I am a part time handyman and I have a question for all the pros out there. My friend purchased a spec home in October 2002 and has been having serious problems getting her builder to come back to fix a cracked granite countertop, a few crooked windows, insulation never installed in the master bedroom floor (there’s a walk out garage/workshop below), a cracked cabinet door, and other various problems. Many of these, such as the countertop happened later when they came to install a gasket under the range. My question is what can she do to put a fire under this guy? He still has a few homes going up in the neighborhood and the only thing she feels she can do is to put a sign under his to ask her how she likes her home and cabinets. Is there an agency she can go to that might help with this.
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Replies
Ask the building inspector to come out and have a look. No insulation under the bedroom means no sheetrock? Fire-rated sheetrock between attached garage and house is necessary to pass inspection and get an occupancy permit. That would be a serious issue. An inspector can put a major fire under the builder. Other stuff may be cosmetic, but you can file a complaint with BBB and talk to your lender. They may have problems lending on something with faults like this and can help or point you to other assistance.
Thanks Bob, I forwarded this on to her.
Did she have a contract saying the builder would fix such matters? If not its going to be harder to the builder to fix the problems. If a certificate of occupancy as been issued and the house bought, its going to be a court matter.
She needs to get a lawyer, and let the lawyer contact the builder and not her.
WIll it cost money? Yes, but buying a home in that condition has its problems, and your friend is dealing with them.
Thanks WmP,
Don't think she had any kind of contract, and I know her ultimate option is a court matter but at this point she is still talking to him and it seems he needs a little shove if that's possible. I had a spec home before previous one and had similar problems as I tell her. She did get a good deal on the house, but the granite countertop which was cracked by the plumber(?) when she complained about the gasket misssing around the range top (big gap was showing) is going to be a big one to swallow for anyone. The builder is telling her now he is trying to be the intermediary between her and the subs yet she bought the house as a spec not a custom built. Some people ought to stay in the cheaper house building category!
So, whoever fixed the range, broke the countertop.
I'd be hassling that person too.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
Yeah, I think they are finally coming out to look at it. We'll see what happens.
Just so I understand the nuances of these questions about spec homes, could someone explain to an Englishman (me) just what is a 'spec' home?
John
"Spec", in this case, is short for 'speculation'.
A builder bought a lot, and built a house. He assumed a rather large financial risk to do this, because he had no buyer in mind. He was simply speculating that if he built it, he could sell it.
And in general, all spec houses here in America are smallish, three bedroom houses, with few (if any) frills.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.
YesMa'am-- I know its not standard, but I worked on a $4.75 mill, 10,000 sq. ft. spec house this past year. The builder is a lot braver than I would ever be. We put a tremendous amount of detailed trim into the house hoping to attract the right person.
could someone explain to an Englishman (me) just what is a 'spec' home?
No problem. A spec home is built without a specific customer in mind, under the 'speculation' that it will have enough features at a reasonable value to sell on, or shortly after completion. This is different from "tract" building, where there is a sales force selling from a set of stock plans to prosepective customers. Some large builder/developers will "infill" the empty lot with houses "on speculation" that some one will want the choice of location and completion over getting to customize features during construction.
Here in my part of Texas, another way is that one watches for foreclosures on in fill lots, and then you bid to pick up a lot in the sheriff's auction ($1100 cashier's check [cheque] buys an $11,000 lot, if one is lucky). The other houses on the street are 3 bedroom 2 bath with 2 car garages about 1600-1800 s.f., selling for around $185-225K. Now, since your cousin's nephew's sister's boy (he took Drafting in school, you know) is on the payroll, you have hime knock together a floor plan. You have a plan for a 1785 sf 3/2 1/2, and you are pretty sure you can get it built for $55 per foot. So, your cost is 5 x 1785, for $98,175, add in the $1100, that's $99,275. Figure in another $2000 in permits & fees--not bad. List it with a local Realtor for $195K (or $185K, cash), and you stand to make a decent profit. Oh, and a side benefit of, you are getting to keep your crew busy and together and working. This means they aren't working for someone else during your slow times. But that is predicated upon you having a good line of credit and/or financing.
The people moving in have to like the house "as is," but they are also getting a "brand new" house.Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
basically a spec house is a 1100 sq ft house with every single item of material coming out of HD including the cabinets and appliances.
I guess that with regards to size, quality, and cost, a spec home is different in differing places. Thj eone thing that remains true is that it was built on speculation that it would sell at a profit, and that if the market declines while interest rates stack up, the profit disappears.
The plumber who cracked this granite tiop should be the one responsible for the cost of the fix - or his liability insurance.
I the house was bought as a good deal - price wise, and there is a CO, and the sale was "As is" she may have a hard time forcing other claims except for potential claims of servicability and imp[lied warrantees.
She needs the advice of a lawyer (which she should have had involved in the purchase) more than of us yahoos to sort out what to do and how to do it and whom to do it to..
Excellence is its own reward!
I gotta tell you not all spec homes are 1100 sq ft as my friend's house is 3700 sq ft , and I believe she paid in the neighborhood of 300,000.
a spec house around here is usually when a developer buy manys lots together and build basically the same house over and over at the same time
usually a 75k 1200 sq house with plain everything. no brick, vinyl siding no carport no garage. three bedroom one bath. painted trim, white walls, basic wallpaper cheap carpet on slabs.
Not all spec homes are 1000 SF. We just got paid on a big one, I think around 5000 SF. Million plus. Contractor sat on it for a year with $12,000 mo interest only payments.
Ouch.
They come in all sizes and shapes. Essentially anything unsold when you break ground.
1100 sq ft house with every single item of material coming out of HD
LoL!
Around here that has a different name: "investment property." Means it rents for $750 with a carport and no fence; $900 for a one car gargage and/or a fenced yard; or $1050 with 2 car garage &/or privacy-fenced yard ($1200 for both).Occupational hazard of my occupation not being around (sorry Bubba)
A spec home on the street where I'm building right now means 3500-4000 sq. ft., running at about 600K. Things change a lot depending on location.The High Desert Group LLC
actually, i've never heard of what you describe as being called a "spec" home. just always thought of big suburban builder/developer neighborhoods as tract homes of one level or another- whether or not they have a buyer when they're built. "spec" seemed to automatically imply a more or less one of a kind architect/contractor or design/build project. i guess definitions and impressions vary from place to place and person to person. learn something new every day.
m
Just as a note- whether the house that was purchased was a "spec" or a "custom", the builder owes the buyer a properly built house, and the items in question should be remedied. Also, it doesn't matter if the house was $150k or $1.5 mil, 1500 SF or 15,000 SF- crooked windows are still crooked, and a cracked countertop is still cracked. Lastly, it doesn't matter that the framer's too busy, that the siding sub is gonna charge for removing and reinstalling the siding, or that the builder's great-aunt Tilly is in the hospital with a hang-nail- the items should be fixed.
I'd start with a certified letter to the builder, copied to the BBB, and to any state licensing boards in the state where the house was built. If that gets nowhere, its time to have a lawyer step in and take action. I'd also document all the calls, conversations and correspondence to date, just for the record.
Sounds like another dirtbag builder who doesn't want to stand behind his work.
Bob
It may depend a lot on what State the home is in. Laws vary greatly. She might be able to get some beginning information for free by calling the State real estate commission (if a broker was involved in the sale), the AG's office, a State licensing body for contractors (if such exists in her state). IMO calling a BBB doesn't do squat regardless of the business type.
Any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a carpenter to build one.
Boy are U people off base!
Not the original poster .. but most every other reply.
I'm currently finishing a basement in a "spec home" ...
and it went from a $400K home ... pretty spendy around here ...
to a $850K end product thru customer upgrades.
and he's putting another $125K into the basement.
plus ... the home theater/surround sound system ...
I met the original builder ... at $400K nothing was coming from HD ...
and at $850K ... nothing is less than custom.
Spec just means the customer ain't there for the ground breaking.
This one was bought in framing ... and matches the other houses in the very upscale plan ..... so get yer facts right.
Jeff
Buck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
Rocky,
I can't keep my mouth shut on this one.... and I'd like to speak to your original post (not about spec homes....). Anyway, the problem that your friend is having is not really surprising because all of the things that need to be fixed kind of take a lot of time and money to fix right (crooked windows?!?!?!?!? come on!!). And of course this is just money out of the builders pocket. You're a handyman, so you can probably imagine this conversation....
Builder calls up framer and says "hey you jerk, you installed some of the windows ceooked and now we have to straighten them out." To which the framer says "Uhhhh, sorry boss. I'll go take care of it right away as soon as you get the siding guy to pull off the J-channel (hope it's not brick.... much different story there) and the trim carpenter to pull off the interior trim (this will need to be remade)." So the builder now goes to the siding, trim, and drywall guy, "hey guys, the framer was a knucklehead and installed the windows crooked and we need to get this fixed. Can you guys help me out on this one?" To which they all say, "Sure, no problem, as soon as I am done with the house down the street for you other builder buddy. And I'll only charge you %75 rate since we're trying to fix a problem. But I need to be paid for work I do. If I was the one to make the goof, I'd be happy to fix it for free but I didn't make the goof."
The framer will never pay the bill on the extra's. And really, it is ultimately the builders fault for not being thorough in the beginning and checking something like this. Like I said above, it is not surprising that your fiend is having a hard time here. And the same story goes for the countertop and insulation (for sure the drywall is already up and your friend just had really cold feet). The only thing that will get fixed without a hassle is the cabinet door.
Sorry that my take on the situation isn't so rosie.
Rob Kress
let take it one more step.
he calls the framer and says "The window crook, need to fix"
framer reply" hey, your house, I,m finish with it"
Grab the money and run
i was nodding right along with your explanation of a spec home until i got to the part where you characterized them as primarily small and cheap, more or less. we used to live in an increasingly gentrified neighborhood in denver, and spec jobs over 4000 sq ft and $750,000 were pretty much the norm by the time we left. when a builder spends between $180k-$250k for a 50'x120', 6000sq ft lot, and then scrapes the little pre-war frame house on it (virtually never just a poptop), he's looking to recoup his $$ as much as the market and zoning (and the invariable variance) will allow. gee, and folks wonder why we moved to north carolina. (well, that and the awesome weather!)
m
Yes, I understand as well as the next guy, that there are McMansions being built on speculation. There are also commercial properties done on spec.
But the sheer numbers are in the "starter" homes. Entire (large) subdivisions of three bedroom, cheap houses, with no buyer online at start.
Yes, I love the weather here in NC too.
Vast projects should not be founded on half vast ideas.