people will be, and should be, skeptical of everything you say. even if the salesperson is upfront about the price smart people will assume that you still have room to haggle, because you probably do - it just means you have to call your boss for permission to go farther. new home sales is a high pressure, mind fuck - if you don't feel like you're getting a hard sell it's just because you're dealing with a real slick pro. their whole job is to get you to put down $300,000 - $2,000,000 for a house, be skeptical of everything they say to you because their only concern is closing the deal and getting on to the next one.

my advice to buyers: do some research. research the builder, research the salesperson, research the developer, research the community. investigate city plans - they are all online, if you cant find them call the municipality or email your councillor. do not take the salesperson for their word, they might make an honest mistake or they might lie about something important. hire a good lawyer, get them to review every single document before you sign anything. don't purchase to your maximum mortgage eligibility - that is dangerous and stupid and will make you house poor in most situations. be careful with using lenders the builders recommend - they will push your limits in terms of what you can afford. dont buy from a builder that wont let you access the construction site - be reasonable, you need to safely access the site - but if they wont let you there, you have to wonder - are they hiding something? are they cutting corners? are the trades all baked out of their minds? probably all three. bring a third party inspector with you, find a good one completely independently of the builder or your real estate agent. get a structural engineer to review your plans and visit the site. this all sounds really expensive and time consuming right? well it should be - you're about to make what is probably the biggest purchase of your life and your family is going to be living in that decision of yours for a while. the lack of due diligence people complete in purchasing a home absolutely astounds me. don't be a sucker.