Cody Phillips is an agent with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene in Houston’s Inner Loop.

Every week, we ask a real estate professional for their Short List, a collection of tips and recommendations on an essential topic in real estate. This week, we talked with Cody Phillips, a Realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. Phillips’ areas of expertise are in The Woodlands and the Inner Loop of Houston. He has three years of real estate experience, and 11 years of high-line luxury experience with customer service and has incorporated that into the business models he has now.

Building a home can be a very exciting time, it can also be a very stressful and emotional process. Here are some methods for selling new construction properties.

14. Get your buyers pre-qualified before you start the process. That is a must anytime you are selling a home.

13. Ask your clients to create a realistic budget. Be their re-sale adviser when they ask if they should build additional items into the home.

12. Shop multiple builders in the area your client has interest in. Your clients don’t know…what they don’t know. Be their adviser and show them more than one builder. New home buyers fall in love with model homes. Don’t be the agent who contracts on the first home your clients see. Ensure they see all homes in the area before inking a deal.

11. Most clients are very excited to begin this process. Make sure you explain the up and downs of the entire building and buying process. If your clients’ expectations are set too high, you could be doomed. Building a home can be a dream come true if you fully explain the pitfalls ahead of time.

10. Never allow for over promising; get everything in writing.

9. Game plan for the game plan, that is, always have a contingency plan in place in case a problem arises. Every new home construction I have been apart of brings a new problem to work around. So, game plan the game plan, as I say.

8. Prepare your clients for the search, the negotiation and the building process. In a sellers market like Houston, there is little negotiation on new home construction. Builders are doing whatever they want whenever they want. Builders are selling at such a fast pace that they are employing people they may not otherwise have hired. Prepare your clients for over promises and lack of knowledge by some new home sales consultants. There are many professional sales consultants; when you get one, they are great to work with. If you don’t, it can be an emotional train wreck.

7. If there is a negotiation, attempt to negotiate off of the base sales price, not the add-on items. Builders will lure you in with discounts on add-on items like wooden floors, upgraded carpet, stainless appliances, etc. The reason they are willing to negotiate on these is because there is much more of a profit margin in these products. Attempt to negotiate from the base price.

6. Shop around and compare prices on all builder appliance packages.

5. Don’t let the builders’ contracts scare your clients. Most home builder contracts are a direct reflection of lawsuits. A lot of the clauses sound ridiculous, but if you want the house, you have to follow their rules in this sellers market. But know everything your clients are signing before they sign it.

4. Make sure everything a new home consultant tells you can be backed up in writing; verbal promises mean nothing.

3. Hire a third party professional engineer or home inspector. Pay for the inspection; it’s worth it.

2. Recommend a pest control professional come out to the new house before your clients move in.

1. Always double check the warranty items and time frame on the new home build.