Read this before your first model-home visit

The guide explains how a new-construction purchase in the Treasure Valley works: how it differs from resale, who represents whom at the model home, the four documents every purchase runs on, how builder incentives work, the build timeline, and the walkthrough and first year. The kit is six working tools: a before-you-visit checklist, a builder research worksheet, an incentive review sheet, a four-documents checklist, a build timeline tracker, and a walkthrough and warranty checklist. Both are at no cost, and both are yours to use with any agent.

Four things: whether you want your own agent (and if so, that they contact the builder before you tour or come with you); a current pre-approval from a lender you chose; your must-haves and your payment ceiling, written down and kept to yourself; and the questions you want answered, including what is included in the base price, what allowances cover, the estimated completion date, any current incentive and what it's conditioned on, and who services the warranty. Tool 1 of the kit is this checklist.

Many builders ask at the sales desk or on a sign-in sheet whether you have an agent, and some attribute a buyer to whoever was on record at first contact. If you register as unrepresented and decide later that you want your own agent, some builders will decline to recognize that agent on your purchase. The policy varies by builder. The practical rule is to decide about representation before the first visit and to name your agent on the registration form at every community, every time.

The purchase agreement (the builder's contract: earnest money and when it becomes non-refundable, the completion date and what happens if it's missed, inspection rights, financing terms, dispute resolution); the specifications and selections (what the base price includes, item by item, and every allowance); the change-order terms (fees, markups, and the construction milestone after which changes are blocked or cost more); and the warranty (what is covered, for how long, who services it, and how a claim is made). Read all four before signing anything.

An allowance is a dollar amount the builder budgets in the base price for a category of selections, such as lighting or flooring. If your selections cost more than the allowance, the difference is a change order, usually at full retail plus a markup. Allowances are a frequent surprise because catalog pricing can run well past the allowance quickly. Ask what each allowance realistically covers before you sign.

A price reduction is worth its face value and persists for as long as you own the home. A design-center allowance or included upgrades are worth what those items would cost you from an independent installer, and only if you would have chosen them anyway. A rate buydown is worth more the longer you keep the loan, and a temporary buydown is worth nothing after it ends. For any incentive tied to the builder's lender, get a Loan Estimate from that lender and one from an independent lender for the same loan and term, and compare total cost over the years you expect to own the home. Tool 3 of the kit walks through each offer.

Early in a build, the completion date is a target, not a commitment. It becomes dependable enough to plan around once the structure is closed in (roof on, windows in) and the mechanical rough-in is complete; from there, what remains is mostly sequencing and finishes. Before that point, plan for the date to move, and read the contract clause that says what happens if it does.

One conversation with Jerod Lee, before your first builder visit, to complete Tool 1 of the kit together: representation settled, pre-approval in order, and the questions tuned to the communities you're looking at. You keep the plan either way. The guide and kit are at no cost whether or not you schedule it; the session is the personalized part, not a condition of the download.