Choose what you want to improve.
Write down your main objective before discussing concessions: a lower purchase price, less cash due at closing, a manageable ongoing payment, an included feature or a clearer term. Rank the alternatives. A benefit that looks large on paper may not solve the problem you actually have.
- Name your first request and the alternatives you would consider.
- Set your budget and required terms using your own circumstances.
- Keep enough time to review a counteroffer before its stated deadline.
Build a file around this particular home.
Use the dated price sheet, specifications and written incentive terms for the actual lot. If another home or offer informs your request, record the differences that matter: plan, location, included options, completion timing and conditions. A builder’s retail option price is not proof of its cost or of a feature’s value to you.
- Save the exact offer and date you are comparing.
- Separate documented differences from guesses about the builder’s motivation.
- Use a competing Loan Estimate when asking about financing terms.
Send one request someone can answer.
Use a simple structure: identify the home, state the change, explain the evidence, and ask for a written response. For example: “For this lot and the attached specifications, will you reduce the lot premium? If that is unavailable, what closing-cost assistance could you offer, and under what conditions?”
- Name the specific amount, line item or term you want changed.
- Ask who can approve the request and when you can expect a response.
- Do not describe a requested concession as an agreed discount.
Check how much of the concession you can use.
A closing credit is not the same as cash in your pocket. Loan-program rules can limit seller contributions and their use; Fannie Mae’s rules are one program-specific example. Have your lender confirm the permitted amount and treatment for your loan before accepting a package.
- Ask whether credits are alternatives or can actually be combined.
- Confirm eligible costs and what happens to an unused amount.
- Compare the credit with any required points, fees, lender choice or price change.
Carry the agreement through to the documents.
Keep the approved change with the purchase agreement and have the lender and closing professional confirm how it will appear at closing. Review any new conditions introduced in the counteroffer. Buying without an agent does not itself establish a discount, rebate or right to a builder’s unspent commission budget.
- Obtain the signed amendment or other applicable written agreement.
- Check that home, amount, deadline and financing conditions match your understanding.
- Reconcile the agreed credit or price with the final closing documents.
Review your documents in Settle.
Nora can help draft your request and compare supported concession packages from supplied numbers. You decide what to send and negotiate with the builder yourself. Settle does not contact the builder, verify comparable sales or margins, or promise an outcome.
- Dated home-specific price and options sheets
- Written competing offers or Loan Estimates
- Incentive conditions and lender contribution limits
- Builder responses and any signed amendments
Help me prepare a negotiation request from these written terms. State my proposed change, the supporting evidence and an alternative. Compare concessions without double-counting credits, and distinguish my request from anything the builder has actually agreed to.Get started
Sources checked September 6, 2026. Your contract, location and circumstances determine what applies. Builder examples are illustrations, not terms of your purchase. About these guides