A Brix buyer rights in with what is going on:
Not only was there a change in contractors at the Brix, tentative closing dates delayed for Broadway side of project till November. Buyers were also asked to sign new contracts that would allow for an additional 120 days, if closing not accomplished in November. Last buyers meeting in May 2008, buyers were advised closing would happen July for tenth street side, August for Broadway side. Now first of July buyers received new contract in mail with instructions to sign and return; as well as, advisement that closing dates delayed. I am one of those buyers at Brix, who marketed and sold home in the attempt to match timing of closing at Brix per seller information. Now trying to find short term housing for 4 months is a challenge, and hoping it is only for four months-question why were buyers asked to sign new paperwork that essentially would allow sellers to extend closing dates out another 120 dates. I chose not to sign.
Delays; one of several downsides to new construction.
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Mike D. // Jul 16, 2008 at 1:16 pm
My guess is that you were asked to sign the extension because without it, you could very easily get out of your contract. I am not sure how your contract is written, but developers do not like to be in breach. By making you sign an extension in writing, it removes any doubt as to whether there is breach.
I think it’s probably smart not to sign. However, it’s also possible that by you not signing, the contract can be voided by them as well, if they wanted to. So, theoretically, if someone came and offered double for the unit you reserved, they might be able to sell it to them instead of you. Probably not going to happen in this market though. :)
2 Javila // Jul 16, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Completion for construction is generally very hard to project- “it is an art, not a science”. In this case, the developer has taken quick action and incurred extra expense by bringing in an additional contractor from Portland and adding extra labor. As on-site agents, we hope that any buyers that are incurring additional expenses or challenges related to this delay would contact us to see if there is any way we can help.
I also hope that buyers will call us when they need a status update on construction, so we can continue to let them know what we know (keeping in mind that we are all human and not almightily all-seeing beings :).
3 Andre // Jul 16, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Javila, that ’s the problem. It should not be an art, it should be a science.
I grew up in Germany and can assure you that it can be a science. What that however requires is skill, discipline and attention to detail.
4 cosi // Jul 16, 2008 at 4:14 pm
Actually, for some of us this is rather a godsend. Our current home is on the market, and hasn’t sold yet. The delay buys some more time for sure and gives us a bit more flexibility in accepting offers.
To tell the truth, I don’t know of many (if any?) new construction condo developments that *haven’t* experienced rather significant delays of late! Perhaps the nature of the beast…
5 Kelly // Jul 16, 2008 at 8:35 pm
More likely it’s because the market has been oversaturated for at least a year, and with all the other new construction piling up — THOUSANDS of units in just the downtown/South Lake Union area alone — it will only become more so.
And as the market becomes even more saturated, prices will drop even further, despite what some desperate realtor may tell you. You were very smart not to sign the extension.
Kelly
6 kent // Jul 16, 2008 at 10:00 pm
Javila - I have to respectfully disagree. This is in no way an “art” and it is not hard to project. It is basic project management. Good project management expects issues, contains contingencies and corrective actions. Sure, things happen that can cause delays, but the closer a project gets to completion the more accurate dates should become. Future owners that were told in May that closing would occur in July were not being told what the person managing the project surely knew at the time - this project is behind. Projects that are 2 months from completion (which was reported above) do not slide and additional 3 or 4 months. I can understand you are in a tough position trying to keep the prospective buyers in line is difficult, but don’t insult their intelligence with such crazy talk. From personal experience, I know this practice is common, but people want to hear about and deal with these delays as soon as possible. Hearing 2 months before closing that everything is on schedule, and then finding a 3 to 4 month slide is bad form and inexcusable, imho. Also, based on the buyers being asked to sign new 120 day documents, I suspect they have not seen the last of the delays.
7 Chris // Jul 17, 2008 at 8:39 am
“contact us to see if there is any way we can help”
wow, Mike D., I’d get my bargaining shoes on if I were you. Talk about leverage
8 just another dirty renter // Jul 17, 2008 at 8:52 am
sounds like a good opportunity to bail on the contract, wait a year, and buy the same unit again at a big discount.
9 ryan // Jul 17, 2008 at 8:55 am
would “choosing not to sign” result in a loss of earnest $ ?
10 jo // Jul 17, 2008 at 9:52 am
Eh, I think you’d have an idea months ago this thing wasn’t being done on time. I have a place under reservation which I’ve been told will be done by April 09, but can tell just by the sight of the building in it’s current state that won’t be the case. I’m factoring in a two to three month minimum delay.
What I don’t understand, and what Kent brought up, is why the developer/marketing people wait so long in telling people that there will be a delay. What happened in the last two months that would cause the timeline to be pushed out a few more months? Anyone with a brain can look at the building in May and know the thing won’t be done in July. Heck, they probably knew back in January that a July finish date wasn’t feasible. Why wait until just a month before you told people to expect to move in that it will be another two or three months? Come on. A project doesn’t go from being one month out to three months overnight. Customers deserve better than that and I’m amazed at how gulliable buyers are expected to be. But I do think the marketing people are put in this position by the developers. It’s a lose-lose situation for them. Tick off the buyers or tick off the developer? There are always other buyers but not many developers out there. Easy choice for them, even though I’m sure the sales rep sides with the buyer…
However,I do think you’d get a real answer if you dropped in the sales office and spoke to your rep personally. They won’t put anything on paper but you’ll get an honest opinion from them. I doubt, back in May, they would have told you person to person to expect the project to be completed in July.
Delays happen everywhere no matter what the product. Look at the resources that Microsoft has…yet nearly every one of their OS releases has had long delays…
11 PistolPete // Jul 17, 2008 at 10:48 am
Developer needs to sell as much as possible to keep financing in check….Sales Rep needs to keep selling per direction of developer to keep job…Project Manager needs to mislead Sales Reps per timeline to keep sales afloat per direction of developer to keep job…Buyer gets shafted because it all boils down to the almighty dollar. Good luck to everyone who is being delayed :)
12 alistair // Jul 17, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I was in the same predicament … I signed pre-sale and was given an estimate of May 2007 occupancy. It was first postponed to July, and then September. I wasn’t given a move-in date until late December. The whole time both myself and my realtor was in contact with the sales team, trying to get a better sense of close-to-reality approximation. The 2 month padding I added to my lease then was actually not enough. Instead of signing an 8 month lease, I could have signed for a full year. I asked for “help” from the sales staff, it didn’t get me anywhere. It was the same marketing co that Brix uses, and probably the same company that Javila works for.
My point is: honesty and timely communication is what you need from the project management staff, which you will never get … so the whole thing is a gamble. I can guarantee you that short-term housing for 4 months is not going to be enough. For one thing, move-ins will have to be staggered, and for us residents of the building, it took a span of 3+ months.
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