I would be concerned about a basement flooding. What did the GC say about this?

If you go through the forum you will find other homes that were at a similar stage of finish as you and their homes did not look like this. Although they were dirty. I would insist that they clean GC clean the house and would pitch a fit. This does not sound reasonable at all. I would also hold back any further payment until the place is cleaned thoroughly and you can assess what is damaged.

I would be very upset if the basement flooded 2 weeks before I was supposed to move in. It sounds like your GC doesn't have a process for keeping up with the dirt and timing some of the work so it doesn't impact the finished parts. Can you have a talk with the GC?

As a comparison, we are about 2 months away from moving in. They have been building and installing built-ins and painting trim this week.

When I went today, all cabinets were covered by a layer of plastic sheeting to protect them, and the (plywood underlayment) floor had been basically shop vacced. (i.e. I wouldn't eat off it or walk barefoot, but the majority of the sawdust was gone).

I would be very upset if my new floors and cabinets were covered in mud.

Broom Clean?!?!? OK, I was going to say, "yes, it sounds like they are being ridiculously sloppy and that basement needs to be totally checked out so mold isn't forming, but rest assured it will be all clean and pristine when you move in..." but then I saw that they are delivering the house to you in "broom clean" condition? WTH? We have built 2 homes, one with a production builder and one custom and we did an extensive reno on the production home before we moved and in no case were the home anything but absolutely pristine when we moved in. I mean, the builder himself was muttering about one of the windows having a smudge the day before we moved in, and it was completely clear the next day.

I have only heard the term "broom clean" used in conjunction with the expectation of landlords relating to the condition of rental properties upon move out.

We are supposed to leave our townhome "broom clean" when we hand the keys to the new owners next week. If your contract says "broom clean," I would try to get the builder to modify that to be more specific about the level of cleanliness that is expected. If he's reluctant, maybe he would be willing to split the cost of a professional cleaning crew before you move in. (I'm assuming the builder drew up the contracts, right? If so, anything that is legally ambiguous should be interpreted in your favor, in the unlikely event that you decide to file a claim.)

Regardless of how "clean" the house should be, it should not be DAMAGED. Scratches/scrapes/etc are DAMAGE and if they remain when you do your final walk through, you should refuse to take possession until everything that they damaged is repaired or replaced.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I was pretty upset with the condition of the house. But I am also a neat freak, so I wasn't sure if I was over-reacting.

Honestly, I almost expected to come back here and have everyone tell me this is pretty normal for new construction.

We are meeting with the GC on Monday. I guess it is time for a come to Jesus meeting.

This has been a long and stressful build. I would do so many things differently if I could.

Broom clean is totally unacceptable for a new home. The contractor has been negligent in protecting your home, based on your descriptions. It's not cheap to have regular site clean-up done, and I can see why some contractors try to cut corners there.

A major clean-up needs to be done by the contractor in order to assess what has been damaged, so repairs can be effected prior to closing. You're NOT too picky. Good luck.

"Thanks for the feedback everyone. I was pretty upset with the condition of the house. But I am also a neat freak, so I wasn't sure if I was over-reacting."

You could be being a tad melodramatic :)
You should have posted photos of the mud clumps so we could scrutinize them before making the final determination.

I'm kidding of course.
Good luck in the meeting and remember- photos would not be unwelcome.

Adding to what GreenDesigns suggested, I would hose the roof down before your meeting so you can see the results for yourself. If you can't do that, I'd do it while he's standing next to you on Monday.
I'd also suggest walking through prior to the meeting and making a punch list of items (bathroom vanity, floors, etc) to you make sure you don't miss anything. Good Luck!

I am buying a house being built by a developer and I keep finding old plates of half eaten burritos and sauce and coke spilled on my foundation and something spilled on the second floor sub flooring and on and on ....food garbage galore! banana peels and fruit rinds lay rotting and 1/2 finished muffins and coffee cups w/liquid in them, not to mention the empty bags from the burritos they ate w/red sauce on my brand new white walls. I have complained several times. I am so sick of it. I am told this is "par for the course". I think it's disgusting. I will be sure to write this in the reviews/surveys I'm sent as the build progresses. I can't wait to see what damage they do to the "crap" cabinets (I didn't upgrade) during the remainder of the build. Any feed back is appreciated.