What Is in a Texas Builder Contract

Q: Do Texas builders use the TREC contract?

Generally no. The promulgated TREC form governs resale transactions. Builders typically use their own purchase agreement drafted for their own sales process.

Q: Can I have an attorney review a builder contract?

Yes. For a document of this size and duration many buyers do. Build the review time into your schedule rather than discovering you need it on signing day.

A builder contract is the purchase agreement a home builder drafts for its own new construction sales. It replaces the form promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission that governs resale transactions. Because the builder writes it, it is organised around the builder's process rather than around a resale timeline, and it contains categories of provision that have no equivalent in a resale contract at all.

This page explains what those categories are and, for each one, who is actually in a position to answer questions about it. It does not interpret contract language. Reading a specific provision and advising on its legal effect is work for a Texas attorney.

Key facts

Texas resale purchases use a contract form promulgated by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Builder purchases generally do not.
A builder contract is drafted by the seller's side, so it allocates risk the way any seller's document does.
It typically bundles several documents: the purchase agreement itself, plan and specification exhibits, a selections or options addendum, a limited warranty document, and community governing documents.
Provisions with no resale equivalent include structural selection deadlines, change order procedure, allowance reconciliation, and construction-stage access.
A real estate agent may explain what a category of provision does. Interpreting the language of a specific contract is legal work.
Since January 1, 2026, Texas SB 1968 requires a license holder to have a written agreement with a buyer before showing residential property.

Why the resale instinct misleads here

Experienced Texas buyers arrive at a builder contract with expectations built on the promulgated form: a defined option period, a familiar financing addendum, an inspection framework, an amendment process everyone knows. Those expectations are reasonable and mostly wrong.

None of this makes builder contracts improper. They are commercial documents, and a company selling several hundred homes a year has sound reasons to use one document rather than negotiate several hundred.

The risk is not that the contract is unfair. It is that it is unfamiliar, and buyers read unfamiliar documents at the speed of familiar ones.

The eleven categories, and who answers questions about each

A builder contract can be read as a set of categories. Knowing which category a question belongs to tells you who can answer it. Most of the trouble buyers run into comes from asking the right question of the wrong person.

1. Purchase and price

What it governs. The base price, what the base includes, and whether and how price can change after signing.

Who to ask. The builder for the terms. An attorney for what the language permits.

2. Deposit and default

What it governs. What is paid, when, in how many parts, and what happens to it if either side does not perform.

Who to ask. The builder for the schedule. An attorney for the default provisions.

3. Plans and specifications

What it governs. What is actually being built, described by exhibit rather than by the model home you toured.

Who to ask. The builder. Ask for the exhibit set in writing.

4. Selections and allowances

What it governs. Which choices are yours, when each category locks, and how allowance overages and credits are reconciled.

Who to ask. The builder and the design center.

5. Change orders

What it governs. Whether changes are permitted after a category closes, what charge applies, and whether a change affects the schedule.

Who to ask. The builder.

6. Completion and delay

What it governs. How a completion date is characterised, what delays are excused, and what remedy attaches to a missed date.

Who to ask. An attorney.

7. Financing

What it governs. Approval requirements, timing, and any conditions attached to advertised incentives.

Who to ask. Your lender. The builder for incentive conditions.

8. Warranty

What it governs. Tier structure, administration, claim procedure, notice requirements, and transferability.

Who to ask. The warranty administrator named in the document.

9. Access during construction

What it governs. Whether and when a buyer or a buyer's inspector may enter the site.

Who to ask. The builder.

10. Community documents

What it governs. Association obligations, restrictions, and any district assessments attaching to the lot.

Who to ask. The association and county records.

11. Dispute resolution

What it governs. Whether disputes go to arbitration or court, in what forum, and at whose cost.

Who to ask. An attorney.

What the contract is not

Three things buyers frequently treat as part of the contract are not part of it.

The model home is not the specification

A model home is a marketing asset. It is typically fully upgraded and sited on one of the better lots in the section. The plan and specification exhibits describe what you are buying. Ask for the exhibit set, in writing, and read it against what you remember touring.

The registration policy is not in the contract

Whether a buyer's agent is recognised is set by the builder's own policy, not by the purchase agreement, and it usually turns on when the agent first appeared. See who represents you at a Texas model home.

District assessments are not builder terms

Municipal utility district and public improvement district assessments attach to the platted lot. They do not change if you change builders inside the same community. The verified per-community breakdown is in the DFW community district lookup.

Buyer representation and SB 1968

Texas SB 1968 took effect on January 1, 2026. It amends the Texas Real Estate License Act, repeals subagency, and requires a license holder to have a written agreement with a prospective buyer before showing residential property or making an offer on the buyer's behalf. It preserves a narrow no-representation showing path, where no agreement exists and the license holder offers no advice or opinion about the property.

Buyer agent compensation is negotiable and must be stated in the written agreement. In DFW new construction it is commonly addressed by the builder, subject to that builder's registration policy, but the terms belong in writing for the specific community rather than assumed.

Questions buyers ask

Do Texas builders use the TREC contract?

Generally no. The promulgated TREC form governs resale. Builders typically use their own purchase agreement.

Can a real estate agent explain a builder contract to me?

An agent can explain what a category of provision does and what questions it raises. Interpreting the specific language, or advising on its legal effect, is work for a Texas attorney.

Is there an option period in a builder contract?

Not in the form Texas resale buyers expect. Builder contracts handle inspection, termination, and default through their own provisions, and those differ by builder.

What documents come with the purchase agreement?

Commonly plan and specification exhibits, a selections or options addendum, a limited warranty document, and community governing documents. Ask for the complete set rather than the signature pages.

When do my selections lock?

Structural selections generally close well before finish selections, so there is rarely one deadline. The schedule is set by the builder and stated in the selections addendum.

Can I have an attorney review a builder contract?

Yes, and for a document of this size and duration many buyers do. Build the review time into your schedule rather than discovering you need it on signing day.

Who pays my agent in a new construction purchase?

Compensation is negotiable and is set out in the written buyer representation agreement. In most DFW new construction transactions it is addressed by the builder, subject to the builder's registration policy. Confirm the terms for the specific community before you tour.

About the author

Nitin Gupta, Broker Associate, Competitive Edge Realty LLC. CRS, GRI, CLHMS, ALHS, PSA, ABR, SRS, SRES, e-PRO, MRP, TRLS, TRPM. TREC License #0668540. More than 480 closed transactions and more than 300 new construction closings across 50 or more DFW builders. Named D Magazine Best REALTOR in 2020, 2023, and 2024. Service in English, Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu, and Gujarati. Designations held and what each one covers.

Talk through the contract in front of you before you sign it

If you have a builder contract in hand, or you are about to visit a community and want to know what you will be handed, get in touch or call 469-269-6541.

This page is general information about categories of provision commonly found in Texas builder contracts. It is not legal advice and does not interpret any specific contract. Consult a licensed Texas attorney regarding the terms of a document you are asked to sign.