Karyn YES, ONE plant!!! You should try it!! Gave Kristy one for her shop :-) Had bought a little seedling at the local nursery. Not realizing it was the SAME lol. Since YES they come under different names. All I remember is that when I bought THAT one, there was Mexican in the name! The pink flowers are the morning glory tree I planted there :-) But I guess it does not like SOMETHING about that location...Others grew HUGE...the one advice I can give is...when you have one growing....bend the whole plant DOWN so it is more laying then standing. That is what the one behind the house did on it's own. Low and behold....new growth shot out all along the stem and it grew really into a nice bushy looking plant. Lucy

Read your contract. It will specify whether any funds can be held back, for what, and for how long. It should also specify how punch list items are dealt with. There is no "rule", it's pretty much purely a matter of what you negotiated with the builder when you did the deal.

Well doesn't look like holding back is an option so if a few things we care about we may have to push closing up. I'm still waiting on a response from the builder. Usually I have an instant response so my guess is that he is looking into things to give us an idea. It is possible closing could be pushed up no matter what too. I'm not sure if sloppy is it either, but rather us visiting sooner than expected for a walk through. Actually there are several items on the list that I would expect the builder to want to collect together such as wanting the painter to come out only once so I can understand waiting and piling some items up. Same with electrical items, flooring people to finish and fix their screw-ups. I have no idea what the splatter is, but my guess is paint. It is white so seems like a reasonable thing. Could be drywall mud too at least in kitchen from patching drywall after granite install. The things that concerns me as far as closing are: 1, 12, 23, maybe 24-26 and possibly the exhaust fan. The reason for the first ones are the disruption to us especially if they are ripping the floor up to fix and having the light moved will create a mess. Same if they have to pull out the oven cabinet. My DH lifted the oven up some so it is possible if the bottom vent of the oven is large enough they can shim it up a little to cover the cut. The hood vent would be an issue if we'd be cooking immediately which we won't due to not fully moving in for a few weeks. Exhaust fan in bath by wet areas I'm not sure if we have a case or not as there is no code requiring one, but I put it on there anyways. We changed the appliances from Stainless to black and I was told I had to get the same oven except the color due to the cut already being done for that particular oven from the cabinet maker. I'm thinking somebody did a bobo messing up on the installation of the oven and why it is missing some of the pieces that attaches to it. Builder may already be on top of this one and hence install isn't finished. As for the trim guys, I don't think they are the ones that chipped the corner trim. I think it was the wood flooring installers when they installed the quarter round. I have a photo of that corner (just by chance) and it didn't have the corner chipped in the photo before the floors. Floors were just done last week so still possible builder knows about it and just trying to get them back to fix and finish. Seems the real sloppy ones so far are the wood flooring installers since there are several items related to them. The closet rods - I've never lived somewhere where they were not poly'd at least. I agree on paint, but so easy to get splinters without some kind of finish. That one is the least of my worries though and if it is common in other areas that may be so here too. We are 90 miles away from where we currently live so ...

To all reading this post: Please invest $100-$1500 in a good local Real Estate attorney when doing these type of deals!!! This attorney, theoretically (if s/he knows what they are doing), will not only help you navigate through these situations, he will hold the builder legally accountable and that will be plenty of motivation for the builder to manage your project with proper focus. Going forward, since your builder is so delayed, you should work out a deal with him (preferably with legal backing) that states, you will pay the invoices for labor and material when work is completed, and the balance of the money owed will be reviewed at the satisfaction of all punchlist items. Since the builder has not focused on your project thus far, perhaps this will provide enough incentive for them to complete and get paid. Otherwise, I agree with the above statement, get an estimate from someone else to complete the project and withhold that amount plus 10% (for potential price increases and administration). You can also hire the project architect (if they are experienced enough) to help you navigate through the end of the process. Again, I would not do anything without first having legal consultation and representation. Good luck with the completion of the project.