Buying new construction in the Salt Lake Valley
Buy new construction with someone reading the contract from your side.
Walking into a model home feels simple. It is not. The agent at the sales desk works for the builder, the contract is written to protect the builder, and the incentives on the table are the ones the builder chooses to offer. You want someone reading all of it from your side. That is what Andrew does, from the first visit through the final walkthrough.
Get represented before you sign
We sell homes the way we'd buy one. Slowly. Honestly. With our phones on.
The part the sales office will not lead with
Whose side is the table on?
Every new-construction deal has two agents who could be in the room. They differ on four things, and each one decides whether the paperwork gets read for you or past you.
Who they answer to
The builder’s agent
The agent at the sales desk is paid by the builder and accountable to the builder. In every conversation at that desk, the interest being represented is the builder’s.
Your agent
Andrew answers to you. His job is your outcome, not the builder’s quarterly sales targets, and he says so before you tour a single model home.
Upgrades and credits
The builder’s agent
The sales office presents the incentives the builder wants to move this quarter, on the builder’s terms, framed as a favor.
Your agent
We ask for the upgrades, closing-cost credits, and lot terms that actually fit you, and Andrew knows which of them a given builder will genuinely give.
The contract
The builder’s agent
You are handed the builder’s standard contract, written to favor the builder, and encouraged to sign it in the room while the model home is still fresh.
Your agent
Andrew reads it line by line, flags the change-order and delay language that shifts risk onto you, and explains what each deadline commits you to before you sign.
Through the build
The builder’s agent
The sales role is a sale. Once the contract is signed, that relationship largely ends and you are handed off to the process.
Your agent
We stay on every walkthrough and inspection, and hold the builder to the punch list, until the keys are in your hand.
Here is the part worth knowing early: bringing your own agent typically costs you nothing, because builders account for buyer-agent compensation in how the community is priced. The catch is timing. Register with Andrew before your first visit, and that representation stays available to you.
Talk to Andrew before your first visitWhat we handle, from model home to keys.
Representation on a new build is not a signature at the end. It is six things done along the way, most of them before the foundation is poured.
- Knowing the builders
- New construction is not just walking into a model home. Andrew knows the builders across the Salt Lake Valley, which ones deliver on schedule and which ones cut corners, and he tells you before you fall for a floor plan.
- Negotiating the extras
- Base price is often held to protect the community’s comps, but upgrades, closing-cost credits, and lot premiums are where the real negotiation lives. We ask for the ones worth asking for, in the order a builder is most likely to say yes.
- Reading the contract
- The builder’s contract is written to favor the builder. We read it line by line and flag the change-order terms, the delay clauses, and the deadlines that quietly move risk onto you, before your signature is on the page.
- Your own inspections
- A builder warranty is not a substitute for an independent look. We schedule inspections at pre-drywall, while the bones are still visible, and again before the final walkthrough, while problems are still cheap to fix.
- Riding every walkthrough
- New homes ship with punch-list items. Andrew stays on the walkthroughs and holds the builder to the fixes until they are done rather than promised, when the leverage of an unsigned closing still counts.
- Financing and the lot
- The builder’s preferred lender is one option, not the only one, and the lot you choose shapes resale for years. We weigh both with you before you commit to either.
What representation costs you, said plainly.
The sales office is built to make bringing your own agent feel unnecessary. It is not. The person at that desk is paid by the builder and represents the builder, however warm the conversation is. Having Andrew in the room changes whose interests are being argued for when the contract comes out.
In most new-construction deals, the builder accounts for buyer-agent compensation as part of how the community is priced, which is why having your own representation typically costs you nothing out of pocket. The one condition is timing: many builders require that your agent be with you, or named, on your first visit. Register with Andrew before you tour, and that representation stays available to you rather than signed away at the door.
None of this makes the builder the enemy. A good builder and a well-read contract are not at odds. It only means someone should be reading the paperwork from your side of the table, and catching the things a model home is designed to make you forget.
New construction, answered.
Do I need my own agent to buy new construction in Utah?
Not legally, but it is the same mistake as walking into a courtroom without your own lawyer. The friendly agent at the model home is paid by the builder and represents the builder. Your own agent reads the contract from your side, negotiates the extras, and stays on the build through closing. In most new-construction deals the builder accounts for buyer-agent compensation as part of how the community is priced, so having your own representation typically costs you nothing out of pocket.
Should I register with a builder before talking to an agent?
Talk to Andrew first, and let your first visit be a registered one with him named or present. Many builders require that your agent be with you, or listed, on that first tour for the representation to apply. Register yourself alone and you can find you have signed away the ability to bring your own agent into a deal that runs for months.
Can you actually negotiate on new construction?
Yes, though not always where buyers expect. Builders often hold the base price to protect the appraised value of every other home in the community. What moves is the rest of the deal: design-center upgrades, closing-cost credits, rate buydowns through their lender, and lot premiums. We negotiate the parts that are actually on the table.
Does the builder’s warranty mean I can skip inspections?
No. A warranty is a promise to address problems after you own the home, on the builder’s timeline and terms. An independent inspection finds those problems before you close, while you still have leverage to get them fixed. We recommend a look at pre-drywall, when the framing, wiring, and plumbing are still visible, and again before the final walkthrough.
How is buying new construction different from buying a resale home?
You are often buying a house that does not exist yet, from a model that is upgraded to sell, on a contract written by the party building it. There is no seller’s disclosure of lived-in history, the timeline can slip, and the change orders add up. The skills that matter shift from comping a finished home to reading a contract, tracking a build, and holding a builder to its word.
How do you know which builders deliver?
By watching them work across the Salt Lake Valley rather than by reading their brochures. Andrew tracks which builders hit their timelines, which ones stand behind their punch lists, and which ones cut corners you only find later. We will not publish a ranking on a web page, because the honest version of that answer depends on the community and the year, but we will tell you plainly before you commit a weekend to a model home.
Bring someone to the table before you sign.
The time to get represented is before you walk into the first model home, not after the builder’s contract is signed. Talk to Andrew first. He will tell you which communities are worth your weekend, what to ask for, and what to watch for in the paperwork, and then he stays with the deal until the keys are in your hand.
What's your home worth?