New construction unable to be recorded in Land Court due to COVID

[Sarah Quin]

Hello everyone, 

I am a buyer in MA trying to purchase a new construction townhouse right now and close in a month(3 weeks passed by already). However seller is unable to record condo docs in land court due to COVID. Occupancy permit is not obtained. All these uncertainties make this closing extremely confusing to me.

Questions:

The occupancy permit is not ordered, seller said they have not connected the sewer. The site and house looks 100% complete. I can't imagine them digging up the road and building new pipes right now. What dose "haven't connected sewer" mean in your developer's world? Do developers always try to wait till the last day to do this to avoid paying fees? Do developers usually have occupancy permit ready before putting house available to sell?

Has anyone ordered occupancy permit inspection during COVID? How long dose it usually take from ordering till the inspector come? How often dose the inspector come and note issues about the house and won't come back for another month? 

Seller said they have submitted the condo docs to the Land Court at least 4 week ago, and haven't heard back. But people tell me before COVID you could get this done in 2 days. Has anyone dealt with Land Court during COVID? How much longer should I expect and is there a rush line by any chance? Dose Land court usually make revisions to the new construction condo docs? 

What about smoke certificate or any other paper work I should get before closing, have they been delayed do to COVID? 

What's the realistic time frame for closing a new construction?

Thank you very much in advance for any of your help!