Posted on 05/15/2011 11:23:09 AM PDT by newnhdad
Having a problem with a new home we are about to close on. We have been blessed to be able to get a new home built to most of my wife's specs. I would just have hoped for a little bigger but this home is is a wonderful suburb in the western portion of Northern VA in Prince William County. We chose this isolated subdivision because it was close to everything, but out of the way. It is near schools (about 1/3 of a mile walking), several modes of public transpo and close to both churches and a pre-school for our youngest. We were most impressed with the fact that this was a very quiet gated community filled with homes that are about three times the size of ours and did I say it was very quiet with no basketball courts in sight and NO THROUGH TRAFFIC AT ALL, only construction guys and the roach coach/pupasaria guy.
We have visited the property in various states of construction and through all of them, we saw signs of vandalism, but they seemed to be taking it to another level. We found what appears to be holes that go through and through the windows and crumbles of bullet fragments in the house. At last count, there were no less than 17 holes in the siding and holes in four windows (two in my girl's bedrooms)and about seventeen impact points in the trim around the windows. I'm in knee deep in this place already but I can't, in good conscience move forward with anything else because of the eminent danger this property places my family in. I'm meeting with the builder, realtor and possibly a shyster tomorrow morning to discuss. I'm ready to tell them to deal with the people doing the damage or I will, which will ensure that nobody has to deal with it again. I take serious offense when someone points a loaded firearm in my direction. I also made it clear that unless they take proactive steps to ensure safety and security, we will walk and we will make every effort to get our money back. (I would like to find the filthiest lawyer in the region and sue for our deposit back and for money for another house if I have to, but I hate the idea of needing lawyers)
Am I being too difficult or am I wrong or am I just being a jerk?
Leave out the part about taking care of it yourself. It won’t help your argument. And push for all your money back. I have seen them to that.
With what you’re describing I’d get a full refund and not move in at all.
/johnny
This is a gated community and someone is shooting at your house? Could it be someone shooting INTO the community at your house? Someone has to know. A neighbor would have to know. Are the neighbors’ houses getting shot up? It would be kind of suspicious if they weren’t.
Is it near a bad neighborhood? Seems odd for a gated community to have these problems.
Is the whole gated community under construction, so that it’s not yet fenced off?
Sorry, not familiar with the area, but maybe it’s not as upscale as you thought?
Maybe before getting a lawyer, spell all of this out when you meet with the builder. The vandalism damage could hurt the structural integrity of the house. Perhaps it would be good to tell them that obviously some round the clock security is needed at the construction site.
If you are closer than you thought to gang territory/bad areas, you might want to re-think living there, even if it appears to be a nice gated community.
Definitely consult a lawyer to learn your legal options here.
Good luck.
There is nothing in your contract that would allow you to walk without loosing your deposit and possibly being sued for damages by the builder. The builder didn’t do anything wrong as far as I can tell from your description.
My guess would be a couple of the neighborhood teenagers, about 15 years old. Big enough to be out wandering around but too young for a car.
Try and do your own “crime investigation”. Go around checking the holes. Double glass will have two holes. Line them up and you’ll see where the perp was shooting from.
I’ll bet most point to the back yard of a home with teenagers.
Forgot to add the weapon is most probably a pellet rifle.
Let your real estate agent handle it first. My wife’s a Realtor, and I know for a fact she would make the builder’s life a living hell until this problem was sorted out. Remember, the agent and builder do not get paid until you close, and you hold the check.....
You didn’t mention the cops. What do they have to say about it? Frankly, it sounds like some of your new neighbor’s kids. The part where you say your neighbor’s homes are three times the size of yours raises my eyebrows. Maybe some snobby neighbor doesn’t want any “little” houses in “his” gated community.
Could this have anything to do with racism?
Why would you hire a “filthy” lawyer? I wouldn’t work with anyone who was unethical. Meanwhile, I think another person made a good point about the culprit. It sounds to me more like teenage “gangsta wannabes.”
Not sure where your home is in relation to urban areas but if your house is getting shot up now, I can’t imagine moving into it with the foreknowledge. Also, what about other homes in the neighborhood? Like others on here said, don’t they see or hear anything?
Something isn’t ringing true here.
“There is nothing in your contract that would allow you to walk without loosing your deposit and possibly being sued for damages by the builder.”
There is usually a lot in the contract to allow someone to walk. If the home is damaged then at a minimum all the damage would have to be repaired prior to closing.
At most you’re at risk of losing the earnest money/deposit that you put down. I’d talk to a shyster first and let him talk to the builder. Its a heck of a lot better to lose the deposit than having a family member shot.
Our development had problems when it was being built out. Most of the problems were with empty houses. Once people moved in the problems seemed to go away.
“It is near schools (about 1/3 of a mile walking), several modes of public transpo”
No wonder you have vandalism problems. There may not be a good solution.
“and crumbles of bullet fragments in the house”
Detroit?
There might be some kind of gang in that area. If the gang is dealt with, great. Then another might come? But it’s near a school too.
“we will walk and we will make every effort to get our money back.”
Maybe you should talk to a lawyer. This is going to get ugly no matter how it ends. Contractors will want their money, period.
If you move in there, you are going to be miserable. You might have to rent it out to some desperate souls, and that can lead to further erosion of your property. Or, you might let a tough guy move there for free for a few months to get your home a reputation of being no pushover.
The bullet holes worry me. If they are coming from one direction, I'd consider building a brick wall from that direction. If they seem to be from all over, I wouldn't move there.
You could also hire someone to watch the property for a couple of weeks who will observe what goes on around the house before closing the deal.
IMO, there's a lot of directions you could take this if you really love the house and am willing to put up with what has happened so far. Otherwise, it sounds like better to back out and start over. Mi dos pesos.
a very quiet gated community filled with homes that are about three times the size of ours
If there are a lot of homes nearby and you are finding lots of bullet holes then someone is hearing/seeing the shots. Someone maybe trying to make a statement to you about what they perceive you are building in relationship to the size of their properties. A visit to the local police authority about the bullet holes and a lawyer to tell you what your options maybe regarding the contract maybe in order.
Vandalizing new contruction isn’t unheard of but usually appears as theft of items during the construction stage.
Welcome to Israel!
Do you know of any motive for the vandalism? This might help you out. Another is, has the vandalism compromised the structural integrity of the home.
I believe I was about to locate the answer to your question, but then lost interest and decided that the real answers are probably `yes,’ `yes’ and `yes.’
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