Q. Does it sound feasible that our new home builder can keep changing the rules on us? We made the decision to buy a home like one of the model homes they display, but now the sales person and the design center consultant are informing us that some things are different in the home they are building for us. For instance, the windows and doors in the family room area have been changed slightly from the model version, and they are using a different cabinet company than the one who installed the cabinets in the model home. Can we demand that they use the same cabinets and put the windows back to the way we expected them?

A. I suppose you can demand it, but the likelihood of the builder acquiescing to your requests is probably a small one. Builders plaster phrases such as "Builder reserves the right to change features, elevations, and pricing without notice" all over their marketing literature, advertising, and purchase agreements in order to protect themselves against all kinds of possible disasters. The paperwork you sign usually has clauses explaining the builder's right to make changes at any time, but most builders will make an effort to explain these changes as early in the process as they can, so that you don't feel totally unprepared.

Even those of us close to the building industry wish it could be a more exact science, but unfortunately, we are not afforded that luxury. Let's look, for instance, at both of the changes the builder is making to your new home. A change in the windows or door configurations in your family room may become one that will ultimately benefit you. Changes to energy conservation guidelines and meeting new requirements may have forced the builder to comply. This may ultimately save you utility bills down the road. Another scenario that may apply is this: what if the windows and doors the builder originally intended to use in the house leaked and were chronic warranty problems to them? This may save you (and them) untold headaches and customer service calls in the long run. Many new home builders make changes such as these to improve their homes and make them more hassle free, even if it doesn't appear that way at first to the consumer. With the fierce competition in the new home building industry these days, I would imagine most builders would not want to jeopardize their sales or reputation by permitting sub-standard materials or less than serviceable sub-contractors in their new homes. It is these same sub-contractors that are relied by the builders "after the fact" when you have occupied your home, to stand behind their materials and workmanship during the various warranty periods inherent in your new home.

Cabinets are a major item in your home and I can understand your concern with a change such as this. However, it is not uncommon for builders to change cabinet companies more than once during the building of one subdivision. Reasons for this can range from sub-par service of the cabinet manufacturer or distributor, to poor installations, to inferior cabinets. Inconsistency of quality or prevalent wood-grain anomalies are, unfortunately, not evident to builders when they go about the task of getting bids and hiring cabinet subcontractors. Make sure the design center consultant shows you not only what cabinet faces will look like in your new home, but also displays a rendering of how they will be laid out. Drawers may become larger or smaller with the new company, and frames to each door may appear different. Wood grains are difficult to make consistent, however. Even when cabinet companies remain the same, a natural wood can display a range of color complexity they cannot predict.

I would be remiss is saying that builders would not make changes to what goes into the homes they build because of cost factors. If a builder is incurring an increased cost passed on to them by their sub-contractors, they must try to pass that increase on by raising the base prices of their homes. If they feel they cannot comfortably do this and make their margins, they may opt to make some changes in sub-contractors to lessen their exposure.

The best way to prepare yourself for whatever changes the builder is making to your new home is to ask plenty of questions of both the builder's sales person as well as the design center consultant. Have your sales person take you on a personally escorted tour of both models and production homes. He or she should be able to explain the quirks and changes that may have taken place to your floor plan, or find out the answers to your questions within a short time frame. You may also see if there are any other homes like yours that are farther along in construction, so that you may compare the current version to what you originally had in mind. They say information is the key to helping diffuse potentially emotional situations, and buying a new home is way up there on that list.

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Published: March 12, 1999

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