Using an agent for new construction, good or bad idea?

[Rakin]

TX, I help about 8-15 people build homes a year. I know the answers to questions you'll never know to ask. A good agent who knows new construction will improve your home at least 30% better than you but you'll never know about it unless you have a good agent helping you.

Did you know that in FW there are 3 builders you should always avoid, about 15 that are mediocre at best and probably 3 in your price range that you want to build you a home. A good agent can give you the names of these builders so you pick a good one and avoid the very bad ones.

The hardest part for you is not deciding if you need an agent but interviewing and selecting the right agent who will add value to your new home.

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

Totally correct.

Let me put this in another light. Whenever I have a buyer that is going to be the second owner of that house, the inpectors usually unearth all sorts of stuff that should have been done while being built, but was not. We are talking building code stuff. I always know then that the original owner bought without representation (because the sales rep was so nice!). Guess who gets to pay for having the house corrected? Hint: the builder is long gone - guess again.

That's back to the "good builder" vs "bad builder" again. Even if someone we are building a house for doesn't have their own agent, we strongly suggest they should have a home inspection. Every builder misses something on occasion, and a good builder recognizes that. For example, we've had a couple of homes where the insulator didn't go back in to blow the insulation in the attic. That is a problem that will strongly effect heating and cooling bills and the ability to keep your house a reasonable temperature. The owners built themselves a house a few years ago, and they even had an inspection on it.

I revise my original statement. It originally read I vote "Get an agent" with the qualifier "who is experienced in new construction projects/contracts". To that, I need to add "in your area", for the reason Rakin mentioned. You need someone who can tell you that "Builder X has filed bankruptcy and changed names 3 times in the past, leaving his buyers with tens of thousands of dollars in liens against their houses" (we had someone do this in our area), as well as things like "Subdivision Y was built in an area with too high of a water table, and half the houses have had major water in the crawl spaces."