Florida Real Estate Attorney
Q: My daughter is buying a new town house in Florida. She has a contract to build a model X home on say lot 4, built along with 5 other homes all on a comon concrete slab. The builder poured the slab and started the block work and my kid found out that her model X is on lot 3 and model Y is on lot 4. The builder/realtor says, no problem, we will amend your contract and put you into model X on lot 3 and switch the other owner. I suggested to my daughter to do it but ask for a small extra perk like wood floors that she could not afford. This would compensate her for not having the lot she wanted and purchased. Builder/realtor said flat out no. Question is, how strong is a real estate contract and should she push the issue. The builder/realtor is being very cold about this and didn't make a big deal about their screw up. Any ideas as to what she should do. This builder is one of the largest is Florida.
A: In most states parcels of real property are considered to be "unique" and thus a purchaser is entitled to exactly the lot purchased. This is called "specific performance." I can't give legal advice, and even if I could I don't know the law in Florida. However, based ONLY on the facts presented it seems worth pursuing. Getting an attorney involved at this point can be very cost effective IF your daughter makes a very clear decision about how far she wants to go to push the issue. The right letter dropping the right buz words is the best bet to getting the builder/realtor ready to negotiate.