Unstructured: Editor's Blog of AOL Real Estate

Darkside of the Housing Boom: Shoddy Work

When you think about a "lemon" it usually pertains to a four-wheel vehicle. And while you may be upset about losing your mode of transportation, which is important, because most of us need those to get to work so that we can pay for them -- what if the lemon was the home you just spent all your life savings to have built? Seems that there's little consolation unless you, of course, do your homework first and monitor the building process like a part-time or maybe full-time job.

Visiting the site often is one suggestion, but what are your rights in the event you discover your home is in horrible condition after you've signed your life away? So far, I have a friend who found empty soda cans in the air duct, and one who has inherited a family of birds that entered an open vent -- one that builders neglected to place a grate over.

At this point, "housing boom" is a dirty word (IMHO) -- it's a wonder we're not all running for the hills.

aw

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• #113 Comment from dougnval 
  3/6/07 1:58 PM | Permalink

  I had Pulte Homes build me a 7,000 square foot home in Northern Virginia.  Paid almost a million for it.  The home has a sink hole in the front yard where the builder dug away the soil to connect the utilities when they re-filled the hole, they didnt tamp the soil.  (all of my neighbors have the same hole in their yards).  My home has settled so much from front to back that you can actually feel yourself walking downhill in our entrance foyer, all of the hardwood is separating from the settlement.  The builder tried to remedy this problem by removing the hardwood flooring and grinding down the sub floor,,their other suggestion to fix the settlement was to jack up the support beams in the basement.  We realized that this would cause other shifting problems throughout the home so,,we are just going to live with the slope.  
  
  When the builder was framing our home we watched as they broke every single roof truss while placing them.  We now have "scabs" holding the roof together over our head.  The same framing crew built crooked walls all over the house and Pulte never caught the problem.  In our master bath, the perfectly square tile floor pattern exposes how crooked the walls really are,,its kinda funny (and embarrasing)
  
  I guess in retrospect.  I should have never trusted that a builder could erect something this large in 120 days without rushing through the job every step of the way.  Shame on Pulte for claiming they are one of the top quality builders in the country and delivering to me this unusually low quality product!!  (this posting was just a short "summary" list of the overall problems we experienced)
• #112 Comment from unicorn1440 
  3/5/07 4:08 PM | Permalink

  You are right about Builders, they do not care  fast as they go up  money for them,  The builder has to pay off the loan they took , all they want is to sell thier house so the home onwer is the one stuck with the payment, as far as the fix the problem "WE WILL GET TO IT AS SOON AS POSIBLE  YEA  when I have enough money to repair what we did not do right the frist time. THE Inspector only looks at the what he has to and gets the hell out, they see the problems BUT thats not their job. Pass the BUCK back to the builder, I framed for 20 yrs, we had standers but the builders didnt care ,build fast sell fast pay big loan off,.
• #111 Comment from gunnarthegunn 
  3/1/07 4:18 PM | Permalink

  I have been watching the construction of about 30 new homes behind my home.I an appalled at how bad the construction is for homes ranging $150,000 - $175,000.
  I have seen gaps of 2ins. from the main sill to the concrete footings, sill plates not bolted down at all, no vapor barrier or sealed joints on the OSB boards, framing wood that laid in water for weeks before being used, 2 homes built on a under ground spring, prefab walls that were not square beat with sledge hammers cracking the 2x4's until the lined up with the next section, on and on it goes.
  I even called the county inspectors about these events and they respond by telling me how long they have been in the business and do the best they can. You better camp out at your new home while it is being built!
  Gun - Lexington county, SC
• #110 Comment from vicecolor 
  2/27/07 10:36 PM | Permalink

  Why would I want to buy your used 28 year old hunk of trash with a rotted foundation, wood rot, a leaking roof, outdated windows and doors, old flooring, old rugs, old cabinets, used bathroom, lights that are about to all go dim, loose door handles, toilets that dont flush right, showers with no water pressure, and broken concrete steps when I can buy a new house with none of those problems? If there are problems with a new house, you get them fixed for free by the builder or you sue him! You idiot.
• #109 Comment from vilke 
  2/26/07 6:43 PM | Permalink

  Avoid these common problems associated with the "new" homes and buy an older home that has already shaken out its problems. Better construction and they have had at least one or two owners fixing, repairing, replacing the mistakes made by the original builder. My home is 28 years old and in far better shape with good "strong bones" than the new homes. The "new" homes look shoddy and cheap while the older homes look solid and have in fact -- stood the test of time.
  http://www.FairfaxVaHome.com