HELP! New Home Builder Relationship With Land Developer (Howe, Rule: sales, real estate market)

[monkey2003]

Please help. I am a first time home buyer and planning to build a new house. I didn't get an agent (i really regret this now) so i need help!!

There are 11 lots available in the community that i like. However, only one lot was left in the plan and elevation that i wanted. The sales person told me i can't build the same house (floor plan and elevation) across the street and it has to be two houses down if on the same side. I guess they didn't want all the floor plans to be similar. Since there's only one lot left, we signed the contract and selected all our options and paid them $30K already. The house cost roughly $475K.

My options (floor plan, elevation, upgrades, etc) had to be approved by the land developer before the builder can start building my house. The land developer DENIED me in building the floor and elevation that i wanted. They said i can have the same house but a different elevation (the ugliest elevation). My floor plan and elevation is really popular so they didn't want me to build it. However, i met their unwritten requirement. The sales person didn't really give me a good answer in why they denied me of building my house. He just said "technically it's 4 houses down". That's BS because more than half the houses built already would not meet that requirement.

I told them i do NOT want to build the house if it wasn't the elevation i wanted. The builder now is trying to go back to the developer and convince them to approve my floor plan and elevation. I'm just waiting and hoping they change their mind.

My question is, Are they bluffing wanting me to build a house that's not popular so it can diversify the community? What can i do? I feel like they are screwing me. Thanks for the help in advance.

[llkltk]

Wow, that's a lot of money down as earnest money. Who is the builder? Deal sounds like garbage to me. Did you not get any incentives. I would walk away.

[Komeht]

No sane builder would keep the earnest money in such a situation.

Obviously - if developer denies you walk (unless there is another house you would like as much)

[monkey2003]

Originally Posted by llkltk

Wow, that's a lot of money down as earnest money. Who is the builder? Deal sounds like garbage to me. Did you not get any incentives. I would walk away.

streetman homes is the builder and the community is highland horizon in round rock. i put 5k down for earnest money and 25k for half of the upgrade cost. i want the house, but dont know why they didnt allow me to build the floor plan and elevation i wanted. im hoping the land developer changes their minds or else im outta there.

[EzPeterson]

Just walk.

[austin_buyer]

monkey2003 - Obviously the builder and the developer are monkeying around with you . No offence!!!

Just walk away, with the way the real estate market has come around, the builders are giving a hoot to what the customers really want and taking care of them.. and 50% from the builder for upgrades is ridiculous, typically it used to be 20%...

[monkey2003]

Originally Posted by austin_buyer

monkey2003 - Obviously the builder and the developer are monkeying around with you . No offence!!!

Just walk away, with the way the real estate market has come around, the builders are giving a hoot to what the customers really want and taking care of them.. and 50% from the builder for upgrades is ridiculous, typically it used to be 20%...

Putting down 50% of the upgrade was by choice.

Is there any legal action I can take if the developer denied me a second time?? I've spent a lot of time on this deal so far.

[centralaustinite]

You can hire a real estate attorney -- it will cost you at least $150 an hour.

I am afraid that you are exhibit A as to why buyers (especially first-timers, and even when buying new) need your own real estate agent!!

I would ask for your money back and once you get it, RUN away!

[general101]

We dealt with Streetman too but in a different community. In our case from what we were told during our initial meetings, you cannot have the same model + elevation as the houses immediately next to you on the right and left. So it is strange that you are being told that you cannot have that model/elevation if you have a similar one 3-4 houses down the street (may be the rules are different for Highland Horizon?).

OP, I am not sure I totally understand what happened in your case. When you signed the contract, you had chosen a specific "model" AND "elevation" and paid the earnest money >> Streetman came back later and told you that you cannot have that elevation?

If the above is true, it definitely is not acceptable. During the signing of contract, the builder should be able to tell you what model and elevation you can build based on the "lot" you choose. At least that is how it was in our case. Once we told them the lot number and model+elevation we wanted, they looked up and made sure we can have that model/elevation. We did have the flexibility to upgrade our elevation after a week or so but were told that we cannot change the lot and model once we sign the contract.

From our discussions with Streetman, I am under the impression that if we walk out of the contract at some point, you don't get the money given towards upgrades if they have already started constructing. This is what I understood from our meetings but I do not know what you were told. That is one reason why we rolled up most of our structural upgrade costs into the sale price, so we had to pay the builder only for non-structural upgrade items in 1 (50%) +3 installments which was a small amount compared to what we would have paid for structural upgrade items. Also if your upgrades are within any incentive they give, then you obviously dont have to pay anything.

[monkey2003]

Originally Posted by general101

We dealt with Streetman too but in a different community. In our case from what we were told during our initial meetings, you cannot have the same model + elevation as the houses immediately next to you on the right and left. So it is strange that you are being told that you cannot have that model/elevation if you have a similar one 3-4 houses down the street (may be the rules are different for Highland Horizon?).

OP, I am not sure I totally understand what happened in your case. When you signed the contract, you had chosen a specific "model" AND "elevation" and paid the earnest money >> Streetman came back later and told you that you cannot have that elevation?

If the above is true, it definitely is not acceptable. During the signing of contract, the builder should be able to tell you what model and elevation you can build based on the "lot" you choose. At least that is how it was in our case. Once we told them the lot number and model+elevation we wanted, they looked up and made sure we can have that model/elevation. We did have the flexibility to upgrade our elevation after a week or so but were told that we cannot change the lot and model once we sign the contract.

From our discussions with Streetman, I am under the impression that if we walk out of the contract at some point, you don't get the money given towards upgrades if they have already started constructing. This is what I understood from our meetings but I do not know what you were told. That is one reason why we rolled up most of our structural upgrade costs into the sale price, so we had to pay the builder only for non-structural upgrade items in 1 (50%) +3 installments which was a small amount compared to what we would have paid for structural upgrade items. Also if your upgrades are within any incentive they give, then you obviously dont have to pay anything.

Thanks General101, this is exactly what i was looking for.

You're Correct. I signed the contract with the model+elevation on the lot that i wanted. The sales person told me it should be ok since the house across from me and two houses to the left and two houses to the right were not the same model/elevation as mine. This was the "Rule" that he told me. I paid my earnest money, went through the design center and selected all my upgrades. I even paid $25K for the upgrade cost but that was by choice. They called after 3 weeks waiting and said the Developer said i can build the same Model home, but i couldn't have the Elevation that i wanted. They "changed" the rules on me and said there were two many of the same Model+elevation in the community, but did not specify the rules. The sales person did say something like "wellll, technically you're not suppose to have same model/elevation 4 houses across from you also". That's BS because half the house in that community would not follow that rule.

It is really important that i get the elevation that i signed up for so you can imagine how pissed off i am right now. I'm not sure who to be mad at, the builder or the developer. Are they able to do that?? can they deviate from the contract like that? I don't know what their relationship is with the developer but you're right, they should have checked this out way before when i was signing the contract.