Many families in California are interested in building their new home versus buying a home that was built several years or decades ago. As more new homes are being built throughout the state, some homeowners are finding defects in their homes despite only living there for a few months or years.
Families purchasing new construction homes should be aware of the risk of construction defects and research the builder before signing any agreements. These days, many builders take shortcuts when building or they don’t use the proper products to keep your home sustainable.
We’ve previously discussed the common types of construction defects, and homeowners need to know that even though they are buying a new home, it may still have structural issues, roof defects or faulty siding.
These can be very serious issues that can impact the safety and value of your home as well as be very expensive to repair. One thing to keep in mind if you discover possible defects in your home is if the home warranty will cover any repairs. Many builders allow buyers one year to report any issues and they will fix them. However, some builders may say the issues are not covered under the warranty so it is important to carefully read your warranty to see what action can be taken.
Another thing to keep in mind is that some home warranties and purchase agreements may stipulate that you cannot sue the builder. This is something to be aware of when buying a new construction home. If the builder requires you use arbitration, you will still want to use an attorney to argue your case but it may be more difficult to get a ruling in your favor because many builders select the arbitrator in these cases.
Construction defects in a new home can be very difficult to deal with. In addition to feeling very angry and frustrated, it can be hard to know what next steps to take. One of the first things you should do is contact an attorney to see if you can take any legal action against the builder for defects or what other options are available.
Source: MSN, “Unhappy homebuyers face double whammy,” Marilyn Lewis, Accessed April 18, 2014