Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I wish you'd been able to contact Holmes on Homes. I've watched his shows and he'd have loved to get his hands on your house. Maybe it would have been too much for a half-hour show but he could have made it a special one-hour show. Perhaps it's not too late to contact him. You could print out your blog and send it to him via FedEx.
I'm just stunned and my heart breaks for you. OMG. OMG. OMG.
No No No. Not only does Holmes do more work than necessary, he does much of it wrong. On the pro forums, contractors just shake their heads at some of the stuff he does. The only one worse was Bob Vila.
No No No. Not only does Holmes do more work than necessary, he does much of it wrong. On the pro forums, contractors just shake their heads at some of the stuff he does. The only one worse was Bob Vila.
I disagree 100%, and have seen methodology I would not have done, but doesn't mean the finish product was incorrect. Only young men argue about how to do something, and the old man just keeps on doing it. Guess who gets done first?
Mike Holmes does a very good job, and mainly uses pro's. It's the only show I can watch other than the landscaping shows.
I don't understand how an inspector could miss so much of this. Just looking under the sinks you can see huge warning flags like the freakishly obvious vent caps (yay! we're venting sewer gas under our kitchen sink! How do you miss that?!! ). The outlets and drains should have been checked to make sure they worked. One look at that nightmare fusebox should have told an inspector that the electrical system was a jury rig job. It should have been obvious there weren't vent stacks on the roof. They should have noticed there wasn't a wastepipe cleanout and then wondered why there was a pipe going into what turned out to be the old cleanout.
Some of the blame belongs to the homeowner too. Ignorance can be bliss but being ignorant also has conseqences. He was clearly a smart guy who capable of learning what is good construction and what isn't, but he ended up learning the hard way instead educating himself beforehand.
Crooks and scammers are guilty of being crooks and scammers, but rubes are guilty of being stupid.
This stands out: "My realtor also visits the house to see the problems for himself. At the time of purchase, he and the sellers had coached me into waiving the disclosures notice (which means I bought the house “as is”). I would later learn that this is one of many tactics used by predatory remodelers."
This is what I also noticed, again. We need to change the compensation structure for selling property as the way it is now only breeds more of the same corrupt behavior. As another poster mentioned, where was the real estate lawyer? They are the only qualified people to review a contract to protect both parties. Realtor compensation for filling out a form is out of control. Highly educated lawyers and appraisers are required to protect their clients and the pubic, but, commissioned sales people are able to ignor their fiduciary responsibilty.
This is what I also noticed, again. We need to change the compensation structure for selling property as the way it is now only breeds more of the same corrupt behavior. As another poster mentioned, where was the real estate lawyer? They are the only qualified people to review a contract to protect both parties. Realtor compensation for filling out a form is out of control. Highly educated lawyers and appraisers are required to protect their clients and the pubic, but, commissioned sales people are able to ignor their fiduciary responsibilty.
...And there are LOTS of corrupt lawyers who don't do an adequate job in representing the client's best interest, regardless of their field of practice. And appraisers? They are a big part of the reason the housing market took a dump five years ago. Many markets had bogus appraisals, and prices kept climbing. They were part of the problem, and in a big way. Plus, the appraiser knows the sales price in most scenarios so they know what number they are aiming for. I would like it if the appraiser went in "blind" and had no idea of the contract price, tho that would obviously bring about a new set of challenges.
No No No. Not only does Holmes do more work than necessary, he does much of it wrong. On the pro forums, contractors just shake their heads at some of the stuff he does. The only one worse was Bob Vila.
The thing you have to remember about this show is that most of the episodes are done in Canada. Having extended family from Canada, I have come to realize that construction methods and codes in Canada are not necessarily the same as in the US. Heck, they are even changing constantly in the US.
...And there are LOTS of corrupt lawyers who don't do an adequate job in representing the client's best interest, regardless of their field of practice. And appraisers? They are a big part of the reason the housing market took a dump five years ago. Many markets had bogus appraisals, and prices kept climbing. They were part of the problem, and in a big way. Plus, the appraiser knows the sales price in most scenarios so they know what number they are aiming for. I would like it if the appraiser went in "blind" and had no idea of the contract price, tho that would obviously bring about a new set of challenges.
I totally agree! However, the education and professional standards are so much higher for lawyers and appraisers than for salespeople. Every consumer should watch who they hire. I also agree that many appraisers in the sales food chain did not follow their duty to protect the public, which is why only independent appraisers and even all property inspectors should be hired. When relationships get too cozy, people like the OP get taken advantage of. It was the sales people who were the first to profit from the market bubble and now claim no knowledge of being involved.
We all need to demand better representation, and hold the commissioned sales people to a higher standard for the public interest. Filling out forms isn't complex enough to justify so much hard earned equity. It is heartbreaking that people, who are not in the construction industry, should suffer the loss of their lifesavings for this sort of workmanship.
...And there are LOTS of corrupt lawyers who don't do an adequate job in representing the client's best interest, regardless of their field of practice. And appraisers? They are a big part of the reason the housing market took a dump five years ago. Many markets had bogus appraisals, and prices kept climbing. They were part of the problem, and in a big way. Plus, the appraiser knows the sales price in most scenarios so they know what number they are aiming for. I would like it if the appraiser went in "blind" and had no idea of the contract price, tho that would obviously bring about a new set of challenges.
I agree with you, but buyer's agents are paid by the seller and are not paid if the buyer walks away from the deal. The incentive for the buyer's agent is to get a deal done period.
A lawyer, however is paid a flat fee for a real estate contract review and doesn't care if the buyer buys a house or not. If anything, they want to point out all of the negative language to make it look like they worked hard for their review.
See, this makes me think that the old legalities of mutual combat and dueling should be re-instated. You should be able to call that contractor out and shoot him down in the town square.
While that might be a little extreme I do think that when you defraud someone the victim should be entitled to some sort of payback and/or compensation from the person that defrauded them. For example, a contractor that intentionally defrauded a client would have to perform services for his or her victim if they were unable to finacially compensate their victim adequately. For example, providing manual labor free of charge for x number of weeks, months or years depending on the amount defrauded.
One situation where I think your suggestion would be justified would be a situation where someone is defrauded out of their retirement/pension and left broke ala the Bernie Madoff/Enron scandal. If I had been one of his victims I'm sure i would have wanted to kill the guy with my bare hands. China has it right in that the execute people like Madoff. We should too... via public hanging short drop method.
I wish you'd been able to contact Holmes on Homes. I've watched his shows and he'd have loved to get his hands on your house. Maybe it would have been too much for a half-hour show but he could have made it a special one-hour show. Perhaps it's not too late to contact him. You could print out your blog and send it to him via FedEx.
I'm just stunned and my heart breaks for you. OMG. OMG. OMG.
Yeah Holmes would hit it with a wrecking ball and instead of the OP quoting 60-100k for repairs he would say 500k. All of his projects get unlimited budgets paid for by the network. In reality most people don't have unlimited budgets.
Holmes isn't even licensed in any trade he just has a GC license which means he can't legally do any work. He must hire licensed subcontractors which he has. Yet he promotes to "always hire a licensed contractor"
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). The outlets and drains should have been checked to make sure they worked. One look at that nightmare fusebox should have told an inspector that the electrical system was a jury rig job. It should have been obvious there weren't vent stacks on the roof. They should have noticed there wasn't a wastepipe cleanout and then wondered why there was a pipe going into what turned out to be the old cleanout. 
