I have a number of valves around my water heater (in garage), but none of them will shut-off the entire water supply to the house.

Why do builders require home owners to go outside, remove a large metal plate covering the water meter in the yard, and then use the giant wrench and valve found there in order to shut-off the water?

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Why do builders require home owners to go outside, remove a large metal plate covering the water meter in the yard, and then use the giant wrench and valve found there in order to shut-off the water?

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They don't! You are referring to the water meter shut off. If you're on a slab walk around your house and look for a 3/4" pipe coming up out of the ground and going into your home.
If you have a basement look for a pipe coming in from the street. Both pipes should have a shutoff valve close enough to see. Good luck and thank you for rating my answer. Tom

Tom, I'm on a crawl space but the water enters my house below the garage slab, rises inside the wall between garage and house, and comes through the wall into a small closet inside the garage.

There are three valves there, but closing all of these does not shut-off cold water going into house. My house is about 20 years old.

At one time in my area it was required to have a water cut off just outside of the house where the water enters the house. This was called a stop and waste because after you turned the water off the valve have a small hole in the side that was suppose to drain the water from the lines in the house. A 3/8's square rod was used to turn this valve off and on, but the soil would rest off the iron rod and made the valve useless. Plus there was a question about cross connections.

So it is possible that you have one of these underground somewhere.

Another reason you may not have a cut off is a thing called gutting costs, there are lots of little things that a builder can cut on a house and first thing you know you are making another two to three hundred dollars off the house.

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There are three valves there, but closing all of these does not shut-off cold water going into house.

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Then what do they shut off? 20 years isn't old for a house. I have a ingrown toenail older then that. Cheers, Tom