Closing-cost assistance — the most common deal
The workhorse builder incentive is a lump sum toward your closing costs and prepaids (title, lender fees, taxes, insurance escrows). It reduces your cash to close, not the price of the home. It’s almost always conditional on financing with the builder’s affiliated or preferred lender.
That preferred-lender tie is where you have to do the math: sometimes the assistance more than offsets a slightly higher rate, and sometimes an outside lender with a better rate wins even after giving up the credit. Always get one outside quote so you know which.
Design-center & upgrade credits
On a to-be-built home, a design-center credit is money toward the studio selections — flooring, countertops, cabinets, fixtures, and structural options like a covered patio or extended garage. It can be several thousand dollars of options, and structural choices have to be made before the slab is poured.
On a spec or inventory home the upgrades are already installed, so the “credit” shows up instead as a price or closing adjustment. That’s often better value — you can see exactly what you’re getting and someone else already paid the design-studio markup.
How to compare two builders’ “deals”
A $15,000 design credit, a $15,000 closing-cost credit, and a rate buydown are not the same thing. One changes your finishes, one changes your cash to close, and one changes your monthly payment. Stacking them or trading one for another is often possible.
Normalize every offer to the one number that matters to you — monthly payment, or total cash to close — before you decide between two Florence communities. We do this translation as a matter of course so you’re comparing like for like.
The preferred-lender tie — what’s fair game
Nearly every builder deal requires the affiliated lender. That’s legal and normal — but you are always allowed to shop, and a builder can’t require you to use their lender to buy the home, only to receive the incentive.
The move is simple: get one competing loan estimate. If the outside rate beats the preferred-lender rate by more than the incentive is worth, take the outside loan; if not, take the deal. Either way you’ll know the true price of the incentive.
Current deals by community in Florence
Closing-cost and design-credit offers in Florence vary by builder, community, and specific home, and turn over monthly. We verify the active amount and its conditions on a real home before you tour — we don’t publish estimated figures. Ask for this week’s confirmed list:
No verified price reductions are published for Florence at this moment — inventory and incentives turn over fast. Ask us for this week’s verified list:
We verify each community’s active incentives on the specific home before you tour — we don’t publish stale or estimated figures.
Florence builder incentive FAQ
- Do I have to use the builder’s lender to get the deal?
- To get the incentive, usually yes — but not to buy the home. You can always use your own lender and forgo the credit; get one outside quote to see which is actually cheaper for you.
- Are design-center / upgrade credits negotiable?
- Often, especially on inventory homes and near a builder’s quarter-end. The amount and what it can be applied to vary by community in Florence — we confirm the current terms before you tour.
- Can I combine a design credit with closing-cost help?
- Sometimes — stacking rules vary by builder and by home. It’s one of the first things worth asking, and worth having someone push on for you.