The good news is "buying". You have the power ($$$$). Fix it or find another buyer.

Not good news. I am homeless at the end of the month if I dont move in. This is why I have no leverage and am looking for a solution to fix the fireplace.

It's hard to know what to do to fix it, without knowing what happened to it in the first place. I understand the dilemma of being homeless, but I'm of the mind that you shouldn't take possession of the home until they address the issue. Can you give us any more information at all, like what did the builder say about it when you pointed out the problem?

Things were already at the yelling stage at that point. There is no back and forth anymore. It looks like some kind of oily substance was wiped on the top half of the fireplace and then someone tried, rather aggressively, to buff it out. The top half of the fireplace is noticeably darker than the bottom and it looks stained.

I understand that ideally one shouldn't accept a product that isn't up to standard, but I will LITERALLY be living on the streets in downtown Chicago with all of my furniture if I don't move at the end of the month. I am just looking for suggestions for how I can deal with the situation that I am in.

Thanks for the response. There isn't any trim work/wood work around the fireplace -- yet. It is definitely something that happened in the tile installation.

I appreciate the advice re: not accepting the work "as is", however, not moving in isn't an option. The cost of moving twice, renting short term and storing 3 stories worth of furniture is clearly far more than replacing all of the tile on the fireplace. I will talk to my attorney about a holdback at closing.

I'm sorry this happened, and I'm sorry they're being so difficult, that's not right. Good plan on talking to your attorney about a holdback. Please let us know how it turns out, and once you're in, post some photos and maybe that will help with a solution. It might be wise to call in a third party to have a look and assess the problem.

Good luck to you.

Okay, I was writing my previous post while you posted yours........from your information so far, it seems you have 2 options at this point.......1. Stand your ground and threaten to walk. There are always solutions to the housing needs. If you're buying in Chicago, then you' probably aren't penniless. Maybe you have to rent one of those short term (by the week) rooms. Super 8 or some other company offering corporate room terms. There's a number in Chicago.........have spent my share of time there in just such arrangements doing short term contract design work. 2. Accept it for what it is and fix it later......as I said have your Realtor add the conditional clause like I said as part of the closing documents.

Getting into a shouting match with the builder solves nothing. Even though you have a deadline, you are still the one forking out the money for this new abode.........that gives you leverage. The builder makes nothing if you walk away and he's still holding the construction loan. That's outflow few builders can carry for long periods of time. The longer I hold onto a project ii's money out of my pocket.

First of all, don't panic! I know, that is easier said than done since I tend to get all excited about such issues and lose sight of the overall situation but I have a very practical partner telling me that anything related to housing is only a house, not a life and death matter.

Remember, this is a game of chicken and whoever blinks first loses. If you let on that you don't have a plan B, the seller isn't going to be very concerned about finding real solutions as they can simply wait it out and force you to accept the fireplace as is. You need to be sure that whatever actions you take will be interpreted as a willingness to walk away if they don't satisfy you...even if you have no intention of walking, you can't let on!

Moving companies regularly store furniture and personal effects for customers for everything from a couple days to months and even years. For a couple of days, they'll just leave it in the trailer, but otherwise they unload it into their warehouse until the customer needs it. If you are planning on doing your own move, rent a storage unit and move all your belonging in until you have a place to go. You already have to get all your furniture and person effects out of their current location--once they are packed up, loading and unloading them an extra time is just more labor. Temporary housing is available all over the place - hotels, extended stay hotels, corporate apartments, summer sublets, house sitting, rent a room...Unfortunately, I'm way out in the suburbs, but I would rent you a cute little two bedroom house (or, sell it to you so you could put in your own fireplace, and not have to worry about this crazy situation!)

As for the fireplace - I don't know if the stone can be cleaned. If it is truly stained, perhaps the only alternative is to evenly stain all of it so that the surface is uniform. Or, removal of the stone and replacement. At that time, you are negotiating the credit to be applied to the sale price.

Whatever alternative you choose, it will cost you some money which you may, or may not, recover. Your real estate lawyer should probably be involved by now if there's a chance the transaction will fall through, as if the sale falls through the lawyer isn't going to get all the money. Perhaps he can contact the seller and ask them about the details of setting up the escrow account for the repair costs and get them all excited.

Good advice from Linda and STK. I know it's scary...I've had to do a similar thing in the past with a builder, but in the end, they gave in and I got what I needed... and deserved.

Kimdee's advice about a hold back is good advice. Go through with the closing with the (legal) understanding that until that fireplace is fixed your attorney holds back a determined amount of money.

We had to do that with a buyer as we could not get the Title 5 installed before we closed. The buyer's attorney held back $15,000.00 until it was completed.