That is usually the way it works. We just got our bill for the cat 6 wiring, coax, phone, etc. The builder told us that we would have to wait until after framing and then go thru with the wiring guy (our electrician did not do this) and then we got the bill. Our builder does not charge a fee for items like this. Good luck on your build.

Thanks everyone! I feel as though a great weight has been lifted off my shoulders! Of course now, I'm almost afraid to keep reading 'cause I may read about something I didn't think/know about and can't change now LOL! Naw.....I'm addicted...besides, I have a long way to go! I'm sure I'll have lots more questions as we progress...but for now, out of the 0% club and into, what, 10% maybe? To those of you not there yet...enjoy the planning, it really was/is fun! And, know that all of us are here to help if we can...

We have a gem of a builder! We knew he was the "right one" after the second meeting. That said, he has worked with us through three separate house plans. The first ones were drafted before we met him, and it was b/c we decided to shop the plans after getting what we thought was an inflated price from the GC/Developer we had purchased the lot from that we met him; those plans were scrapped for a variety of reasons -- too many design compromises were going to leave us w/a nice house, but not the same house we had envisioned for 8 months. We worked with/our "now" builder through two more sets of plans (a departure and finally our third and final plan that represents the best of both worlds!) We logged more than 200 hours of meetings w/our "now" builder before ever signing a contract -- and that doesn't count the hours he accompanied us at the Architect, building supply, millwork shop, window vendor, etc. He stood by us through a lengthy sales process for our former residence and an unexpected change in employment. It's not like we're not his only build, he has 7-8 going right now, but I still get daily calls and texts w/progress reports, am welcome at the building site "anytime," and usually meet 1-2 times a week at the site (including weekends!) just to recap what has been done and prep for what is coming up next. This is the way he treats all his builds! We feel absolutely blessed and are so very grateful to have him heading up our build. Everything really does happen for a reason -- even though you usually lose sight of that when you're in the midst of things. Best of luck to you on your build!

if the plan was for 2,000 square feet and the final was 1,500 square feet, I would imagine the OP would have an easy time getting the remaining deposit back, even though they signed off already. I respectfully disagree. It is exceedingly unlikely that the OP could overcome the settlement and even more unlikely that it would make financial sense to try. We should understand that in most states you risk more than your deposit when you breach a contract. The deposit is given as reasonable insurance you will not breach, but it is rare that any contract maker will limit their recourse to surrender of deposited funds. The builder could sue for specific performance, in other words he could make you buy it. He might also sue for losses associated with your breach. When you agree to a partial refund, you are agreeing that you will not sue him for problems during construction and he will not sue you for further damages or specific performance. A settlement is essentially a new contract. The only way the OP would reasonably get around that, and still probably not cheaply, is if he could prove that the builder regularly did this as a profit generator. I once saw a landlord, who had low rent rates on a great property, get in trouble for taking excessive applications, and associated fees, for each apartment he rented. Whenever he needed money he would just accept applications even if he didn't have a vacancy, at $75 per application he was making a mint off of them and he would just put people on a waiting list, sometimes for years. He lost a case and ended up having to sell the complex.