If you do walk into the sales office, be sure NOT to sign anything until your realtor is with you. If you sign an agency agreement you could be legally stuck using the builder’s agent.
Step into the shoes of the builder…
A builder looks at the sale of a new home as a math equation; it’s all about the numbers. They know how much per square foot it costs them to build a standard home. They know how much profit they want to make on each home and they have already accounted for realtor costs and most likely closing costs. If you are working with the builder’s agent, any monies left over after these costs will likely be more profit to the builder. However, if you have an agent working for you, they will be able to negotiate with the builder and have that extra money put back into your pocket in the form of upgrades, bonuses or possibly down payment assistance.
Builders want their homes to move quickly. A construction loan works a little bit like this; the bank gives the builder enough money to begin construction on 4 homes at the same time. That builder must sell one of those homes before they will give him/her money to start the next home. If he/she sells 2 of those 4, the bank will release funds for the start of the next 2 more homes, ect. If this is in fact how the builder’s financing works, they are willing to make deals. They don’t want construction to halt for any reason.
