Thanks, Keith, for your advice. I really appreciate your answering so
promptly. However, I didn't make clear that the salesperson has NOT
deposited the escrow check. It will be deposited after we sign the
escrow contract, approximately this weekend.

Meanwhile, the house is under construction (sheetrock state or later),
and they seem to keep throwing in the cheapest possible materials.
They've said they'll price according to the actual materials used (the
salesman's boss verified this), but we're concerned that they'll sneak
in a higher price on us, while at the same time using the cheaper
materials. Is this common practice with homebuilders generally, and,
in any event, how can we prevent this? We feel we're being pressured,
even though there aren't many customers (even though this is Houston,
Texas, and not one of the recession-plagued areas of the country), and
that we have to watch them every step of the way.