Deceptive builder!
Getting Started
If you've gotten tired of trying to find a nice pre-owned house for your family and are thinking about buying a newly built house or contracting with a builder for a new house, cost is probably a factor in your decision.in the Huntsville and Madison, Alabama area new house prices tend to be markedly more expensive than in adjoining "bedroom" communities like Lacey's Spring, Decatur, or Athens. So maybe you're considering the potential savings of building your new home in one of those areas. If you are, consider the following tale and think very carefully about making cost your primary or only decision driver.
We decided to have a new house built in Limestone County, AL; about seven miles east of Athens. After asking a realtor and a local building materials retailer about reputable builders, we were assured that the general contractor-builder we had selected would build us a "good house."
Mistakes
First mistake: Don't ask local realtors and building materials retailers to direct you to or advise you about a builder that sells in their area or buys supplies from them. Realtors only want to sell a builder's product for a commission. Suppliers only sell builders raw materials and are concerned mainly that the builder's credit with them is good. Neither has much inkling as to the quality of the builder's finished product.
Second mistake: Believing the affability and friendliness of the builder is a measure of integrity, honesty, ability, or cooperation. Builders are in it for the money; the most money that can be acquired with the least expense in delivering what the builder considers the end product.
Third mistake: Anticipating that the builder is knowledgeable in and will use the proper, basic building techniques, have skills above apprentice grade and will consider the most efficient energy-saving applications or that any of his subcontractors similarly able and considerate; and, very importantly, that the builder will check the work of all his subcontractors.
This "mistake" in judgment list could go on and that's on us, but suffice it to say that the house we wound up with was and remains a great disappointment. We went into this project understanding that the price per square foot that we were quoted was for a house built to builder-specification standards; not a "custom house." We also understood that there were minimum build standards and that there were no building inspections required by the county. All during the build we monitored, almost daily, the progress of the build process. There were changes and alterations that were necessary and the builder provided some things within the total price that we had anticipated might be outside that cost bracket. However, on each of these we did offer to pay any additional costs the builder might deem appropriate, he charged us for none in the end.
Very important!
There are no building permits nor intermediate nor final inspection by Limestone County offices or agents. Even knowing this we did not employ a pre-closing inspector. That definitely proved to be a huge mistake. However, from what we have learned since, others who did employ an independent inspector for houses built by our builder still found many problems after they moved in post-inspection and post-closing. So either their inspectors were inept or dismissed so-called "minor" problems or were too closely aligned with the builder instead of being impartial inspectors for the buyer.in any case, we doubt any inspector would have found the number of problems in just a two to four hour inspection appointment that we uncovered during the first two months of daily living. Multiple inspections would have been necessary to have fully revealed our deficiencies; and by an inspector with knowledge and judgment as to quality in a broad range of expertise.in our case the added expense for such an inspection or multiple inspections might have proved worth it. It definitely would have postponed our closing and move-in by a one to three months.
Unsatisfactory Construction
In short, at the end of the build, immediately following closing and occupancy, we quickly learned we had been sold a house that was incomplete and ill-finished. Though the house is habitable, the list below identifies the host of problems, omissions, deficiencies, and poor and incompetent craftsmanship with which we had to contend and had to correct ourselves where we could. Several items on the list are not correctable without deconstruction and reconstruction; some are not correctable at all. The uncorrectable items will serve as permanent reminders of our builder's incompetence and our naivete. Yes, we had expected that a few minor problems would show up during the post-build period. But we believe that the large number and major character of some problems on this list clearly point to the builder's lack of care, skill, and honesty in presenting himself as a quality home builder.
No Help from Authorities
Compounding the agony of the problem list was the inaction by the builder on our problem reports we submitted during the one-year builder's warranty period. Along with several verbal reports, two registered letters were dispatched. Both letters went unanswered and the specific problems ignored. Eventually, after speaking with other owners of homes built in our subdivision, we learned that similar problems were occurring with their homes, also built by the same builder, and that his non-response action was commonplace. Even when he did respond the corrections implemented were either incomplete, ineffectual, or sloppily administered; most long delayed. Further, we also learned that the same builder had this reputation of "build and run" with other home owners in the county and over a lengthy period of time.
Seeking some local or government organization to act on our behalf to force the builder to respond or to recoup our monetary outlays for post-purchase costs, we learned that the local homebuilder's association, of which the builder is a member, has no such authority. Further, the Alabama Code of Law is so written that a general contractor, building single family residences, is exempt from investigation or penalty from selling bad products to or lack of communication with a buyer. Neither the State's Homebuilder's Licensure Board nor the Contractor's Licensure Board has any authority in correcting inequitable situations. Short of expensive, personal litigation, there is no avenue for redress of the builder's incompetence or lack of skill or refusal to assist in problems he has created. A complaint to the Better Business Bureau may bring you some mental relief, but the BBB is not empowered to force a complainant to comply with anything. They only maintain a record of the complaint if it is not satisfied. Our case has been registered with the North Alabama BBB and has been presented to the Alabama State Attorney General's Office of Consumer Affairs for consideration.
In Summary
You may be saying that some items on the problem list seem trivial or picky. And if the list was short, we would agree. But the volume and severity of some of the problems speaks to the issue that the builder was uncaring, sloppy, incompetent, or all three.in any case, he was misrepresenting himself as a skilled contractor. To fix as many of the problems as we could ourselves required over 500 hours of labor and out of pocket expenses of over $1000 to date. The improperly graded foundation soil resulted in water penetration into the crawlspace to such an extent that it caused a severe outbreak of mold on the subfloor joists and panels. Cleaning the mold off alone took 45 hours of very hard work. Permanent prevention of repeated water intrusion and mold outbreak will eventually cost much more.
We believed at the beginning of our build, and still do, that you should get, at a minimum, what you pay for; in this case, acceptable quality and no lingering expensive-to-remedy problems. Maybe some of you that read this tale will say we got what we deserved due to inexperience or naivete. Maybe, but we vehemently disagree. We think we were deceived by the builder as to his abilities and credentials and that we are now saddled with a post-construction "project" house that will take years of corrective tasks and added expense that should have been avoided if the builder had been competent and cared about his reputation. Apparently he is not concerned as to his competence and is content in the knowledge that he feels essentially immune to penalty for his deceptions. Our best recourse we feel, at least for the moment, is to try to advise as many potential buyers of the situation and, by doing so, help them avoid our sad story.
So if after considering our story you're still thinking of building in Limestone County or anywhere for that matter, maybe you would like to reconsider or at least mark one particular general contractor off your list of potential builders (see end of list below). Whether you buy pre-owned or decide to build somewhere, we hope your next home will bring you happiness. Just remember that in Alabama the term "Caveat Emptor" is still alive and thriving and it protects the seller (builder), not the buyer (YOU)!
The Problem "LIST"
Herewith is the "LIST" with the "builder" identification at the end
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