Avoid Shoddy Home Construction
In the rush to build fueled by the recent housing bubble, home builders churned out an incredible number of new homes. And the building still continues. If you scan the anecdotal reports blogged on the ‘net, you’ll read some tales of rushed housing projects, shoddy work and poor quality materials.
If you’re looking for a new home, pay attention to the quality of the construction. In my small part of the world, it’s obvious that homes built individually in the late 80’s are more solid than many built en masse in the last few years. In other words, don’t be afraid to consider buying a solid, older home. New isn’t necessarily better.
If you have a home built to your specs, make sure it’s built well. The best way to stay on top of the construction and ensure the builder or laborers aren’t cutting corners is to visit the home site as frequently as you can. Take your carpenter friend along a few times, too, to get his or her opinion. Don’t be afraid to be clear with the builder if you see things that are substandard. And don’t wait. Like writing software, the sooner a problem is corrected, the easier it is to fix.
ConsumerReports has an online article titled, ‘Housewrecked‘, that is a good place to begin learning about the problems that ‘plague many newer homes.’ The article includes a list of 9 warning signs to looks for when you’re looking at a home to buy. It’s good stuff.
Remember, it’s a ‘buyer beware’-world!
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