Do I Need A Realtor to Buy New Construction?

One question I often get from new home buyers is “Do I need a Realtor® to buy a new construction home?”. The answer is absolutely, YES and here are the reasons why.

Ask yourself, do I want someone working as a buyers agent on my behalf? A real estate agent working for you as a buyers agent has a fiduciary responsibility to negotiate and work in your best interest. While in the state of Colorado, a builder can sell directly to you using their own documents, wouldn’t you want someone in the transaction with your best interest in mind?

Also, having a Realtor on your team adds no additional cost to you. The builder/seller will pay the commission to the Realtor® in their closing costs. It doesn’t affect your fees or purchase price. So, in effect the seller is paying for you to have full representation. That’s a no brainer.

I mentioned above that builders can legally use their own contracts. It’s true. They don’t use the Real Estate Commission approved forms and contracts that have legal protection in place for both the buyer and seller. Guess who usually benefits from the use of contracts that are self created?

Also, don’t get fooled by the real estate agent who is working in the show home. #2: they are working on behalf of the builder and #2: usually they put thier state issued real estate license into an inactive status when employed by a builder. They do this so they are no longer legally responisible to uphold the same responsibilities that licensed real estate agent have to.

Don’t get me wrong, I think buying newly built homes is a smart move. The last two homes I bought for my family were both new construction and in both cases I utilized a Realtor to work on my side. If you have additional questions about working with a Realtor to buy new construction just reach out. I’m always happy to help.

Another Important Read: 3 Forgotten Costs When Buying New Construction Homes