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KELLEY’S MARKET TRENDS 43 FLOOR SPACE 43 Real Estate
Working with Your Builder
“Mistakes are certainly made, and there is nothing wrong with bringing them up,” Berman says. “Most problems can be handled fairly easily through com- munication. The biggest thing is in how you approach the conversation. No one wants to hear it start with, ‘My brother- in-law is in construction, and he said...’”
Keep in mind that something might look like a problem, but is really just incomplete construction.
“It’s not always discernible to the untrained eye,” Berman says. Bring up problems with your builder, but under- stand that he may have a plan in place to x – or nish – the apparent issue.
2. Pay Attention to Your Punch List
Before closing, developers or builders will walk you through your newly built home and let you point out any defects or imperfections that need to be xed before moving day. If there’s anything wrong – from disconnected light switches to bro- ken cabinetry to scratches on the wall – now is your opportunity to bring it up.
Bring a pre-made checklist, and don’t feel bad about being thorough. (Some construction teams may even have spe- cialized software to help you create this list, commonly called a punch list in the construction world.)
Bottom line: If you see something, say something – builders can’t correct prob- lems they don’t know about.
Once all of the items on your punch list have been resolved, you can feel comfort- able closing on the house, which should ide- ally happen after builders x the problems.
3. Get Familiar with Your Warranty – and Don’t be Afraid to Use it
Most states mandate construction warranties for new homes, often backed by the builders and usually spanning
TBY JAMIE WIEBE
HE POTENTIAL PROBLEMS with new construction are over- whelming – like your home liter-
ally built backward, mold, or poor foun- dation – but there are ways to prevent the panic in the rst place. The bene ts far outweigh the chances of issues, but better to be safe than sorry. Here’s what builders recommend.
1. Stalk the Construction Site
When it comes to new construction, perhaps the most frightening part is all the unknowns. Maybe a rainy summer and poor site management left your lum- ber with the beginnings of wood rot, or subcontractors failed to nail down the sub oors properly. Or perhaps the whole darned house is backward.
That’s why you need to try to stop by the site frequently. We mean, like, a lot. The nal walk-through should never be the rst time you see the space, says Howie Berman, COO of The Ruby Group, a development and construction manage- ment company in Goshen, NY.
Berman’s company recommends three sets of walk-throughs:
• After the home has been surveyed and
staked (an ideal time to make sure it’s
situated properly)
• After framing is completed and
mechanical installation is underway (this is the best time to address any problems within the walls, like electri- cal wiring or ventilation)
• The nal walk-through, where you and the builder will review the punch list (more on that later)
But feel free to come by more often – up to every day. The earlier you can bring up potential issues, the better your chances of a quick and simple resolution.
one or more years. Making a claim on your policy is the best way to x latent problems caused by errors, poor crafts- manship, or dumb luck – like mold, an increasingly common problem in new homes.
Another frequently found defect is poorly installed windows. If the silicone sealant isn’t applied properly, “there could be a small, slow leak that could go unde- tected for a long time, leading to signi - cant damage to the framing,” Berman says.
Some problems may take time to appear – cracks might appear in the walls, or crown molding might separate as the home settles – so consider hiring an inspector for an “11th month warranty inspection.” Consider it a nal nal walk- through: They’ll nd any new or emerg- ing problems before your one-year war- ranty expires.
Asking your builders about their warranty is an excellent way to vet the company.
“Be on the lookout to see if the builder has a process for making a warranty claim,” Berman says. “This will show you whether or not the builder is prepared to lead the process, which he should be.”
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4. Stay Flexible with Your Timeline
You might be eager to move in, but construction works on its own schedule, which might not even line up with your contractor’s estimated time frame.
“Homebuilding is a complex pro- cess that’s subject to all sorts of things like changing weather conditions,” Ber- man says. “The time estimate is likely to change over the course of a project.”
Very few builders will agree to any contract that assigns penalties for delays. There are too many things that can go wrong, from a freak snowstorm to unex- pected foundation problems. Instead, discuss milestones (think: completed framing or roo ng), and time frames expected for each.
If you’re on a tight deadline and would like your builder to commit to a timeline, Berman says you should “be prepared to give something up.”
You might pay a higher price for the rushed work, but at least you’ll have the security of a contract. But if your time frame is exible, allowing the builders an adaptable timeline might mean fewer long-term errors – and a happier you in your brand-new home.
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JUNE 29, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM