Should You Use Your Own REALTOR®
When Buying New Construction?

The builder sales consultant, sometimes called an on-site agent or new home specialist, works for the builder. They present floor plans, explain base pricing and lot premiums, schedule design-center appointments, and coordinate your contract within that builder's system. In a well-run sales office, they are knowledgeable and genuinely helpful at explaining how that builder operates.

They are not your buyer's agent. Under Michigan agency law, they do not owe you the same fiduciary duties your REALTOR does. They cannot compare that builder's contract to a competitor's, tell you whether a resale home offers better value, or push back on their employer's standard contract language on your behalf. Their job is to convert registered prospects into signed contracts for that builder's inventory.

Registration matters. When you visit a model home and sign in, the builder records who introduced you. That record determines whether a buyer's agent can be paid, and sometimes whether you can bring an agent in at all. Rules vary: some builders register your agent on the first visit if they come with you; others require registration before any tour; some divisions across Metro Detroit have their own policies.

Sales consultants also present incentives: closing-cost credits, design-center allowances, rate buy-downs. A promotion can look generous while lot premiums or upgrade pricing shift the real numbers back toward the builder. Someone who reads contracts and compares communities every week sees the full picture differently than someone responsible for selling one subdivision.

For the bigger picture on how new construction compares to resale, read our new construction vs. resale guide. For the full buyer path, visit our New Construction Guide or start at our buyer hub.

Both professionals can be courteous, informed, and easy to work with. The difference is not personality. It is who they represent. Use this table when you are deciding whether to tour alone or bring your buyer's agent from the start.

Still have questions about agency at the model home? See our FAQ on builder site agents for a short answer, then return here for the full picture.

Builder purchase agreements in Michigan are builder-drafted, long documents with addenda covering contingencies, design specs, warranty references, and dispute resolution. They are not the same as a standard MLS resale contract. For a full walkthrough of deposit schedules, inspection rights, and builder-favorable clauses, read our Builder Contracts Explained guide.

We review the contract for deposit structure, cancellation windows, financing contingency language, and what happens if the home is not finished by your target closing date. Some builders allow amendments; others do not, but may offer credits when the right questions get asked at the right time.

Design-center selections belong in writing. Model homes show upgraded packages. The base contract often includes a different level of finishes than the home you toured. We help you map selections to the spec sheet, spot allowances, and flag items that should be structural line items, not surprise upgrades billed later.

Closing on new construction looks like a resale closing on the surface, sign documents, wire funds, get keys, but the details differ. Builder closing packets include warranty booklets, lien waivers, appliance registrations, and sometimes HOA documents for master-planned communities in Oakland and Washtenaw counties. We review the Closing Disclosure alongside the builder's final statement to confirm credits, upgrade charges, and lot premiums match what you signed.

The final walkthrough is your chance to verify punch-list items, test outlets, run water long enough to check drainage, and confirm appliance models match your selections. Do not skip it because the builder says the home is ready. Walk it with your agent the day before or the morning of closing when possible.

Property taxes on new construction in Michigan deserve a close look. Assessed values on never-before-occupied homes may not match resale comparables. We work with your title company on escrow setup and financing implications before you close.

You toured on a Sunday. You signed the registration tablet. You did not know to bring your agent first. You are not alone, and you may not be stuck.

Builder registration policies differ across Michigan divisions. Some allow adding an agent within a short window if no contract was signed. Others treat the first registrant as permanent. The only way to know is to call an experienced buyer's agent right away with the builder name, community, visit date, and sales consultant name if you have it.

Do not sign a purchase agreement while you wait for clarity. Deposits and spec-home contracts move fast in active subdivisions. Pausing one day to register your REALTOR costs far less than losing representation on a six-figure build. If you already signed, an agent may still help with inspections, walkthroughs, and closing review, but your strongest position is before contract execution.

Tell your REALTOR every builder you visited, including quick stop-ins in Novi, South Lyon, or Ypsilanti Township. Partial disclosure creates surprises when the builder pulls registration logs.

For most buyers building in Southeast Michigan, the answer is yes. Not because anything is wrong with the builder or the on-site team, but because two people can both be professional and courteous while serving different roles in the same transaction.

Builders invest in model homes, design centers, and sales teams because they want you to have a good experience building with them. That experience goes better when you also have someone whose job is to look out for your interests, from the first community comparison through closing and beyond.

The best time to bring an agent into the conversation is before your first model-home visit. If you already toured without one, reach out before you sign anything. In most builder transactions, representation costs you nothing extra when the builder pays cooperating broker compensation.

That is what this guide is here for. We want you to leave feeling informed, prepared, and confident, not pressured and not sold to.

Derica Wade is Associate Broker with Real Estate One and leads the Hearts to Homes Team from Plymouth, Michigan. She works with buyers and sellers across Wayne, Oakland, Washtenaw, and Livingston counties: including extensive new construction experience in Canton, Northville, Brighton, Saline, and surrounding Metro Detroit markets.

This guide is part of the Hearts to Homes Resource Center, written and reviewed by Derica based on transactions her team has actually closed. It is kept current; see the last reviewed date in the hero above.

Read Derica's full background · Get in touch