The Utah new construction guide
Understanding builder contracts in Utah.
Here is the fact almost no first-time new construction buyer knows going in: the paper you sign for a new build is usually not the standard Utah real estate contract your friends used on their resale. Most production and national builders hand you their own purchase agreement, written by their attorneys, for their benefit. The buyer protections you take for granted in a resale, like a clean due-diligence right to cancel, may be missing or written differently. This page walks that contract clause by clause, shows what each one commonly does, and tells you exactly what to have an attorney read before you sign.
This is the contract itself. For what you can actually change on a build, see negotiating with builders, and the full path lives on the new construction hub.
On this page
Not the REPC you know
The contract for a new build is a different animal, on purpose.
When you buy a resale home in Utah, you and the seller work off the state's standard Real Estate Purchase Contract, the REPC, which was designed to sit fairly between buyer and seller and gives you a due-diligence window to inspect and cancel. New construction usually does not work that way. Most production and national builders present their own purchase agreement, drafted by the builder's attorneys to protect the builder. It is a take-it-or-leave-it document far more often than a resale contract is, and the everyday protections you would lean on in a resale can be narrowed, moved, or absent.
That is not a reason to avoid new construction. It is a reason to read the contract like it matters, because it does. The one question this page answers is simple: before you sign this builder's contract, what is actually in it, and what should an attorney look at? I will never tell you what any specific builder's contract says, because they differ and they change. What I can do is show you the clauses that show up again and again, what each one commonly does, and the exact questions to carry into an attorney's office. Read on with a pen. The point is not to scare you off a home you want. It is to make sure you sign with your eyes open.
Earnest money on a build
Your deposit is bigger, and it stops being refundable sooner.
Earnest money on a new build tends to behave differently than on a resale, and it usually behaves in the builder's favor. Two patterns come up over and over. First, the deposit is often larger than what a resale buyer puts down, because in the builder's view a bigger deposit means a more committed buyer who is less likely to walk while a home is being built to their selections. Second, that deposit commonly becomes non-refundable earlier than a resale buyer would expect, sometimes after a short initial period and sometimes almost immediately for the money tied to upgrades.
That upgrade piece surprises people. When you sit at the design center and pick finishes, cabinets, flooring, and options, the builder frequently asks for a deposit against those choices, and money put toward custom selections is often non-refundable from the moment you commit, because the builder is ordering materials and scheduling trades around your picks. So the real question is never just how much earnest money you are putting down. It is when each dollar stops being refundable, and under exactly what conditions you can still cancel and get any of it back. In a resale you would lean on the due-diligence window as your clean exit. A builder contract may not hand you that same window, which is the whole reason to read this clause slowly and ask an attorney to confirm what you are reading.
The clauses, one by one
The clauses that decide how much risk you actually carry.
These are the provisions that come up in most builder contracts. The middle column is what these clauses commonly do, framed generally, because every builder writes them their own way. The right column is the question to carry into your attorney's review. Do not assume your contract matches the pattern. Ask about yours.
| Contract clause | What builder contracts commonly do | What to ask about yours |
|---|---|---|
| Earnest money and deposits | Ask for a larger deposit than a resale, and make it non-refundable after early deadlines, with upgrade money often non-refundable right away. | When exactly does each part of my deposit stop being refundable, and how much more is due when I select options? |
| Change orders and selections | Set how options are priced, when your selections lock, and whether you can change or cancel an order once it is placed. | When do my selections lock, what does a change cost after that, and can either of us cancel an order? |
| Completion date | Give an estimated rather than a guaranteed finish date, with delay language that protects the builder and limits what you can claim if the home runs late. | Is this date estimated or guaranteed, what happens if it slips, and does a long delay ever let me cancel? |
| Builder's right to modify | Reserve the right to substitute materials or change specifications, commonly for items of equal or better quality, without it counting as a default. | What can the builder swap without my approval, and how is equal or better quality actually decided? |
| Financing and appraisal | Handle financing and appraisal contingencies differently than a resale, sometimes with fewer protections if your loan or the appraisal falls short. | What are my rights if my loan does not close or the home does not appraise, and how do they differ from a resale? |
| Warranty | Spell out what the builder warranty covers and for how long, often on a tiered schedule, plus how you must report and resolve a claim. | What is covered in year one versus later years, and what is the exact process, including any arbitration clause? |
What an attorney should read
The spine of this whole page: get a lawyer on the paper.
This is a contract an attorney should read before you sign, full stop. Utah does not require a lawyer to close, so no one in the sales office is obligated to explain the fine print to you. The review costs little next to the price of the home. Here is what to have the attorney focus on, and the questions to hand them.
Your deposit and your exits
Have the attorney mark every point where your money stops being refundable and every condition that lets you cancel, or shows that you cannot. In a resale you lean on the due-diligence window to walk away. A builder contract may not give you that same clean exit, and knowing where you actually stand is the first thing to settle before you sign.
The completion and delay terms
Ask them to read the completion-date language closely. Is the date estimated or guaranteed? What remedies, if any, do you get if the build runs long? Does a long enough delay ever let you cancel and recover your deposit? Delay clauses are usually written to protect the builder, so you want to know exactly what you can and cannot hold them to.
What the builder can change
Point them at the substitution and specification clauses. Ask what the builder can change without your sign-off, how equal or better quality gets judged, and what is documented as included versus a paid upgrade. Getting your option list attached and specific in writing is worth the attorney's time and can save an argument at walkthrough.
The warranty and the fine print
Ask what the builder warranty actually covers and for how long. Many new homes carry tiered coverage, commonly around one year on workmanship, two years on major systems, and up to ten years on major structural defects. Have the attorney confirm the claim process, any binding arbitration clause, and how disputes get handled.
The pre-signing sequence
Read, question, review, negotiate, then sign.
Do these in order. The mistake is signing first and reading later, when the deposit is already at risk. Slow the front end down and the rest of the build goes easier.
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Read the entire contract yourself, slowly
Do not skim. Read every page, including the exhibits, the option addenda, and the warranty booklet. Write down anything you do not understand or that reads one-sided. The sales office may tell you it is all standard, and it may well be, but standard for the builder is not the same as fair to you.
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Write your questions before anyone is in the room
Turn what you flagged into a plain list of questions. When does my deposit become non-refundable? What can be substituted? What if the home is late? A written list keeps you from being talked past a concern in a friendly sales conversation.
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Have a real estate attorney review it
This is the step that protects you. A Utah real estate attorney can tell you where your money is at risk, what the builder can change, and what happens if the build slips. Utah closings do not require a lawyer, so this one is on you to arrange, and it is the best small money you will spend on the deal.
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Ask what can actually be negotiated
Builder contracts are more take-it-or-leave-it than resale, but the room is rarely zero, and it usually shows up in incentives and terms more than in the contract language itself. Know where the give is before you push. Negotiating with builders.
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Sign only when your questions are answered
Every item on your list should have a clear answer you are comfortable with, in writing where it matters, before you sign. If something is still fuzzy, that is a reason to wait, not a reason to trust that it will work out.
Your agent vs. the sales office
The friendly person in the model home works for the builder.
You can and should have your own agent when you buy new construction, and the timing matters more than most buyers realize. The person at the desk in the model home is the builder's sales representative. They may be genuinely helpful and pleasant to work with, but their duty runs to the builder, not to you. Their job is to sell the builder's homes on the builder's terms. Your own buyer's agent, by contrast, owes their duty to you, and can help you read the contract, time your deadlines, and weigh what you are being asked to sign.
Here is the catch that costs people representation: at many builders, if you tour the model or register your information on that first visit without naming your agent, the builder logs you as unrepresented and will not add an agent to your file later. So the move is to bring your agent, or at least name them, from the very first visit, before you sign anything or hand over contact details. In most cases the builder compensates the buyer's agent, so having your own representation does not add cost to you. If you are in Southern Utah I can be that agent. Anywhere else in Utah, I will connect you with a partner agent I trust and stay involved. Either way, do not walk into a sales office alone on visit one and give up a protection you cannot get back.
The what-if scenarios
The edge cases that catch buyers off guard.
What if the builder blows past the completion date? This is the most common one. Because most builder contracts give an estimated rather than a guaranteed finish date, a build that runs weeks or months long is often not a breach at all under the contract you signed. Your rate lock can expire, your lease can end, and your moving plans can unravel while the contract still protects the builder's timeline more than yours. This is exactly why you read the delay language before signing and ask your attorney what remedies, if any, you have. Sometimes the answer is very few, and it is far better to know that going in than to discover it while living in a hotel.
What if the delivered home does not match the model? The model home is a sales tool, and it is usually loaded with upgrades, premium finishes, and options that are not in the base price. The home you are buying is defined by your contract, your plans, and your signed selections, not by what you walked through on the tour. Get your included features and your options documented specifically in writing, and lean on the builder's right-to-modify clause understanding that substitutions of equal or better quality are often allowed. If a particular finish or feature is a deal-maker for you, it belongs in the contract in writing, not in your memory of the model.
What if you want to cancel after you have made selections? This is where the deposit structure bites. Once you have chosen options and the builder has begun ordering materials and scheduling trades around them, the money tied to those selections is commonly non-refundable, and depending on the contract your base earnest money may be at risk too. Canceling a resale during due diligence is usually clean. Canceling a build after selections often is not. Before you commit to finishes, know precisely what you would lose if life changed and you had to walk. If your situation is genuinely uncertain, that uncertainty is worth raising with your attorney before you sign, not after.
Working through it with me
Attorney for the paper, me for the market.
Let me be clear about my lane. This contract deserves a real estate attorney, and I will tell you that every time. What I bring is the market read and the deal sense around it, plus a financing view most agents do not have.
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Twenty years in Southern Utah. I have watched buyers across Iron and Washington counties sign builder contracts, and I know which clauses cause the most heartburn later. I will flag what to slow down on, then make sure it gets to an attorney for the legal read.
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Agent and lender, one picture. I am licensed in both. On a build that matters, because the financing and appraisal terms in a builder contract read differently than a resale, and if the builder is steering you to their lender you deserve to compare full Loan Estimates. I take one role on your deal and never both at once.
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Attorney first, always. I am not your lawyer, and I will not pretend to be. My job is to help you understand the market and the deal, and to make sure a real estate attorney reads the paper before your name is on it.
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Statewide, told straight. In Southern Utah I am your agent. Anywhere else in Utah, I connect you with a vetted partner agent I trust in your area and stay involved through the build.
Questions, answered
What buyers ask about builder contracts.
Often they do not. Many production and national builders use their own purchase agreement, written by their attorneys rather than the standard state form most resale buyers know. Those contracts are built to protect the builder, and protections you may expect from a resale, like a clean due-diligence right to cancel, can be absent or written differently. That is why reading it closely and having an attorney review it matters more on a new build, not less.
It depends entirely on your contract, and often less than on a resale. Builder contracts commonly ask for a larger deposit and make it non-refundable after early deadlines, and money you put toward upgrades can be non-refundable right away because the builder orders materials around your choices. Ask exactly when each part of your deposit stops being refundable and under what conditions you can still cancel, and have an attorney confirm it before you sign.
Yes. This is the single most important step on this page. A builder contract is a long document written by the builder's attorneys, and Utah does not require an attorney to close, so no one is obligated to explain it to you. A real estate attorney can tell you where your money is at risk, what the builder can change, and what happens if the home is late. The review cost is small next to the price of the home.
Commonly yes, within limits the contract spells out. Many builder agreements reserve the right to substitute materials, often for items of equal or better quality, and give an estimated rather than guaranteed completion date with delay language that favors the builder. Read those clauses before you sign and ask your attorney what you can and cannot hold the builder to.
Yes, and bring them from the first visit. The sales office represents the builder, not you, no matter how helpful they are. Your own buyer's agent owes their duty to you, can help you read the contract and track your deadlines, and in most cases is paid without adding cost to you. Registering at the model home without naming your agent can cost you the right to representation, so loop them in before you tour.
It varies by builder, so read yours. Many new homes carry a tiered warranty, commonly around one year on workmanship and finishes, two years on major systems like plumbing and electrical, and up to ten years on major structural defects. Your contract and warranty booklet define exactly what is covered, how to file a claim, and whether disputes go to arbitration. Have an attorney confirm the details before you sign.
Bring a written list. Ask when your deposit becomes non-refundable, when your selections lock and what changes cost after that, whether the completion date is estimated or guaranteed and what happens if it slips, what the builder can substitute without your approval, how the financing and appraisal contingencies work, and what the warranty covers. Then have a real estate attorney answer anything you are unsure about before your name goes on the paper.
Keep exploring
Looking at a build and not sure what you are about to sign?
I am Scott Buehler, and I have helped people across Southern Utah buy new construction with a clear head about the contract in front of them. I am not your attorney, and this paper deserves one, but I can help you understand the market, the deal, and the questions to bring, and make sure a real estate attorney sees it before you sign. Tell me the community and builder and where you are in the process. No cost, and no pressure.
Not in Southern Utah? I will connect you with a partner agent I trust in your area, and stay involved through the build.