7 Reasons Why You Should Use a Realtor When Choosing A New Build Home

You may be surprised how often I have this conversation with clients, and my answer is always the same – use a Realtor when purchasing a new build home! If you don’t bring your Realtor with you when you go to visit that show home for the first time, it could be a costly mistake.

This month we’re lucky to have Jamie Ostby of eXp Realty as our guest blogger! She’s demystifying the new home build and why it’s important, not to mention FREE, to have your own Realtor representation.

7 Reasons Why You Should Use a Realtor When Choosing A New Build Home

Let’s face it, Calgary has A LOT of areas with new construction and as a local Realtor, buyers ask me all the time if they should use a real estate agent when they are purchasing a new construction home. The answer is a loud ‘YES’.

In general, builders’ show homes are staffed by agents who work directly for and represent the builder. Which means it’s certainly not your best interests they have in mind. The sales agent’s number one goal is to meet their monthly sales target and they will do just about anything to make that happen. If this reason alone isn’t enough reason to get a Realtor involved, here are another 7 reasons.

1. To See The Whole Picture

Purchasing new construction is usually more complicated and intimidating than buying a resale home. There is a lot more that goes into the purchase beyond choosing the home, specification package and lot. Sales reps will be quick to dumb down the negative and focus on the things you’ve fallen in love with. For example, I have had a new home representative tell me verbatim that building on a lot that backs onto a busy road will NEVER hurt the resale price. This is simply not true. Corner lots are usually sold at a premium but in my experience, there is a smaller resale market for corner lots since they’re often in a busy place and the homeowner is responsible for clearing the entire sidewalk. What’s going in across the street, behind you, down the road… these are all things a knowledgeable real estate agent can help you with.

2. Builder List Prices

There are a lot of things that go into how a builder puts a sale price on their product, including:

• • • Location
    • Lot
    • Size of Home
    • Cost of Building Materials
    • Labour Costs
    • Market Conditions
    • Upgrades

Surprise — builders don’t like to reduce their prices. If they do, it sets a precedent for future home sales. Builders are more likely to pay for closing costs or offer design centre incentives than to drop their prices.

Builders are not like regular sellers. They are not emotionally attached to the property. They make decisions based on what is best for their bottom line. So while we cannot help you negotiate a better price, we can help you make sure the price you are paying is not overvalued and that the return on your investment will be good.

3. Get Everything in Writing

Promises will be made to you… guaranteed, as mentioned before, sales reps will say almost anything to get you to sign on that dotted line. But I can not even tell you how many times I’ve heard “the sales rep said there would be (insert upgrade)” or “no one told me about (insert fee)”. If something is said to you even in passing and you take it for truth, follow it up in an email. If you have a Realtor present they can help mitigate this and take notes and do follow up emails on your behalf.

4. Upgrades

What you see is NOT what you get. The show home has almost always been jazzed up to the nines. You will fall in love with this beautiful version of what the home ‘could be’ but those two little words are the magic ones: ‘COULD BE’. Chances are you have been told “starting in the low $400,000’s” (for example), but if you were to replicate all the features of the show home you may be looking at a price tens of thousands of dollars higher. An experienced agent will ask for the basic specification list before walking through the show home with you and can then point out everything that would be an upgrade. The sales rep can do this for you as well, but will they also tell you how those upgrades will or won’t affect the investment and resale of your home? Probably not.

5. Information About The Builder

Not all builders are created equal. Some builders have poor reputations in the industry or have even been sued for shoddy workmanship. The show homes representatives inside aren’t going to tell you this, but hopefully, an experienced agent will know the ‘word on the street’ and anything that you should know beforehand about the builder.

6. Save You Time

There are hundreds of show homes in dozens of areas. You could waste hours of time trying to narrow down which builders and locations are right for you. An agent can do a lot of the legwork for you and then present to you the top products that match your price, location and style.

7. It’s a FREE Service for you!

You read that right, all that help from a Realtor is FREE. Most builders (in Calgary anyway) will pay your agent’s commission. Sometimes it’s not as much as they would get if you were buying resale, but a good agent will take the hit now to gain your trust and business for the future.

As you can see, hiring a Realtor to represent you when purchasing a brand-new home provides nothing but benefits.

Keep in mind that just like builders, not all Realtors are created equal. There is currently not a New Build Course or Certification, so make sure whomever you are choosing to work with has plenty of personal and client experience with New Construction Homes.

If you decide to work with an agent, be aware that they must be with you for all initial showings. If you go preview show homes without your Realtor, the builder representatives will not let them get involved after you’ve already registered. Furthermore, a good Agent will accompany you for all additional meetings to help advise throughout the build process.

If you’re interested in purchasing a new construction home in the Calgary area, don’t hesitate to contact Jamie for help at 403-801-1917 or via email at jamie.ostby@exprealty.com. And remember, don’t go to a show home alone!