Builder cancels contract days before family closes on home

HOUSTON

With months of planning and a signed contract, the family was all ready to move into their new home. But the home builder decided to stop doing business with the couple, and now won't even return their calls.

Jennifer and Bobby Delgado, along with their five children, had their hearts set on moving into the home they had built at 1103 Wheatfield Court in Rosenberg. The family even placed their handprints in the driveway as a keepsake. But days before moving in, they were told the deal's off the table.

"Their area president specifically cited a dispute between the company and our inspector," Bobby Delgado said.

Jennifer Delgado says she recorded the their conversation with Brighton Homes area president John Vogel.

"I think it's in our best interest if we part companies and um, you go find another builder," Vogel tells them in the recorded conversation.

"It's in your best interest to build a home up to code and properly. Everything he found was factual. That's all we wanted, was a home built right," Bobby Delgado replies.

Inspector Jarrod Burns was hired by the Delgado's and says mistakes were caught from the beginning.

"The foundation would have been poured shallow to what the slab thickness would have been less than 4 inches, which was required by the engineering drawings they had," Burns said.

On top of that, Burns says the builder used the wrong grade of lumber for wall studs. Burns tells us those issues were addressed and corrected by Brighton Homes. But then Burns had concerns about the roof.

"The nails were actually shot through the shingles," Burns said.

Nails were even exposed, as shown in a photo from the inspection report.

"The next time you have a major wind, the roof will just blow off. Then you're looking at water damage, you're looking at personal property damage. So it's a big liability for insurance companies," Burns said.

The contract allowed the seller to cancel the deal in the event of any dispute prior to closing concerning the construction. Brighton Homes has refunded all deposit money to the Delgados, plus $300 in damages per the contract terms.

The Delgados say they're now starting over, looking for another home and are extremely upset with the way they say Brighton Homes conducted business with them.

We're told the inspector had personally asked Brighton what they were disputing, but was told they have no comments for him since he is not party to the contract.

We reached out to Brighton Homes numerous times for comment, but they did not return any of our calls.

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