New Construction Walk Through? (new house, buying, home inspection) - Huntsville-Madison-Decatur area - Alabama (AL) - City-Data Forum

aemedic · 10-07-2010, 07:59 PM

I am scheduled to close on a new home tomorrow.
I had the home inspected on Tuesday and Mike Dove found nothing serious so the home is basically sound.
After the inspection I did the first walk through with the builder. I found MANY noticeable flaws in the finishes of the Sheetrock and trim. There were many visible nail locations in the trim and some considerable flaws in the edges and corners of the Sheetrock as well as a few areas where the insulation installers must have stepped between the rafters. There were also visible seams on many of the ceilings, not horrible but I noticed them...
The house was open this evening after work so I looked around. The attempt to be repair everything is obvious and the repainting had been done. Honestly, most of the repairs look worse than the original finish, considerably worse!
I called the builder but it was after 5 and I got no answer so I left him a message to take a look and give me a call. No call yet so I guess I will hear from him tomorrow.
I guess my only option is to stand my ground and not close if the walk through tomorrow (if it happens) reveals the same issues.
We really wanted to close but since this affects nearly every room we don't want to move in and have them work over our belongings.

Opinions?

Elizabeth_G · 10-07-2010, 08:26 PM

Just keep in mind that once you are closed, you are closed! If it's a reputable builder, they should come back and do the finish work properly with no squabbles.

friday13 · 10-07-2010, 09:41 PM

OK, E_G, then lets put it this way: what are 'reasonable' flaws? Is there a perfectly finished house (i.e. finishing touches, not safety and structural, but paint job, seams on the ceiling, trim paint etc.)? I mean one can argue back and forth the house doesn't look as they expected, over 'trivial' defects. What power the magnifying glass should we bring at walk-through?

Your input as a RE professional?

Everest209 · 10-07-2010, 10:36 PM

Your the homeowner builders have nightmares about. Nothing is going to be perfect, if your buying a expensive custom built home the margin for error is smaller, but if it's just a regular house you have to take it easy. Take my advice, the more you nitpick certain things, the worse it may look. The best chance at a good job is the first time, a repair doesnt always work, and sometimes makes it worse as you said. There are certain things like a leaky faucet or broken cabinet drawer that are understandable, but looking at drywall seams all day is going to waste you more time than anything. If it gets worse, that's what a warranty is for....

thedwightguy · 10-07-2010, 10:37 PM

If the "deficiency" repairs are that obviously shoddy and you've noticed footprints where they're not supposed to be I'd take a serious look at the plumbing and electrical i.e. one of those 1.20 ground testers and turn on all the faucets and check for leaks. Also, you can guage "stack effect" by lighting a candle at the window and seeing how the building pressure is (do you have in writing the quality of the windows??? etc.)
That's what's really going to cost you after buying: Hydro and hard plumbing repairs. Is the home warrantied?

harry chickpea · 10-07-2010, 10:53 PM

Reasonable is just that. Anyone who has made a punch list or had to follow one knows the drill.

nfdsouza2001 · 10-08-2010, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aemedic

I am scheduled to close on a new home tomorrow.
I had the home inspected on Tuesday and Mike Dove found nothing serious so the home is basically sound.
After the inspection I did the first walk through with the builder. I found MANY noticeable flaws in the finishes of the Sheetrock and trim. There were many visible nail locations in the trim and some considerable flaws in the edges and corners of the Sheetrock as well as a few areas where the insulation installers must have stepped between the rafters. There were also visible seams on many of the ceilings, not horrible but I noticed them...
The house was open this evening after work so I looked around. The attempt to be repair everything is obvious and the repainting had been done. Honestly, most of the repairs look worse than the original finish, considerably worse!
I called the builder but it was after 5 and I got no answer so I left him a message to take a look and give me a call. No call yet so I guess I will hear from him tomorrow.
I guess my only option is to stand my ground and not close if the walk through tomorrow (if it happens) reveals the same issues.
We really wanted to close but since this affects nearly every room we don't want to move in and have them work over our belongings.

Opinions?

I recommend my clients take a friend with you to the "walk through" and the possesion. It does not hurt to have an "extra pair" of eyes

aemedic · 10-08-2010, 05:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Everest209

Your the homeowner builders have nightmares about. Nothing is going to be perfect, if your buying a expensive custom built home the margin for error is smaller, but if it's just a regular house you have to take it easy. Take my advice, the more you nitpick certain things, the worse it may look. The best chance at a good job is the first time, a repair doesnt always work, and sometimes makes it worse as you said. There are certain things like a leaky faucet or broken cabinet drawer that are understandable, but looking at drywall seams all day is going to waste you more time than anything. If it gets worse, that's what a warranty is for....

Everest - Let me get this straight, in a brand new $250k house, it is acceptable to be able to see dry wall flaws from across the room? It is okay to have visible cracks in the ceiling where someone nearly fell through? To have dime size dents in the rounded Sheetrock corners?
This may not be a $1M home but it is the third house I have bought new and the first time I have had this problem. I call them unacceptable! I guess I must be a nightmare buyer to hold the builder accountable...

phantomplan · 10-08-2010, 06:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aemedic

Everest - Let me get this straight, in a brand new $250k house, it is acceptable to be able to see dry wall flaws from across the room? It is okay to have visible cracks in the ceiling where someone nearly fell through? To have dime size dents in the rounded Sheetrock corners?
This may not be a $1M home but it is the third house I have bought new and the first time I have had this problem. I call them unacceptable! I guess I must be a nightmare buyer to hold the builder accountable...

I say stick it to them, point out everything you notice.. With the current RE market, they should be bending over backwards to take care of the flaws you're pointing out. You shouldn't have such noticeable issues with the finish on a new house. If you refuse to close today, that usually sends a message to the builder. We did that, and they kicked it in gear on repairing everything they had previously ignored.

thedwightguy makes a very good point. Have you had the plumbing and electrical inspected or inspected it yourself? The finish is important, but it's lower in significance for me compared to all the electrical/plumbing.

aemedic · 10-08-2010, 06:42 AM

We had Mike Dove do a home inspection and he said the house is mechanically and structurally sound. It is just the finish work, the work you can see and that will help us on resale that is flawed. I am in the military and have to be able to sell this house in a few years, it's not like I can just live with it...