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Web closing costs estimator
Dear Alan,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
HOMESHARK UNVEILS THE MOST ACCURATE CLOSING COSTS ESTIMATOR TOOL ON THE
INTERNET
SAN FRANCISCO æ December 16, 1998 æ When it comes time to close a
mortgage, many homebuyers are surprised by charges that they discover
they have to pay over and above their down payment. Now HomeSharkŒ,
Inc., (www.homeshark.com) the online low-cost mortgage broker, takes away
the surprises, with an enhancement that provides consumers with the most
detailed and accurate closing costs estimate available on the Internet.
With just one click of the mouse, consumers who shop for mortgage rates
with HomeShark will receive an explicit closing costs breakdown which has
never before been accessible on the Internet. In order for the consumer
to better evaluate each loan choice, HomeShark provides within seconds
the detailed estimated closing costs that a consumer will be expected to
pay, even before the consumer starts the loan application.
If you would like to see the full text, you may access it at
http://www.businesswire.com/hightechlink/
Contact: Margaret Henry
Antenna Group
415-977-1933, margaret@antennapr.com
Sarah Harrison
HomeShark
415-659-6896 ext. 5030, sharrison@homeshark.com
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Builder/architecti
referrals on web
ImproveNet at www.improvenet.com claims to offer a free servide matching
my needs with builders and/or architects & designers. Online, they
collect a basic description of what you want, e-mail you with the names
of builders, and give YOUR e-mail address to the builder.
They state that all of their builders are independently reviewed, and
only builders meeting their guidelines are included.
This is a potentially valuable service if it does what it says that it
does, but I was wondering if you had heard anything about improvenet.
After all -- I learned caution from you in Your New House!!!
--
____________________________________________________________________
Chris Wangard E-MAIL:
3666-C Flad Ave. wangard@slu.edu
St. Louis, MO CRWangard@worldnet.att.net
(314) 773-2251
********************************************************************
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Water witching a myth?
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Fields:
It's unfortunate that you spend so much time in your otherwise excellent
and fascinating book "Your New House" talking about scams and swindlers but
you endorse the old scam of divining or "water witching." I urge you to
reconsider your paragraph on page 73 of the 1996 edition of your book,
which states:
"Water Witch Test: What's a water witch? In areas where there is no water
service, a well will be needed. But where should you dig the well? Enter
the water witch, who divines the best place for a well with a special twig.
We realize this sounds nutty, but it works and people who have dug
successful wells swear by it."
There are many errors in your approach to this subject.
1. "...it works..." I know of no scientific evidence that divining is more
successful than educated guessing. If you've seen tests or studies, I'd
love to read them. In fact, I know of tests where "expert" diviners were
unable to determine which of several containers -- right on the surface of
the ground -- held water! James Randi does a lot of this type of debunking.
2. "...a special twig..." This is actually a regular twig, or a coathanger,
or whatever. Nothing special about it. Anyone who spends a few minutes
practicing can learn to be a water witch. Subtle muscle movements in your
hands tend to make the rod move. These muscle movements are often
unconscious, so that if you hold your twig over a glass of water you know
is there, the twig will often move toward it "by itself."
3. "...people who have dug successful wells swear by it..." Of course they
do, but what about all the people who HAVEN'T dug successful wells? The
truth is, with these claims you seldom hear the negative side. People
aren't out there admitting they got duped by these charlatans. You never
hear about the people who didn't "get rich quick" with various
get-rich-quick schemes either. The fact that something doesn't work is
never an interesting story. The fact that something seemed to work is often
very interesting and so gets repeated. When was the last time you heard a
news story on someone who bought a lottery ticket and didn't win? Same
thing. If you just listen to the winners, it seems that everyone is
winning...
You also have no idea whether the people "swearing by it" would have found
water WITHOUT the diviner. Usually there's no way to test this. Maybe
there's water underneath the entire lot, or 60% of it, or whatever. Only
carefully controlled, double-blind scientific studies can determine whether
divining works better than chance.
Also, people "swear by" a lot of things. Alien abductions, bigfoot,
past-life experiences, out-of-body experiences, psychic healing...the list
is endless. People swearing by something -- even what seems to be a lot of
smart people -- does not make it true. We have a natural tendency to
believe people, but people are so gullible and fallible that this tendency
must be countered with scientific evidence. Just like Agent Mulder on the
X-Files, we want to believe. After all, 70% of people would also "swear by"
the fact that real estate agents are working for the buyer's best
interests...
Well, other than this water-witching stuff, I love your book.
-Scott
***************************************************
Scott Runkel, Multimedia Programmer
Ptolemy Runkel, Graphic Designer
http://www.europa.com/~runkel
503-452-9857
***************************************************
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Fan letter
Alan and Denise,
Just finished Pt I of "Your New House". I bought it from Amazon.com
with a dozen other similar titles because I am planning to open a small
consulting business next year to help home owners and small business
people get a fair shake when they embark upon a major new construction
or renovation project. Three years ago I took an early retirement as VP
Facilities of Children's Hospital of Pgh. I've done well over 200
million dollars in planning and construction of reno and new
construction projects in the course of my 25 year career as an owners
representative.
I must say I am amazed at how much the two of you managed to learn about
facility projects without spending 25 years at it. (If you wrote a book
on how to research a subject, I'd buy it in a flash.) The vast majority
of the advice in your book is applicable to mega projects as well as
smaller home projects. The only difference is that the decimal point
has to be moved 3, 4, 5 or 6 places to the left. I found very little to
take issue with. Big companies and institutions have a handicap that
home owners don't have; corporate bureaucracy. It can delay timely
decisions and upset carefully crafted plans and contracts.
I can understand why your dog eventually wound up with the task of
writing your bio at the back of the book. You are rather unabashed
consumer advocates. The construction pros would feel very uncomfortable
with some one who has such an unyielding expectation of fair, open,
honest dealing and competence.
Although I don't know you folks, I think I would like you personally.
Anyone who aspired to be an Elizabethan scholar can't be all bad. (I
got into Oberlin as a cello major in the Con before I switched over to
the the liberal arts college.) I actually believed that stuff about a
liberal arts education preparing you to do anything and everything.
That's how I got into the facilities project management game. The
hospital wanted some one take on the responsibility of their major
facilities projects. (Translation: they wanted some one to throw
themselves on a live grenade.) They asked me if I knew anything about
it or ever did a project and I said no, but I have a liberal arts degree
and therefore, can do anything. At least that was the gist of the
commencement address as I remember it. The other thing I like is that
you make yourselves open and accessible to your readers; web site, email
address, 800 tel no, fax number, mailing address, etc. For some reason
you have elected not to position yourselves behind an anonymous,
fortified wall. Another thing I like about your book is the generous
sharing of your sources of information whether it be your bibliography
of works by other authors or the numerous embedded names, addresses,
tel. nos. of various sources that could be helpful to a facilities
project innocent.
Anyway, the bottom line is that I think it's a great book, packed with
lots of real substance. Best book yet on my reading list.
Congratulations!
Norm Wien
Pittsburgh, PA.
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Agent defends practices
I love your book "Your New House" despite the fact that I'm a Realtor.
I've
brought your book to new construction
open houses for potential buyers to look at and a number of copies have
walked away. I buy your book for my customers and friends. My one
friend and his wife are building their new house based on
recommendatios in your great book. I know some agents may be unethical
but that is not true of all of us. Let me give you an agent's
perspective. A agent does
not get paid until somethig is sold and closed. This means that the 6
hours you spend each Saturday & Sunday in a new construction house away
from your family is wasted at times by buyers or so called
buyers that have no intention of buying that house or any other house
anytime soon. A builder pays a Realtor a commission for some of the
following reasons: sitting at open houses in order that buyers can see a
builder's work,assisting buyers with decisions because builders may not
have the patience with buyer's small questions,
sellig buyer's on a particular builder because you know that buider is
ethical and takes pride in building someone's dream home. Let me clear
up the idea of Realtors recieving high commissions for selling homes.
New construction homes may have a lower commission rate than existing
homes. Any commission is normally split 4 ways between listing
agent,listing agent's company, selling agent, and selling agent's
company. An agent may have to pay for part or all of the advertising
for a house. A house may be taken off the market for whatever reason
and the agent is out all the money spent on advertising. You should
encourage your readers to be honest with agents if they are working with
one. I never ask a buyer to sign an exclusive
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Followup
I accidently sent the e-mail without finishing it. I never ask a buyer
to sign an exclusive buyer representive contract because I feel you will
work with me if you want to. Let me give you a few examples of what
buyers have done to me personally: A buyer bought off another agent
after giving me his word that he would work with me once he relocated
to my town. This came after I spent months and $ on supplying him
valuable
info about his future new home.
One couple spent several hours with a builder,
another agent, and me only to not return my calls. I finally reached
them and they bought off someone else.They were going to call me.
I showed one woman over100 houses in the 60's price range during the
course of a year before I told her that I couldn't show her anything
else. I made no $ from the deal.I could have showed her more houses in
hopes that she would buy one,
however, I'm sure that my hourly rate would be below $1 an hour.
Countless buyers have asked me to send them printouts of homes that are
available
so I could help them in the home buying
process. It could take hours to gather this
information and you never hear from them again.
Buyers will tell you that they have good credit when their own mother
wouldn't lend them money. I drove across town to show a $24,000
property. The buyer said he had problems with bankruptcy. I asked him to explain and he said he
was filing for bankruptcy that day. I could go on but I think you get
the idea.
Why do some people not expect us to get paid for doing our jobs when
they would not work for days, weeks, months on end without seeing any
money? We have to pay for all our expenses up front and if someone lies
to us and doesn't keep to their word then we have lost emotionally and
financially. You may ask why I stay in the business? It is refreshing
when a customer introduces you as their friend, tells you things they
wouldn't tell other service oriented people, and they invite you over
for dinner in their first house.
You may wonder why I'm up so late.
I frequently get calls at 11:00pm about
some of my properties. I once was getting a contract counter-signed at
12:30 am so the builder wouldn't change his mind in the morning about
what he was willing to throw in for my buyers at no extra charge.
A good Realtor like a good book can point you in the right direction.
P.S. I love your other books: Bridal Bargains & Baby Bargains.
Sincerely,
Mary Pfeiffer
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Fan letter
Dear Alan and Denise,
I just purchased your book "YOUR NEW HOUSE'' this afternoon, and have not been able to put it down. My husband and I are about to embark on building what could be our "dream home," and don't want it to turn into a potential nightmare.
We are basically unfamiliar with the builder, but know they have built upscale communities in other parts of the country. They have built smaller homes, lower-priced in this area. The homes start in the 250,000 range, and move up. The home builder is called Westfield Homes. I was curious if you had heard of them, or could point me in the right direction to find out more about them, i.e. reputation, profit margin they work on, etc. This is all new to me, and overwhelming, as I am sure it is
to all who are going to build. It was a godsend to come upon your wonderful , and humorously written book ( I might add ) Any guidance on finding out more about this
builder in more upscale type developments would be appreciated. One of my concerns is that they will try to "dazzle" us with all the "amenities" but use the same possibly "cheaper" materials used on the smaller, less expensive homes. As a final note, my concern is fueled partly as there are no current models, past home buyers in this area, because this is a "first" for them in this area for this type of community. The name of the subdivision is Deer Creek here in Tampa FL. My email address is WheelrFive @ aol.com
Thankyou in advance for any info. you may have, and again you book is
great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lori Wheeler
our reply
Lori
Thanks for reading our book, YOUR NEW HOUSE. We appreciated your kind words.
Well, there is a nifty new web site that lets you search court records for any misdeeds by a builder---it's called www.knowx.com and it's rather amazing. It's free during the evenings, we think.
We haven't heard of that builder, but we don't really track individual builders like that. No one has filed a complaint with us on them, though. I can understand your concern about their lack of local track record---that does concern me. If I were you, I'd ask them for the names/subdivisions of the out-of-state areas they have built in---and then call a local homeowner's association there (or a local paper) to see what you can find.
Wish we had more answers! Let us know how it goes,
alan & denise
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
New home story
Denise and Alan,
I purchased your book months ago and really didn't read much of it because I was already discussing a construction project with a friend of mine's father. We're not really close friends, but I've come to know the whole family. I have since made a quick study of it due to some bad feelings and really want to thank you for writing it. Let me try to describe my situation as succinctly as possible:
I purchased a lot over two years ago in a very nice subdivision. I've been making payments to the developer and just this last year I decided it was time to build. My friend's father is a typical mini-tycoon as described in your book. I've seen some of the homes he has built and he really does a nice job. I figure he'll treat me right since I am a first time builder/buyer and a friend. WRONG!!!
I have about $8,000 equity in this lot, but the builder kept wanting to include the lot purchase price for his home cost estimates. His reasoning was to drive up the appraisal. When the loan amount approved came back $5,000 less than that amount (but still $3,000 more than the cost should be) he said it wouldn't be a problem and that the difference could be made in "start-up" money. This really shocked me because he had never mentioned it before and I had always told him that I didn't want any surprises. He said since he wouldn't get any money until the floor was poured he would need some funds. The first red flag was raised. It gets better!
I then noticed he included $930 for plans and copies even though he already had them (and gave me a set) from building this home before. When questioned he said it was his usual practice to treat every home project as if he did not have the drawings. I replied then that that money was pure profit. He denied that by stating he uses the money to buy additional plans to increase his "library." I countered that buying additional drawings sounded like a business expense. I'm mad because this is money that really could have been allocated for upgrades, if necessary, and if none were needed I would have a chance of getting the money back. As it stands, I have zero chance. Am I wrong here? Second red flag.
Before terminating our relationship I decided to at least take a look at the contract. It has a "contract deposit" (non-refundable until applied at closing) of $4,500 and a profit payment schedule. His fee is $20,000 on a home (not including the lot) that is estimated to cost $155,000 to build. The payment schedule is something like this: 20% after first floor poured, 20% after framing and roof is dried in, etc....of course he will only do business if the draws are made directly by him. I'm afraid he'll make all the draws and use up the loan amount leaving me with a $4,500 out of pocket expense. Red flags all around!! I told him that I had read where the builder should not receive any profit until the house was completed and he answered, "that's not what happens in the real world."
I also took exception to the amount of his fee because I know if he pays the suppliers within a certain amount of time he gets a discount. He said any and all savings would be passed along to me.
I could go on and on, but I guess the question is not IF I should run, but HOW FAR??? Is this like one of the worst contracts you ever heard of? It's even copyrighted which will not allow me to reproduce it in any form.
Thanks to your book, some gut instincts, and friends I am going to disassociate myself from this builder. Unfortunately he's already paid for a survey and applied for a sanitation permit. I guess I'll just reimburse him for those and drive on using your book to select a better builder.
Is this a typical experience? Could you please comment on the situation?
Thanks!
Joe
our reply
Joe
Thanks for reading our book, YOUR NEW HOUSE. We appreciated your kind words.
Well, that was an interesting story. Some random thoughts:
• Hiring friends (or friends of friends) is often a bad idea. In some cases, you let your guard down and some folks take advantage of that.
• Charging for plans. If you MODIFY stock plans, then we do think it is fair for builders to charge a plan fee. Yet, if they just use a "stock" plan with no changes, that extra $1000 sounds like nickel and diming to us.
• Payments of profit are always a tricky issue. In the ideal world, builders would receive their profit at the end of the deal. BUT, in hot housing markets, builders can pretty much right their own tickets (and contracts).
• As for all the red flags, we always tell folks to go with their gut. If they think a builder relationship is going sour, jump out as soon as you can.
Thanks again for the story---and keep us posted on your efforts.
alan & denise fields
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
Home that's late
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Fields:
I am reading your books about new homes. It contains good
advises and ideas. I wished I could
read it before I sign the contract to have my house build. I am very
frustrated and worried right now because
my house supposed to be finished on Nov. 30, 1998, but the builder has
not started any thing on the lot
yet. He only had some one there cutting the grass. Now, he said things
are back up, the sub contractor
did not show up because he is very busy. This sub-contractor has worked
with my builder for years and
the builder does not want to hire another sub-contractor. This
sub-contractor also works for other builders
in town. Now, the builder told me that I have to extend until Feb,
1999. I signed the contract in early
August. I can't wait longer because my lease will be end by Dec. 30. I
can extend my lease to 2 more
months, if I don't move out by the end of Feb. I have to renew the lease
for the whole year.
The builder is not sure when the house is going to be finished
either. I mentioned to his wife,
who is the cite agent for his lots, that I want to back out the contract
and with my deposit back. I want
to look for another house which is alread built. She said I will lose
all the money that my husband and I
had put down. We don't have buyer agent. We had bad experiences with
our previous buyer agent who
did not do a good job. So my husband and I just went to the cite and
talked to the cite agent directly.
Do I violate the contract if I want to back out? is there a way
I can find out what rights I have which is
doesn't cost much. We don't have much more money to hire an expensive
attorney. What should
we do.
Please advice! I thank you very much for taking your time to
read my long letter.
_______________________
Josephine Linh Vu
Global Research and Development
2713 Magruder Blvd. North, Suite H
Hampton, VA 23666
Phone : (757) 865 4157 Ext.: 237
Fax : (757) 865 9251
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Saved $10,000
Thank you!! Your book saved me $10,000 in real estate commission fees!! Before I had a chance to read your book my husband and I were talking to a realtor about selling our current house. We were also talking to the realtor about buying already existing houses. If we couldn't find what we wanted we were going to build a house. Well she took us to the house of a builder that we liked who's personal home was for sale. Unknown to us the realtor had asked the builder to be there. After reading your book I realized what the realtor was doing. We discussed this with the builder and he agreed with us that this was a bit unethical and didn't think we should have to pay the fees if we used him to build a house. The president of the real estate company informed us that a commission was owed because his company "caused the sale". Fortunately no contract was signed and there are plenty of other good builders in town. I'm much wiser from the experience.
Thank you again!
Martha Fishwick
--------------------
Upgrade gouging?
Dear Alan & Denise:
Hi. I am back again!
We were recently confronted with (for what we thought) were extremely high prices for our upgrades on the new house we are thinking about buying.
We were told that the front brick siding upgrade for our new house was going to be $18,000, $7,000 for a brick fireplace and $3,000 for a side entrance garage! We about fell out of our seats at these prices but accepted the front brick siding only and declined on the brick fireplace and side entrance garage.
You say in your book that a 10-15% markup is fair for builders to add on to what the contractors have done. What about options/upgrades on windows, kitchen cabinets, ceiling fans, garage door openers, etc.?
We know that everything is negotiable but, without going or calling a brick siding contractor, what would have been a ball park percentage discount for us to offer for the $18,000 front brick siding? Is the 10-15 % discount fair in this case? Some friends of ours say they only paid $7,000 for their front brick siding! What about the options/upgrades? How do you price them fairly?
Any guidance that you could provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Sincerely, David
our reply
David
Thanks for reading our book, YOUR NEW HOUSE.
Well, that is one of the mysteries of life: how builders price upgrades. Yes, they can be a BIG profit center for many builders, but it's hard to determine whether you're being taken. As you've discovered, some items are hard to comparasaion shop for (brick work, etc. ) while others are more simple (you know what a ceiling fan would cost, as an example).
Everything is negotiable, so you can always offer the builder less. Who knows, they make take it. The other option: with some upgrades, you can decline the upgrade and get a credit for the item (eg, the ceiling fan) and then install them yourself.
The bottom line: look at the TOTAL price of the house and make sure you are not paying MORE for what similar houses have sold for lately.
Does that help?
alan & denise
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
Door overcharge?
dear alan and denise:
i am a recent home buyer in southern california. One of the options that I
chose was to upgrade the wardrobe doors for both the master bedroom and the two smaller
bedrooms.
After paying for the doors, I noticed the doors for the master bedroom is
100% identical in size, appearance, model number and appearance to the wardrobe doors for the two smaller bedroom -- and yet the builder charged me $205 for the masterbedroom and
$125 for each smaller bedroom. I've examined all the rooms and neither room presents any
more difficulty in installing than the other
i've written to the company and have spoken to my sales counselor and
neither are inclined to give me an answer - i suspect wishing that i would simply drop the
matter.
i do not know how long this price difference has been effect but i believe
they have been doing this for some several thousands of homes.
is there legal recourse that i may take in this matter? i recall a pending
class-action lawsuit against Norwest Mortgage arguing the company unfairly overcharged loan
applicants for credit reports.
thank you,
lawrence kim
lkim@pamco.net
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our reply
Mr. Kim
Thanks for reading our book, YOUR NEW HOUSE.
Well, that's a good question. And we think you're smart to actually check to see whether you were getting the upgrade or not---we suspect in many cases, the builder's subs/crews simply "forgot" to install the upgrades and then hope no one notices.
In the simplest terms, the builder has breached your contract. Whether or not you can go after them legally is another matter---the cost of legal advice will outweight the cost of the door, of course. I don't know whether a class action would be successfull---I suppose you'd have to prove a pattern of fraud with upgrades by the builder.
What's the name of the builder and the community?
alan & denise fields
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
followup
thank you both very much for replying. love the book.
my house is currently being built and i firmly believe the builder will
honor my wish to upgrade all the bedroom wardrobe doors.
what does irritate me is that the builder is marking up the cost by 68% for
installing the exact same wardrobe door in the master bedroom as for the
other bedrooms.
this seems entirely arbitrary and even deceitful when they can increase the
cost of a door by nearly 70% by simply calling it a "master bedroom wardrobe
door" when in reality it's 100% identical to doors installed for all the
other bedrooms.
when i first saw the price difference i immediately assumed that the "master
bedroom wardrobe door" was simply larger and therefore justifiable but when
i returned to the model to do some measuring i found the "master bedroom
wardrobe door" to be the same size, design and model as for the other
bedrooms. i don't believe anyone has ever taken the time to measure and
examine the doors.
so my question is: can builders arbitrarily set any price they desire? i
feel that i have been misled and hence the suspicion of widespread fraud to the
thousands of homebuyers who chose this option but who never bothered
to examine the doors.
thank you again,
mr. lawrence kim
lkim@pamco.net
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DeGeorge Home alliance?
Info request
I would like any information or resources you can refer, concerning
DeGeorge Home Alliance, Inc. I have received a video tape and
literature from them, but would like some independent information.
In reference to the message Heide sent you (I've copied it below).
I am looking at the same thing, DeGeorge Homes. I have looked at their
financial background and it looks pretty good. Unfortunately, being a
Computer Security Engineer, I know how easy it is to put information on the
web. Do you have some info on this company and have you heard about any bad
experiences? I have some experience building homes and this would be ideal
if it is real.
I haven't read your book yet but I will be buying it before I build this
house.
Heide, did you go with this? Did they live up to their word?
Evidently they were previously named Mills Homes. They offer 90% of
value of land and 100% materials and labor for building the house.
However, you must act as your own General Contractor, handling such
items as collecting bids, notifying DeGeorge when to pay for items
completed, etc.
Please have someone on your staff either e-mail me at
hdillon@mncppc.state.md.us, telephone me at 301-454-1696 OR write me
at the following address: Heide Dillon; 12708 Heidi Marie Court; Upper
Marlboro, MD 20774.
Thank you in advance for any information you can provide.
Heide Dillon
Trent Rowe
ITS Security (719) 567-8695
rowet@jntf.osd.mil
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Feedback
Dear Alan and Denise,
I just finished reading Your New House (How do you underline something
in an email?), and I loved it! Great advice, especially since we're
just toying with the idea of builing a house ("It will be fun", I kept
telling my husband. Now I'm a little scared.)
Anyway, I do wish that the product reviews section were bigger--much
bigger. I have practically no idea what's a good brand, etc., although
a few things are rated by Consumer Reports.
I also think another great idea would be a newsgroup kind of thing on
your website where people could give personal design ideas (i.e. Don't
forget to put a phone jack in every room. We live in a 3000 sq. foot
house and have 3 phone jacks, total!), or advice. Maybe you are already
doing this; I don't know because I can't find your website!
I'm a little perplexed by the mail order carpet thing. Are big rolls
of carpet actually shipped to your house? Who installs it? Does this
actually save money in the long run? This reminds me of a terrible
discovery in the last house we lived in. We had a sunken family room
with three steps down. The carpet replaced after a couple of years
(that berber looked terrible after the sweet-potato spit-up stains of
our baby!), and upon ripping it up realized that the backs of the steps
had not been installed. The only thing between our family room and the
crawl space beneath was carpet! We live in Oregon, so the weather stays
mild, but we still got chilly in winter--No wonder.
I've also been meaning to tell you for the last three years that I love
your baby book as well. I've given a copy of it to all of my friends
who've gotten pregnant (well, only to the first timers, since they need
the help.) I'm now on my third baby, and have some definite opinions of
my own, but your information at the beginning was invaluable. The
product recommendation section was fabulous. Very practical. Oh, and I
LOVE drawstring baby gowns. There's nothing better for
middle-of-the-night diaper changes.
Thanks for your great books,
Jennie Westenhaver
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Warranty action nonexistent
Hi Alan & Denise,
Last year my wife and I read your book, "Your New House". It was most
informative to say the least ... well done! However, we decided to buy
instead of building for various reasons, for the time being. By word of
mouth we located the top builder in the area and started seeking out his
homes to look at and we ended up buying one that was about 15 months old.
The home was owned by an older man who had it built new and upon our
inspections before we closed on the deal, a few small things were fixed.
After living in the home for a few months we noticed the following:
1) Master bedroom - the tile on the floor by tub cracked and tile in the
shower cracking as well.
2) Kitchen - parquet floor is becoming detached from floor. When walked upon it's loud
and hollow in a few places.
3) Bathroom - grouting around tub and window is
separating.
4) Garage floor is cracking.
So I called the builder and they gave me the name and number of the
warranty coordinator who came out and looked at the problems. He agreed
to fix them but asked that we work with him and wait 6 months due to
settling so they just have to do it once. He said that the builder has a
very good reputation and he has honored homes that he built 8-9 years
ago. Sounded reasonable to me so I agreed. After 7 months passed I called
them only to find out that the warranty coordinator who we were dealing
with was no longer with the builder. Since then, I've tried 8 different
times to talk with both the warranty coordinator and the builder himself.
All to no avail. In retrospect I can see that we should have asked him to
make the necessary repairs at once. I guess that there is the dumb and
dumber. I know where I fall! Do you have any recommendations that
wouldn't require us to shell out mega bucks?
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our reply
Hi!
Thanks for reading our book, YOUR NEW HOUSE!
Well, we have to ask: did you have the home inspected BEFORE buying? If so, did the inspector miss those items (if so, perhaps he should have his vision checked).
Our take: all of those items (except the garage) are minor and will cost $1000 and under to fix (our guess). I'd just do the repairs yourself and chalk it up to experience. The garage is more serous---I'd call a concrete contractor and get estimates for fixes (sealants, etc).
What's your feelings?
alan & denise fields
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
Austin, TX home search
Yes we do have your book, that's where I found your E-mail address.
Thanks for responding so quick, I was more than shocked to find you
responding so soon. I can't even get my own companies support team to
respond this quickly.
As for buying a resale . . we have thought it might end up at that, but
after reading your book and knowing that half of Austin was built in the
'80's boom, it is less than calming to think of finding an acceptable
home.
There was a lot of dishonesty here during that time, and those are the
houses that are for sale. Also, an interesting phenomenon is happening
here. The new homes are the same prices as the old homes, and they're in
nearby neighborhoods.
I am not confident that inspectors can find a good enough portion of the
problems. One of my best friends is a local well respected inspector,
and he is appalled at the state of the available homes. He even
recommends getting an engineer more qualified that himself to look at
foundations.
Well . . . I won't go on this time, but the prospect of buying a house is
leaving me not interested due to the poor practices here in central
Texas. We have the highest rents, the most expensive lots and homes, and
some of the worst construction fraud and workmanship. A trailer home is
sounding more honest right now.
Again, thanks for your excellent customer service. You did a very nice
job on the book, it spoke to me where I am and educated me all at the
same time.
Richard Brown
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HVAC zones?
Hi!
How would you determine whether a house needs a dual-zoned HVAC system or not? Is there a certain limit to the square footage of a house beyond which a dual zoned system would be recommended? Ex. Would any house with at least 3000 square feet of living space need a dual-zoned system?
Thanks,
Steve
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our reply
Steve
Good question. The answer: I think any house that is two levels (upstairs bedrooms, downstairs living reas) OR is over 3000 square feet would be a good candidate. OR any house that has extreme south or west exposure in one part (wall of windows) that might heat one part up, while another stays cool.
Does that help?
alan & denise fields
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
Plan book catch 22?
Alan & Denise,
Your book was very informative and entertaining. One item my wife and I
have struggled with is the grey area between the amount of financing we can
afford and the actual amount of house that will get you. We have decided
against a production/spec house, but don't want to go all the way to the
architect stage, which leaves the "plan books" for semi custom homes. Now here's the Catch 22. To get a reasonable bid (or attention for that matter from a builder) we need to have a set of house plans. The plans, for these houses (as you point out in your book) can run
$400-$700 (and that's without ANY changes). Once you get the plans, only
then can you determine whether or not you really can afford the house. Of course, who wants plan (which cost thatmuch) only to find out that you can't afford it to start with ??? Werealize that there are many factors which will ultimately determine the cost of the house, but how is one to get "into the ballpark" for the cost of building a particular house
plan, withoutactually buying the plans ?????
Scott
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our reply
Scott
Thanks for reading our book, YOUR NEW HOUSE. We appreciated your kind words.
Well, that is a good point. We hadn't thought about the Catch 22, but we're sure it does exist. Some thoughts to solve the problem:
• ASK to meet with the builder and tell him your target budget range ($200,000, for example). Then show him the plan book with the rough layout of the plan (it shows square footage, bedrooms, etc). Ask if that's in the ballbark--if the answer is yes, only then order the plans. Yes, there is some risk that the actual plan will still be more than your budget, but you can always trim things a bit here and there.
• An alternative: ask a buyer's broker for recent sales data for the area you want to build in. Hence, what does $200,000 buy you? Since your new home will be worth approx. what other recent new homes have sold for in the area, you will have an idea what kind of square footage, bedrooms and finishes you can buy.
Does that help?
alan & denise fields
authors, YOUR NEW HOUSE
Contract problems
Alan & Denise - just bought your book yesterday (and have read most of it so far) - GREAT JOB! It really opened our eyes to a lot of things.
We are at the "11th hour" on our project (a half million dollar new construction in a sub of about 250 houses) and are hoping you can help us before we take a wrong turn..problem is, we need to sign (or not sign!) the "Sales Contract" THIS WEEK (!) as our lot deposit is about to run out. I'll try to be brief and very much appreciate any help/insight you can provide:
First, some background: we've selected MJC Builders here in SE Michigan - a fairly large family-run operation who have built in 20-30 subs in our area over the last 25 years. Our home would be a 3,500 sqft (approx) custom home backing to a "nature preserve" in Phase 1 (about 60 houses) of a 5-phase, $150M development. There are 2 other builders in our part of the sub. Phases 4 and beyond have yet to start, so the builder will be around in our sub for at least the next couple of years.
We've gotten thru (most) of our price negotiations and have an advance copy of the sales contract. Now we're scared. Specifically, the contract says:
- We must close on our house w/in 10 days after a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued "EVEN IF THERE REMAIN UNFINISHED OR DISPUTED ITEMS", or pay the builder $100/day penalty.
Question: what if I get a house with 30 or 40 things wrong with it? Do I still have to close (they talk about a 1-year warranty and explain the pre-closing walkthru and punch list, but how am I assured that they will take care of me once they have our $$'s'? [The contract also says they do not Escrow funds for any reason]) I've talked to 1 or 2 other people in the sub, who have told me that the builder hasn't been the most responsive to their issues, but these could be specific cases.
- The standard contract language about "variances to floorplans, sales literature, etc may occur" exists. So, we asked for a Blueprint (Sales Agent) only to be told "it's our policy that we don't give the customer blueprints". (She did say we could get one thru the city, tho, but I suspect it is for the "standard model" as that's what we're pretty much building, albeit with one page of 48 somewhat minor changes - no rooms moving, walls moving, etc..just upgrades, changing square arches to curved, etc). Oh, and they also say that if they "forget" to do something, then their liability is limited to the price we payed for that upgrade.
Question: with this contract language, how do I prevent them from giving me what they darn well please, and not what I paid for? Also - don't they have to put together a specific blueprint for our custom house and not just submit the model blueprint?
- We are changing the external elevation to something unique. It's based on one of their upgraded elevations, but we're adding roll-lock windows, a double gable and some other pretty simple stuff. The builder has indicated that they probably won't do an architectural diagram (since it's added cost), but that they will put a picture together from cut-and-paste of other elevation components.
Question: I believe this exposes us to a lot of risk. Do you have any suggestions on how to force them to do architectural diagrams and review them w/us? And should their lack of willingness to do this be a major red flag?
- Based on your book, I want to add an addendum to the sales contract about the offer/contract being contingent upon "satisfactory" inspections funded by Purchaser. I expect the builder will balk at this given their lack of flexibility thusfar.
Question: is this a reasonable clause on new construction - and do most above-board builders accept such a clause in the sales contract in your experience?
This is our first "new" home construction (we bought used last time) and I'm getting pretty concerned. My wife is less concerned since she says they builder has been in our area 25 years and has built in 20+ subs. I'm also pretty frustrated at the builder's lack of flexibility in things and fully expect they're going to deny me any legal changes to the document, even if prepared by an attorney (just a hunch based on how they've been to work with so far). And, to make matters worse, construction is BOOMING in our area, and demand for new construction appears high.
So, net net: would you plunk down half a million bucks to work with these guys? Is all of this pretty much "standard" builder-fare grief, or are we putting ourselves at significant risk if we go with them? I would consider another builder but only have 2 other choices in that sub (and limited lot selection) and expect they'd all have pretty much the same contract language anyway!
Thanks so much for any help you can provide!
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