Build smart
New Construction in Dallas
Roughly a third of Dallas-area buyers end up in a new home. The sales counselor in the model home works for the builder — this is how you protect yourself.
Register Tommy Before You TourWatch first
What builders won't tell you in the model home
The playbook
Six rules for buying new in Dallas
Register Tommy on your first visit
Builders pay the buyer's agent, but only if you're registered before you walk in. Show up alone once and you can lose representation for that community permanently.
Price is rarely where the deal is
Builders protect base price to defend comps. The real money is in rate buydowns, closing costs, design center credits and finished lot premiums.
Inventory homes beat build-to-order right now
Standing inventory carries the biggest incentives because it's already costing the builder money.
Always get independent inspections
Third-party inspections at foundation, pre-drywall and final. The builder's warranty is not a substitute for your own eyes.
Read the MUD/PID disclosure
New community tax rates can run a full point higher than the established suburb next door. That changes your monthly payment more than the rate does.
Check the phase map before you pick a lot
Know what's going behind you. A field today can be an amenity center, a school or a six-lane arterial in three years.
Take this with you
The Model Home Playbook
Print it, screenshot it, or just work through it on your phone in the parking lot. Do these three things before you sign anything in a model home.
- 1
Get prequalified before you tour
Builders take you seriously — and negotiate differently — when you walk in with a lender letter. It also keeps you from falling for a home that doesn't fit the payment.
- 2
Register me as your agent at the door
Sign in with Tommy Wooten, eXp Realty, 972.746.9360 on your very first visit. It costs you nothing, the builder pays it, and it's the only way I can negotiate on your behalf in that community.
- 3
Never negotiate alone in the model
The sales counselor is a licensed representative of the builder. Tour, ask questions, take notes — then send me what you found before you sign or put money down.
Four answers to bring back to me
Ask the sales counselor these before you leave. Write the answers down — they decide whether the home is actually a deal.
- How much earnest money is required, and is any of it refundable?
- What are the HOA dues, and what do they actually cover?
- Is this community in a MUD or PID, and what does that add to the tax rate?
- What's the realistic build timeline, and what happens if it slips?
Takes 15 minutes. Do it before your first model-home visit and your representation is protected in that community.