I am currently having a home built. During the contracts phase of this purchase, we met with the salesperson and signed the contracts. The salesperson then had to take the completed contract back to his manager to get the builder's signature. The next day he came to me reporting that the price had risen due to a tree-credit issue for the county. I asked for correspondence indicating that this change occurred near the time of our contract to justify their changing of the price before they would sign the agreement. The salesperson said he would ask and later informed me that they would provide something in the near future. I kept asking for the correspondence from the county and almost two months later was provide an internal memo that stated all houses in the subdivision were to be increased by $3k. This memo was amazingly dated March 21, two days prior to them offering the house to us. Later I was to find out that until they signed the contract there was no legally binding agreement.
I believe the memo was produced well after the event where the builder told me about the increase. I believe this because I continually asked for the correspondence they promised. The salesperson told me on the day after we signed the contract that other homes increased in price more than mine. Therefore, the part of the memo stating that all home prices were to increase by $3k was incorrect. Also the salesperson reported that another party forfeited their deposit and backed out of the deal due to this. The memo says that buyers will be provided a full refund on their deposit. My question is...If things happened as I suspect, did "fraud" occur? If so, is there a case against this company? What outcome might one expect other than to drag the builder's name through the mud?
Finally, I am relatively certain that there was one other buyer in the community that experienced my situation. If I could get them to attest to the fact they had to pay an additional $5k (versus the $3k in the memo), would that strengthen the case against them or otherwise change the affect and outcome?
I believe the memo was produced well after the event where the builder told me about the increase. I believe this because I continually asked for the correspondence they promised. The salesperson told me on the day after we signed the contract that other homes increased in price more than mine. Therefore, the part of the memo stating that all home prices were to increase by $3k was incorrect. Also the salesperson reported that another party forfeited their deposit and backed out of the deal due to this. The memo says that buyers will be provided a full refund on their deposit. My question is...If things happened as I suspect, did "fraud" occur? If so, is there a case against this company? What outcome might one expect other than to drag the builder's name through the mud?
Finally, I am relatively certain that there was one other buyer in the community that experienced my situation. If I could get them to attest to the fact they had to pay an additional $5k (versus the $3k in the memo), would that strengthen the case against them or otherwise change the affect and outcome?
