Much of the growth in the Lake Norman, Cornelius, Huntersville, Mooresville, Troutman and Statesville markets is coming in the form of new residential developments and new homes. Given the stresses on the real estate market today, there are many new homes for sale at very good prices. If you are considering a new home, you must understand that when you are talking to a sales person at a model home, you are talking to someone who’s responsibility and loyalty is to the seller, just like an agent who has listed a house. The agent has only those homes to sell, so they will try their best to sell you one of the builder’s homes and show you no other choices. They will try to get you to pay the highest price for the least amount of house and options because that is how the builder will make the most profit from the transaction. Nothing wrong with that. The agent is required by NC real estate law to do this.
However, this is not the best arrangement for the buyer, of course. How do you as a buyer deal with this? Well, the best way is to select an independent agent to represent you as your “Buyer’s Agent.” NC real estate law also allows an agent to work for the exclusive benefit of a buyer. The Buyer’s Agent will listen to your wants and needs, survey all the possible choices in the market place, accompany you to visit the new homes, assist you in talking to the new home sales agents, and if you want to make an offer on a new home, help you negotiate the best deal. The Buyer’s Agent will also help you arrange for the best mortgage for your situation. After the contract is signed, the Buyer’s Agent will follow the construction of the home if it is to be built, offer to arrange for an inspector to work for you in being sure the construction from the foundation up is done correctly, and insure that any changes from the original plan are completed properly and charged accurately. Prior to closing, your Buyer’s Agent will do a final walk-through to be sure there are no loose ends. At closing, the Buyer’s Agent will accompany you to the closing to insure that you got exactly who you planned to get based on the contract you signed.
You might think that builders will charge you more because they are paying their sales agent plus your buyer’s agent. That is certainly not true for most builders. In fact, they are constantly marketing to the general Realtor community, encouraging us to bring buyers to them. They even offer a variety of incentive to the Buyer’s Agents to bring buyers. They can’t afford to undercut their prices on transactions that they handle without Buyer’s Agents, because that would discourage Buyer’s Agents from bringing their clients.
So, before you start talking with new home sales people, get a Buyer’s Agent working for you. You’ll then find that even when you are just looking around at various subdivisions, you can just give the sales agent the name of your Buyer’s Agent, and they will register that working relationship in their files so that there is no question who is working for whom.
If you’re thinking of buying a home and new construction is an option, call me to discuss further how I can help you. 704-877-2375 / SSuther@C21Hecht.com
