Cohousing-L Mailing List: capital gains tax experience

[PattyMara (PattyMara]

Hi List,
Does anyone out there have experience with capital gains tax on sale of one's
principal residence?  Our situation is this:  two households sold their homes
nearly two years ago, with the projection from our cohousing group, and later
our contractor, that our  project would be built by May of this year, giving
them a comfortable margin to avoid the two year deadline to purchase their
next home, and thus avoid capital gains tax.  Since then of course, the tax
law has changed, but the members are still bound by the old law since they
sold before May of 1997.  

Long story short: delays in architectural plans, county planning requirements
and heavy winter rains extended the construction phase so that we are looking
at first move-ins in late summer, possibly just missing the capital gains
deadlines.  

Has anyone had the same experience and is there any recourse from the IRS?
The intentions of both households are very obvious-they've been involved in
the development process for over 5 years with the clear intention of
reinvesting the profit of the sale of their former homes into their new
cohousing homes.  

Any suggestions?  All of our attempts to contact the IRS have been frustrating
since no human seems to answer their information lines, just recorded
information droids.

Thank you,
Patty Mara Gourley
Tierra Nueva Cohousing, Central CA Coast, where we are sold out, with one
remaining unit becoming available soon due to the recent death of a beloved
elder.  We are all grieving her death, which was unexpected, but swift and
graceful.