Working with a builder without an agent

9 years ago

Hello everyone,

I need your thoughts on working with a builder without an agent.

We are talking with couple of builders in our area about doing a pre-sell on a new construction. We have the plan, selected a lot and we are going to get bids from them to compare.

But one of the builders who I saw online and contacted regarding the building process mentioned that they will not charge us for an agents commission if we don't bring in a buyers agent. They don't have agents of their own either and I was having all theses discussions with one of the owners of the building company. They do build in several cities around my area and they have good reviews in HOUZZ and FB. They also gave us a good rough estimate price range (base price to high end upgrades) for the plan we are looking at. I do intend to talk with one of their old clients to see how good their workmanship is before finalizing anything. But I am curious to know if anyone else has worked with a builder without agents on either side. I tried to look online for such cases but found none. All the discussions I found suggest to use a buyers agent to do negotiations because builders agents only work for the builder. But if a builder does not have an agent of their own, what happens if we talk directly with the builder to get our work done?

Thanks in advance for your replies!

Featured Answer

ncrealestateguy

9 years ago

The one advantage that an agent would bring to the table is that builders look at them as repeat, future business and look at a homeowner as a one time sale. If, and when things do not go according to plan, the agent can use this leverage to get things done.

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Comments (10)

lakeerieamber
9 years ago
We did not have a buyers or builders agent when we hired our builder. We did have a lawyer look over the building contact with us before signing it.
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rrah
9 years ago
People do it all the time. We built 2 houses without an agent. The house we built when we had an agent was no different. The agent added no value to the building process. He didn't even look over the building contract. He showed up for his check at closing.

Not all agents know about building a home. I'd guess very few do. Without that knowledge they won't be able to add much. Since most builders don't use a standard sales contract they can't really help with that. A lawyer can look at the contract for less.

BTW--I say all of this as a former agent. I did help a few clients with purchasing new construction houses, but I had the personal experience to add value.

That said, an agent might be helpful if you're making a decision about 3 or 4 bedrooms or the value of sunroom or something similar.
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cpartist
9 years ago
We just got a RE attorney to look over the contract
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Linda Doherty
9 years ago
Get a good real estate atty. Do hire an inspector before you close. Do a walk thru before vlising. Do not close if anything isn't done. It is difficult to get builders to do stuff once they get their money.
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User
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
An independent agent serves no purpose. An agent employed by the builder turns into a customer service rep (better to be working with site foreperson than a service rep). Spend your money on an attorney (hopefully minimal hours) and a good inspection. Pay the inspector to spend more time at the house than normal and walk through everything with you in detail (4-6 hours minimum).
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Renee Texas
9 years ago
We did not use an agent. We did hire some of our own inspectors at various stages, and paid a lawyer to look things over at the end :)
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homechef59
9 years ago
I purchased a new build from a large builder. I didn't have an agent. Nor, could I get the agent's commission credited to my build. The builder kept the money and there was no way I could get at it.

Good advice to hire a good inspector and a real estate attorney to review the documents.
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worthy
9 years ago
I've sold infill both with an agent and without. I certainly never offered to discount the price if the buyer came directly. Despite all the notions to the contrary, there's little enough profit in this business as it is. Many if not most small builders are really just buying themselves a job.
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bumoftheday
9 years ago
I used an agent who has had very little involvement in the build process. The builder price was the same either way. The agent cut me a nice commission discount on the sale of my house for using her through the builder.
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