Keystone Development Corporation

Our tale is a cautionary one. In short, Keystone Development Corporation, by way of co-owner Rick Olstein, broke contractual law and engaged in an unethical process. And admits it. My husband and I took an interest in a to-be-built property. We had been looking for quite some time and when we saw the neighborhood, land and home plans, we felt like we could see ourselves living there and moved forward with due diligence. We requested to meet the builder and to see a recently completed home. The builder requested an offer before agreeing to these requests. We made an offer at asking and the offer was accepted and signed by Rick Olstein. In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, this offer is now a legal and binding agreement. We were set to meet Rick and see one of his homes the following day. We toured the recently built home and proceeded to a coffee shop to start, what we thought would be, the beginnings of a positive working relationship as we build our new home. Instead, Rick surprised us by saying he would not be adhering to the terms of the offer (which, again, is a legal and binding agreement). We discussed Rick’s concern and despite not having any legal reason to renegotiate, we agreed to make amendments in good faith. In the end, our efforts to reasonably negotiate were for not. A few days later, Rick’s attorney told our attorney that everything we had agreed upon to date was being rescinded, that negotiations had ceased and gave us the option to walk away or sue as we could enforce the offer and legally force him to build the home (the admission part). The way this transaction unfolded and the way we were treated was abhorrent. We weren’t about to embark upon building a home with someone so unethical and who couldn't communicate. We walked away and likely dodged a bullet. We have no idea what happened or what caused negotiations to break down. In short, we would not recommend doing business with Keystone. Hopefully our story can help other well-intentioned home buyers.