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Hi Anifani / rmorton and others who advocate hiring a attorney,
I talked with my neighbor tonight and to my surprise he does not want to disclose anything. I felt he is one of those selfish people who doesn't even want to say all the problems he had with the house or give any information that would help me out. He did not hire an attorney and I heard from another neighbor, the builder agreed to buy his home and also move him in to another home with the same builder!.
One of my friend told me that even if I hire a attorney, the builder would stop doing anything immediately and refer to their attorney. It will go in front of an arbitrator and since builder would agree to fix these structural problems, arbitrator would side with the builder it seems. Would this happen ?
Instead, should I just negotiate myself? I am thinking to add all the expenses of buying this home( like mortgage payment for 3 months, moving expense, inspection fee, survey fee and retribution for trouble like temp lodging / meals until we found a new home etc...) and add that to the sales price and then ask the builder to pay that to buy back my home. Is that a good step? I am confused.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rmorton
Get a good attorney (a real estate attorney), take the money and buy another house, in another community. Once a neighborhood gets a few complaints, bad news travels fast. A truss shouold not require anything more than repairing the truss. There is more to the story.
who is the builder? this sounds so crazy..... Who builds homes wrong? especially nationally? I am trying to figure out where to buy from for my custom home, and wouldn't want someone out there trying to build homes, I someone who knows how to do it? who built it?
Hi Anifani / rmorton and others who advocate hiring a attorney,
I talked with my neighbor tonight and to my surprise he does not want to disclose anything. I felt he is one of those selfish people who doesn't even want to say all the problems he had with the house or give any information that would help me out. He did not hire an attorney and I heard from another neighbor, the builder agreed to buy his home and also move him in to another home with the same builder!.
One of my friend told me that even if I hire a attorney, the builder would stop doing anything immediately and refer to their attorney. It will go in front of an arbitrator and since builder would agree to fix these structural problems, arbitrator would side with the builder it seems. Would this happen ?
Instead, should I just negotiate myself? I am thinking to add all the expenses of buying this home( like mortgage payment for 3 months, moving expense, inspection fee, survey fee and retribution for trouble like temp lodging / meals until we found a new home etc...) and add that to the sales price and then ask the builder to pay that to buy back my home. Is that a good step? I am confused.
First of all, who is the builder? You describe your neighbor as "selfish" and one who doesn't want to talk about problems, but you haven't even disclosed the builder to us.
Are you comfortable living in your home in every way except for the truss problem? If so, stick it out and figure out how you and the builder can both be comfortable with the truss repair.
If you are uncomfortable with the home for reasons beyond the truss repair, then your problem is larger than what you've talked about on this form and I cannot give any advice there.
As an engineer, and one who is sitting for the exam in three weeks to become licensed, I can answer questions regarding your truss. In my professional opinion - and pleae recognize that I haven't reviewed drawings or calculations - there should be a repair available that will allow you to live in your home without noticing the difference between an as-repaired home and a new home. If you're pleased with your home in every other way, I don't see why you would be concerned with living in an as-repaired home that performs in every way as a new home. However, if you are unhappy with your home for reasons beyond the truss repair (for example, declining housing market or you don't like the neighborhood) I cannot advise you as an engineer. Those decisions require your heart and I don't speak to what the heart wants, I only speak to what the data shows.
I've heard that many new construction sale contracts require arbiration rather than trial by jury. Yours may be one of these (read your contract to see the details). If so, an attorney may not be helpful when negotiating with the builder. I've heard (also through the grapevine) that the arbitration panel in many cases is made up of other builders in the area, which is no "trial by peers". I've heard rumors that arbitration boards frequently side with the builder but don't have experience in this area.
My personal opinion is I'd urge to do some sole searching and think if you'd like to keep the house in every manner except for the truss repair. If so, I'd encourage you to try to figure out how the builder can repair the truss (and validate to you that the repair is appropriate and sufficient) in a manner satisfactory to you. Professional or structural engineers are a good resource for you - but since you're living in the home, the only satisfactory repair is one satisfactory to you.
Hope that helps, and please keep us informed of the outcome.
We are talking about a 4000 sq feet home bought close to half million dollars in one of the best neighborhoods in marvin / west union county area. For this price, I would expect great quality.
Errors happen, even in a $200,000,000.00 airplane (two hundred million). I'm not concerned about a singular error (which you have described) but I am more concerned about a pattern of errors or other indications that you may own a lemon.
Hi Anifani / rmorton and others who advocate hiring a attorney,
I talked with my neighbor tonight and to my surprise he does not want to disclose anything. I felt he is one of those selfish people who doesn't even want to say all the problems he had with the house or give any information that would help me out. He did not hire an attorney and I heard from another neighbor, the builder agreed to buy his home and also move him in to another home with the same builder!.
One of my friend told me that even if I hire a attorney, the builder would stop doing anything immediately and refer to their attorney. It will go in front of an arbitrator and since builder would agree to fix these structural problems, arbitrator would side with the builder it seems. Would this happen ?
Instead, should I just negotiate myself? I am thinking to add all the expenses of buying this home( like mortgage payment for 3 months, moving expense, inspection fee, survey fee and retribution for trouble like temp lodging / meals until we found a new home etc...) and add that to the sales price and then ask the builder to pay that to buy back my home. Is that a good step? I am confused.
Do not negotiate yourself! I have been through this same type of situation. The lawyer I mentioned above made ONE phone call and the builder came RUNNING to my house!
If you are not completely familiar with every law in this area it would be extremely smart to at least have a consultation. You do not have to hire the attorney but you will at least know more about your situation.
FYI...Your neighbor probably signed a nondisclosure agreement with the builder.
My husband recently visited a homeowner tied up in legal litigation for 3 years with a construction company. It has ruined him. He lost his job because of it. His house is over 3 inches off from ceiling to floor and he didnt notice it until he tried putting a china cabinet against a wall. He cant even have tile put in his home because the floor goes downhill 3 inches. There is no quick fix for that. It started at his foundation. The bottom line here is that the workers and construction companies are getting away with murder. NC has the cheapest labor rate, contractors hire illegals who do it too fast and dont have the knowledge and our politicians let it happen. Changes have to be made. We have to demand better quality. We have to hold people accountable. It may be a hard road sometimes, but in the end it is a matter of teaching a lesson. There are so many nonsense lawsuits in this country why not have real ones that make a diference? I say you need to take a stand. We have to end this crap now! They get to move on to the next victim and you get stuck with a house that has issues from day one and most likely will have many more. GET MAD! You just made the biggest investment of your life. If you bought a shirt that had a hole in it, you would take it back right? Its your home, where you are raising a family. Think about it.
I agree w/ Burgandy - your neighbor signed a non-disclosure agreement and probably got money knocked off the price of his house, as well as the repair (or a cash settlement in addition to repairs). Plus, he does not want the repairs to be common knowledge in the neighborhood so when he sells the house, there won't be others around to enlighten realtors and potential buyers (or the press!!!) about any problems w/ the house as well as with the builder.
SftbllMommy has relayed a real-life situation. You really need to think about the trust level with this builder. If you are prepared to stay and go thru/ a repair . . . then sobeit. Just realize that down the road, there could be further problems and once you have signed away your rights and made a settlement - you are stuck. I would think about this long and hard b/f I made the decision to accept a repair and stay in that house.
If you are prepared to stay and go thru/ a repair . . . then sobeit. Just realize that down the road, there could be further problems and once you have signed away your rights and made a settlement - you are stuck. I would think about this long and hard b/f I made the decision to accept a repair and stay in that house.
The problem with that way of thinking is there could be problems in any house, including the one anifani is living in right now. You don't know. Had the builder not told you about the structural problem, you may never have known it was there.
The problem with that way of thinking is there could be problems in any house, including the one anifani is living in right now. You don't know. Had the builder not told you about the structural problem, you may never have known it was there.
I don't like surprises. I hired a licensed structural engineer from a firm here in Charlotte and paid him a goodly sum b/f I bought this house.
I suspect not one person out of a 1000 hires a structural engineer b/f purchasing property, but it so happens I do.
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