Problems With New Construction (sale, real estate, mortgage) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

kenny34 · 12-04-2007, 06:08 PM

I have a "friend " that is having a house built and is having some problems with the quality in which the home is being constructed, there are numorous problems but i am going to give you the top three and you tell me what you would do, or what options are available..... # 1 the home has MAJOR cracks in the foundation , 4 big seperate cracks from the top of the basement wall to the floor, these cracks are from the inside of the house to the outside of the house and have got bigger in the past month, and a crack about a 1/4 inch thick running from one wall across the floor to the other wall, also water has been found in the basement after it rains... # 2 ...the house had a fire in the attic due to a short in the wiring during the installation of hvac unit... # 3... the siding on the house has some serious waves in it and in some areas appears to be crooked and looks like crap. The builder was asked to pick up the tab on a independent home inspection because of the numorous issuses that have come up but refused. I know alot of people read these posts but NEVER respond, come on people i need some advise....thanks .......ps thats just the top 3 theres alot more issuses.

lqda4 · 12-04-2007, 07:27 PM

Builder refused to pick up the tab on what base? I'd get a lawyer, fast.

EricD · 12-04-2007, 08:35 PM

Just pay for the home inspection...

And get your house tested for RADON! Several houses in our area have radon problems in the basement... and if you test for it before you close on the house, you can make the builder install a system to lower the levels. (Otherwise you'd have to do it)

I have 2 cracks in my basement, and 3 in the garage... it's just how it's going to be. the ground is really muddy here, and houses settle. If it makes you feal any better, my cracks got worse for about 6 months after we moved in, but since then they haven't changed at all. (It's been just over a year since we moved in now) Some of the cracks might seem major, but just make sure the builder patches them up, and makes sure they're sealed. My builder patched mine on the outside, and I haven't had any trouble since.

We also had some water int he basement... took like 6 months to figure it out, but in the end we got the problem fixed... there were actually like 3 reasons why water was coming in, but it takes time. The people living on both sides of me had water problems int heir basements... but it's fixed now.

As far as the fire, can't they spray something to stop the wood from smelling like smoke and such? As long as it didn;t cause structural damage, it should be ok... but again, that's a good reason to get a home inspector to go through the house for you.

As far as the sidding, they'll need to fix that...

Remember, you have a 1 year warrenty on your house... if ANYTHING goes bad in your house, the builder HAS to fix it. I'm meeting with my builder tomorrow for our 1 year final review... they're going to fix everything from cracks in the molding, to doors that stick.

Good luck, and remember, the house isn;t going to be perfect, and there's going to be settling during the first year... doesn't matter who builds your home.

HEATHER72 · 12-04-2007, 09:26 PM

I second Eric on just pay for the inspector yourself and then get the builder to fix the things on that list. There should be a walk thru before you close on the house.

We also have a crack in our basement wall. The builder had repaired it before we even looked at the house, so we didn't even know it was there as it was behind the insulation. Back in May after we had a bad storm, I went into the storage room to find a 12 foot puddle of water on the floor. We were baffled as to where it had come from as it was clean water and nothing was dripping. The builder thought it might have been leaking around the fire sprinkler system, but that still wasn't it.

A few months later I was sitting in the basement and I heard water pouring... finally the source of the water revealed itself! While it was raining, water was coming thru this tiny tube in the crack they the had used to inject epoxy into the crack. We carried out over 60 gallons of water out of the basement via a bucket. Fun. Fun.

Anyway, after a few phone calls and rants of "I want this fixed now!" ... the builder sent the subcontractor who properly repaired the crack this time. I asked him how a crack forms in the foundation walls as I had not had a house with a basement. He said one of the reasons why the cracks happen is that the concrete will set up while they are waiting on another concrete truck to arrive.

Also be aware of the grading around your house. The area around the crack in my foundation was improperly graded. The water just sat between the 2 houses when it rained a lot, hence the leak back into the house. Had the builder fix the grade and he also had the sump pump line extended about 20 feet away from the house (like it should have been to begin with). No problems since then

No house is perfect, so don't expect that. Give the builder a chance to fix problems.

Yankeesfan · 12-04-2007, 09:45 PM

Is the house finished? Has the sale closed? If not, the county building inspectors need to be summoned and have all the flaws pointed out to them so that they will fail the house. Then the contract needs to be canceled, even if it requires getting an attorney. If the builder is this sloppy and untrustworthy things are only going to get worse.

kenny34 · 12-05-2007, 03:45 AM

The house is not finished yet, and those are the only the top three issuses there have been alot more through out the building process, now i see why the builder fired the superviser in the middle of building my home , my concern as far as the basement goes is there are major cracks, water has already come through , i have always heard that the house is only as good as the foundation its built on, well mine is cracked and leaking....and yeah i do have a warranty to fall back on, but when i see problems now and see the response of the builder and them not wanting to pay for a home inspection to put my mind at ease because of ALL the mistakes they made that concerns me, now theres a rush on there part for me close in the next 3 weeks........ ( before the end of the year ) .

EricD · 12-05-2007, 05:10 AM

I tried to get my builder to pay for a home inspection too... but they practically freaked out. I don't know why, but builders don't seem to like the idea of having someone else coem in and inspect their home, and have them pay for it.

Also, the end of what Heather72 said is exactly what we had to do with our basement. They had to fix the grading around the one side of our house, and extend the PVC on the sump pump all the way to the alleyway, to prevent the water from coming out right next to the house.

Between the home inspector, and your comments, you get to make a list of problems... and if the builder doesn't fix those problems, then you can cancel the contract. The builder will try to close on the house, with those problems still on the list, but try not to do that... otherwise they'll take their time since they'll have 1 year to fix them basically.

Good luck man, I hope the deal doesn't go sour because of this!

Margery · 12-05-2007, 08:56 AM

The first thing to do is check with the county where the home is being built to make sure the builder is licensed. Then ask whoever is in charge of checking out new construction if all the inspections have been done on a timely basis. Consult a real estate attorney to see what can be done to hold the builder's feet to the fire. Insist on a home inspection before drywall is installed and again before closing. Pay for the home inspection yourself, it is the best money you'll ever spend. Your inspector should be a member of ASHI or another recognized association that requires a certain level of experience to be a member. Also, the builder should be offering a new construction home warranty.

Zack · 12-05-2007, 01:41 PM

If the foundation cracks have continued to enlarge that means that the foundation probably wasn't properly prepared and that the house is still settling. That's a big red flag. The waves in the siding raise questions either about framing or from your foundation remarks that the house is still shifting.

Even a home warranty isn't going to give you much comfort from the amount of damage you could be looking at in the future depending on how poorly the work was done. You don't want to deal with the enormous hassle that a major foundation repair could warrant, and quite honestly if the builder accepts bad workmanship now do you think they will do good work during the warranty repair.

Pay for a home inspector yourself if you aren't sure of what you are seeing and can't evaluate the build quality. It's around $200-400 and could save you tens of thousands. Do you honestly think the builder is going to hire you an unbiased home inspector. If the builder won't allow a home inspector on site at all call a lawyer and refuse to settle.

Guywithacause · 12-05-2007, 01:49 PM

Good grief if you are having serious structural problems with the foundation alone...the shoddy work will only get worse..except it will all be covered up with freshly painted sheetrock and will make itself known the day AFTER your warranty expires somehow. I would do my best to get out of this contract NOW. The builder only has to make the house last for a year NOT the life of your mortgage or however long you plan to reside there remember..after that his hands are clean and he will disappear, but you will be stuck with the mess.

I would get out of the contract NOW...get an attorney and have him file the paperwork to the builder. At that point the builder SHOULD respond appropriately, i.e. fix all problems and concerns..if not...get out of the contract. If litigation does not motivate him to do anything, you pretty much have NO recourse once you sign your life away..don't do it! Get an attorney!!!!!!