Do You Need a Realtor to Buy New Construction in Richmond VA? An Honest Answer
No, you are not legally required to have one – but here is exactly what you give up if you walk in alone.
No, you do not legally need a realtor to buy new construction in Richmond VA. Virginia does not require buyer representation, and any builder in Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland or Powhatan County will happily write a contract with you directly. The honest answer, though, is that going in unrepresented means the only licensed agent in the room works for the builder, you sign the builder’s contract instead of a neutral one, and nobody on your side is reading the community documents, the special tax district disclosures, or the warranty language. This guide covers buying new construction in Richmond VA, whether you need a buyer’s agent for a new build, how builder sales agents work, new construction contracts in Virginia, the statutory new home warranty under Virginia Code, new construction home inspections, and the Richmond area new home communities where the fine print matters most.
Table of Contents
- Do you legally need a realtor to buy new construction in Virginia?
- Who does the builder’s on-site sales agent actually represent?
- The Virginia new home warranty and what it actually covers
- New construction home inspections and the Virginia NRS license
- Special tax districts and HOA documents in Richmond area new communities
- Does using a realtor cost you more on a new build?
- Frequently Asked Questions
You do not need a realtor to buy new construction in Richmond VA. There is no Virginia law requiring a buyer to be represented, and no builder in the Richmond metro will refuse to sell you a home because you showed up without an agent. That is the direct answer, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling you something.
The more useful question is what changes when you are unrepresented. New construction is the one transaction type where the paperwork is written entirely by the other side. There is no standard Virginia Realtors purchase agreement, no seller disclosure packet in the usual sense, and no listing agent and buyer agent negotiating from a shared template. There is the builder’s contract, the builder’s lender, the builder’s title company, the builder’s warranty document, and the builder’s on-site sales representative.
The Mission Realty Team writes new construction contracts across Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan every year, and the pattern is consistent: the buyers who get hurt are almost never the ones who negotiated badly on price. They are the ones who did not know a question existed. This post is a list of those questions.
Do You Legally Need a Realtor to Buy New Construction in Virginia?
No. Virginia allows any competent adult to buy real property without representation, and that includes a home that has not been built yet. You can sign a builder contract, apply for financing, and go to settlement with a licensed settlement agent and never once speak to a buyer’s agent. Thousands of Virginians do it every year and most of them close without incident.
What Virginia does require is that the people getting paid a commission hold licenses. The on-site sales representative at a model home in Moseley or Short Pump is either a licensed Virginia real estate salesperson or a builder employee operating under a specific exemption. Either way, that person’s compensation and duty of loyalty run to the builder. That is not a scandal, it is the disclosed structure of the arrangement.
So the legal answer and the practical answer diverge. Legally you are fine alone. Practically, you are the only party at the table without a licensed professional whose job is to protect your interests, in a transaction that will likely be the largest financial commitment of your life and one where the contract was drafted by the seller’s attorney.
Who Does the Builder’s On-Site Sales Agent in Richmond Actually Represent?
The builder. This is the single most misunderstood fact in new construction, and it is not because sales agents are dishonest. Most of them are genuinely helpful, know their product cold, and will answer every question you ask accurately. The issue is that they are not obligated to volunteer the questions you did not ask.
An on-site agent will tell you the price of the lot premium if you ask about lot premiums. They will not necessarily open the conversation by explaining that the community is inside a special tax district that adds to your annual real estate tax bill, or that the elementary school attendance zone is under review, or that the wooded buffer behind your lot is a future phase. None of that is concealment. It is simply not their assignment.
A buyer’s agent’s assignment is the inverse. Their entire job is to ask the questions you have not thought of, to read the documents you will skim, and to tell you the thing that costs the builder a sale. The Mission Realty Team has talked clients out of specific lots, specific communities, and occasionally out of new construction altogether. No on-site agent can do that.
What Does Virginia’s New Home Warranty Actually Cover?
Virginia Code Section 55.1-357 creates an implied warranty on new homes. In broad terms, the seller of a new dwelling warrants that the home is free from structural defects, constructed in a workmanlike manner, and fit for habitation. That statutory warranty runs for one year from the date of transfer of record title or the date you take possession, whichever comes first. The warranty on the foundation of a new dwelling extends for five years from that same trigger date.
That is the statutory floor. Most Richmond area production builders also provide their own written warranty, frequently structured as one year on workmanship and materials, two years on major mechanical and distribution systems, and ten years on major structural components. Those are contractual terms, not statutory ones, which means they vary by builder and can be modified. Read the actual warranty booklet, not the summary sheet.
The practical consequence is a hard deadline. Your leverage over a builder is highest before settlement and drops sharply afterward, then again at the one-year mark. That is why the eleventh-month walkthrough matters so much, and why a buyer with representation almost always ends up with a longer, better-documented punch list than a buyer working alone.
Should You Get a Home Inspection on a Brand New Richmond Home?
Yes, and Virginia has a specific licensing rule that most buyers have never heard of. Under the Virginia home inspector licensing regulations at 18VAC15-40, a home inspection on a new residential structure may only be performed by a home inspector who holds the New Residential Structure specialty designation, commonly called the NRS specialty, and who has completed a training module on the Virginia Residential Code. A general home inspector license alone is not sufficient for a new build.
That means you cannot simply hire whichever inspector your neighbor used on a 1970s Bon Air ranch. You need to verify the NRS designation, and you can look up any Virginia inspector’s license and specialty designations through the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation license lookup before you hire.
Builders sometimes push back on third party inspections, or on pre-drywall inspections specifically. That pushback is negotiable and it is worth negotiating for. A pre-drywall inspection is the only time anyone will ever see the framing, the rough plumbing, the electrical runs, the flashing details, and the mechanical penetrations. After drywall goes up, those things are permanently invisible.
Which Richmond Area New Construction Communities Have Extra Tax Districts?
This is where an unrepresented buyer loses real money, and it is entirely checkable. Several Richmond area jurisdictions levy additional real estate tax inside specific districts, on top of the countywide rate. In Goochland County, property inside the Tuckahoe Creek Service District carries an additional ad valorem levy of $0.32 per $100 of assessed value on top of the county rate of $0.53, which brings the combined rate inside that district to roughly $0.85. The Tuckahoe Creek district covers much of eastern Goochland along the Route 288 and Broad Street Road corridor, which is exactly where a great deal of the county’s newest housing sits.
Henrico County publishes an additional real estate levy of $0.25 per $100 of assessed value for the GreenCity II Community Development Authority, and separate streetlight district levies ranging from roughly $0.003 to $0.031 per $100 for numbered streetlight districts and the Virginia Center Commons special service district. Chesterfield County has used community development authority financing in some larger master planned communities as well. These are published rates and you should confirm the current figures directly with the locality’s finance or commissioner of the revenue office for the specific parcel.
On top of that sits the HOA. Virginia’s Property Owners’ Association Act requires the seller to furnish an association disclosure packet, and Virginia law gives the purchaser a cancellation right measured in days after delivery of that packet. Confirm the exact window with your settlement agent, because it is short and it starts running on delivery, not on the day you get around to reading it.
Does Using a Realtor Cost You More on a New Build in Richmond VA?
Not in the way people assume, but the honest answer in 2026 is more complicated than it used to be. Historically, most production builders in the Richmond market budgeted a cooperating broker commission into their sales and marketing line, and a buyer using an agent paid the same base price as a buyer who did not. Builders do not generally discount the base price of a home just because you arrived unrepresented, because doing so would undercut the pricing they show to appraisers and to every other buyer in the community.
Following the changes to how buyer agent compensation is handled nationally, the arrangement is now explicitly disclosed and negotiated between you and your own brokerage in a written buyer agreement, with whatever the builder offers applied toward it. What that means practically is you should ask two questions early: what compensation is the builder offering to a cooperating broker in this community, and what does my representation agreement with my own brokerage say. Both answers should be in writing.
The one rule that is not negotiable: register your agent on your first visit. Nearly every builder in the Richmond metro has a procuring cause policy that treats the first visit as controlling. If you tour a model home in Magnolia Green or GreenGate alone on a Saturday and then try to bring in an agent on Tuesday, the builder can and often will refuse to recognize the representation.
| What you are checking | Where to verify it | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Statutory new home warranty | Virginia Code Section 55.1-357 | One year general, five years on the foundation, running from title transfer or possession |
| Builder written warranty terms | The builder’s warranty booklet, not the brochure | Workmanship, systems and structural coverage periods are contractual and vary by builder |
| Inspector qualification | Virginia DPOR license lookup | A new residential structure requires an inspector with the NRS specialty designation |
| Additional tax district | County finance or commissioner of the revenue, by parcel ID | Goochland’s Tuckahoe Creek district adds $0.32 per $100; Henrico has CDA and streetlight levies |
| HOA assessments and rules | Association disclosure packet under the Property Owners’ Association Act | Cancellation right runs from delivery of the packet and the window is short |
| Future phases and buffers | Recorded plat and county approved development plan | Marketing site plans are not binding; recorded plats and approvals are |
| Certificate of occupancy | Local building official for the county or city | You should not settle on a home that has not passed final inspection |
| Lot specific costs | Builder lot premium sheet plus county utility connection fees | Well and septic versus public water and sewer changes both cost and timeline |
Frequently Asked Questions About Buying New Construction in Richmond VA
Do I need a realtor to buy new construction in Richmond VA?
No, you are not legally required to have one. Virginia does not mandate buyer representation and any Richmond area builder will contract with you directly. The practical trade-off is that the only licensed agent in the transaction then works for the builder, and you will be signing the builder’s contract without anyone on your side reading the community documents, warranty terms, or special tax district disclosures. The Mission Realty Team can tell you what a specific builder’s contract does and does not include before you sign it.
Does the builder lower the price if I do not use an agent?
Almost never. Builders protect base pricing because it feeds appraisals and every other buyer’s comparison in the same community. What builders discount instead is closing cost assistance, design center allowances, structural options, or lot premiums, and those concessions are usually tied to using the builder’s preferred lender or closing in a specific window. Ask what is actually on the table rather than asking for a price cut.
Who does the on-site sales agent at a model home represent?
The builder, in every case. That agent may be extremely knowledgeable and completely honest, and most are, but their duty of loyalty and their compensation run to the seller. Virginia licensing rules require brokerage relationship disclosure, so you can and should ask directly and get the answer in writing. They will answer every question you ask accurately and they are not obligated to raise the questions you did not ask.
When do I have to tell the builder I have an agent?
On your very first visit, before you tour. Nearly every builder in the Richmond metro enforces a procuring cause policy that treats the first registration as controlling. If you walk a model home in Chesterfield or Henrico alone and try to add an agent afterward, the builder can refuse to recognize the representation and you lose it for that community permanently. Have your agent email the sales office to register you if they cannot attend.
Should I get a home inspection on a brand new house in Virginia?
Yes, and Virginia has a specific rule about who may perform it. Under 18VAC15-40, an inspection of a new residential structure must be performed by a licensed home inspector holding the New Residential Structure specialty designation who has completed a Virginia Residential Code training module. Verify the NRS designation through the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation license lookup before hiring. Builders are not perfect and county code inspections are not the same thing as an inspection performed on your behalf.
What is a pre-drywall inspection and do I really need one?
A pre-drywall inspection happens after framing, rough plumbing, electrical and mechanical rough-in but before insulation and drywall go up. It is the only opportunity anyone will ever have to see the structural framing, fasteners, flashing details, and system penetrations. Once drywall is installed those elements are permanently hidden, so a defect missed at that stage is a defect you will pay to find later. Write the right to a pre-drywall inspection into the contract before you sign.
How long is the warranty on a new home in Virginia?
Virginia Code Section 55.1-357 provides an implied statutory warranty running one year from transfer of record title or the date you take possession, whichever comes first, with the foundation warranty extending five years from that same date. Separately, most Richmond area builders offer their own written warranty, commonly one year on workmanship, two years on systems, and ten years on major structural components. Those builder terms are contractual and vary, so read the actual warranty document.
What is the Tuckahoe Creek Service District in Goochland County?
It is a special service district in eastern Goochland County that carries an additional ad valorem real estate levy on top of the countywide rate. Goochland’s general real estate rate is $0.53 per $100 of assessed value and the Tuckahoe Creek district adds approximately $0.32 per $100, bringing the combined rate inside the district to roughly $0.85. Because district boundaries follow tax map parcels rather than subdivision names, confirm the status of your specific parcel with Goochland County directly.
Are there extra tax districts on new construction in Henrico County?
Yes, in specific locations. Henrico County publishes an additional real estate levy of $0.25 per $100 of assessed value for the GreenCity II Community Development Authority, plus separate streetlight district levies of roughly $0.003 to $0.031 per $100 for numbered streetlight districts and the Virginia Center Commons special service district. The countywide real estate rate is $0.83 per $100. Confirm the current figures and whether they apply to your parcel with Henrico’s Department of Finance.
Can I use my own lender on new construction, or do I have to use the builder’s?
You can almost always use your own lender, but the builder’s incentives are frequently conditioned on using their affiliated lender. That creates a real comparison problem: a builder credit of several thousand dollars against a slightly worse rate or fee structure may or may not come out ahead over the life of the loan. Get a written loan estimate from both, compare total cost rather than the headline rate, and remember the incentive is only worth what it nets you.
What happens if the builder misses the completion date?
That depends entirely on what the builder’s contract says, and most builder contracts give the builder substantial flexibility on delivery dates and limit your remedies. This is one of the clauses most worth reading closely before you sign, particularly if you are selling a current home or ending a lease on a fixed date. Ask specifically what happens to your deposit and your rate lock if delivery slips by thirty, sixty, or ninety days.
Is new construction a better deal than resale in the Richmond area?
It depends on what you value, not on price alone. New construction gives you current code, a warranty, and a home nobody has lived in. Resale in established areas often gives you a larger lot, mature trees, a shorter commute, and no risk of construction traffic or unbuilt future phases next door. For current pricing comparisons between new and resale in a specific Richmond area neighborhood, contact the Mission Realty Team for figures pulled the week you are shopping.
Do I need well and septic testing on new construction in Powhatan or Goochland?
If the home is served by a private well and an onsite septic system, yes. Much of Powhatan County and rural western Goochland is not on public water and sewer, which means water quality and quantity testing and a septic evaluation are appropriate even on a brand new system. Ask for the well yield documentation, the water quality results, and the health department septic permit showing the design capacity and the number of bedrooms it was permitted for.
How do I check what is going to be built behind my new home?
Look at the recorded plat and the county’s approved development plan, not the marketing site plan in the sales office. Marketing plans are not binding and frequently show wooded buffers that are actually future phases. Every Richmond area county maintains online GIS parcel mapping and planning case records where you can see approved zoning, proffers, and pending rezoning applications adjacent to your lot.
Can Mission Realty represent me on new construction even if I already found the community?
Yes, provided you have not already toured and registered with that builder without representation. The first visit generally controls under builder procuring cause policies. If you have not been inside yet, contact the Mission Realty Team before your first appointment and we will register with the sales office and attend with you. If you have already registered alone, tell us and we will be straight with you about what is still possible.
Get an Honest Read on the New Construction Contract Before You Sign It
The Mission Realty Team represents buyers in new construction communities across Chesterfield, Henrico, Hanover, Goochland and Powhatan, and our job is to raise the questions the sales office will not. We will read the builder contract, verify the tax district status of your specific parcel, line up an NRS-designated inspector for pre-drywall and final walkthrough, and calendar your warranty deadlines. For current pricing and incentive comparisons across Richmond area builders, call us directly at 804-601-4960. Talk to us before your first model home visit – after you register alone, most of this is off the table.
