The vocabulary of new-construction sales, in plain English.

A

Audit Trail

The chronological record of every interaction with a buyer, agent, or document — captured automatically by the platform with timestamp, IP, and device. The audit trail is what makes a Co-Op Registration Certificate verifiable in real time at its public URL.

Ava

The AI Onsite Sales Coordinator on the Builder Co-Op Network. Ava answers every web, text, voice, and social inquiry in under 60 seconds, qualifies the buyer against the builder's live floor-plan inventory, books appointments on the sales team's calendar, and hands off warm leads with full context. Trained for fair-housing rigor; every interaction is logged.

See also: Meet Ava · OSC · Fair Housing

B

Base Co-Op Rate

The percentage of sale price the builder agrees to pay a registered cooperating buyer agent at closing. Posted up front by the builder, locked at the moment of registration, displayed on the face of the Co-Op Registration Certificate.

See also: Co-Op Bonus · Co-Op Registration Certificate

Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA)

The written contract between a buyer and their agent that defines the scope of representation, term, and compensation. Required in writing before showing post-NAR settlement. On Builder Co-Op Network, a current BRA is one of three required documents tracked on every certificate.

See also: NAR Settlement · Co-Op Registration Certificate

C

Co-Op Agent Network

One of the two systems on the Builder Co-Op Network platform. A registered, transparent network of outside buyer agents who agree to a builder's published commission terms before bringing a buyer through. Solves commission-dispute exposure and NAR-settlement compliance in one flow.

Co-Op Bonus

An optional flat-dollar incentive (e.g., $2,500) a builder can pair with the Base Co-Op Rate to attract agent representation on specific communities, lots, or timeframes. Locked at registration alongside the base rate; displayed on the certificate. Allows builders to sweeten specific deals without changing posted rates.

Co-Op Registration Certificate

The artifact at the center of the Co-Op Network. A builder-branded, time-stamped, dual-signed PDF with public verification URL that proves a buyer was registered to a specific agent at a specific community on a specific date with specific commission terms. Valid 60 days from issuance.

See also: Sample certificate · Audit Trail · Verification URL

Commission Co-Op Agreement

The separately executed agreement between builder and registered buyer agent that governs commission terms. One of three required documents tracked on every certificate.

F

Fair Housing Act (FHA)

U.S. federal law prohibiting discrimination in the sale, rental, or financing of housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability. Ava is trained on FHA-protected categories and will not steer, qualify, or respond on the basis of them. Every interaction is logged for compliance review.

See also: Fair-housing rigor in Ava

I

Integration (CRM / LOS / Title)

The two-way connection between Builder Co-Op Network and the systems builders already run. Direct integrations exist for the major builder CRMs, lender LOS platforms (Encompass, BytePro, LendingPad), and title systems (Qualia, RamQuest, SoftPro), with a generic webhook for everything else.

L

LOS (Loan Origination System)

The software a mortgage lender uses to take, process, underwrite, and close loans. Builder Co-Op Network integrates with major LOS platforms so network lender partners can open files based on build-milestone events rather than waiting for the buyer to call.

M

Marketing Services Agreement (MSA)

A RESPA-compliant contract structure used to compensate a settlement-services provider (e.g., lender, title) for defined marketing deliverables at fair market value, rather than for referrals. Builder Co-Op Network structures all partner relationships as MSAs with documented deliverables and audit-grade logs.

See also: RESPA · For Partners

Milestone Updates

Automatic notifications sent to buyer, registered agent, lender, and title at each construction stage (slab, framing, drywall, walk-through, closing date set). Eliminates the "everyone calls the sales office for status" problem and helps lenders / title prepare files on schedule.

N

NAR Settlement

The 2024 class-action settlement that restructured how buyer-side real estate commissions are negotiated and disclosed. Among other things, the settlement requires that buyer-broker representation agreements be in writing before tour and that commission terms not be advertised through the MLS. Builder Co-Op Network's Co-Op Registration Certificate embeds these requirements into the workflow.

See also: Buyer Representation Agreement · NAR compliance on the certificate

New Construction

Homes built and sold directly by builders, as opposed to resale homes. Has different sales dynamics, financing, and commission economics than resale — which is why generic real estate tools tend to fit it poorly.

O

OSC (Online Sales Counselor / Coordinator)

A builder sales role focused on responding to inbound web, phone, and digital inquiries — qualifying buyers and routing them to onsite sales teams. A traditional OSC is a full-time human role; a full coverage 24/7 OSC operation runs in the high five figures to six figures annually. Ava is built to handle the OSC function around the clock, in any language, with fair-housing rigor.

See also: Meet Ava

P

Posted Commission Offer

A builder's published Base Co-Op Rate and any Co-Op Bonus, visible to agents up front. Agents see the offer before bringing a buyer through, which kills the "we'll figure out commission at closing" handshake that drove most pre-settlement disputes.

Q

Qualified Lead

An inquiry that has been confirmed against budget, timeline, financing status, and household needs — and matched to specific in-inventory floor plans. Ava produces qualified leads, not raw form fills.

R

RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act)

U.S. federal law governing settlement services — specifically prohibiting kickbacks and unearned fees for referrals between lenders, title companies, builders, and real estate agents. Section 8 is the relevant section for partnership structures. Builder Co-Op Network's partner relationships are structured as Marketing Services Agreements (MSAs) to operate inside RESPA's allowable framework.

See also: MSA · For Partners

S

Sandbox

A non-production test environment where a builder's team can run full end-to-end scenarios (lead arrives, Ava qualifies, agent registers, certificate issues, milestone updates fire) before going live. Sandbox testing is day 12 of the standard 14-day onboarding.

Settlement (closing)

The transaction event at which a home sale completes: documents are signed, funds are disbursed, and title transfers. In new construction, settlement happens after final walk-through; commission to the registered cooperating agent pays per the locked terms on the Co-Op Registration Certificate.

T

Title Company

The settlement-services provider that conducts the title search, issues title insurance, and coordinates the closing. In Builder Co-Op Network, title partners are matched to founding-member builders by metro under a RESPA-compliant MSA.

V

Verification URL

The public address where anyone with the link can confirm a Co-Op Registration Certificate's current status (Active / Expired / Revoked) and view the registration audit trail. Format: https://verify.buildercoopnetwork.com/REG-YYYY-NNNNN.

W

W-9

The IRS form (Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification) the builder needs from a cooperating buyer agent's brokerage in order to pay commission. One of three required documents tracked on every Co-Op Registration Certificate.

Warm Transfer

The hand-off pattern where Ava passes a live conversation to a human on the builder's sales team during business hours, complete with a summary of who the buyer is, what they want, what they can afford, and what they care about. Distinct from a cold hand-off where the human reads from scratch.