Thomas
Anderson,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, February 02, 2008
Did you research the builder? Did you look at any of their prior builds, to see how those older houses held up? Did you ever consider hiring a REAL buyer's broker, a person who would look out ONLY for your interests, and who knew the reputations of all active builders? Did you have your own RE attorney? I do not know how you will sell your house, given your description...... But if you should move on to another house, understanding all of the things you did wrong with your present house would be invaluable. And I am not merely referring to the walk-thru punch list. I remember two houses that I had once 'passed on', because "things did not seem right". One house was in a group of houses along a road. The builder was providing the RE attorney (meaning the attorney worked for the builder, not the buyer) for the sale of that group of houses. There was also a line of electric power pylons running behind the row of houses. Trouble was, the power company had an easement that reached from the existing line of pylons 'almost' to the rear doors of those houses, but the buyers were not told about that easement until their closing so if they backed out they lost their 10% deposits. Long story short, each house had a nice rear deck- until the power company substantially reduced the size of some of those decks to accomodate a NEW line of power pylons between those houses and the original line of pylons. It was lovely. The other situation comprised two houses, each on a long and skinny 5A lot that was about 100 feet wide and 2000 feet deep. Those lots would have been pretty fair light plane runways. A few years later, I read in the paper that the basement walls of both houses had caved in because their front lawns' dirt had shifted. One house was condemmed, and the other house needed a serious salvage effort. But the owners of the condemmed house still had to continue making mortgage payments or have their credit rating trashed...... I don't think the homeowners' insurance covered the ground shift that damaged the basement walls. So I suppose it could be worse for you.
Thomas
Anderson,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, February 02, 2008
Did you research the builder? Did you look at any of their prior builds, to see how those older houses held up? Did you ever consider hiring a REAL buyer's broker, a person who would look out ONLY for your interests, and who knew the reputations of all active builders? Did you have your own RE attorney? I do not know how you will sell your house, given your description...... But if you should move on to another house, understanding all of the things you did wrong with your present house would be invaluable. And I am not merely referring to the walk-thru punch list. I remember two houses that I had once 'passed on', because "things did not seem right". One house was in a group of houses along a road. The builder was providing the RE attorney (meaning the attorney worked for the builder, not the buyer) for the sale of that group of houses. There was also a line of electric power pylons running behind the row of houses. Trouble was, the power company had an easement that reached from the existing line of pylons 'almost' to the rear doors of those houses, but the buyers were not told about that easement until their closing so if they backed out they lost their 10% deposits. Long story short, each house had a nice rear deck- until the power company substantially reduced the size of some of those decks to accomodate a NEW line of power pylons between those houses and the original line of pylons. It was lovely. The other situation comprised two houses, each on a long and skinny 5A lot that was about 100 feet wide and 2000 feet deep. Those lots would have been pretty fair light plane runways. A few years later, I read in the paper that the basement walls of both houses had caved in because their front lawns' dirt had shifted. One house was condemmed, and the other house needed a serious salvage effort. But the owners of the condemmed house still had to continue making mortgage payments or have their credit rating trashed...... I don't think the homeowners' insurance covered the ground shift that damaged the basement walls. So I suppose it could be worse for you.
Thomas
Anderson,#4Consumer Comment
Sat, February 02, 2008
Did you research the builder? Did you look at any of their prior builds, to see how those older houses held up? Did you ever consider hiring a REAL buyer's broker, a person who would look out ONLY for your interests, and who knew the reputations of all active builders? Did you have your own RE attorney? I do not know how you will sell your house, given your description...... But if you should move on to another house, understanding all of the things you did wrong with your present house would be invaluable. And I am not merely referring to the walk-thru punch list. I remember two houses that I had once 'passed on', because "things did not seem right". One house was in a group of houses along a road. The builder was providing the RE attorney (meaning the attorney worked for the builder, not the buyer) for the sale of that group of houses. There was also a line of electric power pylons running behind the row of houses. Trouble was, the power company had an easement that reached from the existing line of pylons 'almost' to the rear doors of those houses, but the buyers were not told about that easement until their closing so if they backed out they lost their 10% deposits. Long story short, each house had a nice rear deck- until the power company substantially reduced the size of some of those decks to accomodate a NEW line of power pylons between those houses and the original line of pylons. It was lovely. The other situation comprised two houses, each on a long and skinny 5A lot that was about 100 feet wide and 2000 feet deep. Those lots would have been pretty fair light plane runways. A few years later, I read in the paper that the basement walls of both houses had caved in because their front lawns' dirt had shifted. One house was condemmed, and the other house needed a serious salvage effort. But the owners of the condemmed house still had to continue making mortgage payments or have their credit rating trashed...... I don't think the homeowners' insurance covered the ground shift that damaged the basement walls. So I suppose it could be worse for you.
Thomas
Anderson,#5Consumer Comment
Sat, February 02, 2008
Did you research the builder? Did you look at any of their prior builds, to see how those older houses held up? Did you ever consider hiring a REAL buyer's broker, a person who would look out ONLY for your interests, and who knew the reputations of all active builders? Did you have your own RE attorney? I do not know how you will sell your house, given your description...... But if you should move on to another house, understanding all of the things you did wrong with your present house would be invaluable. And I am not merely referring to the walk-thru punch list. I remember two houses that I had once 'passed on', because "things did not seem right". One house was in a group of houses along a road. The builder was providing the RE attorney (meaning the attorney worked for the builder, not the buyer) for the sale of that group of houses. There was also a line of electric power pylons running behind the row of houses. Trouble was, the power company had an easement that reached from the existing line of pylons 'almost' to the rear doors of those houses, but the buyers were not told about that easement until their closing so if they backed out they lost their 10% deposits. Long story short, each house had a nice rear deck- until the power company substantially reduced the size of some of those decks to accomodate a NEW line of power pylons between those houses and the original line of pylons. It was lovely. The other situation comprised two houses, each on a long and skinny 5A lot that was about 100 feet wide and 2000 feet deep. Those lots would have been pretty fair light plane runways. A few years later, I read in the paper that the basement walls of both houses had caved in because their front lawns' dirt had shifted. One house was condemmed, and the other house needed a serious salvage effort. But the owners of the condemmed house still had to continue making mortgage payments or have their credit rating trashed...... I don't think the homeowners' insurance covered the ground shift that damaged the basement walls. So I suppose it could be worse for you.