Issue with Seller on New construction

[Syra Miel]

I had signed a contract for a single unit family/town home back in December of 2021. Due to multiple delays, the property is only ready now. It appears the contract did not have an end date or any contingencies that protect the seller given it was purchased during a builder's market. A $20,000 deposit was made at the time which was non refundable. Since then, we have had many issues with the builders in terms of communication. For instance, we were not given a clear timeline for when the unit would be ready. In Spring of this year, while the market settled, costs of home went down, interest rates went up, they attempted to activate an escalation of price hike asking for $16,000 more on the home. When I verbalized dissatisfaction with this and requested to meet with the builder to make sense of it and my options, I was accused of mistreating them. With difficulty she agreed to meet, could not give me a clear timeline for completion of the house. We discussed our concerns with the escalation clause which they refused to back down on, the timeline for closing which still could not be clearly provided, changes in the housing market while waiting on completion of this home and interest rate, and what would happen if we are not ready to close. We were told they would work with us on that and give us extra time if needed and promised a 45 day notice. In September, they then decided it was ready to close, was given < 45 day notice, I wasn't really even notified they just started cc'ing me in their communication amongst each other regarding the dates for my orientation and final closing 2 weeks later. I expressed that I could not be there that day that they decided upon and that I needed to do a home inspection prior to closing. They then agreed to postpone closing to October. However there has been a lot of pettiness in the form of unprofessional emails from the builder, given only 1 role of blue tape for the blue tape walk through which was kind of sprung on me and they attempted to complete it within the hour with the orientation, however there were a LOT of cosmetic issues, requesting me to sign a form that states that I will retroactively pay a cost of carry for the months of August, September, and October if I don't close by the end of October. I refused to sign it.  There were a lot of concerns regarding the workmanship on the home--poor paint, caulking, multiple areas of exposed wood, large gap in the baseboard between the walls and the carpet through out the house, scratched and chipped paint on cabinets, misaligned cabinets, stair rails misaligned for example. My listing included blinds which were never installed and after multiple inquiries and reminders they have started the process. I requested some of these things be addressed before closing. I also expressed my disappointment by a lot of the mixups in communication which resulted in a lot of hostility. The builder is then accusing me of being unreasonable and difficult. We had negotiated $20,000 builder credits in closing costs back in August/September and I had requested for multiple times that they also reduce the price of the home to match the current market and help with the closing . After the slew of emails and in response to the concerns raised from the walk through, she gave me the option to lower the price of the home from $765,000 to $750,000 and reduce the lenders credit for closing to $15,000. However at this point I am a bit concerned about the hostility towards me, the emails, the refusal to meet to discuss some of the concerns, the comments being made about me (for instance she sent emails to my brother in law complaining about me) and then refused to speak with me in person when I requested a meeting, and the distress this communication is causing my family. I mean if this home was ready to close in September then I would have expected it to be finished and not presented to me in such poor condition in October. I have concerns for the quality and I am concerned by the very limited warranty, builder's hostility,  and also about how experience owning the home will be. It is going to be in an area which is expected to develop well (Projected Downtown of Leander located adjacent to Austin). I just don't know at this point what the best thing to do is. Terminate the contract and risk incurring the penalties--best case scenario is that I lose my $20,000 deposit, $100 title, appraisal and independent inspection money. Take the risk and the home appreciates? They are projecting in 10 years it will be worth a million (by them I mean really the builders if the northline downtown area develops as it is hoped to although there have been significant delays in that project as well...) I am at a loss right now.