Your Glenn Heights Builder Wants You to Use Their Title Company. Texas Already Set the Price (2026)

By Steven J. Thomas

Many Glenn Heights builder contracts come with a preferred lender and a preferred title company. The sales team frames them as a package, and a closing cost credit hangs on the package. You should know what part of that package you can shop, and what part Texas already priced for you.

Direct answer

In Texas, the state sets the base title insurance premium, so every title company charges the same rate for the same policy. You cannot save on that line by switching companies. Escrow and settlement fees can differ, and the builder's incentive usually depends on the lender more than the title company. Ask the builder to split the credit into its two parts, based on current conditions.

What Texas regulates and what it does not

Texas is a promulgated-rate state. The Texas Department of Insurance publishes the title insurance premium rates, and title companies apply them (Texas Department of Insurance, title rates effective March 1, 2026). A builder's title company and an independent one charge the same premium for the same policy.

Other charges are not set that way, including escrow and settlement fees, courier and document fees. Those are where quotes differ, and they are small next to a five-figure incentive.

What federal law says about being required to use one

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, Section 9, generally bars a seller from requiring, as a condition of the sale, that you buy title insurance from a particular company on a purchase with a federally related mortgage loan. Builders can offer a credit if you use their affiliate. They cannot make the sale depend on it. Ask to see the incentive terms in writing.

What it looks like in dollars

This is a hypothetical example, not a loan offer. Say a Glenn Heights builder offers a $6,000 closing cost credit if you use its lender and title company. You get an outside quote on a $400,000 loan.

• Builder lender: 7.00%, a principal and interest payment of about $2,661 a month
• Outside lender: 6.75%, about $2,594 a month
• Difference: about $67 a month, or roughly $4,000 over five years and $5,600 over seven

On those numbers, the $6,000 credit is worth more than the lower rate until about month 90. If you plan to stay in the house 10 years, the outside rate wins. If you might sell in four, the credit wins. Your rates will differ, and points and fees change the answer, so run your own quotes side by side on the same day.

Hypothetical example on a 30-year fixed loan of $400,000. Rates shown are note rates, not APRs, and the APR would be higher once fees and points are included. Payments are principal and interest only, so taxes, homeowners insurance and any mortgage insurance are extra. Not a rate quote, commitment to lend or offer of credit. Rates and terms depend on credit, loan program and market conditions. Envision Home Lenders, NMLS #689220.

Questions to ask the builder

• How much of the credit depends on the lender, and how much on the title company?
• Will the credit still apply if I use the builder's title company and an outside lender?
• Is the credit paid at closing or applied to upgrades, and does it count against seller concession limits on my loan?
• Can I get the escrow and settlement fee quote from the builder's title company and one outside company?

Who the sales team works for

The person in the model home works for the builder. Their package is built to keep the loan and the title in house. A buyer's agent who is also a loan officer can compare the builder's numbers with an outside quote before you sign. Builders commonly pay a buyer's agent's fee, so ask what the builder's policy is before your first visit.

FAQ: title company choice on Glenn Heights new construction

Can I pick my own title company on a new build?

Generally yes on a financed purchase with a federally related loan. The builder can offer an incentive for using theirs but cannot require it as a condition of the sale.

Do title companies charge different premiums in Texas?

No. The Texas Department of Insurance sets the base premium rates. Fees for escrow and settlement can differ.

Is the builder's credit a good deal?

It depends on your rate, your points and how long you keep the loan. Compare it with an outside quote in dollars over your expected time in the home.

Should I get an outside quote before I sign?

Yes. Get it before you sign the contract.

Does using an outside lender delay closing?

It can when the lender is new to the builder's process. Ask the builder for its closing timeline and share it with your lender at the start.

Where can I see new construction in Glenn Heights?

Ask me for the active communities, their incentives and the fine print on each.

What to do next

Get two quotes and one written incentive sheet before you sign anything. Based on current conditions, the builder's package can be the right choice, and you will know it is because you checked. I handle the purchase and the loan, so both numbers come from one person.

Get the free New Construction Buyer Guide before you sign.

Steven J. Thomas is a licensed Texas real estate broker with Refind Realty DFW (TREC Broker License #0657467) and a loan officer with Envision Home Lenders (NMLS #689220). The rates and payments above are hypothetical illustrations, not a loan offer, rate quote or commitment to lend, and principal and interest exclude taxes and insurance. Rates and terms depend on credit and program. This is general information, not legal advice. Nothing here guarantees a price, rate or outcome. Equal Housing Opportunity. Equal Housing Lender.

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