Every construction schedule, whether it be house construction or bridge construction, will have some slack in it. Sometimes it's called "schedule float". Without some slack in the schedule, any small hiccup could delay the entire project and cause the builder to pay penalties. So when everything in the building process goes well with no problems, the builder will get done early, as he didn't need the slack built into his schedule. Not a screw up at all - actually it's evidence that the builder has his act together. And I just read that The Villages had just under 2400 closings in 2009, so you can imagine how chaotic it might be if they were constantly changing closing dates at the last minute. My guess is the fee is designed to discourage those last minute changes.
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