New homes near Disney World: the builder registration rule

If you want your own agent when you buy a new home near Disney World, bring them in before you contact the builder. Many builders publish rules that recognize a buyer's agent only if the agent is registered, or with you, at your first visit or first contact. At some builders, a website inquiry or a talk with the online sales team counts as that first contact.

Why does the first contact matter?

Builders track how each buyer first reached them. Several builders' published policies say that if your first inquiry, visit or tour happens without your agent, they won't recognize that agent later under their broker program. You can still hire an agent, but the builder may not work with them the way you expected.

Lennar and KB Home both say on their own sites that you don't need an agent to buy from them. The rules below only matter if you want one.

What do builders actually publish?

Here is what each builder's own page said when I checked it. Policies change and often vary by community, so treat this as a starting point.

Lennar. Its Broker Participation Policy says the buyer must name and register their agent at whichever comes first: first contact with a Lennar employee, first conversation with its internet sales team, first community visit, or first self-guided or virtual tour. The agent must also go along on the first visit or first self-guided tour. If Lennar's records show an earlier inquiry without the agent, the policy says no commission is paid on a sale to that buyer in any Lennar community. Booking an appointment on Lennar's website isn't a registration, a registration lasts 60 days, and not every community pays a commission.

KB Home. Its agents page says the agent must come with the client on the first visit, confirm at that visit that a written buyer-broker agreement has been signed, and share the commission details. A signed copy of that agreement is due at the sales contract, and the buyer must contract within 60 days.

Toll Brothers. The agent must complete an electronic registration at the client's first visit to each specific community. If a Toll Brothers sales representative registered the client on an earlier visit, the agent can't earn a commission on that sale. Registration is protected for 90 days and can be renewed before it runs out. Toll Brothers says programs vary by community.

Taylor Morrison. Its agents page says the agent, the buyer and Taylor Morrison must sign a community-specific broker referral agreement at the buyer's first visit to that community, and before any purchase agreement. A buyer may not qualify after a prior visit to the sales office, a prior registration at that community, or any other sign that they weren't represented. Pre-registering a client through the website doesn't count as registration by itself.

M/I Homes. Its Orlando page says going with the buyer on the first visit gives the agent a 60-day protected registration. The agent must also attend the entire purchase contract and hold a Florida license at closing.

D.R. Horton. Terms are posted by division. A Southeast Florida division page says the agent must go with the client on the first visit, or pre-register the client by phone or email before it, and the client must not have already registered on the D.R. Horton website or talked with its sales agent. I didn't find published terms for D.R. Horton's Central Florida communities, so ask the sales office.

Meritage Homes. Its agents page ties any commission to a Broker Registration and Commission Addendum, which the agent must deliver within 24 hours after the buyer signs the purchase contract. Meritage's buyer page encourages having an agent from the first look through the final signature.

How do you line it up?

1. Choose your agent first. Do it before you fill out a builder's contact form, call or chat with a sales office, or walk into a model home.
2. Follow that builder's method. Depending on the builder, your agent registers you ahead of time, comes with you on the first visit, or both.
3. Ask for the current written policy. Each builder, and often each community, sets its own terms, and they change.
4. Keep a copy. Save the registration or agreement your agent signs with the builder.

Tyler's note: [one or two sentences only Tyler can add, e.g. what he sees with clients]

What else should you check in a new community?

New communities can carry HOA fees, and some carry CDD assessments, which change the true monthly cost. Read the HOA and CDD fee guide before you compare prices.

Where do you start?

Browse new homes near Disney World to see what's being built, then call me before you reach out to any builder. I'll check that builder's current policy and handle registration the way it asks, starting with your first visit.