an independent inspector.

We haven’t started building. We haven’t even contacted the developer. There are a few units left at an EYA development and I’m wondering if we should take the plunge.

I bought a new build eya once. Yeah you probably won’t get a discount. Just beware that they use super cheap HVAC so be prepared to fully replace before 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you already start building? Could be too late. Check your contract.

At the very least hire an independent inspector.

We haven’t started building. We haven’t even contacted the developer. There are a few units left at an EYA development and I’m wondering if we should take the plunge.

I recognize you didn’t ask for this advice, but we recently sat down with EYA (just us) and it was a good experience—their agent was really professional and organized. Didn’t end up buying one of the units, we ultimately realized we did want a SFH so it was out to the suburbs for us, but just passing along our experience.

Thank you! Did you ask about pricing for upgrades and stuff? Did they offer anything since you were coming in without an agent? The place we are looking at has an optional loft, and we will really only pull the trigger if we can get good pricing on that. It’s not worth it to us without the loft.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you already start building? Could be too late. Check your contract.

At the very least hire an independent inspector.

We haven’t started building. We haven’t even contacted the developer. There are a few units left at an EYA development and I’m wondering if we should take the plunge.

I recognize you didn’t ask for this advice, but we recently sat down with EYA (just us) and it was a good experience—their agent was really professional and organized. Didn’t end up buying one of the units, we ultimately realized we did want a SFH so it was out to the suburbs for us, but just passing along our experience.

Thank you! Did you ask about pricing for upgrades and stuff? Did they offer anything since you were coming in without an agent? The place we are looking at has an optional loft, and we will really only pull the trigger if we can get good pricing on that. It’s not worth it to us without the loft.

Yeah, they’ll provide all pricing for options upfront in your meeting. Absolutely no reference to any concessions/benefits for not using an agent, which tracks with our previous experience buying new construction. I saw a PP mention that they were told by a builder that there would be a price benefit to not having an agent, which really really surprised me. I think that’s extremely unusual based on what we’ve researched and experienced.

I recognize I am just a random person on the internet so can’t really prove this in any way, haha, but we have family friends that happen to be buying in the same development that we ended up picking. We aren’t using an agent, they are. We’ve compared notes (not about the realtor thing, just generally) and were offered all the same incentives. Basically nothing was up for negotiation for either of us. They wanted an agent because it’ll be their first time buying in Maryland, which made sense to me. We didn’t use one because we had built a home previously and are attorneys familiar with the state. And also, being transparent, because we visited the model and spoke with the builder a bit on a whim initially—and then, once we realized that’s where we wanted to move, knew we were likely too far in the process to bring someone in so just decided to go it alone. Believe it or not, we’re actually responsible adults.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you already start building? Could be too late. Check your contract.

At the very least hire an independent inspector.

We haven’t started building. We haven’t even contacted the developer. There are a few units left at an EYA development and I’m wondering if we should take the plunge.

I recognize you didn’t ask for this advice, but we recently sat down with EYA (just us) and it was a good experience—their agent was really professional and organized. Didn’t end up buying one of the units, we ultimately realized we did want a SFH so it was out to the suburbs for us, but just passing along our experience.

Thank you! Did you ask about pricing for upgrades and stuff? Did they offer anything since you were coming in without an agent? The place we are looking at has an optional loft, and we will really only pull the trigger if we can get good pricing on that. It’s not worth it to us without the loft.

Yeah, they’ll provide all pricing for options upfront in your meeting. Absolutely no reference to any concessions/benefits for not using an agent, which tracks with our previous experience buying new construction. I saw a PP mention that they were told by a builder that there would be a price benefit to not having an agent, which really really surprised me. I think that’s extremely unusual based on what we’ve researched and experienced.

I recognize I am just a random person on the internet so can’t really prove this in any way, haha, but we have family friends that happen to be buying in the same development that we ended up picking. We aren’t using an agent, they are. We’ve compared notes (not about the realtor thing, just generally) and were offered all the same incentives. Basically nothing was up for negotiation for either of us. They wanted an agent because it’ll be their first time buying in Maryland, which made sense to me. We didn’t use one because we had built a home previously and are attorneys familiar with the state. And also, being transparent, because we visited the model and spoke with the builder a bit on a whim initially—and then, once we realized that’s where we wanted to move, knew we were likely too far in the process to bring someone in so just decided to go it alone. Believe it or not, we’re actually responsible adults.

Thank you. This is all very helpful. It sounds like once you make contact with a builder you have to keep the method you were working?

[Anonymous]

A PP chiming in. OP, sounds like you may be a bit new to new construction so here is a quick overview of what the process typically is with a builder like EYA:

-Initial appointment to select lot and structural upgrades. You typically put down a small reservation fee on your preferred lot at this point. At this meeting, you’ll get a big price list of all the options you can select from as well as the incentive package to help you noodle what you really want.

-You get pre-approved for the mortgage with either the builder’s affiliated mortgage company or one of the builder’s preferred lenders. They’ll approve you for the house with upgrades and also a cushion for your design center budget.

-You decide you want to pull the trigger, yay! You make any adjustments you want to what you originally picked out, sign a sales agreement and typically put down between 5-10% of the base price of the house. Some builders also require 20% of the structural upgrades and lot premiums. It’s a lot of money for a house that doesn’t yet exist, but only good part of this is that you’ll know you’ve basically already put down enough money to close.

-At this point, some builders will have you go through a more thorough qualification process and the lender will issue a note promising to give you a mortgage as long as X, Y, and Z conditions are met. This note is basically worthless because, of course, you’ll go through the REAL qualification process 90/60 days or so before closing and all of your finances and cash on hand at that point will be what will determine your mortgage conditions. You can lock your rate though!

-Note: you don’t have to ultimately use the builder’s lender/preferred lender, but they’ll likely offer you some additional credit in closing costs to do so.

-In a few weeks, you’ll go to the design center. This is where you’ll pick out cabinets, countertops, tile, all that fun stuff. A lot of builders will require you put down 10-20% of the total amount of upgrades you picked. There are a lot of opinions about how much to upgrade at the design center, my advice is to always put your money into the kitchen and owner’s suite bath. It’ll make you happy and if you have to sell relatively quickly, usually a good bet.

And then you watch your house get built, hopefully on time! 90 days out, you’ll really start working on your mortgage. Honestly, it can be stressful but also a fun process. Hope this was helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A PP chiming in. OP, sounds like you may be a bit new to new construction so here is a quick overview of what the process typically is with a builder like EYA:

-Initial appointment to select lot and structural upgrades. You typically put down a small reservation fee on your preferred lot at this point. At this meeting, you’ll get a big price list of all the options you can select from as well as the incentive package to help you noodle what you really want.

-You get pre-approved for the mortgage with either the builder’s affiliated mortgage company or one of the builder’s preferred lenders. They’ll approve you for the house with upgrades and also a cushion for your design center budget.

-You decide you want to pull the trigger, yay! You make any adjustments you want to what you originally picked out, sign a sales agreement and typically put down between 5-10% of the base price of the house. Some builders also require 20% of the structural upgrades and lot premiums. It’s a lot of money for a house that doesn’t yet exist, but only good part of this is that you’ll know you’ve basically already put down enough money to close.

-At this point, some builders will have you go through a more thorough qualification process and the lender will issue a note promising to give you a mortgage as long as X, Y, and Z conditions are met. This note is basically worthless because, of course, you’ll go through the REAL qualification process 90/60 days or so before closing and all of your finances and cash on hand at that point will be what will determine your mortgage conditions. You can lock your rate though!

-Note: you don’t have to ultimately use the builder’s lender/preferred lender, but they’ll likely offer you some additional credit in closing costs to do so.

-In a few weeks, you’ll go to the design center. This is where you’ll pick out cabinets, countertops, tile, all that fun stuff. A lot of builders will require you put down 10-20% of the total amount of upgrades you picked. There are a lot of opinions about how much to upgrade at the design center, my advice is to always put your money into the kitchen and owner’s suite bath. It’ll make you happy and if you have to sell relatively quickly, usually a good bet.

And then you watch your house get built, hopefully on time! 90 days out, you’ll really start working on your mortgage. Honestly, it can be stressful but also a fun process. Hope this was helpful!

Insanely helpful! Thank you, PP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Did you already start building? Could be too late. Check your contract.

At the very least hire an independent inspector.

We haven’t started building. We haven’t even contacted the developer. There are a few units left at an EYA development and I’m wondering if we should take the plunge.

I recognize you didn’t ask for this advice, but we recently sat down with EYA (just us) and it was a good experience—their agent was really professional and organized. Didn’t end up buying one of the units, we ultimately realized we did want a SFH so it was out to the suburbs for us, but just passing along our experience.

Thank you! Did you ask about pricing for upgrades and stuff? Did they offer anything since you were coming in without an agent? The place we are looking at has an optional loft, and we will really only pull the trigger if we can get good pricing on that. It’s not worth it to us without the loft.

Yeah, they’ll provide all pricing for options upfront in your meeting. Absolutely no reference to any concessions/benefits for not using an agent, which tracks with our previous experience buying new construction. I saw a PP mention that they were told by a builder that there would be a price benefit to not having an agent, which really really surprised me. I think that’s extremely unusual based on what we’ve researched and experienced.

I recognize I am just a random person on the internet so can’t really prove this in any way, haha, but we have family friends that happen to be buying in the same development that we ended up picking. We aren’t using an agent, they are. We’ve compared notes (not about the realtor thing, just generally) and were offered all the same incentives. Basically nothing was up for negotiation for either of us. They wanted an agent because it’ll be their first time buying in Maryland, which made sense to me. We didn’t use one because we had built a home previously and are attorneys familiar with the state. And also, being transparent, because we visited the model and spoke with the builder a bit on a whim initially—and then, once we realized that’s where we wanted to move, knew we were likely too far in the process to bring someone in so just decided to go it alone. Believe it or not, we’re actually responsible adults.

Thank you. This is all very helpful. It sounds like once you make contact with a builder you have to keep the method you were working?

Yeah, I think so—this is the PP who didn’t use an agent the first time we built and is using one now. That said, Toll Brothers and Wormald both let us bring in an agent after we toured the model. Our agent told us some are stricter, but their rule seemed to be we had to have an agent for the first sit-down meeting. That’s when our agent filled out one of those little agent cards (I’m blanking on what they’re called) to go on record as being there with the builder.

[Anonymous]

How much is the typical “reservation fee”?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How much is the typical “reservation fee”?

When we were talking to builders it was usually between $500 and $1k, totally refundable if you decide not to build. Though I think some builders just want an email saying “I want this lot.” We just sent the builder that we picked a picture of the check, for example, and it was never cashed or anything. Think more just a way for them to gauge how interested you are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is the typical “reservation fee”?

When we were talking to builders it was usually between $500 and $1k, totally refundable if you decide not to build. Though I think some builders just want an email saying “I want this lot.” We just sent the builder that we picked a picture of the check, for example, and it was never cashed or anything. Think more just a way for them to gauge how interested you are.

Thanks, PP. Since it doesn’t seem like a realtor brings a ton of negotiating power to the table and the commission is baked in, I think I’ll reach out to Redfin/some other rebate brokerage to before talking to EYA. This board can be such a great resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How much is the typical “reservation fee”?

When we were talking to builders it was usually between $500 and $1k, totally refundable if you decide not to build. Though I think some builders just want an email saying “I want this lot.” We just sent the builder that we picked a picture of the check, for example, and it was never cashed or anything. Think more just a way for them to gauge how interested you are.

Thanks, PP. Since it doesn’t seem like a realtor brings a ton of negotiating power to the table and the commission is baked in, I think I’ll reach out to Redfin/some other rebate brokerage to before talking to EYA. This board can be such a great resource.

Makes sense to me, good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought unexpectedly from a builder and our buyers agent was straight up useless in the negotiation. Absolutely a dead weight loss. If you know what you want, don’t bother.

Same here, love the deadweight comment. Ours didn’t help or show up at all throughout the process, but miraculously appeared bright and early for our closing appt to collect his money.

[Anonymous]

I'm building right now and my real estate agent is completely useless. She has literally done NOTHING. I have done everything along with the builder's agent who is wonderful.

If you are also selling a home, some builders will incentivize using their agent for your sale. I'm not sure how it works, but I wish I had known about it - one of my future neighbors is getting a pretty sweet deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm building right now and my real estate agent is completely useless. She has literally done NOTHING. I have done everything along with the builder's agent who is wonderful.

If you are also selling a home, some builders will incentivize using their agent for your sale. I'm not sure how it works, but I wish I had known about it - one of my future neighbors is getting a pretty sweet deal.

How is it possible they have done nothing? They ignore your emails and questions and give no advice? That’s horrible, hope you’ll be sure to give them the proper Yelp reviews, etc.

But sure, builder agents are generally good salespeople. Their legal duties, however, are tied to the builder and they are employees of that company. I suppose you could hire them and sign the necessary disclosure forms to acknowledge the conflict in that circumstance but...woof.

I’m one of the PP who said having an agent wasn’t a game changer in new construction, but still.

[Anonymous]

Also, as long as you don’t have a shit agent, you also get access to their networks for lenders/inspectors/etc. Unless you have your own set of trusted folks, and some of you might, you may be at the mercy of the builder’s references—who are often a bad deal.