There is rarely a blanket policy. It comes down to leverage, plus some builder wariness about the loan type itself. When demand is strong, builders feel no need to accommodate investors, so they hold the line on credits. When inventory sits, they loosen up. The same cycle played out with buyer's agents: builders barely cooperated when homes sold themselves, then got far more flexible once they needed the help. The loan-specific angle: some builders associate non-QM financing with higher default risk down the road, and a foreclosure in a new community can dent neighborhood values and the builder's reputation in future phases they still have to sell. Fair or unfair, that perception makes some builders reluctant to sweeten terms on a non-QM investor purchase specifically. The pattern we see is builders extending closing-cost credits to owner-occupant buyers far more readily than to investors on non-QM loans. If you are set on that structure, your leverage peaks when the builder has standing inventory and a quarter-end or phase-end to hit. Time the ask accordingly, and get any incentive in writing.