New construction builder mistake (Howe: apartment, rental, loan)

[hrzn]

Guys, I am in a strange problem and don't know how to deal with it.
We are buying a new construction home from David Weekley and closing is in 10 days.
During our initial discussions with salesman and the model house and other under construction houses that were shown to us, we were shown and told that ceiling height in first floor is 10ft. During construction we felt higher ceiling would have looked better but we didn't realize it's off 1 ft by what we saw earlier, Now during final walk through before closing, we realized that ceiling is 9ft, we double checked in other similar floor plans that they built and even searched through old mails discussions where we were told about 10ft ceiling.

When we look at other house with similar floor plan having 10ft ceiling, it does make difference in appearance and feel of house.
Builder is telling me there is nothing he can do about that now as the blue print he received was with 9ft height, and probably because we took an upgrade of media room that made the change in plan.

I don't buy this argument, but don't know what are my options at this stage as we already made arrangements to move in 10 days, loan and formalities are already done.

If I walk away now, it will cost me dearly as I have to find a new place to stay and do all the footwork and paperwork of finding a new home.

I really appreciate the advise from experts here.

[MckinneyOwnr]

I'd get a lawyer. You're buying a home that supposedly was being built to spec, and it isn't. You shouldn't be out any time or money for their mistake.

Now, should you have probably noticed earlier than this? Yeah.

I would say it boils down to whether you want to fight it or not, or perhaps you can come to a monetary agreement with them for a couple thousand since you basically will be starting all over. Or, perhaps you decide you can live with it. We have 9ft ceilings in most of our house, and think it looks fine.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Where was your own inspector during all this? You did have one, right? And told them the specs you had selected?

[hrzn]

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

Where was your own inspector during all this? You did have one, right? And told them the specs you had selected?

We didn't have any inspector and I didn't know I was supposed to.
It was mostly their standard floor plan, we selected few usual upgrades regarding cabinet, carpet etc which we could check ourselves. I didn't realize that we are supposed to get our own inspector.

In fact I was reading on another thread that builder doesn't even provide the blue print, its their confidential document.

I never realized that they could make a mistake regarding ceiling height, I am only realizing this now when seeing a friends house which is also similar floor plan and when digging through old mails where they informed us about 10ft ceiling.

I asked them for compensation for this mistake. I think getting into legal at this stage would prove to be costly even for me as I have already closed in on loan and gave notice to leave our rental apartment.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by hrzn

We didn't have any inspector and I didn't know I was supposed to.
It was mostly their standard floor plan, we selected few usual upgrades regarding cabinet, carpet etc which we could check ourselves. I didn't realize that we are supposed to get our own inspector.

You are not "suppose to" get your own Inspector as there is not any official if you will requirement that you do. It is though highly advisable. Just finished an inspection today by a very highly regarded builder, and rightly so from what I have seen in the past and today. However even they have issues with the home that require attention. Nothing huge mind you as they can all be repaired easily. This builder does use a third party Inspection company to perform their QC checks, I even met him today but his focus and time was not on a thorough inspection. That's where your own Inspector comes in.

In fact I was reading on another thread that builder doesn't even provide the blue print, its their confidential document.

Yes they will typically not provide you with your own copy of the home plans. However a copy should have been on site during the construction as it is required to be by most City Building Inspections Departments (The Authority Having Jurisdiction or AHJ). Also many people do not realize that most, if not all, building permitting authorities require the builder to file a full copy of their home plans as part of the building permit process. Much of the documentation at the AHJ office is a matter of public record and accessible to you for a fee. However the AHJ does have records retention policies and you must get them quickly as they will destroy much of the records after the retention period is over.

I never realized that they could make a mistake regarding ceiling height, I am only realizing this now when seeing a friends house which is also similar floor plan and when digging through old mails where they informed us about 10ft ceiling.

I asked them for compensation for this mistake. I think getting into legal at this stage would prove to be costly even for me as I have already closed in on loan and gave notice to leave our rental apartment.

Yes a legal battle with a builder can be very expensive. Have you spoken to the builder and asked them to at least display a copy of the plans and where it stated that the home did not have 10' ceilings? Asking won't change the height of the ceiling but at least you would know where you stand as far as if 10' ceilings were suppose to be there.

I have provided some comments and suggestions above for you.

[Rakin]

Originally Posted by escanlan

I have provided some comments and suggestions above for you.

Good comments above by Escanlan. Also an Inspector would not have know what the ceiling height was "Suppose" to be. And inspectors don't really read Blue Prints.

You have an issue with DW. You can refuse to close if you are in the right but you may need an attorney. You could see if they would compensate you for the change.

I had a client build with them about 2 months ago. We had an outside Inspector come in the day before the walk through and found some very serious issues. They did take care of it but I can't imagine not getting an inspection.

Builders are far from perfect. I would want to see the plans... somebody screwed up.

[FalconheadWest]

Many times, ceilings are lowered when you're adding a room upstairs that isn't standard. For example, many living rooms are 2 story ceilings, but when you add a gameroom or media room, the ceilings drop to accommodate. You need to read your contract further to see if adding the extra room was supposed to make a change.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

But I would have told my inspector what I expected: 10' ceilings down, position of kitchen island, size of patio, etc. If I were in town, I would have visited every few days to observe.

[MurphyPl1]

Did you not have meetings along the way with DW? When we built we had four required meetings, including a red-line drawing where any changes were discussed, made and approved by all parties.

I'm not as well-versed as the rest of the folks on here, but I've been thru the process and we actually made them change out our superintendent due to some major construction issues we found. In the end we received compensation and the corrections. However, with this case, you basically need to determine if you are willing to live with 9' ceilings or not. If not, you walk away and eat the losses. If you are, then you absolutely have the right to have this rectified and the only real option now is financial.

We were comfortable doing our own negotiations, but it sounds like you might benefit from some sort of professional assistance.

[mikecu]

Get a lawyer. It sounds like at least a $10,000 discount.

I would also go to the building department and review the plans that were submitted. If the submitted plans have 10', you have them by the nads.