New Home Construction Contracts; The Actual Home

In Charlottesville, we have several new home builders whose contracts differ pretty extensively from the Standard VAR contract that we typically use in re-sale transactions, and I felt that some of these differences were worth pointing out, just so that potential buyers are aware of the things they may find in contracts that stray from “the norm.”  While I have worked on a handful of new construction contracts and we were always able to find a meeting of the minds and I’ve most often had very positive experiences come from them, I do think that it is very important to advocate for my buyer clients and make sure they fully understand what they are signing.

I recently went to a great luncheon held by Compass Home Loans, where local attorney Stacey McDonough from Martin & Raynor spoke to us about some of the interesting things she has noticed in these contracts, which intrigued me to look through them a little more carefully.  I have put some of the most interesting of the stipulations below.

So, what kind of house do we actually get?  Here are a couple of good ones, all pulled from just one builder’s contract that we use quite a bit here in Charlottesville.

“The home to be erected hereunder may not necessarily conform to the model home or model home area”

“Seller makes no representations with respect to Lot grades, Lot area, options, facades, home lay-outs, location of walks, driveways, personal property, fences, patios, decks, recreational facilities, landscaping, or any other representations whatsoever unless otherwise expressly provided herein…”

“Seller makes no representation with respect to the home type, size, style, price range or location of other homes to be built in this subdivision.”

“In its marketing brochures and documents, Seller may use different methods of calculating the square footage of the home and makes no representations as to the actual square footage of the home, regardless of the method utilized.”