The 7-step path · process only
Buying New Construction in North Texas?
Start Here.
Whether you’re relocating to North Texas or already living in DFW, buying a newly constructed home is different from buying resale. Understand the builder process, protect your options, and know what to ask before visiting a model home.
The seven steps
Follow the order. Each step links to the chapter that covers it.
You don’t have to read the whole guide to get moving. These seven steps are the spine of it, in the order the process actually happens, each one pointing to the chapter that goes deep.
- 01
Get Your Budget and Financing Ready
Get a lender's pre-approval before you tour, so you know the home price you can actually carry. Build the monthly number from ownership costs, not just the mortgage: property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA fees, and MUD or PID district charges where the community has them. On a new build the tax picture deserves its own look, because a finished home can hit full appraised value in its first year.
- 02
Choose Your Buyer's Representative
Register your buyer's agent before your first visit to a builder's sales center. Builders generally recognize representation from first contact, and registering late can cost you independent representation in that transaction. An agent who closes new builds in North Texas regularly will review the builder's paperwork, walk the community for you, and keep the process on schedule.
- 03
Compare Builders and What the Base Price Includes
Builders don't all price the same house the same way. Compare what the base price includes: standard features and finishes, lot premiums, design center minimums, and where upgrades start adding real cost. The starting number is less important than the finished number you sign for.
- 04
Evaluate Builder Incentives
In the current market builders commonly package closing-cost assistance, financing incentives, and design center credits. The catch: the full package usually requires using the builder's preferred lender. Ask for the offer itemized in writing and compare it against your own financing before you choose.
- 05
Understand the Builder Contract
The builder's contract is its own form, and it usually has no option period. Know how your earnest money is held by the title company, how change orders adjust the price, what the completion date actually commits the builder to, what the written warranty covers, and when you can bring in your own inspector.
- 06
Plan Construction Inspections and Closing
Learn the milestones: site prep, slab, framing, pre-drywall, drywall, finishes, and the final walkthrough. The pre-drywall inspection is the one-time window when the mechanicals are still visible, and a third-party inspector works for you, not the builder. Treat the builder's schedule as a schedule, not a promise, and decide up front whether you will close remotely or in person.
- 07
Prepare for Your Move
The last step is the move itself: utilities, the mover, address and registration changes, and closing logistics. If you are buying before you move, the 60 to 90 day checklist keeps the house and the moving truck on the same calendar, and the remote buying protocol covers video walkthroughs, inspections, and signing from another state.
Prefer to read straight through? The full guide runs 24 chapters in order, and the process page maps the five phases of the build itself.
Your next step
Talk it through with a broker before you tour.
Thirty minutes with Theresa De La Rosa on the phone or video. Bring your timeline and your questions, and walk out with a clear next step for your move.