Foreclosure’s building problem (Poor construction adding to the woes)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20393984/ ^ | 8-22-07 | Maya Roney

[Hydroshock]

I would not buy a house made in the last 10 years.

[kinoxi]

I would not buy a house made in the last 10 years.

This is intimately related to the influx and perpetuation of the large illegal workforce. I've had numerous first hand experiences with this sort of thing.

[jiggyboy]

I saw horror stories a couple of years ago already about how the builders were so hot to build that they used 2x4’s that were far too green to be suitable. Within weeks of the house being built, the studs would twist so far that they’d break through the drywall, all over the house. Etc.

[ontap]

This is part of the bargain we are getting using cheap labor. Why couldn’t the contractor be held responsible. Could it be he is in Mexico right about now. Just asking!

[jiggyboy]

Why not just sue your builder when an irreparable problem arises? Homeowners usually don't have the right to. Most new-home sales contracts state that the customer must go through arbitration before they can even think about bringing their complaint to court.

Probably one line in one of the fifty forms they have you sign at closing, after refusing to provide it to you beforehand.

[Always Right]

I would not buy a house made in the last 10 years.

Anecdotal evidence can prove anything, and is usually the tool of choice of fear-mongers. Certainly there are fly-by-night builders who make a quick buck and leave town, but this is not representative of 99.99% of the building industry.

[mikeybaby]

I’ve heard stories like the following;
Developer builds 200 (pick a number)houses and sells them, most to people who use a 2/28 to buy them.
Many of these buyers later find themselves trapped and vacate, or worse, squat on the property.
Some buyers leave, but not before stripping the property (appliances, primarily).
Now you have a development where 1/3 of the properties are vacant or for sale, an indeterminant number of properties are vacant AND damaged, and the rest of the people are freaked out.
Oh, and loans are kind of tough to get.
Ugly.

This reminds me of the Condo boom of the late 80’s.

[sweet_diane]

"and 100 gallons of water came crashing through the ceiling downstairs because the plumbing drains were not connected."

Didn't a plumbing inspector check out the house? Was there a final inspection? Isn't this the reason a Building Inspection dept even exists?

[Hydroshock]

My family has been home builders and contractors since teh mid 1960’s. I worked this for years. And I have seen the lack of quality on the new houses built in the past ten years. I have talked to my father, who for the past decade or so before his retirement last year was doing cad, scheduling, and estimating for a large residential home builder and contractor in the Houston area. He has told me many a horror story and he for one echos my opinion to the nth degree. When a man who has 40 years of experience in something and has run jobs with over 1000 hands on them tells you something is bad you might want to listen.

[goldstategop]

My home was built in the last two years... some contractors take shortcuts with materials and labor to save on costs. That's why one should get an home inspector's report BEFORE doing a purchase and if the report checks out, to insist on a one year home warranty for peace of mind.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[ClaireSolt]

My built a house and supervised closely. Even so, mother said it always takes a year to fix the glitches. Most of the foreclosures must be on speculators who bought to flip. Otherwise we would be flooded with sad sack stories.

[Oratam]

If I remember correctly, this same thing happened during the last building boom in the late ‘80s. Developers were in a hurry to throw up cheap condos. For a while, “townhouse” was a dirty word.

[Roccus]

Don’t the banks/lenders require inspections before writing the mortgages, or do they just take the builders word?

[Hydroshock]

Some do, but if the inspectors get to tough they find that they don’t get work.

[goldstategop]

Its reasonable to give the contractor a chance to fix any problems first before you can sue. Mistakes occasionally do happen. Outright fraud is another story altogether.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[dennisw]

Illegal alien workers with slave driver bosses who profited handily during the housing boom. With many of these slave drivers being Hispanic. Legal Hispanics hire a huge part of the illegal Hispanic workforce

[goldstategop]

A well built townhouse or condo is a sound investment. There are well built multi-unit dwellings and well run HOA's and then there are the horror stories.

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus

[zencat]

I’ve built two custom homes in the last 8 years. Used the same builder on both, and they were of near perfect quality. You have to know you builder though. He’s a small builder, and only builds 8-10 homes a year. He’s dedicated to quality and craftsmanship and every home he builds is sold before he ever breaks ground.

[Roccus]

That would be like me taking a used car I wanted to buy to a mechanic to check it out while telling him, “Don’t tell me if anything’s wrong.” Just doesn’t make a lot of sense.

[metesky]

The entire plumbing system is supposed to be filled and inspected for problems (leaks) before the sheetrock goes up.

The question is; does Houston even have a building code? I know that they did not have zoning in the past. Has that situation changed?