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In March of 2022, Natalie and Matthew Fundora signed a contract to buy a home under construction. They put down a $22,500 deposit on the $450,000 property and expected to move in by November 2022, which was the date the developer estimated the project would be complete.
"They sold us the dream — a brand-new house," Matthew [1 link] told WSVN-TV.
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But two years after handing over that money, the couple still didn't have a home to live in. And now that the home is finished, they're being told by the developer that if they want to complete the purchase, they're going to have to spend another $200,000 in the process.
"I think it's outrageous," Matthew said. And he's not wrong. But the question is, what rights do he and Natalie have?
Delays aren't uncommon in the context of new residential construction. There are a host of factors that can cause a new home build to take longer than planned.
For one thing, municipalities might take their time issuing the right permits, and there can be backlogs for getting inspections throughout the construction process. Developers can also experience delays getting their hands on the right materials.
[5 link] Construction Divereported in February 2024 that despite being four years out from the start of the pandemic, builders are dealing with ongoing shortages of materials. Weather-related delays can also cause a new home build to take longer than anticipated.
But there's a big difference between modest delays and a two-year delay. Matthew told WSVN-TV that during that lag, he called the developer repeatedly.
"Days and weeks would go by and we wouldn't hear back,” he said. “We would drive by the property periodically and we would see that nothing was going on. It was still just barren land."
After about two years, work on the home began. Once the shell was up, Matthew asked the company if he could come see the house and was told "no problem." But when he showed up, he was told to leave and was threatened by a supervisor to get out.
Following that experience, he wrote an online review calling the company "terrible" to do business with. He was then contacted by the company letting him know that his contract had expired, and that they'd be willing to reopen negotiations to purchase the property at its current market value of $650,000.
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