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Push. Gently. And often.
You said/implied they are small items. These are always to worst to get fixed.
When we bought our house it came with a 1-year warranty from the [very small] developer. So, over time, we created a punch list. All but one of the items were tiny.
It took 18 months to get them fixed.
And, the developer built a house next door so he was here a lot.
And, the general contractor's office is 2 blocks away and they are building more in the immediate neighborhood.
They always agreed that the items were legitimate, but it took forever. Part of the problems involved sub-contractors who did not want to take 3 hours out of their day just for a 10-minute fix.
We just kept pushing.
And, event the one big item that cost the developer $900 in cash outlay got fixed.
" but this has left a sour taste in our mouth because we did so much research prior to purchasing this house and did everything we thought reasonable to protect ourselves."
You did do ALMOST everything to protect yourself, EXCEPT close on an unfinished house. Ask your home inspector to document the unfinished items and present them to the builder with a Certified Letter, and tell them you expect them to be completed within what ever time line you see fit, or you will be forced to see an attorney. Then do just that.
You could also post a sign in your front yard with something like: ASK ME ABOUT AJAX BUILDERS!.
If in a develpoment and the builder is still active, then they have a site manager. Get to know him in a personal way.
Once moved into a development. Some neighbors came around complaining about issues and punch lists. I asked if they knew the site manager's name. They said no. I said his name is Dave. I asked do you know what type cigs he smokes (Marlboro Lights), beer he drinks (Coors Light), and the vehicle he drives (red pickup). They said no. I said I do and I am not having any issues.
I'm not sure if I gave the impression that I was consulting my real estate agent for legal adive specifically or would expect them to be bound legally to any advice I was given, but that's not really what I meant. I was deferring to her expertise since she was supposedly the expert I contracted and does this for a living. I have made the mistake of assuming people that do services for a living are actually good at what they do. I understand our motivations are not always in line, with the real estate agents motivation to close deals quickly.
It's not necessarily the money, and our contracted home inspector visited the house twice prior to closing (initial and confirmation of work completion), so the issues aren't big enough for the costs be a problem if I need to hire someone to address them. I went with the agent and the builders for their reputation and track record in our local area. The house is beautiful and everything we wanted in a home, but this has left a sour taste in our mouth because we did so much research prior to purchasing this house and did everything we thought reasonable to protect ourselves. I think with the documentation I've collected it would be shown that the builder has neglected to meet the terms of their own contract, but is the laundry-list of issues I need to address after buying this new home not long enough without having to deal with others negligence? I guess I'm just ranting now.
You should be irked and it is a customer service problem. What is your agent saying and why won't they intervene on your behalf to get this resolved?
Your realtor and the developer's realtor are not attorneys, so there is not much that they could do at this point. Get an attorney now and get these issues resolved to your satisfaction. All their delays and stone walling is designed to make you just give up and get the repairs done yourself. Don't delay hiring an attorney. The builder should pay for your legal costs as well since they are (probably) in default of the contract terms now.
The buyer's realtor could have easily taken steps to educate their client and in so doing, avoid this entire mess. The buyer's realtor is yet another example of why so few people trust them other than to count commission percentages.
Include the buyer agent in the lawsuit. They failed miserably. They should have see this coming. What did they do for their commission other than cash the check?
The buyer's realtor could have easily taken steps to educate their client and in so doing, avoid this entire mess. The buyer's realtor is yet another example of why so few people trust them other than to count commission percentages.
Include the buyer agent in the lawsuit. They failed miserably. They should have see this coming. What did they do for their commission other than cash the check?
I cannot remember the last new construction purchase I have been involved with that did not have atleast one thing that needed to be sorted out after closing.. hell, the most recent one, it was too cold to paint the foundation touchups that were taken care of.. Every builder has a sheet that they fill these items out on to take care of as soon as possible..
shame this builder is dancing around the problems, but I'm confident they'll take care of it
good luck
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Ford or Chevy?
