Builder contract review in Potomac

Potomac is a Yellow policy area, where the transportation impact tax on a new house is $28,553. Your builder contract should say who pays it.

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The Service

Builder contract review

A builder contract review reads the document the way the builder’s lawyers wrote it, flagging escalation clauses, deposit exposure, delay remedies that only run one direction, and warranty language full of exits.

A builder contract review in Potomac starts with the fees the price may not include. The 2024-2028 Growth and Infrastructure Policy puts Potomac in the Yellow policy area. There, the county’s transportation impact tax on a new detached house is $28,553 for permits issued between mid-2025 and mid-2027. For comparison, Red policy areas pay the county’s lowest rate, $9,139. The school impact tax is a separate line of $30,005 or $31,301 per house, set by school area.

Deposits and delays come next. Maryland makes a builder protect money held before completion through escrow, a bond or a letter of credit, so the contract should name the method. Delay clauses can run one way, giving the builder extensions for weather and supply while giving you no remedy. Escalation clauses can pass material and labor increases to you mid-build. We mark every one of them and suggest fairer wording where we can.

Many Potomac builds replace an existing house. Fourteen Potomac houses received county demolition permits in the year ending September 2026. If yours is next, the contract should cover the demolition permit, utility disconnections and the required sign, which stays posted for a month after issuance. Somebody has to own each of those steps, and the schedule should show when they happen. Otherwise the start date slides.

Our review happens before you sign, and the tracking continues after. Builder contract review explains the service. Choosing and working with a builder is covered in new construction buyer representation in Potomac, and finding the lot in buildable land in Potomac. A Potomac real estate agent can handle the sale of your current house. Builder contract review in Bethesda covers a contract with a delivery date tied to a larger project.

Where We Work

Potomac

Contracts differ by project. Custom builds on your own lot are often cost-plus, or fixed-price with allowances, and the allowances are where budgets slip. Spec houses a builder already started have less room for change but a clearer price. Septic lots add perc testing and system design, with county fees that should be assigned in writing. We read your contract against the project type before you sign. Then we track change orders as the build moves, and we reconcile every one of them before the final payment.

Neighborhood Coverage

Potomac, block by block.

Serving every neighborhood across the city. Ask us about yours.

Neighborhood-level guidance comes standard: pricing, timing, and positioning tuned to the block, not just the ZIP code.

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Answered

Potomac, answered.

Q: Who pays impact taxes on a new house in Potomac? A: Whoever the contract says. For a new detached house in Potomac, the transportation impact tax is $28,553. School impact tax runs $30,005 or $31,301, by school area. Custom-build contracts often pass both to the owner, so read that clause closely. Q: What should I look for in a Potomac builder’s delay clause? A: Balance. Many delay clauses give the builder extensions for weather, supply or permits while offering the buyer no remedy. A fair clause limits extensions and gives you rights if completion slips past a stated date. We mark one-sided terms in your Potomac contract before you sign. Q: Does Maryland protect deposits on a new house? A: Yes. Real Property 10-301 covers deposits a builder holds before the house is done, and they must be escrowed, bonded or secured by a letter of credit. Your Potomac contract should say which method applies, and we confirm the builder actually follows it.

Sources

Last reviewed October 2, 2026 by Levi Loveless, licensed in Maryland and Virginia. Every rule, rate and figure on this page links to the source we checked.

Montgomery County Council Resolution 20-651; DPS Impact Taxes, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2027
DPS, Schools Impact Taxes, July 1, 2025
Md. Code, Real Property 10-301
DPS, Residential Demolitions
Montgomery County DPS, Residential Demolition Permits dataset, 12 months to 2026-09-30

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Find every fee the price leaves out.

Send us the builder’s contract and any allowance schedule before you sign. We’ll list the fees assigned to you, mark one-sided delay and escalation terms, and confirm how your deposit is held. Then we go through the changes with you.