Good grief!
It has been three weeks since we signed the contract, but there’s still no action on our lot. According to the personalized Web page that tracks the construction status of our house, all the permits have been pulled, but the excavation for the footer has not been scheduled, yet. In this economy, things are rough for home builders. Our sales rep informed us that last year Dominion built over 2000 homes. This year they are on a pace to build only 500. So they are proceeding cautiously. Which is another way of saying they will not break ground on our house until they get a commitment letter from the mortgage company stating that the initial undwerwriting has been completed on our loan package.
For now, we wait. We have a projected closing date of 09/28, but our contract clearly states that this date is in no way gaurenteed. My main concern is that we take possession of the house prior to the deadline for claiming the first-time home buyer tax rebate, December 1, 2009. Now until the end of November gives the builder a full five months to complete the house, which should not be a problem. The REALLY annoying thing is that if we cannot take possession until the end of September or some time after, we will be forced to extend our apartment lease at higher-than-normal rent.
Once they actually pour the concrete for the footer, I will post some new pictures. Until then, hold some happy thoughts that our mortgage commitment comes through soon.
—Michael