Did You Want Windows

This past weekend I was assisting a client with ordering a new home, and this was one of the options. I had to keep myself from laughing, because when the agent representing the builder asked that question, my client had a look of disbelief. Do you mean it doesn't have windows? What kind of house doesn't have windows?

To be fair, the house did have some windows, just not as many as some people would like. They also give you the option to put in windows where no logical people would ever want one, but  we know that some people make strange choices.

 The contracts they use are completely one sided, and place no liability on the builder to meet any deadlines. But the buyer on the other hand has lots of liability. When the onsite agent was reading through the details like he was reading a book, I stopped him, and had a short discussion with my client about what the contract says.

If for some reason you cannot close at a time they determine that you should, they can keep your 5% down payment and sell the house to someone else, probably for more than your contract price. But if they don't complete the home in the time frame that they are saying they will, you can't do a thing about it.

I thought the agent was going to have a heart attack.

The first thing out of his mouth was "that would never happen".

But it does happen, their estimate was 6 months to build the home, but it could take longer. A lot can happen during that period of time. You could lose your job. interest rates could increase, loan requirements could change and you may not qualify.

I wasn't trying to scare my clients, I just wanted them to understand what they were getting into. Agents representing builders don't want to talk about this, and it's not their jobs to assist the buyer.

By law they represent the  seller, buyer beware.