Help! About to buy our new home

[jmv]

We are supposed to close on our new home tomorrow afternoon. We have had the house under contract since only the foundation was up. After the inspection, and going through the home on our own, we have come up with a list of things we feel need to be fixed before we consider it complete.

Here is the email as I provided it to our agent(with additional comments in black):
Here are the things we found that need attention…

**INTERIOR
—Numerous crooked faceplates. (Says he will not fix. I’m not sure how much leeway there is to fix this, but would think he could tinker with the outlet or switch to get it to set correctly in the box)
—Wood Trim - Many exposed nails on baseboards, and to a lesser extent, some door trim.(Says he will not fix, but will provide us with wood puddy. Aren’t I paying him to do this?)
—Wood Trim - Some baseboards and windows look frayed, as though the saw blade was not sharp enough. Some boards don’t meet in the corners, leaving gaps of 1/8"-1/4". Also, there are chips in some of the boards. (Says he will not fix)
—Wood Trim - L.R. window. Top corners along the inside have rough cuts that look like they’ll peel away. Boards are also chipped.(Says he will not fix)
—Tile - Was the grout sealer applied? The grout soaks up water when wet. (Builder claims that he never applies a grout sealer, though after we had picked out the tile, I asked about this and he said it would be applied - have email proof of this) (Says he will not fix)
—Tile - Around the fireplace, there is no grout betwen the tiles and the wood, and the tiles and the wall. This leaves gaps of up to around 1/4" (Will put caulk in these areas)
—Master Bath - The mirror should be wider than 48". The sinks and the light fixtures extend past the mirror, which doesn’t look right. Also, your reflection when you are at the sink only shows to the edge of your face which is functionally inconvenient. Also, the mirror in the other bathroom is beveled, whereas this one was not. (Says he will not fix. I’m pretty sure his wife would kick him out of the house if he put this in their bathroom)
—Master Bath - Leak below left sink waste line. (Will fix)
—Whirlpool tub - Not GFCI protected.(Will fix)
—Master Bedroom - Door doesn’t lock. (Fixed)
—L.R. Wall - There is a hole about 1/2" x 1/4" by an electrical outlet on the East side. (Will fix)
—Front Door - The window has numerous scratches.(Says he will not fix)
—Service panel - Knockout missing.
—Kitchen sink - Missing outlet cover below sink.(Will fix)
—Kitchen sink - leak at the main drain line connection.(Will fix)

**EXTERIOR
—Windows - Approximately 6 windows have damage to the trim.(Says trim is ordered, and will be fixed when it arrives)
—Yard - South side slopes toward the house, and yard needs to be built up to keep water from eroding the laand setting against the house where it seeps into the crawl space.(Put dirt where it had eroded, but has not built up dirt level around foundation to keep this from happening again)

When the list was given to him this morning, he apparently got upset, and my agent had to spend most of the morning calming him down. This seemed to be a ridiculous response to what I feel are legitimate requests. Are any of the requests that were made out of line? If so, please tell me, because everyone I have talked to agrees with me.

I am paying a lot of money for this house, and at this point I just don’t feel comfortable with the state of the house as it is being delivered. Are the things he won’t be fixing too small to make a big deal out of? To me, it all comes down to “Would he accept these conditions in his own house?”, and I can’t find myself answering yes to that.

Your help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Courtneyjo]

I have never had a house built but have been told that everything should be in writing.

It sounds like your builder will not fix the cosmetic things but will fix the things that are potentially dangerous and he could be liable for. The problem with the foundation is potentially dangerous. However, if it is a problem with the lot itself, then is the builder really at fault? Perhaps you need to build the soil back up and put in a retaining wall, or at least plant vegetation that will prevent erosion. Was anything about this in your contract? The fireplace tile grout is just plain aggravating but is it serious?

As for you agent, I would be disgusted too. She is working for you, not the builder. If she was an onsite agent then her loyalties may be more with the builder, however. You could report her to her supervisor, or to the state regulatory agency if you want to pursue it. Ditto for the builder, but not until everything is fixed that he will fix. You could also hire a real estate attorney, but is the cost worth it?

Will it cost you more not to close than to close? If you need a place to live, then you probably have to close.

 

[Mirror_Mirror]

jmv:

We are supposed to close on our new home tomorrow afternoon. We have had the house under contract since only the foundation was up. After the inspection, and going through the home on our own, we have come up with a list of things we feel need to be fixed before we consider it complete.

Is this a newly built home? If it is a new construction, you will go through a walk through before closing on the house and at that point you will point out all the things that are “wrong” with the house and the builder has the responsibility to make these items correct (to your standard).

I guess before going any further, I would want to know if it is a home that was just built or if you bought it used.

FYI - we just closed on our brand new home in late December, so we went thru this.

 

[JohnnyK]

You should also make your attorney aware of the problems. it sounds liek he is a small builder. I work for a medium size builder & we have punch lists for walk through , 30 days out, etc and see that all problems are fixed.