Exactly.... they said the house comes with a terrific warranty but
they don't show it to you and in fact you cannot get a copy until
closing.

That should have been a clear warning to the buyer--no copy no deal. Time to
take a walk.

So the terms are, if you don't sign, that you get a
terrific warranty assuming the verbal promise comes in.... which it
may or may not.

Verbal promises from a sales type aren't worth a bucket of warm spit.

If you sign the non-terrific warranty at the end you are stuck with
it.

This usually means that they get to choose how, when and by whom it gets
attended to. And for this you agree not to litigate and to choose arbitration
instead.

If you refuse to sign then you avoid the anti-consumer terms included
in the written warranty and you get what is provided under law:

These so called "anti-consumer terms" are carefully crafted legal terms designed
to avoid costly legal action by the new home owner when the new wears off of the
house and reality sets in.

Possibly the verbal promise of a great warranty (which would not
include anti consumer language) but at the minimum, in general the
legal standard would be that the house has to be built to code and
generally accepted standards of workmanship. That is far better than
what it says in the 3rd party warranties.

But to have any hope of enforcing this alleged verbal promise will require some
evidence and that is sadly lacking. If by some good fortune it gets into court,
the sales person will probably have moved on and no one will know what you're
talking about. Case dismissed.

Bottom line don't sign unless you want to forgo your right to sue the
builder and are satisfied with the pathetic promises in the written
3rd party warranties. Your house basically has to fall down to
collect.

Lawyers will love you for this. Just try to get one on a contingency basis for
a case like this.

It sounds like you got a rude awakening. Hint: Any extra cost extended warranty
is a bad deal. The provider knows statistically exactly what the costs will be
and inflates the costs so that it becomes a profit center. It's the great free
interprise system at work. I think the whole economy would collapse if everyone
was immune to sales hype and only made rational purchases.

Regards,

John