Builder-Installed Alarm System: What You Actually Own
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You closed on a new-construction home. There is a touchscreen panel by the front door, an app icon on your phone, a video doorbell, and a smart lock. Somebody from an alarm company has already called about "activating" it. And nowhere in the mountain of closing paperwork does anyone tell you the two things you actually need to know: what that panel can currently do, and who controls it.
This page answers those two questions. It is written for the person who has already bought the house, which is the one audience nobody on this subject writes for. Search for anything about new-construction security and every result is either a builder-facing programme page, an alarm dealer's pitch, or a review site steering you to a quote form. That is not a coincidence: the commercial structure of builder security depends on you not asking what you already have.
The short version
- A security panel is not a security system. The common builder package includes the panel and the smart-home devices, and frequently includes no door or window contacts and no motion detector. Nothing is watching an opening.
- The "free" included years usually cover automation, not monitoring. App control of locks, lights and thermostats is the complimentary part. Professional monitoring is the separate post-close sale.
- You own the hardware, but not the account. The service layer behind most builder packages is sold only through authorised dealers, so somebody's dealer account is required for the app to keep working.
- Year four is the question nobody answers. If your automation came as a three-year complimentary term, no published price tells you what continuing costs, or who bills you.
What America's largest homebuilder actually installs
Rather than generalise, here is one builder's package as that builder publishes it. D.R. Horton has been, by its own statement, the builder more homebuyers choose than any other in America since 2002, and Alarm.com states that D.R. Horton "launched a smart home package for all homes built nationwide, called Home is Connected." So this is not a fringe example; it is close to the largest single sample available.
D.R. Horton's own smart-home disclaimer lists the equipment included in one of its smart homes as: "a Z-Wave programmable thermostat manufactured by Honeywell; a Z-Wave door lock manufactured by Kwikset; a Smart Switch; a Qolsys, Inc. touchscreen Smart Home control device; an automation platform from Alarm.com; an Alarm.com video doorbell." The company adds that it "reserves the right, without prior notice, to substitute other products for those listed above."
Read that list again for what is not in it.
| Component | In the published package? | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Security panel / touchscreen hub | Yes (Qolsys touchscreen device) | This is genuine alarm-grade hardware, which is why the package looks like a security system |
| Automation platform and app | Yes (Alarm.com) | Locks, thermostat, doorbell and switch control from your phone |
| Video doorbell | Yes | Front-door video, which is what most owners actually use daily |
| Door and window contacts | Not listed | Without contacts, nothing detects an opening. This is the single biggest gap |
| Motion detector | Not listed | No interior catch if someone gets past a door or window |
| Glass-break detector | Not listed | A smashed slider is a common entry route and is invisible to this package |
| Siren beyond the panel | Not listed | A panel speaker is not an exterior sounder |
| Professional monitoring | Not included | Nobody is dispatching anyone. See what monitoring does and does not do |
And then the sentence that ought to be on the first page of every new-build closing packet. D.R. Horton states in the same disclaimer that it "makes no representation or warranty that any or all of the Smart Home technology is secure, will meet any homeowner needs or will provide any level of physical or cyber security for the home", and that this holds "even if the technology is working as intended."
That is a homebuilder saying, in writing, that the security-looking equipment it installed is not warranted to provide any level of physical security. It is an honest disclaimer and there is nothing improper about it. It is simply the opposite of the impression the panel on your wall creates.
Important caveat, stated plainly: this is one builder's published package, read on 2026-08-06. Yours may differ, options are frequently sold at design-centre stage, and some builders do include sensor packages. The point is not that every builder ships an empty system. The point is that you cannot assume, and the way to find out is below rather than from the dealer who calls you.
The complimentary years cover automation, not monitoring
This is the distinction that costs new owners the most, and it is visible in the platform vendor's own words rather than in any interpretation of ours.
Alarm.com's builder programme page tells builders that "Homeowners can try smart home automation services with a full 3-year trial at no extra cost. They can control locks, thermostats, and more via the Alarm.com app from day one." Note two things: the free thing is automation, and it is described as a trial with a term.
Monitoring appears separately, as the upsell. The same page tells builders that Alarm.com "makes it easy for homeowners to upgrade their system with additional technology that adds long-term value, including professionally monitored security", and that "Our service providers work directly with the homeowner after closing to install and support their new technology."
So the sequence the industry has designed is: the builder pays for hardware and a free automation term, the homeowner moves in and starts using the app, and then a dealer contacts them after closing to sell the part that makes it an alarm. There is nothing dishonest in that arrangement. But it explains the call you got, and it explains why "I already have a system" and "my house is alarmed" are not the same statement.
What nobody publishes is what happens when the complimentary term expires. Alarm.com describes a three-year trial and does not publish a renewal price, because the price is set by whichever dealer holds your account. Budget for it as an unknown recurring cost starting in your fourth year, and ask the question before you need the answer. Our five-year cost calculator exists precisely because year-one pricing is a poor guide to what a system costs.
Why you cannot just activate it yourself
Owners reasonably assume that because the panel is theirs, they can go to the platform's website and buy service. You cannot, at least not for the Alarm.com layer that sits behind many builder packages.
Alarm.com's own United States site routes residential buyers to a third party: its footer lists "Home Security Solutions Sales: Connect with an Authorized Service Provider." There is no consumer self-serve purchase path on the site at all. D.R. Horton's disclaimer says the same thing from the other direction, warning that for the included technology to work, homeowners "must obtain and pay for their own Internet service and may need to purchase compatible devices and to maintain accounts with third parties for the services."
Practically, that means your realistic options are a dealer, a different dealer, or a different platform. Which one is open to you depends on a second gate: whether the installing company locked the panel's programming with a custom installer code. That gate, and the separate question of releasing a cellular communicator, is covered in detail in our guide to switching monitoring companies without replacing your alarm. Check it before you cancel anything, because the order of operations matters.
Find out what you actually have, in about fifteen minutes
- Read your own paperwork first, not the dealer's brochure. Find the smart-home or technology addendum in your closing documents and the design-centre selection sheet. Between them they list exactly what was installed and whether you paid for options. This is the only document that is specific to your house.
- Count the sensors, physically. Walk the perimeter and look at the top corner of every exterior door and ground-floor window for a small two-piece contact. Look for a motion detector high on a wall with a view down a hallway. If you find none, you have automation and video, not an alarm.
- Ask the panel what it knows. On a touchscreen panel, open the sensor or zone list. It will enumerate every device enrolled. A list containing a lock, a thermostat and a doorbell, and nothing else, is the answer.
- Try to arm it. Arm in "away" mode and open an exterior door. If nothing happens, nothing is watching that door. Do this before anyone tells you the system is "already active".
- Establish whether an account exists and whose name is on it. Ask the builder's customer-care team, in writing, three questions: which company installed the security equipment, whether a monitoring or service account exists for the address today, and whether the panel was left with a default or a custom installer code. Written answers are worth having.
- Change every code you can reach. Installers, trades, the sales office and possibly previous tour visitors have all had access during construction. Set a new master user code before you do anything else, and do not reuse the one on the sales-office sticker.
- Check your permit obligation. Many cities require an alarm permit in the current occupant's name before police will respond, and false-alarm fees land on whoever occupies the address. New-build owners get caught by this constantly because they assume the builder handled it. Our false-alarm fines and permit index lets you check your city in a couple of minutes.
Your four realistic options
| Option | What it costs (August 2026, verify for your address) | Best for | Avoid if |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Activate with the builder's dealer | Their monthly rate plus whatever sensors you add. Often financed rather than priced, so ask for a total, not a payment | You want one visit, one invoice and no research, and their written terms check out | They will not put the contract term, the total equipment cost and the cancellation fee in writing before the visit |
| 2. Have a no-contract company take the panel over | Roughly $0 to $250 one-time plus low monthly monitoring; sensors extra | You want to keep the hardware and drop the traditional monthly rate. Usually the best value if the panel is not locked | The panel is locked with a custom installer code that the original company will not release |
| 3. Add sensors and self-monitor | Sensor hardware only, with no monthly monitoring fee | You want alerts on your phone and accept that nobody dispatches for you. Weigh that honestly via our no-monthly-fee guide | You need a monitoring certificate for an insurance discount, or you want dispatch while you are away |
| 4. Leave it as automation and buy a separate system | Cost of a self-contained DIY system, with the builder's kit staying as smart-home control | The builder panel is locked, proprietary, or you simply want a platform you control. See how to choose without getting upsold | You would end up paying two monthly fees for overlapping coverage |
Before you price any of these, work out how many openings you actually need to cover, because sensor count is the whole cost variable in a builder-installed system and dealers quote packages rather than coverage. Our guide to how many door and window sensors you need is built for exactly this decision. If you want your builder's smart devices to keep working alongside a system you control, our Home Assistant compatibility guide covers which platforms allow that and which do not.
What to do about the dealer who calls after closing
Most builder-programme dealers are ordinary local alarm companies doing ordinary work. But the post-close visit to a brand-new homeowner is a documented high-pressure sales setting, and the FTC's published guidance on home-security sales at your door is directly applicable. Two of its warning signs describe this situation almost exactly.
The FTC lists "Offers of 'free' equipment to get you to sign a contract" and adds its own translation: "you may have to sign a long-term and expensive system monitoring contract." It also lists "Phony upgrades", where a salesperson says they have come to replace your security system when they really want to install a new one with a costly monitoring contract. Neither is an accusation against builder dealers; both are the pattern to check for.
The FTC's practical advice for any home-security sale is worth following here verbatim in substance: get the company's name, address, phone and licence numbers and check them with your state Attorney General and local consumer protection agency; get written estimates from more than one company; "read the fine print" and make sure the written contract includes every promise the salesperson made out loud; be sure you know "who will monitor the system, how much it will cost, and how often you will be billed"; and ask your police and fire departments whether you must register the system and whether there are false-alarm fines.
And the one that matters most if you have already signed something at your own kitchen table: the FTC states that its Cooling-Off Rule "gives you three business days to cancel if you sign a contract in your home or anywhere that is not the seller's permanent place of business, even if the system has already been installed", and that "You don't have to give a reason for canceling." The rule carries exemptions and interacts with state law, so read the FTC's own current guidance and your state's rules rather than relying on this summary. This is general information, not legal advice.
Separately, watch for the financing structure rather than the monthly number. ADT's own builder-partner page for new homeowners advertises "$0 down. 0% interest" and discloses in its footnotes that this "Requires 0% APR installment agreement with equal monthly payments based on term/equipment selected" and "Well-qualified credit", and that its 10% accessory-installation saving "Requires monitoring agreement" with "Early term. and installation fees" applying. That is the same mechanism we take apart, with worked arithmetic, in what no money down home security actually costs. Read that before you sign a payment plan for equipment.
How the industry structure explains all of this
None of the above is a conspiracy; it is an incentive chain, and it is visible in each party's own published material.
- The platform wants scale in new construction. Alarm.com tells builders its programme "with complimentary automation, is ideal for production builders who build at least 100 homes per year", and offers a Model Home Program giving "one free kit per 25 homes in your community". Complimentary automation is a customer-acquisition cost.
- The builder wants a differentiated house at a low added cost. Alarm.com's pitch to builders is explicit about "hardware savings" and "lower additional construction costs". A panel, a lock and a thermostat photograph well in a model home.
- The dealer wants the recurring monthly revenue. Alarm.com states its service providers "work directly with the homeowner after closing". The hardware is already on the wall, installed at someone else's expense. That is an unusually cheap lead.
- Nobody in the chain is paid to tell you what is missing. ADT's entire new-homeowner builder page, read on 2026-08-06, is a phone number and a registration form. It publishes no price, no equipment list and no contract term anywhere on it.
Which is why the useful move for a new-build owner is not to decide whether to upgrade. It is to establish what you have, in writing, before the first quote arrives.
What this page deliberately does not do
- It does not tell you your builder's package. We have documented one national builder's published contents and one platform's published programme terms. Your addendum governs your house.
- It does not claim builder systems are a scam. The hardware is generally good, the panels are alarm-grade, and a builder-installed base is a genuinely cheaper starting point than buying the same equipment retail.
- It does not test anything. This page is documented research from primary vendor and builder sources, not hands-on testing. We say so on every page.
- It does not give legal advice about your contract, your cooling-off rights or your state's alarm licensing rules.
- It does not promise a security outcome. No sensor count, monitoring plan or panel prevents a burglary. What they change is detection and response, which is a different claim.
Next step: walk your house with our scoreable home security checklist to see what your builder's package actually covers and where the gaps are, before anyone quotes you. If the panel came from a previous owner rather than a builder, start with bought a house with an alarm system instead. If your new panel is already beeping at you, our beeping alarm panel guide has the silence-and-diagnose sequence, and if the sticker says ADT, our ADT equipment guide maps the panel families.
Sources
- D.R. Horton - America's Smart Home (published package contents and smart-home disclaimer) (accessed 2026-08-06)
- Alarm.com - Builder Program (3-year complimentary automation trial, post-close monitoring upgrade, 100-home and 25-home programme thresholds, installation guidance) (accessed 2026-08-06)
- Alarm.com United States site footer - "Home Security Solutions Sales: Connect with an Authorized Service Provider" (accessed 2026-08-06)
- ADT - New Construction Security System / ADT Builder Partner ($0 down 0% APR installment terms, 10% accessory saving requiring a monitoring agreement) (accessed 2026-08-06)
- Federal Trade Commission - Tips to Help People Avoid Being Scammed By Door-to-Door Sales Agents Pitching Home Security Systems (warning signs, questions to ask, Cooling-Off Rule three-business-day cancellation), FTC guidance published April 2011 and still published on ftc.gov (accessed 2026-08-06)