On a resale, earnest money is the easy part. You put down 1–3%, and if you walk away inside the option period, you get it back. On a new build in Baytown, the money works differently — it's usually more, it comes in stages, and once it's in, getting it back is the exception, not the rule.
That doesn't make it a bad deal. It makes it a deal you need to understand in writing before the money moves.
1. How much builders ask for
On a resale in Texas, earnest money is typically 1–3% of the price. On a new build, builders often ask for more — commonly 5–10% of the price, and in Texas often 1–5%, staged at milestones instead of paid all at once.
Why the range is so wide: every builder writes its own contract, so the number depends on the builder
and the community — Scotts Bend and Baytown Crossings, Bay Creek, and the other Baytown communities each have their own paper. There is no single Baytown number. The number that matters is the one in your contract, for your builder.
2. It’s staged, not one payment
Builder earnest money usually isn’t a single check at signing. It’s staged: a deposit at contract, more at slab, more at framing, more before closing. Each stage is a separate decision point — and a separate amount at risk.
Before you sign, get the full schedule in writing: how much at each stage, on what date or milestone, and what triggers the next payment. If the contract says “more at slab” without a dollar amount or a date, that’s a question, not a detail to skip.
3. When you can lose it
This is the part most buyers don’t hear until it’s too late. On a new build, earnest money is often non-refundable outside a few narrow contingencies. Walk away because you changed your mind, found a home you like better, or got cold feet — and the builder usually keeps it.
The exceptions are the ones written into the contract: a financing contingency that actually fails, a specific exit deadline the contract gives you, or a builder breach. “I don’t love it anymore” is not one of them. And unlike a resale, there usually isn’t a true option period to fall back on — we’ll go deep on that in Friday’s post, on the option period in Huffman.
Upgrade deposits work the same way, only stricter: money you put down for design-center options is often 25–100% of the option price, and usually non-refundable. Pick the upgrades knowing that money is spent, not parked.
4. What to get in writing before the money moves
The full amount, and every stage. Total earnest money, each staged payment, and when each one is due.
When it becomes non-refundable. The exact date or milestone after which each stage is gone — and what, if anything, would get it back.
Your exit deadlines. The specific dates you can still walk away, and what happens to the money on each one.
Where the money sits. Who holds it, and under what terms it is released.
The upgrade money, separately. Design-center deposits are a different pot with different rules. Don’t lump them in with earnest money in your head.
5. The Baytown check
Before you sign anything in Baytown, ask the builder’s sales rep for the contract early and take it home — the same rule as Monday’s post. Read the earnest-money section at your kitchen table, not at the sales desk, and have your own agent read it with you. The sales rep works for the builder. Your agent works for you.
And register your agent before your first visit to a community. If you walk in on your own first, the builder may treat you as unrepresented — and that can affect whether your agent is recognized on the deal at all.
The bottom line
Builder earnest money in Baytown is bigger than resale, staged instead of one payment, and usually non-refundable once each stage is in. None of that is a reason not to buy new construction. It is a reason to know the number, the stages, and the refund rules in writing — before the first dollar moves.
If you’re looking at new construction in Baytown, Crosby, Mont Belvieu, or Huffman and want a second set of eyes on the contract before you sign, that’s exactly what we do.
Questions? DM us — Amanda 936-224-8974, Saul 936-314-4728.
