10 May
Buying A Home – Take These Steps To Be Sure Your Builder Does It Right
If you sign an agreement with a builder to construct a new home, you have every right to expect the completed project will be in beautiful condition. However, the reality is most new homes can suffer from bad workmanship and defects. You may be surprised to learn that 10% of newly built homes contain major fabrication issues.
One major reason for this poor workmanship stems from homebuyer pressures to have a home completed immediately or within the next few days. Buyers also expect builders to build elaborate features like lofty vaulted ceilings and big windows. To compound the problem, there’s a shortage of qualified contractors or subcontractors. To appease homebuyer demands, builders end up lowering their standards by hiring less qualified workers; or make sloppy mistakes.
Even worse, as soon as the project is finished, developers move on to the next project-ignoring customer complaints. You’ll even come across dishonest builders that fabricate fake corporations and then end up filing a bankruptcy proceeding.
Some states have taken measures to address this problem by allowing the developer time to fix the home before you take legal action. Unfortunately, builders ended up procrastinating on your repairs since the legislation doesn’t delineate an actual deadline.
The good news is you can take preventive steps to evaluate the construction activity before your house is finished. Start to negotiate periodic inspections while they’re building your home and a final inspection at the finish date. It might cost extra money to cover the additional inspections, but you can save yourself thousands of dollars in future repairs. You may be shocked to learn the average new home contains repairs over $5,000.
If you want to be sure your home is built right, hire an independent home inspector with years of experience to monitor your construction. Don’t assume you’ll receive an unbiased inspection from a city or builder’s third party inspector. Plus it’s the city inspector’s job to only make sure a house is built according to current building codes and not critique other important issues.
Common defects you’ll come across include bad weather proofing, improper grading of land, faulty sewer connections, issues with the roof, ventilation concerns, and building code violations.
Negotiate these inspections into your purchase contract and be sure to carry them out. Because you’ll be the first owner to live in a house, you don’t want to move in just to find a blocked chimney, unfinished sewage system, and electricity issues.
While your purchase contract may permit periodic inspections of the home during construction, expect the builder to fight you each step of the way. If the real estate market is hot, you’ll have a difficult time finding a builder willing to include these inspections, especially when another buyer in line after you is willing to take the home as it is. You’ll have an easier time finding a cooperative builder during a slow market. Don’t be afraid to exercise your homebuyer rights to make sure your home is constructed right.
Searching to find the best deal on an Orange County home? Then view these Santa Ana homes for sale and use a local Santa Ana Realtors to help you find one.
