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We started construction of a new home with a builder in May.
5 months in and 70,000 dollars worth of deposit later, we were sent an email stating that the postal service and developers had made a mistake and our house address was now not in the city we had signed for but a neighboring city.
We knew we were on the border but specifically bought the house because it was within a specific city and zip code and paid what we thought was a high end price for the home for this reason.
Now that our address city has changed, we believe it will affect the price of the home since the average price per square foot for both cities is significantly different.
Are we correct in asking for compensation from the builder?
This is a unique situation which has never happened before with our realtor or broker and so we are not sure what to do.
Do the cities have different school districts? Do they have different taxes? Provide different services --eg. fire-city, county, volunteer? or police? One have resident only features--library, park, etc.?
If its only the address, I'd forget it, but if its something like your kid can not go to the 'good' school, I's ask them to build the house in the city I signed up for if they have more lots available. Or ask for some free upgrades to make up for the change, builders will throw them in.
One city can be very different compared with another...taxes, reputation, resale value. Equally as serious for some is the issue of the right combination of numbers and name of street for luck. No changes from what they contracted for.
my son bought a home 200k less then 1/2 block away because while scarsdale ny and eastchester ny are sisters and share the same post office , scarsdale school district is rated the best and taxes and homes go for a lot more . there is 1/2 block difference where my son bought in eastchester vs scarsdale and they saved a bundle . eastchester schools are still top notch .
scarsdale has a reputation of being a very wealthy community .
Is the house actually within the municipal boundaries of a different city than you thought...or is it simply that the mailing address is different? I suspect it's the latter.
Oftentimes, when you're in a rural area or simply a Township, the mailing address will be a nearby city. That mailing address doesn't change the underlying taxing jurisdiction you are in. Neither does it change the local school district boundaries. Those are the most important factors affecting housing values, beyond the house itself.
There was a similar situation in my area. A new subdivision of million-dollar houses was built in a local Township. It was in a very good school district--and had lower Township taxes--but many of the purchasers were upset to find out that it had a mailing address of a neighboring city which was not quite so affluent. It bruised a few egos but it didn't have much of an impact on their property values. Some even got post office boxes so they could use the address of the "better" city nearby. Many just use the Township name as their address--the mail still gets delivered.
Is the house actually within the municipal boundaries of a different city than you thought...or is it simply that the mailing address is different? I suspect it's the latter.
Oftentimes, when you're in a rural area or simply a Township, the mailing address will be a nearby city. That mailing address doesn't change the underlying taxing jurisdiction you are in. Neither does it change the local school district boundaries. Those are the most important factors affecting housing values, beyond the house itself.
There was a similar situation in my area. A new subdivision of million-dollar houses was built in a local Township. It was in a very good school district--and had lower Township taxes--but many of the purchasers were upset to find out that it had a mailing address of a neighboring city which was not quite so affluent. It bruised a few egos but it didn't have much of an impact on their property values. Some even got post office boxes so they could use the address of the "better" city nearby. Many just use the Township name as their address--the mail still gets delivered.
Exactly the proper question.
Here in NC, we are accustomed to living in one municipal jurisdiction while having mail delivered from a postal station from a neighboring town.
The possibility is built into some of our real estate forms.
It's not the builder's purview. At all. I agree with the posters who suggest you get a lawyer to sort it out. I'm leaning toward the responsibility resting with whoever did the title research. Anyway, it's definitely not the builder.
Considering you're THAT close to the town lines you may be able to circumvent the snafu by moving your driveway if any part of your land is within the limits of the town you prefer. Or maybe can purchase right of way from a neighbor. I don't know whether it's state-specific, but here your address is based on where your driveway leaves the road.
Good luck to you! You'll get through this.
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