New Construction Nightmare

Hello! (long time lurker here)

Has anyone recently closed on a new construction home? We purchased a new construction home (KB Napa) and have run into quite a few issues along the way.  I understand that Covid has caused delays and shortages of materials which impacts new construction homes.  However, I am wondering if the issues I am running into is specific to KB Homes, or if these issues are happening across the board with new construction.

I will start off by saying that this is our 3rd new construction home we have purchased so we are not new to the home buying process for new builds.  We understand that the closing date they give us in the beginning is just an estimate and can be moved due to multiple factors.  The close of our previous new construction home (CalPac) got delayed by 3 months but we were informed early in the process so we had time to secure temporary housing.

However that is not the case with our current KB Home.  We received our 45 day letter to close on May 11th from the builder, with the expected close date of June 28th.  Well June 28th has passed and the close date has been pushed back 4 times, and we still don?t have a close date in sight.  Apparently the issue is that a lot of the upgrades we have selected are no longer in stock.  The builder even went to the length of asking if we are willing to close with our home unfinished since our upgrades are out of stock and they can?t give us an ETA of when the items will be available.  Obviously this is not okay, and even our lender was shocked that they would even suggest this since our home would not be considered move-in ready since our tub was not installed, our master shower enclosure was not finished, etc. 

The builder scheduled our final walk through for this upcoming Monday.  I told them that I did not want to do the walk through until our home was finished. Instead of waiting to get updates from the builder, I ended up visiting the home today on my own to get an idea of the progress, and just as expected, the home is still not complete (I.e. tub not installed, master shower not finished, master closet not installed, countertops not installed).  They also installed the incorrect pulls/handles throughout the home.  We ordered upgraded pulls/handles in a brushed gold finish.  They ended up installing gigantic chrome handles which is not what we ordered and I couldn?t help but laugh as they clearly clash with our gold faucets.  *okay first world problems I know* but still so frustrating.

Throughout this process, I have found that one of KB?s huge flaws is their poor communication within their company.  I have actually had a pleasant experience working with their sales agent, design center, construction manager, loan officer (KBHS loans who we ultimately didn?t work with).  They were all great and responsive, however these departments do not communicate well with each other and this is where the communication break down happens.  I can?t help but wonder if this is contributing to the delays as well.


Is there anything the builder can do or offer in order to compensate for this predicament that we are in? Obviously they won't offer anything if I don't ask, but I am wondering if I have any pull in this area since this whole situation just seems so shitty. Are they allowed to push back the close date as much as they want after issuing the 45 day close letter? Are they just hoping we will agree to move into an unfinished home because they know that we will be homeless soon? *popping excedrines for my massive migraine*

Thank you for reading if you have gotten this far.
Please let me know if you have run into similar issues with trying to close on your home during this crazy time, or if you have run into similar issues with KB Homes.

Thanks in advance for any advice, insights, suggestions, rants about KB that you can offer.

Those contracts are so one sided they should be illegal.

I would ask for what you want out of it, once they reject I would threaten with litigation. At some point the situation becomes to absurd where legal action is warranted. 

Hi Qwerty,
Thank you for your response .
I?ve never threatened litigation before but I may go that route if this gets too out of hand.
I am open to real estate attorney recommendations if anyone has one.

Would my real estate agent?s legal team be able to help me in this situation, or is this not an area an agency's legal team would get involved in?

Hopefully you've kept all written communication with KB. Any phone calls about your situation should be followed up with an email "per our conversation today ..." Paper is gold should litigation break out.

A possible solution:

If the items you want are in stock privately elsewhere, perhaps you could do the following:

1) Find and price the items, including installation.

2) Ask for 2x cash credit to be held in escrow of the amount of the privately sourced items. Any remaining balance is to be refunded to you.

3) Close with the builders lender at the lowest rate on their rate sheet at zero cost to you. (2.25% 30 fixed?, 1.25% 15 fixed?)

4) Super size the home warranty if possible.

All 4 of these things are achievable but key is closing with the builders lender who will allow this kind of concession. Builders did this all the time during the 93-95 housing crisis as well as every housing recession afterwards. If they say "No", then I'd say it's time to litigate.

My .02c

I bought a new build and your experience is not very unique. its pretty common. IN teh grand scheme, if you cancel, and leave the builders arent too worried. There is another person that is ready to walk in and take the house. I was renting when i bought the condo so it was pretty confusing with moving dates. GOod luck tho! But resist the urgent to drop this house, as waiting this long and leaving it to someone else this close doesnt make sense, unless ofcourse you find a good better property! also, dont let the minor issues discourage you as the builders will follow up and close them out even after you move in.

Its perfectly understandable to be upset when dead line aren't met.

The person that delivered the bad news is not the cause.

Look, a year ago we were on the verge of Great Depression 2.0, the whole damn world stop.

Be persistent and patient if you on the path to ownership.

newPParker is right, if its wrong and you can identify it, they will fix it. But if you rather continue to wait, and cancel your contract, I am sure builder would not refuse.

I also bought a new build and during close, we signed a piece of the contract stipulating if we (buyer) could not close on time, we would incur a charge of $X dollars per day post  the estimated close date. I forget the calculation but it was basically the carrying cost of the property for the builder.

I suggest writing a letter demanding $x dollars per day you are delayed post close.  You may get something from KB.