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After experiencing water leakage during our new home warranty period, and after our builder supposedly "fixed" the problem under warranty, our leaks returned two years later. We hired someone else to make the repairs after the builder failed to fix the leak, and our contractor discovered that the house was built without flashing on the doors (and possibly the windows), causing hidden water damage that resulted in having to rebuild two doorways and two balconies.
We already know there are two more doors that need to be corrected, and we are now thinking that we need to have the house inspected to find out what else might be wrong. The home inspection we had prior to the end of our home warranty did not identify the flashing problems, so we're looking for someone else.
Can someone recommend an inspector serving the Raleigh area for our situation? This will probably need to go beyond the typical home inspection, and the inspector would need to be comfortable with our situation possibly going in the direction of seeking legal recourse from the builder (we already have one inspector turn us down because they aren't looking for work that could end up in litigation).
We don't want things to end up in litigation, but we also want the builder to pay for the costs of repairing their substandard workmanship, which they are currently not being very cooperative about.
It sounds like you should hire a lawyer. What you are dealing with sounds like hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Find one with experience in the home building dispute field and get them to write your letters. You can hire someone for an hour or two and it's not that expensive, but will show the building you are ready getting proper legal advise and are ready to take it to the next level (court), if you have to.
Also, a lawyer with this kind of experience would also be able to recommend a Home Inspector who had the experience to do the depth and detail of evaluation you need, more than a simple pre-purchase walk-through.
I've sent you a private message with the name of a home inspector that I recommend you interview. He was the inspector for buyers who were interested in a condo being sold by a friend of mine. I saw his report and it was thorough and professional. The buyers lost interest in my friend's condo due to his report, which I regret for my friend, but I decided if I ever need a home inspector, I will talk with him. Please keep in mind that my knowledge of his work is limited to this one experience.
I don't know whether he will become involved in a situation that may involve legal procedures, but based on my limited knowledge of his work, he appears capable of doing this.
BTW, my friend fixed some of the flaws found by the inspector and sold her condo. Good ending.
You need a licensed general contractor that can perform technically exhaustive evaluations. Home Inspectors do not perform invasive testing and would be of little help in your situation. Door and window flashing is not typically visible without removing exterior cladding, and unless outward visible clues are present, there would be no way to know of internal issues.
I would also recommend you contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board as they certainly know how to turn the screws on builders.
You need a licensed general contractor that can perform technically exhaustive evaluations. Home Inspectors do not perform invasive testing and would be of little help in your situation. Door and window flashing is not typically visible without removing exterior cladding, and unless outward visible clues are present, there would be no way to know of internal issues.
I would also recommend you contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board as they certainly know how to turn the screws on builders.
You need a licensed general contractor that can perform technically exhaustive evaluations. Home Inspectors do not perform invasive testing and would be of little help in your situation. Door and window flashing is not typically visible without removing exterior cladding, and unless outward visible clues are present, there would be no way to know of internal issues.
I would also recommend you contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board as they certainly know how to turn the screws on builders.
Exactly!
No way to see the flashing so out of the typical home inspection report.
Have you contacted the builder about the problem returning? Do you have a "paper trail" of your correspondence? If you can't get action from the builder contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board. In the event the builder has gone south, there is a "Homeowner Recovery Fund."
Depending on when the OP went under contract on the new construction, this is a great reminder to:
A. Always get a home inspection, even for new construction.
B. If you're under contract early enough in the process, pay the extra money for the inspector to perform multiple inspections as the house is built. Don't just rely on municipal inspections and the homebuilder's warranty
Depending on when the OP went under contract on the new construction, this is a great reminder to:
A. Always get a home inspection, even for new construction.
B. If you're under contract early enough in the process, pay the extra money for the inspector to perform multiple inspections as the house is built. Don't just rely on municipal inspections and the homebuilder's warranty
And you and him both, after construction and especially during, take pictures. Lots of pictures, hundreds and hundreds of pictures! Before, during, and after the walls and ceilings are put in .
When the lot next to mine was developed, I often went over after working hours to take pictures as it was built from the ground up. I did it mostly for my own curiosity. When I finally met the man who had purchased the house to be built, I gave him a memory stick with all the shots. It turned out he was a carpenter and was so grateful!
Especially the shots of the of the basement foundation slab being poured in 34 dF rain. Now he knows if those cracks ever cause a problem, he can prove improper installation.
It sounds like you should hire a lawyer. What you are dealing with sounds like hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Find one with experience in the home building dispute field and get them to write your letters. You can hire someone for an hour or two and it's not that expensive, but will show the building you are ready getting proper legal advise and are ready to take it to the next level (court), if you have to.
Also, a lawyer with this kind of experience would also be able to recommend a Home Inspector who had the experience to do the depth and detail of evaluation you need, more than a simple pre-purchase walk-through.
Yes, we are already into the thousands in repairs, with more to go. I spoke to an attorney who specializes in construction law, and she felt that our "damages" at this point were not at an amount where it made sense to hire an attorney to file a civil suit. Of course, that could change depending on what we find with the other needed repairs. She did mention that we could have her write a demand letter, we just need to assess how much the repairs are going to be. She also recommended an inspector, but that was the one who didn't want to take on a job that might lead to litigation at this time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sacredgrooves
You need a licensed general contractor that can perform technically exhaustive evaluations. Home Inspectors do not perform invasive testing and would be of little help in your situation. Door and window flashing is not typically visible without removing exterior cladding, and unless outward visible clues are present, there would be no way to know of internal issues.
I would also recommend you contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board as they certainly know how to turn the screws on builders.
Great points. Our contractor who has made the repairs so far might be able to do this for us if he isn't too disgusted by the incompetence of our builder to come back! He actually said that the person who built our balcony and doors the way they did should have their contractor's license revoked.
Quote:
Originally Posted by carcrazy67
Have you contacted the builder about the problem returning? Do you have a "paper trail" of your correspondence? If you can't get action from the builder contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board. In the event the builder has gone south, there is a "Homeowner Recovery Fund."
I have contacted the builder, and we have an extensive trail of email regarding these issues dating back to when we first discovered the problems during our home warranty. They stated that they're not legally responsible, and they only offered to pay for materials because we didn't use their laborers (the same ones who screwed it up to begin with and botched the first repair). They've also lied to me about using different people to build the subsequent homes after ours (we've seen the same crew building their houses a few blocks away), so I don't trust them to do anything else with my house at this point.
I'm definitely going to threaten to contact the NC Contractors Licensure Board if they aren't willing to reimburse us. I've confirmed with the City Inspections Department that flashing is a code item with no time limit and the builder is responsible.
We're also considering threatening to go to the media (Five on Your Side, the N&O). They are getting ready to start a new development that the N&O reported on the day we found out how bad our damage was, so I'm sure they wouldn't want the negative publicity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BoBromhal
Depending on when the OP went under contract on the new construction, this is a great reminder to:
A. Always get a home inspection, even for new construction.
B. If you're under contract early enough in the process, pay the extra money for the inspector to perform multiple inspections as the house is built. Don't just rely on municipal inspections and the homebuilder's warranty
We had an inspection before our warranty ended, but as others have mentioned, the inspector couldn't see what was underneath the siding and trim, so the issues were hidden. If I ever have another house built, I'll be sure to have someone out there inspecting during the entire process!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed_RDNC
And you and him both, after construction and especially during, take pictures. Lots of pictures, hundreds and hundreds of pictures! Before, during, and after the walls and ceilings are put in .
We did actually take a lot of photos during the building process, so thanks for reminding me to go back and look at them to see if we have any from the period where the windows went in before the siding and trim went up.
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