You gave them $10,000 and have NOT signed a contract yet? What does your paper trail look like for any and all communications with them to this point? Do you intend on actually walking away?

I don’t understand either. You said, “we are not even in drywall yet,” which leads one to believe that you own a house currently under construction. But then you say, “we have not signed a contract.” So which is it? Do you legally own a house (albeit partial) or not?

And then you say, “we gave them $10,000 for upgrades.” WHAT?? Well of course there’s no hurry for them - if you’ve been giving them money and they are not bound by contract to you.

Lawyer up.

If you are not to drywall yet, you will not be done by March. We have been in this exact place. Unfortunately there's not a lot you can do but be patient. See if you can negotiate a 4-6 month lease on your apartment.

By the way, I think you meant to say TRACT housing:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tract_housing

If this home is located in a new neighborhood where there are a limited number of builders and the home styles are selected from pre-determined plans, we generally refer to this as "production builders". There are selections in various floorplan components you can choose to customize your home, but that doesn't mean it is semi-custom.

There are some red flags with your build if it has been since May 28, 2017 and you don't have a contract signed by the builder yet. I agree 100% with Mark Bischak, take your paperwork to a good real estate attorney. I don't understand providing any funds to a builder without having a contract. That is not a normal process at all. The sales rep for the builder only represents the builder and not you. Find a good real estate attorney.

Am I understanding correctly that you do have a contract but they will not give you a closing date until drywall is complete? That is not unusual with production builders and if so there is likely little that you can do.

As said above, I would talk to an attorney.

We signed a purchase agreement in May along with a payment. Actual contract with a closing date doesn’t come till we are in drywall. Anything we have upgraded which they considered NSO ( mom standard options) we have had to pay up front for. We had all our finishes picked out two weeks after signing purchase agreement. Summer weather was a non issue. We’ve had two noughts if bad weather this winter. So far we have framing, plumbing (which didn’t pass inspection) and hvac.

No opaone. If you read the OP she says the "contract" won't be signed by the builder until the drywall stage and they are no where near drywall.

This actually means there is no contract because in real estate you have to have a written P&S agreement and not an oral agreement. A contract has to have the signature of the parties involved and consideration (usually a deposit) and the signed contract has to be delivered to the parties. OP has signed, deposit given and no builder signature equals no contract. But, I'm not an attorney and they need to see one asap IMO.

PS - I think it is outrageous that the builder would collect money and not sign a contract where the parties agree on the elements.

Edit: I have been in real estate for more than 35 yrs and have never seen a builder or other seller try to hold a consumer to a contract that doesn't exist yet.

Please excuse the spelling and auto corrects. I’m typing from my phone ! Should have read Non standard options!

My husband and I recently had a tract home built (closed Aug 2017), and we didn't get a real closing date until less than a week before closing. I say "real" because the builder kept moving the date around. Our walk-through was a whole 3 days before closing (so, of course, most of the issues weren't addressed), and we are still dealing with fixing walk-through items.

We also hired a third-party inspector -- worth every penny -- who was only permitted to walk the house within a week of closing (he was there at the same time we did our walk with the builder's representative, because the house was soooooo not ready beforehand). If your contract permits this, PLEASE hire one!!!

"So far we have framing, plumbing (which didn’t pass inspection) and hvac"

Oh my.... If there's any way to recoup your deposit and walk away, you and your husband should be seriously considering it.

Get a RE attorney and do yourself a favor and get out now.

My husband says we should stick it out because if we start over it will be another year of waiting. Ive been actively looking at both new and resale homes and have yet to find anything that I would want to purchase. The builder is blaming the delays on the town. I have taken note though that other home developments in this same town that were at the same " new neighborhood" phase in May when we signed the purchase agreement are now almost at build out for the entire communities. So that doesn't add up. Also the inventory homes have come further along that ours in the community we purchased in.

"By the way, I think you meant to say TRACT housing:"

Yes thank you for pointing that out. I obviously did.

"f this home is located in a new neighborhood where there are a limited number of builders and the home styles are selected from pre-determined plans, we generally refer to this as "production builders".

Then this would be a production home being advertised as a semi custom with a custom price tag! Nothing is surprising me 8 months in.

Your additional explanation sounds more like a money issue than a permit or inspection issue. By money, I mean it sounds like the builder is having cash flow problems and that is why he is pushing inventory homes ahead of your home. What type of loan do you have - end loan? Construction perm loan? Cash?

"My husband says we should stick it out because if we start over it will be another year of waiting"

To me, that's like saying "I'll just stay with my boyfriend because I'd have to start over in a new relationship anyways". Nevermind the fact that the boyfriend is abusive, self serving, draining your finances and ruining your life in a multitude of other ways....

To add, I empathize with you and I realize experiences vary based on multiple factors- but we built a fully custom, 7k sq ft home in just over 9 months. It's good to hear that you're looking at other options, because I think you are being taken advantage of. Even if you lose a year, it may be worth not having to deal with a house built by someone who can't get a plumbing inspection passed.

I’m really sorry you are going through this. If you plan to be in this home for many years, one additional year wait while you find another home may be a small price to pay. Have you considered purchasing a lot and doing a custom build? It might be more expensive though, but it also might hold more value than a semi custom production home.

My husband says we should stick it out because if we start over it will be another year of waiting.

Marriage is more important than a house. <3 I'd stick with it. :-)

Marriage is more important than a house. However, building is very, very stressful on many married people. I have seen it numerous times (as I am a Realtor).

Having said the above, maybe she can get additional info so her husband understands that what this particular builder is doing is outside the normal process of new home construction. I don't care that this particular builder may tell all of his buyers that the 'contract' won't be signed until drywall. It isn't SOP. I think the OP and her husband may not have a lot of experience in this area and that is why they need a good real estate attorney.

It truly sounds like the builder is taking advantage of these buyers. Their best recourse is to get legal advice based on the documentation they have now. If the OP and her husband decide to stick it out, then they have done so with all the available information. But I suspect this builder is having severe cash flow issues and that can hurt this buyer.

Did the builder not sign the contract at all? Or was it just that a blank was left in the "closing date" sections? I guess I read the OP differently.

???

Wow, so sorry to hear your story. But as others have said:

1. Get a lawyer. One who is versed in contract law if possible. Tell him your story, take in ALL your papers. See if anything you have is binding and if your $$ is refundable.

2. Work with your landlord and see if there is anything they can do about the costs.

3. Keep looking for cheaper apartments, new & used homes. Think about lowering your needs/expectations for a few years and get into a "starter" home that you can sell quick when you do build again.

4. Get copies of these so-called delays. Why didn't the city approve your permits? The city should have minutes available from any planning meetings they had concerning your home.

5. Why in the hell didn't your plumbing get approved? Ask questions, demand answers. Ask to see the inspectors report.

6. Be INVOLVED! Especially if you continue with the current build or eventually start another down the road be involved in EVERY step. If there are meetings about your permits, go to them. If the electrician is having an inspection of his work, be there for it. Walk through your build at least once a week, more if you can. It's not only cool to see the building process but you will understand where things are that are behind the walls.

End of May, and you still don't have walls/window/doors/roof? Just framing? Wow that is sad, if you were in a northern state you could have feet of snow inside your house soaking your subflooring. My custom build started in late July, had walls/roof/windows etc by late Oct, drywall just last week. I did start the town permit process in April though, since there are screwy rules here and it takes 3 months to get everything approved.

Except that if the OP doesn't OWN the house till it's finished (often the case in tract developments) they don't have any right to be there for those things and it may not be permitted. :-(

I think you do need to find out just what's going on from the builder - then have a long hard talk between yourselves. Do you really want to throw good money after bad? And do you want to basically be in something of a relationship with this guy for quite some time to come. Usually, there is a warranty of some sort and you're not really "done" with him, even when the house is done.

To clarify this isn't a starter home. This will be the fourth home we've owned. This is the first home in this state that we've built. The home we sold in this state was a custom spec home we purchased. Maybe we have been extremely lucky in our purchases previously as we've never had issues. We were told that this is a standard procedure for new construction in this state by the realtor agent . By this I mean that not signing the full contract till the drywall stage.

What type of loan do you have - end loan? Construction perm loan? Cash?

We will have a 30 year fixed. We are putting down approx 30% or more on the home. Maybe closer to 35% if that matters.

I did go out today and look at some new construction homes that have gone up since we came into this in may in the same area. Prices are significantly higher than our price. In fact the neighborhood Im buying in is significantly higher than when we purchased. An example is homes in the same development are now selling anywhere from $80-260 K more. My husband said maybe they know they can get more for this home now and are hoping we walk. If it makes any difference the prices of these homes are now in the $560-780K range.

I think your last comment is your answer. If you walk, they stand to make a lot more money.

Is is there a spec home that’s further along that you like?