Thanks. That clarifies a bit. Though family has built custom houses, I'm unfamiliar with the contractual mechanisms. My home was built through a national builder and my understanding was that I signed a contract to have a house built. If there was no house built, I wasn't going to close on the mortgage / pay them.
Sounds like a very bad situation -- entrusting someone else with $X00,000, hoping they do the job, and having no legal recourse if they don't.
Sounds like a very bad situation -- entrusting someone else with $X00,000, hoping they do the job, and having no legal recourse if they don't.