Brokered by HomeSmart Connect, LLC · Each office independently owned and operatedNew construction real estate agent for St. Charles & the Tri-Cities.
Building or buying a brand-new home in St. Charles? Get an experienced agent on your side — before you sign with the builder — so the deal protects you, not just them.
Bring your own agent before you sign
The friendly rep in the model home works for the builder. You need someone whose only job is you — and it usually costs you nothing.
The builder’s rep isn’t yours
Their agent represents the builder’s bottom line. Register Kelly as your agent on your first visit and you get independent advice — typically paid by the builder, at no cost to you.
Builder contracts favor the builder
New-build agreements are written to protect the developer — deposits, delays, upgrade pricing, and warranty terms all lean their way. Kelly reads the fine print and negotiates what’s actually negotiable.
Know what to spend on
Some upgrades hold value; many don’t. Kelly helps you spend the design-center budget where it pays you back at resale — and skip the markups that don’t.
Is new construction right for you?
What you gain: a modern floor plan, current energy efficiency, a builder warranty, and the pick of finishes. Fewer surprises on aging systems, and often lower early maintenance.
What to weigh: new homes in St. Charles tend to sit on the city’s west and north sides, farther from the historic downtown and riverfront. Lots can be smaller, landscaping is young, and build timelines slip. Property taxes on a new build can also reset higher than an older comp. Kelly helps you compare a new home against a well-kept resale on true cost of ownership — not just sticker price.
Before you commit to a build
- Register your agent on the first model-home visit
- Get the builder’s incentives in writing (rate buy-downs, closing credits)
- Independent inspection at framing and again before closing — yes, even on new
- Confirm the warranty terms and who to call after move-in
- Understand the tax reassessment timeline for a new build
$449,990
3 Beds 2.5 Baths 1,827 SqFt
401 Lakeshore CT, St. Charles, IL 60174
$449,990
3 Beds 2.5 Baths 1,827 SqFt
411 Lakeshore CT, St. Charles, IL 60174
$434,990
3 Beds 2.5 Baths 1,827 SqFt
403 Lakeshore CT, St. Charles, IL 60174
$434,990
3 Beds 2.5 Baths 1,827 SqFt
405 Lakeshore CT, St. Charles, IL 60174
$394,990
2 Beds 2.5 Baths 1,651 SqFt
409 Lakeshore CT, St. Charles, IL 60174
The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Broker Reciprocity Program of Midwest Real Estate Data LLC. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than HomeSmart Connect are marked with the Broker Reciprocity thumbnail logo and detailed information about them includes the name of the listing brokerage. The accuracy of all information, regardless of source, including but not limited to square footages and lot sizes, is deemed reliable but not guaranteed and should be personally verified through personal inspection by and/or with the appropriate professionals.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act – DMCA Notice
Based on information submitted to the MLS GRID as of 09/11/2026. All data is obtained from various sources and may not have been verified by broker or MLS GRID. Supplied Open House Information is subject to change without notice. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.
IDX information is provided exclusively for consumers’ personal non-commercial use, it may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing, the data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed by MLS GRID, the use of the MLS GRID Data may be subject to an end user license agreement prescribed by the Member Participant’s applicable MLS if any and as amended from time to time. MLS GRID may, at its discretion, require use of other disclaimers as necessary to protect Member Participant, and/or their MLS from liability. Data last updated: 09/11/2026.
mation.
Ready to make your move?
Get a free, no-pressure home valuation or buyer strategy call with a trusted Tri-Cities agent.
Why a new build needs your own agent
The person who greets you in the model home is paid by the builder. They are usually pleasant, usually knowledgeable, and entirely on the other side of the table. Their job is to sell that builder’s inventory on that builder’s terms. Nothing about that is dishonest. It just means nobody in the room is working for you unless you bring someone.
A new construction real estate agent is that someone. The work looks different from a resale purchase because the product does not exist yet. You are buying a contract, a floor plan, a lot, and a set of promises about what gets finished by when. Every one of those is a place where a buyer can lose money quietly.
Most people find this page at one of three moments. They have toured a community and been handed a contract they do not want to sign blind. They are choosing between a new build and a well-kept resale in St. Charles and cannot work out the true cost difference. Or they are already under contract, the timeline has slipped twice, and they want to know what room they still have to push back.
Registering an agent matters at the first visit, not the fifth. Most builders will only recognize your representation if you bring your agent on that first walk-through, and that registration is what protects your right to independent advice for the rest of the build.
What to look for in a new construction real estate agent
Ask whether they have read a builder contract line by line. New-build agreements are drafted by the developer’s counsel and they lean the developer’s way on deposits, delays, allowance pricing, change orders and warranty terms. You want someone who knows which clauses are genuinely fixed and which ones move.
Ask what they think about upgrades. A good answer is specific. Structural changes and anything behind drywall are hard to add later. Plenty of finish-level upgrades at the design center carry a markup you will never see again at resale. An agent who tells you every upgrade is an investment is not paying attention.
Ask about inspections. New does not mean flawless, and a house is easiest to inspect before it is closed up. The right answer includes an independent inspection at framing and another before closing, using your inspector rather than the builder’s.
Ask what happens if the build runs late. Delays are normal on new construction. What matters is whether your agent has planned around the rate lock, the lease end, or the sale of your current home so a slipped date does not turn into a crisis.
Ask whether they know this area. Kelly is a St. Charles resident and works new construction across the Tri-Cities: St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia. She can tell you where the newer subdivisions sit relative to the historic downtowns and the river, how lot sizes compare from one community to the next, and what the tax picture tends to look like once a new build is fully assessed.
What a new construction agent will not do
Some straight talk before you tour anything.
Kelly will not tell you a new build is automatically the better buy. New construction gives you a current floor plan, current energy efficiency, a builder warranty and your pick of finishes. It also tends to sit farther from the historic downtowns, on smaller lots with young landscaping, and it can reassess higher once the house is finished. Sometimes a well-kept resale wins on true cost of ownership. You should hear that when it is true.
She will not promise a delivery date the builder controls. Nobody outside the builder controls the schedule. What she can do is get the commitments in writing and build your financing and moving plans around a range instead of one optimistic date.
She will not tell you the incentives are free. Rate buy-downs and closing credits are real money and worth having. They are also usually tied to using the builder’s lender or title company, and the comparison worth running is the whole package rather than the headline.
And she will not quote you a commission on this page. On most new construction the builder’s marketing budget already accounts for buyer representation, which is why bringing your own agent commonly costs you nothing. What that looks like in your specific contract is a conversation, not a number on a website.
From first tour to final walk-through
Step one is registration. Bring Kelly on your first visit to any community and she is recorded as your agent there. It costs nothing and it is the one thing that cannot be fixed afterwards.
Step two is the shortlist. She pulls the communities that fit your price band and the way you want to live, then compares them on the things that show up later: lot size and orientation, what the base plan includes before options, how the builder handles change orders, and how their recent buyers in the Tri-Cities have been treated.
Step three is the contract. She reads it with you before you sign, flags the clauses that matter, and negotiates what is negotiable. On new construction that is often terms rather than price: which upgrades are included, who pays for what at closing, what happens if the date moves. If you also need to sell your current home first, that timing gets planned here rather than later.
Step four is the build itself. She helps you spend the design center budget where it holds value, keeps the change-order paperwork straight, and books independent inspections at framing and again before closing.
Step five is the walk-through and the warranty. You get a punch list that is written down, and a clear record of who to call after move-in and for how long.
One number for all of it. Call or text 630-674-0424.
A St. Charles resident on your side of the table
Kelly Lach is a Top 3% Agent and a St. Charles resident, brokered by HomeSmart Connect, LLC. She represents buyers on new construction across the Tri-Cities: St. Charles, Geneva and Batavia, plus the wider Fox Valley and Kane County.
The reason that matters on a new build is simple. Builders sell the same plans in a dozen suburbs. Whether a plan makes sense on that lot, in that community, at that price, is a local question. Living here is how you answer it.
If this would be your first purchase, the first-time buyer page covers the parts a new build shares with any other closing. And if you are about to walk into a model home, talk to her first. It is a short conversation and it is the cheapest insurance in the whole process.
New-build questions Kelly hears in St. Charles
Do I really need my own agent for new construction?
Yes. The agent in the model home is paid to protect the builder. Your own agent costs you nothing on most builds (the builder covers it) and represents only you — on the contract, the upgrades, the timeline, and the price. The catch: you usually must register your agent on your very first visit, so bring Kelly (or her info) before you tour.
Can you negotiate with a builder?
Often, yes — just not always on the sticker price, which builders protect to keep comps up. The real leverage is in incentives: rate buy-downs, closing-cost credits, free or discounted upgrades, and lot premiums. Kelly knows what each builder tends to give and pushes there.
Should I still get a home inspection on a brand-new house?
Absolutely. New does not mean flawless — framing, grading, HVAC, and finish work all get missed. Kelly recommends an independent inspection at framing (before drywall closes things up) and again before closing, separate from the municipal inspection.
Is the base price the price I’ll actually pay?
Rarely. Between lot premiums, design-center upgrades, and structural options, the final number is often well above base. Kelly helps you build a realistic all-in budget up front and steers your upgrade dollars toward the choices that hold value at resale.
Will my property taxes jump after the first year?
They can. A new build is often taxed on land or a partial value at first, then reassessed on the finished home — which can raise your bill notably in year one or two. Kelly flags the reassessment timeline so it doesn’t blindside your budget.
New construction or a resale — which is the better buy?
It depends on what you value. New gets you a modern layout, warranty, and low early maintenance; resale often gets you a bigger lot, mature trees, established neighborhood, and a location closer to downtown St. Charles for the money. Kelly runs both on true cost of ownership so you choose with real numbers.
If you want the full sequence before you tour anything, the new construction home buying process, step by step walks it from choosing the builder through the final walkthrough: the registration rule, the builder contract clauses that move, and the three site visits worth showing up for.
If a new build does not pencil out, the resale market in St. Charles often does, and the wider county search catches builders working outside the city limits. Larger custom projects generally land in the Fox Valley’s luxury range.
Building or buying new in St. Charles?
Get an agent on your side before you sign with a builder. Free consult.