Quote:
Originally Posted by the_loper
In response to this question which was asked a few times, this description fits most of the issues I'm referring to except a couple. I mentioned that I contracted a professional home inspector and he also did a follow up, so these are not items that would make a home immediately unliveable.
-moderately sized indoor and outdoor paint issues
-Some borderline safety issues like blown insulation being closer to a flue than recommended by the fireplace manufacturer
-Broken bricks in a couple bad locations around window sills, that could potentially result in damage to the window and surrounding structure if I get water infiltration
I looks like we may have gotten somewhere in getting the attention of the builder, but i would like to get a resolution before I update this thread. It was relatively conventional.
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Paint touchup is common. If it's terribly unsightly and/or preventing placement of furniture, etc, let the builder know. If it's annoying but not urgent, keep it on your running punch list that will probably continue to grow as you settle in and notice new stuff. It helps if you make it easy for the builder to consolidate visits to wrap things up instead of a bunch of one-off visits.
The blown insulation issue is something we see in every inspection report. I'm not exaggerating, I mean *every* inspection report for both new and resale. It's a technical item that inspectors have to report, but in reality, of no actual consequence. You can easily move the insulation away from the flue yourself in 15 seconds if it bothers you, but I'm sure the builder will take care of it. Meanwhile, it's not going to catch fire, ever.
The home will settle your first year and may develop small cracks in the interior sheetrock as well as possible minor cosmetic cracks in bricks. It would be best to address all of this at the end of year one. The easiest thing for the builder to do if you already have larger cracks or breaks that need immediate attention, is to send a mason guy over to your house when they are doing bricks on another nearby home, and button yours up, replacing any bricks as needed. You should have a stack of spare bricks for this purpose. It's not a long or difficult task, but it does help if you work with the builder to get it done when they already have someone out there at another house who does that. Not sure how big your subdivision is, so there may always be brick/stone people working nearby, or maybe not.
I have a new-home buyer going into the decorating center today to pick colors and finish. I've already strongly warned them against over-doing it. They have a budget and will stick with it instead of getting excited and overspending. Buying/building a new home can be exicting and fun, but, often, buyers aren't prepped with the right set of expectations, or told what to expect. What you're describing sounds fairly run of the mill.
Could builders do better? Yes. Should a Realtor prepare a buyer for the 1000s of little things like this? Yes. But don't let a few small issues overwhelm you and take away from the joy of moving into a new home. And resist the urge to buy a bunch of new furniture (especially on credit) or a new car. People do that, and it's not a good idea!
Good luck!
Steve
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Resolution - Pretty Conventional I'd say
