Caught by the inflation demon

[grsthegreat]

You wont make a cent in court. .. hes offering you the return of your deposit.

its not his fault prices have gone nuts. But it is his fault for not placing a clause in contract to cover price increases due to inflation.

as long as he returns all funds less permit fee, i dont see why you would try to force a job completion that will have to be done half assed to prevent his bankruptcy. I know my state will refund permit fees if not used within 6 months. Not sure about yours.

 

[ArlyA]

A freind of ours built a house here and while that was going on, he brought the crew pop, donuts and snacks on regular bases. He made sure they felt appreciated by them. Why would they do that? He was a retired union construction worker and knew 1st hand if the company his crew was working for put the screws to his guys, they'd "get back at them" every chance they could while they weren't being watched. Since you can't watch the crew building your house 24/7, I'd be really careful about cutting their $$$ back.

 

[4570Man]

You wont make a cent in court. .. hes offering you the return of your deposit.

its not his fault prices have gone nuts. But it is his fault for not placing a clause in contract to cover price increases due to inflation.

as long as he returns all funds less permit fee, i dont see why you would try to force a job completion that will have to be done half assed to prevent his bankruptcy. I know my state will refund permit fees if not used within 6 months. Not sure about yours.

I’d worry about the competence of the builder for agreeing to such a contract to begin with. Anyone with any sense that’s watched anything the last 2 years knows the material is too volatile for a deal like that.

 

[jigs_n_fixtures]

The OP might want to look at a smaller expandable home. The house my Dad built was designed to be done in stages. He built the core kitchen, family room used as two bedrooms, tow baths, with one finished, and a dining/living room. Then built four more bedrooms on one end, and a carport on the other. Then built the garage past the carport, and the carport got closed in and became the living room. He had a bad mitral valve when he started, and wouldn’t go any further in debt, than his life insurance would pay off just in case he died.

Materials prices here are nuts. If you can find products. I just spent most of a week trying to buy a 100-gallon light commercial weather heater for a helibase. lead time were four to eight weeks, maybe, for a new propane unit. Six weeks or so for triple element electric units. i finally found a guy only 120-miles away who happened to have two electric units in his warehouse, and was willing to make the 120-mile delivery. The base has been without hot water for almost a month. The new electric unit was almost three times what I paid for a similar unit two years ago.

I bought a new Rhem Marathon for my house, it only took a month to get here. So, this weekend will be devoted to laundry. I have five weeks worth piles up. Guess I should be grateful that I own enough clothes to go five weeks.

 

[beowulf]

This proves once again that posting here is alway a wise first step. I am getting much advice, information and support and it is very much appreciated. I mean that.

I will think over my strategies - with the input received here.

Possibilities and likely: (all will be documented in emails)
Let them know that they will be in breach, but that settlement is a far better course - and make an offer to pay some of the increase - acknowledging they are getting hit with increases - but not my fault - and agreeing on any other details that may present issues going forward.
Depending on how that goes:
-cancel and get the refund (BTW - the builder said he hopes I will not cancel)
-get bids on the existing and approved plans
-consider tackling the build ourselves - and perhaps downsizing what we contemplated
-consider a totally different plan, a log cabin kit, or other options.
(I do see cabin kits at reasonable prices - downsized from what we were going to build, but recognize the issues they present)
-talk to some of the locals as to what they might be able to help with.

I will discuss all this with my (uber deserving) daughter and SIL tomorrow when they are both here.

BTW - in reliance on the agreed to contract price we proceeded with, and budgeted for everything else - well drilled, pad, road septic test holes, pump installed, water tanks bought and delivered and pad built for those, water yield tests and more.

 

[ultrarunner]

Contracting at work I go out of my way to help anyway I can and in 30 years it has paid off...

Could be as simple as having the site work ready, being reachable and bringing by goodies for the crew.... probably the big gulps we're the most appreciated by the framers during a mini heat wave!

Friday after work beer well received too.

What part of the increase is for foundation, framing, siding, roof, rough plumbing and windows... in other words weather tight?

Maybe the kitchen doesn't get the stone counters and only one bathroom finished or the floor is plywood?

Many in my family built their homes as they could afford which often took a lot longer but it meant they were able to end up with what they wanted..

 

[grsthegreat]

The OP might want to look at a smaller expandable home. The house my Dad built was designed to be done in stages. He built the core kitchen, family room used as two bedrooms, tow baths, with one finished, and a dining/living room. Then built four more bedrooms on one end, and a carport on the other. Then built the garage past the carport, and the carport got closed in and became the living room. He had a bad mitral valve when he started, and wouldn’t go any further in debt, than his life insurance would pay off just in case he died.

Materials prices here are nuts. If you can find products. I just spent most of a week trying to buy a 100-gallon light commercial weather heater for a helibase. lead time were four to eight weeks, maybe, for a new propane unit. Six weeks or so for triple element electric units. i finally found a guy only 120-miles away who happened to have two electric units in his warehouse, and was willing to make the 120-mile delivery. The base has been without hot water for almost a month. The new electric unit was almost three times what I paid for a similar unit two years ago.

I bought a new Rhem Marathon for my house, it only took a month to get here. So, this weekend will be devoted to laundry. I have five weeks worth piles up. Guess I should be grateful that I own enough clothes to go five weeks.

Well, if you only change underwear once a week……

 

[4570Man]

Well, if you only change underwear once a week……

I’d be a lot more in favor of building the shell and finishing it in stages vs trying to add on later. Adding on always cost a lot more than just doing it to start with and frequently is cobbled up.

 

[2manyrocks]

6 months to get a permit...if changes to the plans are made, does that trigger a new approval process and how long will that take?

 

[Dftodd]

Go ahead and vent… it’s a way to get things off your chest.

We just finished a commercial project with delays but the only saving grace is materials ordered at time of signing which worked pretty well.

If materials are really up a lot I imagine not much opportunity for savings except taking on some of the work?

New home construction being built on a postage stamp lot around here were starting at $130,000 3 years ago.

They are now starting at $195,000 for an 1100sqft home.

Neighbor purchased a small lot and was going to have a house built on it.

Lot was on a hill side, so they were gonna have to do a foundation and substantial crawl space instead of a slab.

Current prices made it prohibitive. They have the lot for sale and purchased a home in town instead.