Posted on 02/14/2007 9:00:35 AM PST by Hydroshock
Exactly. Like they say, wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from a lack of wisdom. I have built of lots of wisdom from home-buying, if that's the case. :-)
The new American Way? Cheap illegal labor, incompetent or indifferent (bribed) inspectors, maximized margins, lack of personal integrity to produce a quality home, ridiculous prices, inflated tax assessments, a soon-to-be insolvent lending industry, not to mention the disenfranchised shaftees (homeowners) stuck with billions of worthless structures.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
I guess this woman never lived in a California tract house. This type of building is a way of life in California. When we first lived in Mission Viejo, they had a rash of exploding toilets. The toilets didn't really explode, they just cracked and split in two, but it made a loud noise, along with all the other typical cheap workmanship. At that time, it was an accepted fact that dry wallers were Mexicans, who worked very very fast, but did very, very sloppy work.
No, B.
Massachusetts is COVERED with these POS McMansions. They use fiber board instead of plywood, 4 nails per square instead of the regulation 9, etc. Two years after completion the fiber board buckles and water gets in. This causes the vinyl siding to start rolling-up in sheets and separating from the exterior walls. Rooves separate and water leaks into the houses. Wells quickly dug through loose soil and shale without casings collapse. I live within one mile of two of these POS developments. The houses sell for $600K-$1M+ and all are crap. Between the lousy quality and the housing slump, many are worth less than the mortgages, so people are just abandoning them.
My wife and I are planning to be looking for a hosue in 2008, I have already told her and she arees we will be looking at houses over 10 years old with home inspections.
Speaking of SH_t, it's traditon on the West Coast for the drywallers to leave a 'Brown Burrito' behind the boards.
I worked as a plans examiner for a local muncipality for many years. Anyone who contracts to build a house should do the following to protect him or herself.
1. Make sure the contractor is a State certified building contractor. This can be checked with the state department that has authority over contractors. Once you have established the contractor is licensed and insured check for any complaints and/or actions against him.
2. Ask the local building department for approved or current permits they hve for the builder. Ask to see the plans and inspection records. If public record laws allow you to see the owners names it is a good idea to contact them for references.
3. The building department records should show the subs the contractor uses. Contact the approriate licensing agency to check license status and any complaints filed.
4. Make sure the bank has a policy of not releasing draws until an independent inspection of the work has been done. Nothing worse than finding all the payments have been made to the contractor when only the flooring has been finished. Also make sure the bank has received proof the subcontractors were paid.
Also re above: Know the lein laws of your State. In Florida if the Contractor fails to pay the subcontractors the homeowner is responsible. Yeah big rip off.
5. Find out what building code your muncipality is under. The local library should have a copy. Familiarize yourself with it so you can spot errors if they occur.
6. Visit the building site as often as possible.
7. Know the lein laws of your State. In Florida if the Contractor fails to pay the subcontractors the homeowner is responsible. Yeah big rip off.
8. Please remember the house is inspected by the local building department for code only not for workmanship. Hire your own independent inspector for workmanship. Have items that come under workmanship as part of your contract with the builder. That will give you recourse if the contractor fails to meet your agreement.
A doctor friend had a new McMansion built ($850K in 2001) in the next town. As soon as they moved in, the roof opened and two of the rooms started migrating away from the rest of the house. Plumbing tore loose. Electrical wiring tore. The jacuzzi leaked into the master bed room. They tried to go after the builder but he just told them to f*** themselves and moved back to Russia. They have since put an additional $300K into the place to make it livable. Meanwhile, their 30-degree incline driveway is unusable in winter...
Gee, could this be traced to the prevelance of many of the workers in the construction industry being unskilled, illegal aliens?
A couple houses down the street was a tourist stop by Princess Tours until the fire department had a controlled burn and now there is nothing but a lumpy lawn. A ranch style house quickly became split level through the middle of the living room and the once happy owners left when the roof broke open. The rest of us build our houses to look like that from the start so we can patch it up without impairing the look of the neighborhood or attracting the albino raven.
Hose A and Hose B only doing a job that Americans won't do.
They've all been bribed for at least the past 30 years.
Ultimately, you get third world standards and practices in all systems.
Good grief. Does every thread need to be about illegal immigration? Maybe we all should be praying that this woman's shoddy work was performed by U.S. citizens?
They are building a lot of those homes in our area. They look pretty but the workmanship is not that great. I would rather buy an older existing home.
The home buyer in this area are yuppies that want the big beautiful home, they can barely afford instead of older quality which may be more affordable.
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