North of 380
Before your first model home

Who represents you inside the model home?

The person who greets you works for the builder. That is their job, not a criticism. But it means the one line that decides whether anyone in that room is on your side is a line you have to fill in, on a card, before you tour the first house.

What changed on January 1

Texas Senate Bill 1968 took effect at the start of 2026 and reworked how buyer representation functions in this state.

Two things worth knowing

Subagency was repealed. The old arrangement, where an agent could work alongside a buyer while legally representing the seller, no longer exists. An agent either represents you in writing or they do not represent you.

Representation now requires a written agreement, signed before a home is shown. Not a handshake in a driveway. Not a name jotted down after the fact.

There is also a detail most buyers never hear. Under the Texas Occupations Code, a builder's own employee may be exempt from real estate licensing entirely. The friendly person with the floor plans and the clipboard may hold no license, and owes you no duty of loyalty, disclosure, or confidentiality.

The registration card is the whole thing

Everything else is paperwork. This is the moment that decides it.

  1. 01

    You sign in

    Every production builder hands you a registration card at the door. Somewhere on it is a line for your agent's name.

  2. 02

    What you write there sticks

    Leave it blank and the builder's sales team is the only representation in the room. Bring an agent back next Saturday and most builders will not add them. The card was filled out. That is the record.

  3. 03

    Writing a name costs you nothing

    It does not raise your price and it does not reduce your negotiating room. The builder budgets for a buyer's agent commission whether or not you use one. If you skip it, the builder keeps it.

Write our name and we pay for your inspections

A new house is not an inspected house. The municipal inspector confirms code compliance. The superintendent works for the builder. Neither one is looking out for you, and neither one hands you a report.

Register North Realty Group on the card and we cover all three inspections on your build, at our cost.

  • Pre-drywallBefore the walls closeFraming, plumbing rough-in, electrical, mechanical. The only chance anyone gets to look at the bones. Once it is sheetrocked, it is gone.
  • Final walkBefore you fundA full inspection while you still have leverage, so the punch list is a document and not a conversation.
  • Month 11Before the warranty expiresMost builders carry a one-year workmanship warranty. Most buyers forget. We book the inspector and put it on your calendar so you use the coverage you already paid for.

Inspections performed by an independent TREC licensed inspector of our choosing, on new construction purchases where North Realty Group is named on the builder's registration card at your first visit and a written buyer representation agreement is in place.

Get the Model Home Kit

Our contact card for your phone, the exact line to write, and what we know about the communities you are considering. Takes about twenty seconds.

By submitting you agree we may contact you about new construction in North Texas. No obligation, and nothing here creates an agency relationship. Representation begins only with a signed written agreement.