Posted on 02/14/2007 9:00:35 AM PST by Hydroshock
Home inspections aren't always effective.
Back in 2002, we had our 1976-built home inspected as part of the buying process (duh). The inspector found a few little things, most of which we considered cosmetic and have already fixed.
Now the foundation is so shifted, you can stand in the living room and feel one foot an inch higher than the other one. We are completely piered out, and our foundation company says nothing more can be done. (Me, I think something that can be done is calling another foundation company.)
It turns out the entire subdivision was built on fill dirt, and it's all subsiding. If we're really unlucky, our house will come loose from the foundation and slide into the empty lot across the street.
That's Houston soil for ya!
Bingo!
In Oregon, there has been a lot of publicity about newly built homes rotting away from the inside. This is a major scandal. I frankly anticipate more people all over the U.S. will discover they have been taken to the cleaners. Then it becomes a highly complex matter for the courts. Expert witness swearing contests are very common and give the edge to law firms specializing in defense of builders.
God forbid that anyone would plink down good money for substandard work and materials on an over priced $ 750,000 'dream house' made of junk materials.
Richmond American was building half-million dollar homes in the Virginia area and they were in pretty bad shape. In fact, that builder has a spotty reputation in some areas. Maybe it is the subcontractors but still, when you pay that kind of money for a home, you expect it to be of high quality.
Nothing funnier or more distressing to me is to drive by a former farm covered in instant ghetto and the sliding windows/doors are coming off the rails and the siding is buckling and the roof is sagging.
the biggest thing is to find a builder with integrity that will back his work. my dad had an awesome builder that backs anything he or his contractors did.
he's had a number of problems in 2 homes his builder has done, but his builder has come back and made right every problem that has come up.
Call Hitech Foundation. They did a good job on my house. Also check out Atlas, and Oshan (SP?) Both have a good rep.
Also I have heard Du West Foundation is good.
We will be closing on our dream house on Friday. Last week we had 2 walk throughs, one with an inspector, who after spending 3 1/2 hours in every nook and cranny of the house, found a few cosmetic things, but nothing major. When we walked the house with the contractor the next day, he was really glad we had done it and will fix everything before we move in next week. They posted the numbers of every contractor right inside a cabinet so that we can contact any of them for any reason if we have any problems. They are on call for any problems, and will come through at 4 months and 11 months to fix anything we find.
We have walked the house every week as it has gone from hole in the ground to home, and any things we noticed, (which were very few) they welcomed and fixed. It has been a wonderful experience all the way around and we are so excited to be moving into our beautiful new home next week.
After hearing all these horror stories, I am a bit wary, but Toll Brothers has really been wonderful so far, and the home they built us is amazing and as we watched all the building, we know it is well built as well.
I will let you know how it goes.
bump
"100 to 1 says it was built by "hardworking" illegal Hispanic immigrants."
I am a commercial real estate developer......try 10,000 to 1!
You are absolutely right on. (Make it 15 years with warranty)
My father was a homebuilder and contractor. He taught his sons the trade. I know what to look for, but I also know who is a good inspector. We both will look.
I live in a 55-year-old house. Part of the housing boom when WWII veterans were starting their families, and little Levittowns sprung up around every city. Architecturally, it's unremarkable -- your basic boring thousand-square-foot brick ranch. One of thousands built en masse on the same floor plan. When I went to neighbors' houses as a kid, the layout of their homes was reassuringly familiar.
But the interior walls are plaster over metal lathe, no drywall to be found. The floors are real hardwood, and the sub-florors are real hardwood. The only particle board is in some of the newer furniture. On a cinder-block foundation grounded to bedrock. The exterior is brick -- real brick, not that silly facing brick, siding or fake stucco. This house is humble, and the wiring and plumbing need upgrades for modern use, but she's solid, and will stand longer than I will.
I wouldn't consider a new house unless I specced it out myself and supervised the construction. Houses used to be built to last a hundred years -- now, they're built to last twenty, if you're lucky. One day, when I have a family and a two-bed, one-bath won't do any more, I plan to move to a bigger house -- and an older one.
That is good to know. You are in a much better position to scruitinize a home than most people.
Yow. I'm thinking of GC-ing my own house later this year and I suddenly find myself thinking that I might have to bribe the inspector -- to do his damn job!
I have a neighbor who is in a house less than a year old.
The house is white stucco. I walked by yesterday and there are HUGE, BLACK cracks all over the entire stucco area.
You can see the cracks from 300 feet away.
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