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Your realtor and the developer's realtor are not attorneys, so there is not much that they could do at this point. Get an attorney now and get these issues resolved to your satisfaction. All their delays and stone walling is designed to make you just give up and get the repairs done yourself. Don't delay hiring an attorney. The builder should pay for your legal costs as well since they are (probably) in default of the contract terms now.
If your realtor was doing their job they would have demanded that money for repairs be put in escrow until the repairs/finishing, etc. was complete. At the very least, your agent should be contacting your builder and demanding satisfaction.
It is unfortunate that you can't trust anyone anymore. Many years ago if the builder said they would come back and finish something you could trust that they would. Now - don't trust anyone.
It is unfortunate that you can't trust a representative's word, and even moreso when the corporate office is just as receptive. They were great prior to closing, but as soon as it closed. I'm curious as to why the real estate agent wasn't more helpful in that sense...maybe she was distracted by that 10k incentive (btsa) the builder was paying. I'm planning my escalation, and now researching legal counsel.
Whether or not you escrow monies depends on who is pushing the closing. If they builder was willing to delay to fix things and you weren't, it is harder to negotiate escrow monies. If the builder wanted to close before the end of the year, then escrow money for repairs could have been negotiated.
Either way, your buyer agent should be involved in this. In my opinion, anything that was part of the transaction that needs follow up is part of the buyer agent service. If you haven't involved them, involved them now (and maybe their managing broker if needed) while you seek attorney counsel.
I do a fair amount of expert witness work as a home inspector. Almost every case resulted in my client's closing on a house that was not completed. In every one of those cases, they were assured by the builder, and/or their Realtor that the builder was a great guy and would take care of everything. Almost always there was something added about how good of a Christian he or she was.
Obviously, the builder did not finish as promised, or they wouldn't have ended up with an attorney, and hired me.
When I do inspections on new construction, and my clients are being rushed to close, I try to suggest they consider the potential for problems. Once they get the money the incentive to finish is reduced.
The only reason there is a rush to close is so the builder and realtor can get their money.
Your realtor and the developer's realtor are not attorneys, so there is not much that they could do at this point. Get an attorney now and get these issues resolved to your satisfaction. All their delays and stone walling is designed to make you just give up and get the repairs done yourself. Don't delay hiring an attorney. The builder should pay for your legal costs as well since they are (probably) in default of the contract terms now.
You are correct, buyer agent cant do much about it, despite the fact that they collected a commission and supposedly provided the buyers with "advice".
I love how all the agents on this forum advice buyers to "get a buyers agent" but when the %^$# hits the fan, they next piece of advice is "get an attorney". At the end of the day what good is a buyers agent if they cant be held accountable for their their "advice" or lack of it?
You are correct, buyer agent cant do much about it, despite the fact that they collected a commission and supposedly provided the buyers with "advice".
I love how all the agents on this forum advice buyers to "get a buyers agent" but when the %^$# hits the fan, they next piece of advice is "get an attorney". At the end of the day what good is a buyers agent if they cant be held accountable for their their "advice" or lack of it?
Realtors are, or should also be, careful not to act outside their scope of license and expertise. Yes, an agent SHOULD know all these things and make sure repairs are done or funds are withheld prior to close. However, if a client chooses otherwise (not saying this OP did), that is the client's choice. I recommend all kinds of other licensed professionals when the advice my client needs does not fall into my scope.
All I am saying is that this particular OP has now, a definite legal issue. There are doubtless many minor and perhaps not so minor facts that we do not know. We have not seen the paperwork on this transaction. If substantial repairs are needed and he has not gotten satisfaction thus far, my next step as a consumer would be to retain an attorney to guide me through the rest of it. If there is responsiblity on the part of his agent, that also should be addressed but it's a separate matter.
You had a lousy agent if they didn't reccommend to NOT close on the property until the repairs were completed. That's not necessarily giving legal advice- it's just plain common sense, and the type of advice you were paying them for. I'd pressure your agent to continue working with you on the job that they didn't yet complete- but were paid for.
Punch-list type items are items that come up after the closing for which you weren't aware. I doubt if the builder's corporate office will be of any help if the local builder person is untrustworthy. Hire an attorney to also send a letter and be prepared to sue in order to get satisfaction.
You are correct, buyer agent cant do much about it, despite the fact that they collected a commission and supposedly provided the buyers with "advice".
I love how all the agents on this forum advice buyers to "get a buyers agent" but when the %^$# hits the fan, they next piece of advice is "get an attorney". At the end of the day what good is a buyers agent if they cant be held accountable for their their "advice" or lack of it?
If someone expects legal "advice" from their RE agent they deserve whatever they get.
I'm not sure if I gave the impression that I was consulting my real estate agent for legal adive specifically or would expect them to be bound legally to any advice I was given, but that's not really what I meant. I was deferring to her expertise since she was supposedly the expert I contracted and does this for a living. I have made the mistake of assuming people that do services for a living are actually good at what they do. I understand our motivations are not always in line, with the real estate agents motivation to close deals quickly.
It's not necessarily the money, and our contracted home inspector visited the house twice prior to closing (initial and confirmation of work completion), so the issues aren't big enough for the costs be a problem if I need to hire someone to address them. I went with the agent and the builders for their reputation and track record in our local area. The house is beautiful and everything we wanted in a home, but this has left a sour taste in our mouth because we did so much research prior to purchasing this house and did everything we thought reasonable to protect ourselves. I think with the documentation I've collected it would be shown that the builder has neglected to meet the terms of their own contract, but is the laundry-list of issues I need to address after buying this new home not long enough without having to deal with others negligence? I guess I'm just ranting now.
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