Most builders have a “first visit” rule: if you enter the community without a registered buyer’s agent, the builder’s sales team claims you as a direct customer and may refuse to work with an agent you bring in later. The builder’s on-site agent represents the builder’s interests — period. They will not tell you about a better lot in the next phase, alert you to pending price increases, or negotiate on your behalf.

This is where buyers lose the most money. Builders offer substantial incentives — $10,000–$20,000 in closing cost credits, design center credits, or rate buydowns — if you use their affiliated in-house lender. What they don’t emphasize: their preferred lender may carry a higher interest rate that costs more over the life of your loan than the incentive is worth. Under RESPA, builders cannot require you to use their lender. The incentive is conditional, not mandatory.

The design center appointment is an expertly managed retail experience. You sit in a beautiful showroom and choose everything for your home — flooring, countertops, cabinets, fixtures — usually within 30 days of signing. The standard options look basic next to the upgraded displays. The upgrades are marked up significantly (often 100–300% above what you’d pay at retail or through a contractor after closing). And there’s psychological pressure to decide quickly.

New construction buyers often assume that because the home is brand new, it doesn’t need an inspection. This is one of the costliest assumptions in real estate. Builder quality control is imperfect — framing errors, insulation gaps, plumbing connection issues, electrical rough-in mistakes, and HVAC installation problems are common and frequently missed by municipal inspectors who are reviewing code compliance, not catching every defect.

Florida counties charge impact fees on new construction to fund infrastructure — roads, schools, parks, fire stations. These fees are often not mentioned prominently in builder advertising, and they can be substantial. In some Central Florida counties, impact fees on a single-family home range from $8,000 to $30,000+ and are typically paid by the buyer at closing — on top of your standard closing costs and down payment. When you factor in closing costs (typically 3% of purchase price) plus impact fees, your total cash to close can be $40,000–$60,000+ above the down payment on a $400,000 home.

Standard rate locks are 45–60 days — designed for resale transactions that close in 30–45 days. New construction timelines in Central Florida are currently running 9–12 months from contract to closing. If you lock your rate at contract signing, it expires long before your home is ready. If you wait until 60 days before closing, you absorb rate risk for the entire build period — and 2026 has shown that rates can move meaningfully in either direction over 9 months.

Builder contracts are written by builder attorneys, for builder interests. They typically include: (a) substantial earnest money requirements (often 3–5% of purchase price) that you can lose if you back out for reasons not covered by your contingencies; (b) construction delay clauses that extend timelines with no penalty to the builder, leaving you without a home if your lease expires; (c) change order provisions that can increase your final price; and (d) very limited buyer recourse if quality doesn’t meet expectations. Most buyers don’t have a real estate attorney review the contract. That’s a mistake when the contract is often 50+ pages.