Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Re: Breach of contact

You are exactly on the right track. You can't make the developer build the house, but you may be entitled to the benefit of the contract measured by your economic loss. With that in mind, if you don't already do so, you should begin keeping careful track of all of your expenses for shelter and moving and continue doing that until your lawyer says to stop. You or your lawyer should also ensure that there is a written record of anything that the builder says or does regarding contract performance.

The other half of your claim is to prove liability on the part of the builder. Nothing firm can be said about this without reading a copy of the contract of sale and knowing exactly what setback requirements are imposed and when that happened. I am close to Williamstown and have done several real property transactions there. I am not aware of any recent changes to the land use regulations there although without checking, I can't say for sure that there haven't been any. I am suspicious thought that there may have been some oversight on the part of the builder and you are not getting the full story. Even if there is no real fault on the part of the builder, you may still be entitled to compensation depending on exactly what happened and when.

If you have a lawyer for this transaction, you should definitely call. If you are not represented, I would be willing to look over your contract at no cost to you to see if it gives a clearer answer. You can contact me using the information associated with this message.

See also: http://info.corbettlaw.net/lawguru.htm