I adore my mom. She’s sweet, independent, and always trying to “save me trouble.” But recently, she taught me — and now all of you — a lesson that every buyer needs to hear.

My mom decided she wanted to look at new construction. She didn’t want to “bother me” or have me get sales calls, so she drove over to the builder’s model home on her own. She walked in, chatted with the site rep, toured the models, and filled out the little registration card.

And here’s where everything went sideways.

She didn’t put me down as her Realtor.

Not because she didn’t want me — but because she thought she was doing me a favor. She figured, “I’m just looking. I’ll tell them about Erin later if I get serious.”

Except… that’s not how new construction works.

A few days later, she fell in love with a floor plan and decided she wanted to build. She called me, excited, ready to get started.

And that’s when I had to tell my own mother:

“Mom… you can’t use me as your agent anymore. You didn’t register me on your first visit.”

She was devastated. I was devastated. And the worst part?

The builder would have paid my commission — not her.   She didn’t save me a headache. She accidentally cost herself representation.

And I’ve been a full‑time broker for 30 years. Thirty years of negotiating, protecting clients, and navigating builder contracts — and my own mom couldn’t use me because of one tiny checkbox on a sign‑in sheet.

This is a huge, huge mistake that cannot be undone once it happens.

Builders are wonderful to work with — but they represent the builder, not you. If you walk in unrepresented, the builder’s rep is legally obligated to protect the builder’s interests, not yours.

And once you register without an agent, you cannot add one later. Not even your daughter who’s been a broker for three decades.

This is the part that hurts the most — because buyers have no idea how much they lose when they go in alone.

A strong buyer’s agent can negotiate:

• Closing cost contributions
• Rate buydowns
• Free or discounted upgrades
• Lot premium reductions
• Better timelines and build schedules
• Warranty enhancements
• Additional site work or exterior improvements
• More favorable contract terms
• Protection against price increases or material escalations

Builders rarely offer these things upfront — but they will negotiate them with an experienced agent who knows what’s reasonable.

My mom missed out on all of that.

If you’re thinking about new construction:

 If you visit a model home, sign in, or register online — just write down our name as your agent. It does NOT commit you to anything. 

Even if you’re “just looking.” Even if you don’t want to bother them. Even if you think you’ll decide later.

Because later might be too late.

And trust me — you don’t want to learn that lesson the way my mom did.