Ask your friends for names of real estate lawyers and be sure not to make any more payments until these matters are resolved. Sorry for such problems, it sounds like the contractor is a scoundrel. Unfortunately, too many are.

In some states as long as builder is saying he will fix it, you do not have the right to litigate it.

Even than corrupt judges will fix it against you.

- AC unit find the name of the contractor who installed and call them directly.

- Send a letter to the builder outlining all of the problem.

I assume the unit upstairs was hacked and needs proper diagnostics, probably air in the lines or leaking.

You need to see a construction lawyer to find out what your rights are and what you need to do to make sure the builder remedies the problems.

"AC unit find the name of the contractor who installed and call them directly."

I wouldn't do this except as a last resort:

1. They will probably ignore you and tell you to talk to the builder;

2. It effectively lets the builder off the hook - it's between you and the AC company now.

"Send a letter to the builder outlining all of the problem."

Yes, do this and send it by registered mail keeping a copy for yourself. If the builder doesn't respond in a reasonable time, take him to small claims court, get the settlement and find a professional to fix the problems.

He's done with you. That's why he never puts money in escrow.

"Contacting"

An emailed list is a good tool & backup, even with a perfect builder client relationship.

Some small builders are disorganized and reminder calls help.

Usually, HVAC contractors are attentive and will update you if they are backlogged.

If the issues are bad enough, pay to have them repaired. You aren’t going to see him again. Even if you do, it’s likely more than a 2 week wait to get anyone in HVAC out to do builder warranty work. They don’t get paid for it, so they have no incentive. The rest of it, well, chalk it up to whom you chose and deal with it yourself. The other alternative is to spend even more money on a lawyer to sue him.

It’s worth the expense of a lawyer to have the initial advice of what can be done, and for them to send a couple of letters to see if he will respond to that. But it’s never worth paying a lawyer more money than you could recoup from a builder and still ending up with problems that you have to pay for. If the couple of letters don’t do it, pay for it all yourself and interview harder the next go around. If there is a next go around.

We are having a heat way in NJ right now so I can understand the slow response. Is the HVAC contractor a small one person business? The thing that is concerning is the AC has been fixed twice and is still not working.

Does the house have two furnaces and AC condensers, or is it a single unit with dampers to direct the air flow to the lower and upper floors?

You need to speak with the real estate agent and the lawyer who represented you at the closing. Hopefully there is a clause in the contract which covers this situation. I don't understand how your lawyer did not hold back money when problems were found in the walk through.

You closed on this property in April 2019. You didn't hold back funds from the builder at the time of closing so you will need to continue to pay your mortgage (if you have one).

Do get a construction attorney that is familiar with representing consumers as mentioned above.

Based on your post, the builder essentially was telling you he wasn't going to do any warranty work when he flat out stated he doesn't escrow for repairs. The reason he doesn't escrow for repairs is because he doesn't do repairs so he would lose those funds Now it's time to get serious with an attorney. Make sure you bring your documentation to him/her for review. Get a good one. Don't let the builder drag this out for a year. If your builder has a warranty, it is very limited. Many of the builder warranties are 2/10 type but you need to jump right on it because it isn't the comprehensive coverage that builder's like to claim.

Hi, Hctz,

I'm sorry for your experience.

I'm not an attorney and I didn't stay a Holiday Inn Express last night. But, before spending money on either repairs or an attorney, I suggest you check with the folks at NJ Dept. of Community Affairs about the statutory new home warranty requirements in your state. There is apparently a process for dispute resolution, penalties including loss of license if your builder doesn't meet the warranty obligation, and even a fund that may cover the cost of repairs.

https://www.nj.gov/dca/divisions/codes/offices/nhw_for_builders.html

Best wishes for a successful outcome.

Hey Charles, is there also one for Florida?

@cpartist, I'll pass your question to Joseph Corlett. He's a licensed contractor in Florida and I'm sure he'll know what applies there.

Let me take a wild guess. Is it a Ryan or Maronda home.

We are having a heat way in NJ right now so I can understand the slow response. Is the HVAC contractor a small one person business? The thing that is concerning is the AC has been fixed twice and is still not working.

You can understand? Small one person business?

Gee, If I sat around and just funneled excuses all day what a job that would be?

Yet I have time to reply to forum boards and run service calls. So what am I chopped liver? Or a freak of nature?

For the record it's called a heat wave.

I service Katy, Texas area. over 80% of the time I am to your door within 90 minutes of getting the call. (IN KATY, TEXAS)

Hmm what kind of excuses I could use to provide inferior service.....

Customer thinks they are paying only for parts. (no parts do NOT provide service. If I have to drive to you the parts don't do that for me.)

Customer grows a brain and thinks they know more than I do. (Then you don't need me... fix it yourself if you think you are so smart.)

Customer thinks I am ripping them off. (You called me for service and I respond. If you think I am ripping you off let's see you get service from someone else when you actually want it.)

Now that I have cleared your mind(s) of fog and cobwebs....

Builders are 'rarely' suited to provide service to any 'real' degree. You will need to find a 'true' service provider.

The three rules to a good experience with HVAC: Service, Knowledge, Experience.

Without 'SERVICE' none of it matters.

A one person HVAC company is a poor excuse... it's too hot is a poor excuse...

Ok, back to your regularly scheduled crying game...

ditto what Charles said. OP....what is in your contract? I hope you haven't paid the GC in full after the inspections!!

What Charles said... If this is a newly built Home, in NJ every new house comes with a Homeowner warranty, you can file a claim with them and they will send someone out.

NJ also has a Consumer Protection Agency, you can also file a clam with them but that when nothing works... first go through your Homeowner warranty.

That said, when you mentioned " We used 2 different home inspectors ( pre-drywall and pre-closing) " it sounds like you had an addition done through a 203K loan. If that the case there is no New Home Warranty and if you cannot get anything from your builder, Consumer Protection Agency would be a place to start.

I'm wondering if the job location is in Edison, because I was looking at the addition there about that time, March of 2018 but walked away from it because it was a 203k loan.... and a company who got the job, they known for dragging things out and never finishing the jobs.

I was doing a job near by and I drove by the house about 3-4 months ago and they were still working on it. That company is known for doing foundation, framing and the siding and from there it's down the hill.

In any case, good luck and I hope everything works out.