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I'm wondering if anyone else has come across this issue and would also like opinions on how to proceed.
Our builder screwed up and built our basement walls at 8ft instead of the 9ft we had specified and agreed to in the contract. It clearly states on the building plans as well that the walls are to be 9ft. Mistakes happen and I understand that. The building process is at the drywall stage. We were on vacation in May and during the time we were gone the house was constructed to this point. Amazingly quick. I walked through it this week for the first time and discovered the basement wall error.
I have two problems with just letting this go. First, the reason we are building a house is because there were a few things we definitely want in a house and we weren't finding them - high ceilings being #1. We are a tall family. Our son is 13 and he's already 6'5" and projected to be 6'8" to 7ft. His bedroom was suppose to be in the basement with the 9ft ceilings and because of that, we didn't raise the ceilings on the upstairs bedrooms. Second, the price on this house is nearly twice the average sale price for the area it's in, and at its price point, I believe people expect 9ft ceilings in the basement just like they expect granite countertops. I've spoken to two successful real estate brokers and 2 agents and in the area and they all confirmed this belief, that it would affect the saleability of the house. When building this house, every upgrade we opted for was done with the understanding that the upgrade would be seen as value in the house when we decide to sell in a few years.
The price of the 8ft to 9ft upgrade was $4,500. If all the builder is willing to do is take that off the sale price, then I'm not willing to go through with the purchase of the house.
Any thoughts or suggestions? The builder was informed of the error last night by his superintendent and we're waiting to hear from him as to what he is willing to offer us or if he would rather we just walk from the deal.
I'm wondering if anyone else has come across this issue and would also like opinions on how to proceed.
Our builder screwed up and built our basement walls at 8ft instead of the 9ft we had specified and agreed to in the contract. It clearly states on the building plans as well that the walls are to be 9ft. Mistakes happen and I understand that. The building process is at the drywall stage. We were on vacation in May and during the time we were gone the house was constructed to this point. Amazingly quick. I walked through it this week for the first time and discovered the basement wall error.
I have two problems with just letting this go. First, the reason we are building a house is because there were a few things we definitely want in a house and we weren't finding them - high ceilings being #1. We are a tall family. Our son is 13 and he's already 6'5" and projected to be 6'8" to 7ft. His bedroom was suppose to be in the basement with the 9ft ceilings and because of that, we didn't raise the ceilings on the upstairs bedrooms. Second, the price on this house is nearly twice the average sale price for the area it's in, and at its price point, I believe people expect 9ft ceilings in the basement just like they expect granite countertops. I've spoken to two successful real estate brokers and 2 agents and in the area and they all confirmed this belief, that it would affect the saleability of the house. When building this house, every upgrade we opted for was done with the understanding that the upgrade would be seen as value in the house when we decide to sell in a few years.
The price of the 8ft to 9ft upgrade was $4,500. If all the builder is willing to do is take that off the sale price, then I'm not willing to go through with the purchase of the house.
Any thoughts or suggestions? The builder was informed of the error last night by his superintendent and we're waiting to hear from him as to what he is willing to offer us or if he would rather we just walk from the deal.
Talk to a lawyer. I agree that from the perspective of someone that due to having a tall family sort of NEEDS a deep basement and seems to have agreed to pay not just the "upcharge" for the deep basement but also gone through the hassle of ordering a house to be built this is a "serious material change" to what the buyer signed up for...
The builder may be willing to let you walk away IF there is sufficient demand for the kind of house being built.
If they are unwilling to to let you walk you will need an attorney to help decide next steps.
If 9' ceilings were specified in the contract then I would not settle for less. Remember, there are going to be pipes, ducts, etc. in that basement which will lower some parts of it automatically, then if you want to put in a drop ceiling, you will lose a few inches there. I'd fight it. If nothing else, the builder could chop out the floor and lower it a foot. At his expense. Get a lawyer for sure. Good luck.
the 9ft walls are specified in the contract, on the building plans, and on the spec sheets. Haven't yet contacted a lawyer because I'm waiting to see what the builder might offer if he wants to keep the deal in place. We signed the contract Jan 30th and closing is scheduled for no later than July 31st. We had to put down earnest money for him to purchase the acreage - we would purchase land/house at July closing, so at least we don't own the land. We also have money invested in the gravel driveway, as my husband did that work and put in the culvert. All total, I think we have around $15-17k in it.
I'm kinda stuck on the fact that you raised ceilings in the basement, but not in the LIVING part of the house. That's the part you're going to lose value in when you go to resale. People, in most price points these days, expect 10-11' ceilings in my area, so if you only have the 8' upstairs, you're in for a world of hurt.
Sorry, should have mentioned this. The house is 2 stories. Upstairs are 2 bedrooms and a full bath with open loft. Living room/dining/kitchen is a full 2 stories to ceiling. It's a big open great room concept. Loft overlooks great room. Master bedroom is also on main floor and it has a cathedral ceiling. So the only 8ft ceilings in the house are the 2 upstairs bedrooms, the bathrooms, laundry room and the closets and pantry.
If this house was in the $299k range, the saleability aspect would not be so hugely affected by the 8ft ceiling in the basement but, with the smaller market for $400k+, and what people expect at that price, saleability is affected and the value of finishing the basement is diminished.
I'm kinda stuck on the fact that you raised ceilings in the basement, but not in the LIVING part of the house. That's the part you're going to lose value in when you go to resale. People, in most price points these days, expect 10-11' ceilings in my area, so if you only have the 8' upstairs, you're in for a world of hurt.
That's here in Texas, and in some parts of Texas. From the OP:
at its price point, I believe people expect 9ft ceilings in the basement just like they expect granite countertops. I've spoken to two successful real estate brokers and 2 agents and in the area and they all confirmed this belief, that it would affect the saleability of the house.
I imagine the brokers and agents in their area know what's expected in that area. And it sounds like the OP consulted them when making decisions about upgrades based on what they said about every upgrade being chosen based on future marketability in that market.
We were planning to finish the basement ourselves. Expected it to cost around $20-30k and the value of the house, upon adding 2 bedrooms, family room, and bath to basement would have raised the house value to $450-480k, giving us instant equity of $30-60k. I think that just this drop in the darn basement ceiling has taken away the equity we would have gained by finishing the basement. So, in my opinion, this error is, at the minimum, a $30,000 error, not just $4,500.
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Do you have a lawyer?
