Buying new construction in Central Iowa is a different transaction than buying a resale home — different contract, different timeline, different leverage. Ankeny, Waukee, Grimes, Bondurant, and Norwalk are producing new homes at a pace the rest of the state isn't, and most buyers walk into a model home without knowing that the paperwork on the sales agent's desk was written by the builder's attorney to protect the builder. Here's what to understand before you sign.
When you buy a resale home in Central Iowa, you're working from a DMAAR or CIBR purchase agreement — a standardized form with balanced protections built in over decades of use. When you buy new construction, most builders use their own contract instead.
That matters because the builder's form typically narrows or removes things you'd take for granted on a resale: the inspection contingency window, the appraisal contingency, remedies if closing is delayed, and your ability to walk away and recover earnest money. None of that is hidden — it's just written in the builder's favor by default, and buyers routinely sign without reading it.
The right move: have the contract reviewed before you sign, not after. A real estate attorney reviewing a builder agreement is inexpensive relative to what's at stake, and it's the single highest-return hour in the whole process.
This is the mistake I see most often, and it's the one that can't be undone.
The agent sitting in the model home works for the builder. They're representing the builder's interests in the transaction, not yours. Most builders in the Ankeny–Ames corridor will happily work with a buyer's agent — but nearly all of them require that your agent be disclosed on your very first visit. Tour the model alone on a Sunday, come back a week later with representation, and the builder can decline to recognize your agent for that community.
Bringing your own representation doesn't raise your price. The builder has already accounted for cooperating compensation in their pricing model. What you get in exchange is somebody reading the contract on your side of the table, tracking your deadlines, and attending your walkthrough with you.
The advertised price on a spec sheet is a starting number. The finished house you toured in the model is usually not that number.
Common items that land in the upgrade column rather than the base package:
Lot premium. Corner lots, walkout basements, and anything backing to green space or a pond typically carries a premium. In the fast-growing Polk and Dallas County subdivisions this can be a meaningful line item on its own.
Finished basement. Frequently priced separately, and worth asking about specifically if you have a house-hacking or multigenerational plan in mind.
Landscaping, sod, and driveway. Sometimes included, sometimes not, and sometimes included at a minimum spec that won't satisfy the city's requirement or the HOA's.
Appliances, window coverings, garage door openers, and fixtures. The model home is a showroom. Get a written list of exactly what conveys.
Ask for the base package specification in writing and price the house you actually intend to build — not the one you toured.
A new house is not a defect-free house. It's a house built quickly by a rotating set of subcontractors under weather pressure, and municipal inspections check code compliance — not workmanship quality.
Two inspections are worth paying for on a build:
Pre-drywall inspection. Scheduled after framing, plumbing, electrical, and HVAC rough-in but before insulation and drywall go up. This is the only window in which anyone will ever see the bones of your house. Missed blocking, plumbing runs, framing issues, and duct problems are cheap to fix now and expensive to fix later.
Final inspection before closing. Independent of the builder's own walkthrough, and ideally before you sign anything at the closing table.
If the builder's contract restricts your right to bring in an independent inspector, that's information worth having before you're committed.
A build started in Central Iowa in October is exposed to a very different schedule than one started in April. Frost laws, freeze-thaw cycles, and concrete pour windows all compress winter progress. Supply chain and labor availability add variance on top of that.
Look at what the contract says about delay specifically. Many builder agreements give the builder generous extension rights and give the buyer very little in return. Practical questions to get answered in writing:
What's the outside date? Is there a hard deadline after which you can terminate and recover your earnest money?
What happens to your rate lock? Extended locks cost money, and on a long build that cost is real. Ask your lender how far out they'll lock and what an extension runs.
Where will you live? If you're selling a current home, don't structure a closing around a build date you haven't stress-tested.
The warranty. Most builders offer a tiered structure — roughly one year on workmanship, two years on major systems, and ten years on structural components. Read the actual document. Note the claim procedure, the notice requirements, and the deadlines; warranty rights are commonly lost by missing a written-notice window, not by the builder refusing a valid claim.
The HOA. New subdivisions are typically developer-controlled at first, meaning dues and rules can change before the association transitions to homeowner control. Review the covenants — especially if you intend to rent a unit, add an ADU, park a trailer, or run a short-term rental.
Property taxes. This is the one that catches Central Iowa buyers off guard every single year. Your first tax assessment may reflect the lot as vacant land rather than a completed home. That makes the first year's escrow look deceptively low, and then the payment jumps once the home is assessed at full value. Ask your lender to estimate taxes on the completed value, not the current assessment, and budget accordingly.
New construction is a good fit for a lot of buyers here — you get current code, current efficiency, and a floor plan you chose. It's simply a transaction that rewards preparation more than a resale does, because the contract starts out tilted and the timeline is long.
Bring representation on your first visit, price the actual house rather than the model, inspect at pre-drywall, and read the warranty and covenants before you close. Do those four things and new construction becomes a straightforward, low-drama purchase.
If you're weighing a build against a resale in Ankeny, Waukee, Grimes, Bondurant, or anywhere in the Ankeny-to-Ames corridor, I'm glad to walk through the numbers on both with you — including what the same monthly payment buys you in each. Reach out and let's map it out before you tour.
Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · [email protected]
Let's talk through your specific situation — no pressure.