Will these things lower the value of our new build? (appraisal, negotiations)
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Long story short, we found a lot we loved, in a neighborhood we loved even more - , but a builder was already building a home on it and our only option was to buy the home and build with him. This is not a tract home, it's something custom and apparently the first time they have built using this specific floorplan. We are spending around $1M on the home - and it's about 6500sq ft. I don't think some of these issues should be present in a home of this calibre.
There are a few issues we've ran into that we feel are lowering the value of our home. I'm not a real estate agent or appraiser, so I could be wrong - but I wanted to get your take.
1. HVAC nightmare in basement: In the basement, the plan calls for 9ft foundation walls / 9ft ceilings. The basement is around 2300q ft. However, I don't think the blueprints were built with HVAC in mind (if they were, it was a major afterthought). The problem is that when we walked through our house shortly after HVAC was installed - we were shocked that 35-40% of our basement ceiling is now ~7.5ft due to the insane amount of ducting going every-which-way. And I'm not talking inconspicuous areas - it's ran straight down the center of the main basement entertainment room / kitchen. The trend continues in some bedrooms and other areas. So quite literally, almost half our basement now has 7.5ft ceilings instead of 9ft. Not to mention, the entire downstairs kitchen is enveloped under this area - so instead of 9ft ceilings in the downstairs kitchen, I can almost reach up and touch the ceiling. We've asked them if there's a way to rework it, or what the blueprint plans call for - but they have told us that blueprints don't come with HVAC plans and this was the only way to do it. I know that all basements usually have a small inconspicuous strip down the side to allow for ducting, so we were well prepared for this fact.
2. Before we signed on the home - they altered the plans to allow 8ft ceilings upstairs (instead of 9ft). This was a change we would not have signed off on given the choice, but the decision had already been made and I actually don't mind the 8ft ceilings in the upstairs bedrooms (it's only our younger kids that stay up there, so no biggy). The problem is, they did not account for the lower ceilings when placing the windows, so in one bedroom there was a roofline going through the bottom half of one of the windows. In order to combat this, they had to raise the window. However, the bottom of the window is 48" high which I do not believe meets bedroom code. As long as I know, we are not able to count this as a bedroom. So instead of a 6 bedroom house, it's now 5.
3. The lowered ceilings upstairs has considerably changed the look of the outside "elevation" plan we were given. All of the windows sit way too close to the roofline - and it makes the whole house look "squatty" to say the least. It's not a huge deal - as the home still looks pretty good - however it does make the entire thing look a bit squatty compared to the original.
There's a few more things - but these are the major issues.
We hired an attorney, and he thinks we should get the home appraised with all these "downgrades" and possibly request a dollar amount in concessions or credits from the builder. I want to get a real estate agent out there and get it re-assessed - but it's the weekend and I'm on pins and needles with this thing.
Here's some pictures of the basement. You'll notice one area is fir'd down a little more than the rest - this is because there is a support beam running across the middle of our basement ceiling, and they had to run the return/supply vents under it. These pictures are only one area of the basement, but gives you an idea of what's going on.
It's hard to believe that this is the only home you could have purchased. You decided to go with a home in progress and now you're complaining about it. Maybe a bad decision on your part?
What? I don't see why it's a bad decision to expect a builder to build the house per the plan you sign on. We signed on the home just as they started framing the main floor (very very early in the process) - so it's not as if these issues were already present. They all happened weeks/months after signing on the home.
We signed on for 9ft basement ceilings. We signed on a 6 bedroom house, among many other things. We did not get these - so of course we'd complain. Who wouldn't?
Had the plans already called for these modifications prior to signing - it would just be plain silly to expect anything different. But that's not the case.
How about the builder. How experienced is he. Did you look into his other homes and references?
Yes - we called all their references - looked up online reviews, etc - the whole nine yards. We talk to a few others in the same neighborhood that had also just built with them - and while their process was not perfect - it was far from what we're experiencing. (I only listed the main issues - there are quite a few more).
So it's not as if the builder had a bad rep and we still decided to move forward anyway.
Not sure if this is the question but asking a real estate agent for info regarding the value is not going to tell you more than having an appraiser do an appraisal. Agents don't look at as many factors as appraisers do and an appraisal would carry more clout than an agent's opinion. Do you want to get out of the deal or do you want a price adjustment? If nothing else, fewer bedrooms would probably reduce the value but, more importantly, it makes it less valuable to you. So, what is the goal at this point?
We definitely would prefer to keep the deal - like I said we love the lot, it's the last one left and in a highly desirable neighborhood.
Shortcomings aside, if we can make this work it will still be a good house for the family. But with the extremely low ceilings in the basement, one less "official" bedroom, and a few other odds and ends - the house is just not worth what we are paying for it.
The attorney recommended a quick run-through from a real estate agent and to get their overall opinion if there is indeed a substantial enough value drop to pursue any price negotiations. If there is, I will most likely hire an actual appraiser to get accurate estimates and get serious.
What? I don't see why it's a bad decision to expect a builder to build the house per the plan you sign on. We signed on the home just as they started framing the main floor (very very early in the process) - so it's not as if these issues were already present. They all happened weeks/months after signing on the home.
We signed on for 9ft basement ceilings. We signed on a 6 bedroom house, among many other things. We did not get these - so of course we'd complain. Who wouldn't?
Had the plans already called for these modifications prior to signing - it would just be plain silly to expect anything different. But that's not the case.
I'm confused, are you saying you agreed to one thing and weeks later it was changed with no notification to you?
What contract did you sign for the house? Did it say anything about changes? Did you have an attorney look it over before you signed?
As they were framing the first floor when you bought the home, you saw the amount of room there was. You then need to consider the following.
Did the basement plans show the height of the basement to be 9 ft. finished, or height between the the basement floor and the bottom of the of the trusses for the first floor. If the second, then there would have to be a difference for the ducting that handles the heat and cooling has to have a place to run. When it was ran, it would certainly reduce the height of the ceiling. The building plans, should have made this clear. If you just assumed the basement would be the height it was before the ducting was installed, it would be your fault that it is not what you thought, and the home was built to specs.
If the plans show that the final height of the ceiling would be 9 feet when basement finished, then the builder made a mistake and did not make the basement deep enough as plans called for, and could be responsible to you for the problem.
Did the building plans, not take into consideration the amount of space needed for the heating/cooling ducting, and was not included in the plans.
That is going to be the first thing that has to be considered. The question is going to be, is the home built to plans, or not. If it was and you saw he plans, then the builder is not responsible as he is building to the specs of the plans. If it is not then he is responsible for the problems in most jurisdictions.
It all comes down to the building plans, and nothing else. Is the home built to the plan specs, or is it not.
I wonder if some of the details were not worked out in the plans and the trades people just did things the easiest way, no thought given to window sizes or ceiling heights.
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