[mmjtr]

We just moved to Guntersville and Have been looking at a new house built by Forrest Benson. He builds mostly in Scotsboro. Does anyone have info on him and the quality of his work?

[Ynot]

While I don't have any direct information on your builder, I have two suggestions:

1- That you meet and visit some of the builder's past customers - ask them how they feel about their new home, are they satisfied, were there any problems, did the builder correct any problems, how long is the builder willing to stand behind his construction, were they able to get in contact with him after closing the deal if there were any problems? If he is building in that one area, go visit the people who live there, introduce yourself and ask about their new home. We had a home built in Alabama, not all that far from Scottsboro, and we did this. We talked to some owners of our builder's past construction projects. It truly helped.

2. If you decide to buy, be sure to hire a indepenant home inspector - one who will provide you a report complete with photos of construction discrepancies (if any)!!! I know it's a new house, but this is very important. As the buyer, you want to be absolutely certain that the house is built correctly, that no shortcuts were taken, and most importantly, there are no safety concerns. We also did this on our new home, our builder encouraged it!!! There were flaws that were addressed and corrected. You can't be too careful when buying a home, brand new or exisiting.

I hope this helps. Good luck!