Need help dealing with Shaddock Homes contract (sales, real estate)

[chnt3456]

Hi,
Long time lurker first time poster here. I am reaching out to you guys to get your thoughts and suggestions on what I can possibly do to get the home we wrote a contract on. We liked a spec home built by Shaddock homes at Villages of Stonelake estates and were very much interested in making an offer. When I went to the builder to talk about the home ( at around 1:00 pm on Oct 9th), he mentioned that someone else initiated a contract already the previous day and are going to finish the signing at 4:00 pm. I asked if I could submit a better offer but the agent mentioned that it won't be ethical to take my offer since they already started the process with someone else. He mentioned that it's not in Shaddock's interests to entertain such things. I agreed with the agent and felt that it was the right thing to do and did not pursue it any further.

I continued my home search for the next few days and noticed the spec home was still listed on Redfin. So I emailed the sales agent and he asked me to call him back. He mentioned that the current buyer won't be able to close because of some financial reasons and that I could write the offer that evening once the existing contract is released. This was on Sunday 10/23. So I went with my family and realtor and wrote the contract with the agent at the same price as that of the last contract. I signed all the documents including the preapproval forms giving my ssn, salary information and everything else. Once the signing was done, the agent congratulated me and my wife and said that the house is ours. We were all happy, came back home and celebrated. We went to the home the very next day (Oct 24th) to look at it again and we spent about 4 hours there. The builder opened the door for us and we also took an appointment with him for the first walk through on Nov 7th. In the evening, I got a call from the Shaddock's mortgage company and they requested for 2 years of of W2 forms, tax returns and last months pay slips to process my pre-approval for the loan. I sent the documents within an hour as requested.

This afternoon I got a call from the sales agent saying that there were some new developments that he wanted to talk about. He mentioned that someone else is also interested in the property and that the new buyer's agent was working with his manager directly and he was not aware of this. He told me that the manager gave the new buyer 48 hours to submit their offer. I was in shock when I heard this and couldn't believe what was happening. When I expressed my disappointment, the agent agreed with me and mentioned that this has never happened with Shaddock in his 15 years of experience. When I questioned the sales agent about my existing contract which I thought was already in place, his response was that the contract that I signed was not signed by his manager yet so his manager is interested in seeing the new offer. They are not even sure if the new buyer is actually going to make an offer or not. They have until tomorrow to make an offer. He did give me an option to increase my offer by almost 35k if I want to make sure I get the home. I really don't think this is fair and I feel mistreated. I am not sure what rights I have at this time. I would really appreciate any suggestions you may have. I am still very much interested in the house but I don't feel it's right for them to make me offer more at this time to secure the home. He also mentioned that their mortgage company already sent the pre-approval letter for my loan so I am good to go on that side. Please suggest!! Thanks in advance for reading this!

[Pink Babe]

If it was me, I would walk away from the house. I wouldn't want to do business with that type of builder. If the builder is unethical about the contract, what else will you be forced to deal with after you are locked into the deal?

There are so many great homes and neighborhoods in the area. Keep looking!

[lydunn]

Run do not walk

[Threestep2]

Too much going on for my taste. You will be better off walking away from this.

[jessekaa]

i would walk away. very unethical from a reputed builder.

[UnfairPark]

You can skip sales agent and his manager and directly contact their main office. You can ask a real estate attorney to look at the contract and see if you have a case. I would just walk away, I don't like to fight battles I don't need to, makes life easier.

Frankly, builder's sales people aren't any more ethical, intelligent or knowledgeable than used car salesmen.

[Katana49]

If you want the house, hold fast to your original contract. I'd also let them know you'll be contacting the home office about this situation if need be.

I think they are just trying to get more money out of you, there may not even be another buyer.

[jdallas]

If the contract is not signed by both parties, it's not a contract. I'd walk away (as long as you are not out any money) and write a detailed summary of the events to send to the Texas Real Estate Commission and NAHB calling attention to poor business practices and possible ethics code violations. Don't expect anything to come of it but you may feel better afterward.
On one hand, it appears they are asking for $35k to sign a contract that has been in their possession for 2 days. The other buyer may or may not exist.
On the other, they are entertaining two equally viable offers on the property received simultaneously via different agents and you are now in a competitive bidding process for the same home. It happens every day around here.

[Rakin]

Soooo...... What does your RE Agent recommend ? He is involved in the process or just some bad agent you picked up somewhere?

[MKDFW]

You are being "hustled" by the builder, and the agent, better than any used car dealer could possibly dream of. Remove your emotional attachment to the house, and find a new builder, and a new agent.