New-construction buying checklist: contract to keys

Phase 1 - Before you sign anything

• Get represented (it's free to you in most new builds). Texas law now requires a written agreement before an agent can show you homes. Review the agreement and the TREC Information About Brokerage Services before signing - and remember broker fees are negotiable and not set by law.
• Get pre-approved before you shop. Builder incentives are often tied to their preferred lender - compare that offer against your own lender's numbers, not just the sticker incentive.
• Know which contract you'll sign. Being built = TREC New Home Contract, Incomplete Construction (23-20). Already finished = Completed Construction (24-20). New for 2026 Both got new mandatory editions on July 1, 2026.
• Talk compensation up front. New for 2026 Paragraph 12B now spells out brokerage compensation inside the contract - including whether the seller contributes to your broker's fee. No more assumptions; it's in writing.

Phase 2 - Signing the contract

• Read every addendum, not just the contract. A typical Bell County new-build packet includes the financing addendum, the HOA addendum, and builder notices (expansive soils, community fees, selections/work orders).
• Deliver earnest money and any option fee on time - and get a receipt. Deadlines are counted in days after the effective date. New for 2026 "Legal Holiday" is now a defined list in the contract, so you know exactly when a deadline rolls to the next business day.
• HOA addendum: get the subdivision information. Restrictions, dues, transfer fees. New for 2026 If you order the subdivision documents yourself, you're no longer obligated to share them with the seller.
• Water rights disclosure. New for 2026 Sellers must now address groundwater and surface water rights on a dedicated disclosure (TREC 61-0). In Bell County you may also receive a groundwater conservation district notice (for example, Clearwater Underground Water Conservation District).
• Ask about the land's tax history - rollback taxes. Many new subdivisions sit on former ranch land taxed under an agricultural or wildlife-management valuation. Changing the use can trigger extra taxes, penalties, and interest. Paragraph 13.B: whoever changes the use pays - make sure any assessments from the seller's change of use are settled by the seller, not surprise-billed to you.
• New disclosure items to look for. New for 2026 Seller disclosures now cover insurance claim history, private roads you'd have to maintain, aboveground storage tanks (propane and fuel tanks are common on former ag land), and conservation easements that limit how the property can be used. Builders of never-lived-in homes are often exempt from the standard notice - ask whether they'll complete the new Property Condition Statement (TXR 1421) instead.
• Check the insulation spec in the contract (Paragraph 7.G). New-home contracts disclose insulation material, thickness, and R-value per area. Compare it against what the builder promised - before you sign.
• Mineral and other reservations. If the seller keeps oil, gas, water, or timber rights, it must be in an attached addendum - read what stays with the land.

Phase 3 - Money and title

• Confirm the title company received your earnest money. Keep the receipt with your records.
• Verify wire instructions by phone - every time. Wire fraud targets homebuyers. Call the title company at a number you found independently before sending any money, and be suspicious of "updated" instructions by email.
• Review the title commitment. You'll receive it within the deadline in Paragraph 6. Look at Schedule B exceptions - easements, restrictions, mineral reservations - and ask questions about anything you don't understand. You have a window to object.
• Survey. New construction usually means a new survey - confirm who orders and pays for it (it's a checkbox in the contract).
• HOA certificate/resale package received and reviewed.

Phase 4 - While it's being built

• Make your selections by the deadline. Incomplete-construction contracts give you a set number of days after builder notice to make finish selections - miss it and the builder chooses.
• Every change gets a signed amendment. Price adjustments, name corrections, completion dates - if it changed, it goes on the Amendment to Contract form with both signatures. Verbal promises don't count.
• Keep your lender synced with the build timeline. Rate locks expire; completion dates move. Ask the builder for schedule updates and pass them to your lender.
• Visit at key stages if allowed. Pre-drywall is the most valuable look you'll ever get at your home's bones.

Phase 5 - Final walkthrough

• Do the walkthrough before closing day, not on it. Leave time for fixes.
• Test everything. Every door, window, faucet, toilet, outlet, appliance, the HVAC in both modes, and the garage doors. Run water long enough to check drains.
• Blue-tape every defect and get it on the form. The Buyer's Walk-Through, Confirmation and Acceptance form documents the home's condition. Unfinished punch-list items should be listed in writing with a completion commitment.
• Consider an independent inspection. Yes, even on a brand-new home - inspectors regularly find items the city inspection missed.

Phase 6 - Closing day

• Review your settlement statement line by line before you arrive. Sales price, credits and incentives, prorated taxes (see rollback taxes above), HOA fees, lender charges. Ask about any number you don't recognize.
• Bring ID and verified-by-phone wire arrangements for your cash to close.
• You'll sign a disbursement authorization - it tells the title company where every dollar goes. Read it.
• Expect the consumer notices. The TREC Consumer Protection Notice and the general information notice to buyers are standard - they explain your protections, not new obligations.

Phase 7 - After you get the keys

• Read and register your builder warranty. Typical structure: 1-year workmanship, 2-year systems, 10-year structural. Claim procedures are specific - follow them in writing. Note: most builder warranties require arbitration for disputes, and a warranty request is separate from the formal notice required by the Texas Residential Construction Liability Act.
• Care for your foundation - Central Texas clay moves. The expansive soils notice you signed is real advice: keep moisture around the slab consistent (soaker hoses in drought), and keep drainage flowing away from the house.
• File your homestead exemption. It lowers your property taxes and caps annual appraisal increases - file with the county appraisal district after you move in; it's free.
• Keep the whole executed packet. Contract, amendments, walkthrough form, warranty, settlement statement - you'll want them for taxes, warranty claims, and resale.

Educational content, not legal advice. Forms referenced are promulgated by TREC or Texas REALTORS® and change over time; before entering any agreement, review it fully along with the Information About Brokerage Services, and consider consulting an attorney. Brokerage services by Bison Creek Real Estate.