Newsflash: One-sided new construction contracts – Closing with an unfinished punch list, etc.

I realize that no one here is a lawyer. I am purely looking for anecdotal stories if any of these situations have happened to you or someone you know.We do not want to cancel our new construction contract. I am frustrated over a few things, but as it stands, we still want to buy the house. I am asking these “what if” questions to get a general idea of how things go when a buyer delays or walks away. If we were legitimately in that kind of predicament, I would be contacting a RE lawyer, not posting on Reddit.Many people post online “Don’t close without a completed punch list or they will NEVER come back and finish the work!” But the one-sided language of the builder’s contract specifically states that an unfinished punch list is NOT a valid reason to delay closing. So what is a buyer supposed to do in that scenario? Have any of your clients delayed closing because of this and how did that go?”UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL CLOSING BE DELAYED DUE TOSELLER’S FAILURE TO COMMENCE OR COMPLETE CORRECTION, REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OFANY ITEMS ON A PUNCH LIST. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL FUNDS BE ESCROWED ATCLOSING TO COVER THE COST OF CORRECTION, REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF ANY ITEMS ONA PUNCH LIST.”2) The contract also says that if you walk away, the builder gets to keep your money AND they can come after you for “damages.” It also says that if you delay closing for any reason, they can keep your deposit, charge you per diem AND sell the house out from underneath you at any point if they feel like it. Keeping the earnest money is pretty expected, but what about the rest?As a RE agent, have you actually seen this happen to any of your clients? Are the “damages” normally just the per diem or do they typically take buyers to arbitration for a bunch of “extras” plus legal fees? Such as the hours the loan officer spent preparing documents. Or maybe the house dropped in value and they want you to come up with the difference. Or perhaps they want to charge you for property taxes until someone else buys the house.3) Can they FORCE you to perform if a judge orders you to close through an arbitration hearing? For example, let’s say you just changed your mind and are willing to lose your deposit, pay the per diem fees up until that point, and walk away? The builder’s priority is to sell and close houses as quickly as possible. So, I would guess they mostly just keep your deposit and everyone goes their separate ways, versus the house getting stuck in a legal dispute and they can’t sell it to anyone else in the meantime?Purchaser’s Failure to Close. Purchaser’s failure to close on the date set pursuant to subsection aabove shall constitute a material breach of this Agreement by Purchaser. In such event, in addition to and without waiving any rights and remedies which Seller shall have pursuant to Section 18 below, Seller, at Seller’s option, may extend the Closing Date until Purchaser tenders full payment of the Purchase Price; provided that Seller shall retain the right to terminate this Agreement and to retain Purchaser’s Earnest Money at any time prior to actual Closing. If Seller does extend the Closing Date pursuant to this subsection, then at Closing Purchaser shall pay to Seller, in addition to the Purchase Price, liquidated damages in the amount of $XXX per day, calculated from the final date for Closing set by Seller until the date on which Purchaser pays to Seller the full Purchase Price plus all liquidated damages due to Seller pursuant to this subsection, not to exceed $X,XXX.Purchaser’s Default. If Purchaser defaults on any of its obligations hereunder prior to Closing,Seller’s sole and exclusive remedy shall be to terminate this Agreement by written notice to Purchaser; whereupon, Seller shall retain all Earnest Money and Option Money paid by Purchaser to Seller as liquidated damages and Seller may recover from Purchaser any liquidated damages due to Seller as of the date of termination pursuant to subsection e of Section 16 above. Thereafter, neither party shall have any further liability or obligation to the other hereunder, except such liabilities or obligations that survive termination of this agreement by specific provision hereof.3) Let’s say we DID have a lawyer look over the contract and they advised sections X, Y, and Z should be changed. I am under the impression that it’s still pretty much “my way or the highway” when it comes to their corporate contracts. Have you ever had a client request changes to a national builder’s boilerplate contract (outside of closing dates)? What were the change requests and were they honored?I know the contract says what they can do. I am just curious if these “threats” are commonly enforced to their fullest extent or not. Or perhaps the decision to pursue you legally or not is determined by how fast houses are currently selling?If you have any relevant new construction experiences regarding these questions or anything else worth sharing, please do! I’m all ears. Thank you!