As a retired architect, new housing construction in the United States is abysmal. So many unqualified people running around pretending to be “designers” and “master” builders. A waste of money on something that will probably be the most expensive thing someone owns. ☠️
Any advice for someone who wants a new build? The population of adults has grown so much (children of boomers I guess) that there isn’t nearly enough older stock to house people.
@@andreah6379 In an ideal world, it would mean that you get specialists for tasks, instead of generalists working for the builder. But I agree that the company then has a convenient scapegoat and doesn’t take full responsibility for the work, even if it was their hire.
Asking a real estate agent whether you should buy a home right now is like to asking an alcoholic whether they think you should have a drink lol. Homes in my neighborhood that cost around $450k in sales in 2019 are now going for $800 to $950k. Every seller in my neighborhood is currently making a $350k profit. Simply unreal. In all honesty, deflation is what we require. The only other option is for many people to go bankrupt, which would also be bad for the economy. That is the only way to return to normal.
@@LionTowercoporation She appears to be well-educated and well-read. I ran a Google search on her name and came across her website… thank you for sharing.
Now imagine what you can't see. A lot of these homes the developer cheaps out and instead of using orianted strand board around the entire perimeter of the house they just use it in a couple of spots and use styrofoam instead. Basically you get a mostly styrofoam house instead of wood paneling.
Las vegas is the same I'm in the gatage industry ever since the housing crisis 08 newer homes have been cutting corners on garages motors that last 2 or three years part wise.. Also customers in New homes always tell me the water heater are failing ac units are cheaper and other building issues.. ridiculous
And this is why I bought an older home in an established neighborhood. At 20 years or more, you can see the foundation problems, water issues, planting issues(in my case).
Definitely depends on the area. In Vegas we just bought a home from 1998 which is considered ancient but, our friends that have new homes say they're cheap and fall apart. It made sense because we do not have much rain, snow, or other weather patterns that cause excessive wear and tear.
You have planting issues because of soil quality/depth, simply digging a foot down reveals what the substrate is, this too is why some places there the soil can't support plants/grass......
@@heyrod59 oh I didn’t mean it in the sense that plants will not grow lol far from that. I mean the idiots who planted all these beautiful trees and other plants did not know what they were doing. I have a beautiful weeping mulberry right over my water and sewer lines and directly beneath the power line to my house. I have a crepe myrtle that was planted right by my back fence and is just too close to it to grow nicely. I have another tree, can’t remember which kind growing right underneath the power lines near my alley. I have holly growing too close to the house and very well established and popping baby hollys. I have another tree close to the holly growing right next to a bathroom wall…. The people planting were idiots. I have a very old white maple in front, rare for my area, butcher cut to where water has been going into the tree. Oh and then they put rock all over the place and let grass grow over it meaning that when I mow I have a big chance of popping out a rock from underneath the lawn mower. The whole lawn will need to be excavated at some point…
any home from any person or company is naturally gonna be imperfect. Deal with it...These people need to stop whining and hire a handyman to fix their stuff..It sucks and it's gonna cost em but wtf? All they do is whine.....imho.
Bought my house built in 1983. All plumbing is original, bathrooms, hardwood floors, foundation- all still in great shape. My agent wanted to show me new builds and I refused.
We bought a 90-year-old house that needed some work when we could've afforded something newer. We have solid wood doors and solid wood floors and the entire structure was built so well! It's been much easier for us to update and renovate than friends of ours who are trying to redo all the low-quality crap the developer who flipped and sold them their home. They've had to rip a lot of stuff out because it's so cheap it's not even worth fixing.
Hmm my father designed our home and it was built in 1995. The stain glass mosaic window in the living room is worth preserving and I hope my home last for over a hundred years you purchasing a 90 year old home and fixing it up gives me hope.
They want ridiculous money for failing down shacks now. Unless you get a downtown home in a small town or city. Those are quite affordable the last I looked.
We had our house built in 2013 by Taylor Morrison. I had to get 2 sheets for my complaint sheet. Had to be detected and reported within a year. I live in Goodyear, AZ. One really obvious mistake is upon final walk thru ,my husband ,realtor, and the project manager were talking in my kitchen and I leaned my elbow on the bar area countertop and it tilted a lot. It wasn't even attached! It's beyond ridiculous the unfinished work I preceeded to find.
We bought a new meritage home in 2020 it was a nightmare we did the 1 year home inspection and they still didn’t fix the issues. Part of the problem is the quality of contractors in the valley there’s no real education /training program. A lot of it unlicensed work too.
Pick your builder like you would pick a spouse - this is a long term commitment! Understand the difference between a spec builder and a custom builder. With a spec builder it’s all about delivery, getting the house under contract. With a custom builder it’s about reputation. Custom builders charge more per square foot, but when you pick based on reputation you get peace of mind with a quality product that has few to zero issues.
@@davidwright873his comment is primarily for people who are going to buy, but it is also helpful and necessary for those who have bought as you have to accept your part in all of this in order to move forward in a way where you can get results and not stress over it all. a lot of these buyers are jumping at price point and making a heroic assumption about quality, without considering the differences in quality across builders. take responsibility for your own mistakes so that you can get resolution going forward and keep your sanity. If all you are going to do is blame others, as if you had no responsibility, well, good luck, you’ll never get resolution either.
I’m closing in on my retirement and I’d like to move from Minnesota to a warmer climate, but the prices on homes and the qualities are stupidly ridiculous and Mortgage prices has been skyrocketing on a roll(currently over 7%) do I just invest my spare cash into stock and wait for a housing crash or should I go ahead to buy a home anyways.
A recession as bad it can be, provides good buying opportunities in the markets if you’re careful and it can also create volatility giving great short time buy and sell opportunities too. This is not financial advise but get buying, cash isn’t king at all in this time!
On the contrary, even if you’re not skilled, it is still possible to hire one. I am a project manager and my personal portfolio of approximately $750k took a big hit in April due to the crash. I quickly got in touch with a financial-planner that devised a defensive strategy to protect and profit from my portfolio this red season. I’ve made over $350k since then.
@@MarkFreeman-xi3rk I've been thinking of going that route been holding on to a bunch of stocks that keeps tanking and I don't know if to keep holding or just dump them, do think your Inv-coach could guide me with portfolio-restructuring as i wouldn’t mind a recommendation.
Actually, I've shuffled through a few advisors in the past, and Margaret Johnson Arndt remains the most resourceful thus far. Her strategy proves profitable, and sustainable both in a bull & bear market. Most likely, her deets can be found on the net, so you can confirm yourself.
When you build "cookiecutter" development homes/condos at a rapid pace to meet $$$deadlines for contractor bonuses, this is what you get, shoddy workmanship and it happens all over the country.
ALL new homeowners should have a home inspector at their closing walk through and at the end of their year warranty!! It is the most important purchase you ever make, so have an expert on your side !!
This is why I love my 1955 home. Does it look great? No but there are few structural problems. I have seen so many of these stories and sometimes the company will go bankrupt. I would never buy new construction.
bought one of those cookie cutter homes here in NorCal from the developer. No big issues; but one area of comfort is that during construction the developer invited me to visit the in-progress home as many times as I wanted to, usually unaccompanied - and actively encouraged that pictures be taken during the build to record locations of pipes, wiring, etc. I had to sign numerous liability forms for being on a construction site but it gave me some comfort that nothing was being hidden.
It's also a problem in Texas. They slap houses up as fast as they can and take buyers for granted. Some states are growing too fast and these are the problems that are happening.
Facts! But a lot of people also don't realize that work is contracted out and then subcontracted down 2-3times sometimes. At that point someone who isn't even licensed or experienced is the one now building the home.
It's no secret new homes are made poorly. Companies would rather get the house built as fast and as cheap as possible even if it means cutting corners.
tip for all the prospective buyers of any new home, and current Meritage customers, “Builder Grade” means the lowest possible quality that can pass code-if there is an applicable code. if no code, then it means complete crap. Buyer beware.
We bought an older (2001) Meritage home. As someone else commented here about "planting" issues, our home has sustained water / structural damage to an exterior wall, due to plants being placed up against the foundation. Our foundation repair company said no plants within 10 feet of the foundation. We've also had to address a drainage issue on one side of the home. Otherwise, issues haven't been too bad. Just keep stuff like that in mind, and understand that new does not mean good.
Ten feet seems awfully far away to plant shrubs and flowers. I’m so used to seeing homes nestled into foundation plantings that a house would seem naked without them. Many houses in Europe do not have foundation plantings and it’s a very barren look IMO.
We bought a brand new 5-bedroom house for $29,000 in 1969. Recently saw that it’s now listed at $750,000 and it’s in crappy condition and in a now sketchy neighborhood.
Excellent series by Channel 12. I used to live in one of these matchstick houses in the Phoenix metro. Never again. Now I'm happy in my forever block home which is 80 years old. Builders used to take pride in their work, but now old fashioned craftmanship is unfortunately a thing of the past. 😪
This has been a problem for decades throughout the country when you build tract homes. Especially if you buy one of the last homes built in that subdivision. The workers are burned out and just want to finish the project and leave.
this is what happens when we let corporate conglomerates take over our nation and reduce everything to nothing in the name of profits. And no one is saying they cant make money but they are clearly taking us all to the cleaners.
With our new built home we had an inspector for every phase of the contraction. Fortunately we didn't have many issues during the construction process and all minor things that were covered under the 1 year warranty were addressed in a timely manner. Anything that was "major" we were able to get someone onsite the next day by calling the direct emergency number. Anything that was cosmetic has been taken care of within a few weeks.
We're building in FL, and our builder sends us weekly updates, and we'll go down and check on it every other month until the final walk-through with our home inspector. I'm a real estate appraiser, and I always recommend a home inspector.
bomb a country steal their labor to pay cheap prices complain about not being "made in america" can you find a group of people with any less self-awareness?
This boomer was smarter than that. Bought a home built in 1973, been here 11 years and not😅 a single issue it’s what was already here. New appliances Bought on day 1 were replaced last year, new dishwasher arriving next week.
Home owners need to know the UBC TOO, IT'S SAD. I HAD A ISSUE WITH MY NEW HOME AND TOOK OFF WORK 3X FOR IT AND EACH TIME KEPT GETTING TOLD BY THE 2 GUYS THAT WOULD SHOW UP (SUPPOSEDLY FROM TWO DIFFERENT TRADES) THAT THE OTHER TRADE NEEDS TO BE THERE TOO. AFTER TAKING OFF 3X AND GETTING TOLD THIS AGAIN I BLOCKED THE DOOR SO THEY COULDN'T LEAVE AND TOLD THEM THAT THEY WILL FIX THE ISSUE OR I'LL CALL THE POLICE. VOILA THEY TURNED AROUND AND FIXED THE PROBLEM IN 15 MINUTES.
And people wondered why I checked progress every day during our new home build. I caught crooked bathroom and kitchen tile, wrong paint colors, incorrectly installed tile(it had a design on it), and, excuse me, where are you putting those cellar stairs??? Yeah. My home was move in ready and perfect.
I'm just months away from 60, and it blows my mind I'm old enough to qualify for living in these 55-plus developments. It doesn't seem too long ago I was in my 20s.
All new homes are this way. We bought new because we deal with health issues and didn’t want to deal with an old home having issues. 🤷♀️ The luck never seems to strike 😂 we are handling our new home issues and eventually will have this home better than they built it.
Watching home inspectors videos from there those houses are pure garbage and what ever city inspectors are passing them should not only be fired but prosecuted. He/she is taking bribes from the builder
I thought I was alone! Bought a DRB home and OMG, it’s a nightmare!!! I wish I bought an older house ….5 months into this and not I’m ready to sell at this point …
Skilled craftsmen retired 20 years ago and young people were not willing to work and learn from them. The workforce is worse today with the current generations that got a trophy for just showing up. No pride in workmanship, no personal reward for a job well done. After Generation X we have adult children running the world.
Who is creating a list of all these garbage development companies? It needs to be widely shared. In this video it is implied that these defects are at least fixable. But you hear about new homes with such profound structural defects that they have been condemned.
This is what the builders tell u to do focus on the cosmetic issues not the actual problems. My dr horton house is done pretty good, dont know where to put up the blue tape!!.
I knew a couple that bought a new home there and signed the closing paperwork and believed the promises that things would get fixed. They called over and over to get things fixed. They realized near the one year warrantee expiration they were going to be screwed. They mentioned they thought it was time for lawyers and then suddenly all these crews came over to fix things.
I have bought 2 new construction homes. A townhouse in 2009 and a single family detached earlier this year. In both cases, I had my own home inspector come in before closing and inspect the house,, then the builder's 3rd party inspector inspected the house and then me and my realtor did a walk through and submitted all of the findings to the construction manager and they had to fix it before closing. If a builder discourages you from getting your own home inspector or tells you that they use a 3rd party inspector not affiliated with them so you don't need your own inspector, run away very fast. It's fine to let the 3rd party inspector hired by them do whatever but get your own as well and do it before they do theirs. Also, get another one done about 11 months in cause a lot of builders have a 1 year warranty on the construction of the house. That way, you can have them fix any known issues.
2:24 Exactly. Companies have been able to ride on these excuses for the last few years, along with running skeleton crews for cheap while claiming "labor shortage".
Sad this happened to all these people. I would never build a new home. I would rather have an inspection on a older home and buy it. Stop building that would mean they would stop getting endless flows of capital. Most builders seem to be always in pursuit of the next deal. I have a very small business and have been told that if your not growing your dying. I don't agree do your work well and with integrity and business will follow. Less volume but happier customers and steady profit.
Rules: 1. Understand zoning laws and buy your own land. 2. Build your own home custom. With a reputable custom, home builder. Review the contract with a lawyer. 3. During your build, have independent inspections for each stage of the build. 4. Make sure there is no HOA
Those seem like very sound rules. Any suggested rules for finding a reputable custom builder? Preferably one that isn’t looking to only build mansions.
In Alberta, we have the 10 year home owner's warranty which covers everything within the home as well as the envelope of the house structure. Builders have to apply and maintain standards to get into the program to offer this service and have to be good builders. Everyone in the province knows to make sure their builder is a member. I just recently moved into a new townhouse and had a number of small issues, all were fixed to my satisfaction within 5 months (had a couple of fixes that needed warmer weather). In the first year, the builder offers a warranty too so double protected by both. We have cowboy builders in Alberta but only those that don't do due diligence would get caught with a bad builder. So sorry for these folks, it is not right when they have put down their life's savings. Disgraceful.
Anytime I see a house that was obviously flipped - I just move on to the next one. No developer is going to treat the construction with the same care you would. They will use cheap materials and rush the job to make maximum profit.
One the major problems is every one protects these builders and contractors. So many shows point out the flaws of these homes, but they blur out faces, bleep out names etc when it comes to outing which companies built them.
Buying a house from a track builder is like buying a hamburger from McDonalds. Everything will be made with the cheapest materials and contractors they can find. Unfortunately that is their business model. Subs are hired solely based on whos' the cheapest. Iv been in construction for 20 years, track builders have always been this bad. Unfortunately if you cant afford a reputable custom builder, your going to get a crappy house. The cheapest subs employ the cheapest labor.
My parents' former 1967 tract home in Fort Worth was built with more than satisfactory quality. I grew up in that home, and it's still in fine shape today, or looks like it as I drive by. I think the builder was Comer Homes, probably a local builder no longer in business.
my builder I work with says he'll never buy our build a new house. always best to buy a fixer upper and make it the way you want it. too many people out there building houses don't know what they are doing.
The problem is, some of the instructions online on how to put together a proper house are not available on UA-cam or TikTok that's why most of those houses are incomplete.
In this wonderful Christian nation, we are ruled by “I got mine so screw you”. Money and profit is the true god of this country and he’s very awesome and powerful
For a long time after World War II people had a strong sense of civic duty. There isn’t a sense that we are all in it together any more. Even the politicians do not talk about “us” anymore, the ones that get elected openly celebrate greed and spite.
When having my moderate sized house built years ago and talking with construction guys, comparing mine to really expensive houses, they said , those are probably worst built than mine. My house with minor issues that builder fixed !
Cookie cutter homes have been made poorly in the Phoenix area for over 30 years. I inspected on a weekly basis a home my parents bought as a new build around 2004. A couple of problems every week for 31/2 months and in addition the workers used the attic as a garbage dump as the ceiling drywall was being installed and any corner of any room as a urinal before the carpet went in. All was documented with pics. The builder hated my guts.
@@tdc9136 Maybe whizzing in the corner of the room under construction is standard practice in their home country. But yeah there's no excuse for that. I don't think I'm ever buying a house. You don't really own it anyway, the government does.
Las vegas is the same I'm in the gatage industry ever since the housing crisis 08 newer homes have been cutting corners on garages motors that last 2 or three years part wise.. Also customers in New homes always tell me the water heater are failing ac units are cheaper and other building issues.. ridiculous
I'm a bit worried about this. It's bad enough that homes are out of reach in price now, but even when you are "fortunate" your property isn't always up to par, with the builder's being evasive. Those builders are drifting dangerously close to tofu dreg. If we can't count on our biggest, most necessary investments (car, house, etc), what can we count on then?
No, wait, you're missing one huge element: where is the government inspector in all of this? Yes, you should NEVER "close on a home" before having your inspector come in but where are the records of the permit inspectors. I'm betting there is some government corruption here as well. ps: if the seller doesn't allow a potential customer to look in the attic or up on the roof, run, don't walk, away.
agree with sentiment, but doesn’t need to be a “government” inspector. yeah, a huge red flag to say “if you inspect my work independently it voids the warranty”. Just think about that people, why in the heck would you accept such BS? No one is forcing you to sign that contract, and with that term it is a huge red flag that they want to hide their issues from you and then avoid or delay any fixes in the future.
As a Realtor who see all kinds of homes, the new homes are cheaply made and in 30 years will look worse and older than my home built in 1910. The problem is the home builders are promising homes but they do not have the laborers (immigrant labor that is) they used to have who could knock out homes with no problem. Now they are cutting corners to meet unrealistic deadlines. My client’s homes was 14 months behind schedule and he is finding issues all the time after 2 months moving in.
Menifee CA has a lot of new homes. I toured some of the models and they are so crappy and cheaply built. They look good so people fall for them. My parents house was built in 1955. No comparison. I would absolutely buy an older well built house. The new ones are a joke.
Meanwhile these homes aren’t cheap. In CA n the middle of nowhere Meritage newly built homes are around 1 million bucks!! And shoddy. Probably because everyone building the homes of Mexicans and they don’t care about quality. I saw new homes where the wood paneling that went up the word was splitting where the name was placed…ridiculous.
So this is a perfect example of how capitalism does not work anymore. These customers are being (basically)told just pay more money - they’re getting away with not being held accountable. And this is a specific example of how companies shouldn’t be allowed to keep doing their business if it’s actually hurting other people. Warranties insurance, and all these major complications aren’t working either. They’re just not. We need a change now.
Well, I'll say this: For All capitalism's flaws and risks, socialism is worse! Empty retail and grocery ailes, courtesy of the COVID lockdowns and continuing supply chain woes, has given a good sample of how the socialism/communism model "works".
Well we got lots of examples of how communism didn’t work during the Cold War. (Except now that China has combined capitalism with communism it’s a lot more confusing.) Socialism is not the same thing as communism though. Europeans understand the difference and I don’t know why our teachers muddled that point when I was in school. It maybe wasn’t that important then, but it’s becoming important now because young people are losing all faith in capitalism.
@@MisterMikeTexas Socialism for the wealthy-bootstrapping for the rest of us? Big companies CEO's recieving Golden parachutes of million dollar retirement aFTER destroying their own company? Thats how it is in America! The majoritey of people work endlesslesly just to get by while the 1% wealthy have more than they'll ever need. It's absolutely unAmerican! Socialism deosn't have to be exactly like it was in the past, and also doesn't have to be the answer to capitalism-but capitalism definitely needs to change, I don't think we have a choice any more.
There should be no way to force closing until a 3rd party inspection is complete. The city/state need to stop the builder from starting any more new homes aka hold the building permit
One new home buyer said she had discovered a problem with the electrical system. The builder had to tear down a wall to get to the issue and they found trash from a fast food inside the wall, in her new house.
Disposable society, disposable relationships, disposable homes. Everything is the same.
Yah it’s pretty bad now. How long can this go on?
Western society in a nutshell
okay boomer
@@derrickraccoon7370 Wow, that's creative. No other dumb new thing that everyone just mindlessly repeats?
@@HeadStronger-HS it won't sustain. it cannot sustain. disposable mentality will eventually discard it's self into the trashbin of history.
As a retired architect, new housing construction in the United States is abysmal. So many unqualified people running around pretending to be “designers” and “master” builders. A waste of money on something that will probably be the most expensive thing someone owns. ☠️
Any advice for someone who wants a new build? The population of adults has grown so much (children of boomers I guess) that there isn’t nearly enough older stock to house people.
Lol retired? You look like you were being potty trained two weeks ago.
No, Jorge, building a house on The Sims doesn't make you a architect.
What is with every business today "subcontracting out" which means the main builder can bow out of any responsibility for this crappy workmanship??
@@andreah6379 In an ideal world, it would mean that you get specialists for tasks, instead of generalists working for the builder. But I agree that the company then has a convenient scapegoat and doesn’t take full responsibility for the work, even if it was their hire.
@andreah6379 this isn't new 😅😅😅😅
The residents should hang out in front of the model homes and warn new potential buyers by showing them pictures of the real quality of their homes.
It’s a red state. They’re too busy bullying school board meetings, throwing away bud light store, arguing with Target over pride displays.
Yep
Exactly, but unfortunately, affordable housing, new house construction is very limited and buyers are often desperate.
These homes that are worth 500k or more should actually be worth 250k or less.🤣
Nailed it.
Try 150k
Asking a real estate agent whether you should buy a home right now is like to asking an alcoholic whether they think you should have a drink lol. Homes in my neighborhood that cost around $450k in sales in 2019 are now going for $800 to $950k. Every seller in my neighborhood is currently making a $350k profit. Simply unreal. In all honesty, deflation is what we require. The only other option is for many people to go bankrupt, which would also be bad for the economy. That is the only way to return to normal.
@@LionTowercoporation I'd be glad to get the help of one, but just how can one spot a reputable one?
@@LionTowercoporation She appears to be well-educated and well-read. I ran a Google search on her name and came across her website… thank you for sharing.
7% mortgage rates are hardly crazy. I sold real estate when they were 18%.
But the structure of the economy was different, so there's that.
You're absolutely right
Now imagine what you can't see. A lot of these homes the developer cheaps out and instead of using orianted strand board around the entire perimeter of the house they just use it in a couple of spots and use styrofoam instead. Basically you get a mostly styrofoam house instead of wood paneling.
Las vegas is the same
I'm in the gatage industry ever since the housing crisis 08 newer homes have been cutting corners on garages motors that last 2 or three years part wise..
Also customers in New homes always tell me the water heater are failing ac units are cheaper and other building issues.. ridiculous
Imo, OSB isn’t better than styrofoam. It’s highly flammable, structurally weak, off gases like an oil field. Fire fighters hate them.
Not even styrofoam. Some of these houses are sheathed in cardboard.
Styrofoam. Some of this stuff reminds me of what I seen in housing in China. WTF
@@josron6088 Styrofoam is a good insulating material for homes in the southwest. I'm okay with it as long as it's used on top of the OSB.
And this is why I bought an older home in an established neighborhood. At 20 years or more, you can see the foundation problems, water issues, planting issues(in my case).
💯
Smart.
Definitely depends on the area. In Vegas we just bought a home from 1998 which is considered ancient but, our friends that have new homes say they're cheap and fall apart. It made sense because we do not have much rain, snow, or other weather patterns that cause excessive wear and tear.
You have planting issues because of soil quality/depth, simply digging a foot down reveals what the substrate is, this too is why some places there the soil can't support plants/grass......
@@heyrod59 oh I didn’t mean it in the sense that plants will not grow lol far from that. I mean the idiots who planted all these beautiful trees and other plants did not know what they were doing. I have a beautiful weeping mulberry right over my water and sewer lines and directly beneath the power line to my house. I have a crepe myrtle that was planted right by my back fence and is just too close to it to grow nicely. I have another tree, can’t remember which kind growing right underneath the power lines near my alley. I have holly growing too close to the house and very well established and popping baby hollys. I have another tree close to the holly growing right next to a bathroom wall…. The people planting were idiots. I have a very old white maple in front, rare for my area, butcher cut to where water has been going into the tree. Oh and then they put rock all over the place and let grass grow over it meaning that when I mow I have a big chance of popping out a rock from underneath the lawn mower. The whole lawn will need to be excavated at some point…
Thanks for doing this story. Now, I will never by a Home from Meritage!
Do not buy a home from ANY national builder, they are all the same !!!
any home from any person or company is naturally gonna be imperfect. Deal with it...These people need to stop whining and hire a handyman to fix their stuff..It sucks and it's gonna cost em but wtf? All they do is whine.....imho.
@@davidwright873👈 Scumbag home builder?
this is the best discipline…and lawsuits
Bought my house built in 1983. All plumbing is original, bathrooms, hardwood floors, foundation- all still in great shape. My agent wanted to show me new builds and I refused.
We bought a 90-year-old house that needed some work when we could've afforded something newer. We have solid wood doors and solid wood floors and the entire structure was built so well! It's been much easier for us to update and renovate than friends of ours who are trying to redo all the low-quality crap the developer who flipped and sold them their home. They've had to rip a lot of stuff out because it's so cheap it's not even worth fixing.
Hmm my father designed our home and it was built in 1995. The stain glass mosaic window in the living room is worth preserving and I hope my home last for over a hundred years you purchasing a 90 year old home and fixing it up gives me hope.
I am doing the same thing for my 1951 brick house which is slowly renovating. I call this house "The Tank" because it's built strong and well. 💪
I notice houses built in the 90's started becoming very low quality. They look nice, but they're money pits.
That’s what I thought about doing, buy an old house for the fraction of a new construction, and renovate it to my liking for a few thousand dollars
They want ridiculous money for failing down shacks now. Unless you get a downtown home in a small town or city. Those are quite affordable the last I looked.
We had our house built in 2013 by Taylor Morrison. I had to get 2 sheets for my complaint sheet. Had to be detected and reported within a year. I live in Goodyear, AZ. One really obvious mistake is upon final walk thru ,my husband ,realtor, and the project manager were talking in my kitchen and I leaned my elbow on the bar area countertop and it tilted a lot. It wasn't even attached! It's beyond ridiculous the unfinished work I preceeded to find.
We bought a new meritage home in 2020 it was a nightmare we did the 1 year home inspection and they still didn’t fix the issues. Part of the problem is the quality of contractors in the valley there’s no real education /training program. A lot of it unlicensed work too.
fix it yourself beta male
Pick your builder like you would pick a spouse - this is a long term commitment! Understand the difference between a spec builder and a custom builder. With a spec builder it’s all about delivery, getting the house under contract. With a custom builder it’s about reputation. Custom builders charge more per square foot, but when you pick based on reputation you get peace of mind with a quality product that has few to zero issues.
It's a little late to be shouting that..Once you have the house, deal with it...
@@davidwright873 ? I didn't buy this house. My words were meant for potential new house buyers.
BINGO🎉🎉🎉💃💃💃
words of wisdom
@@davidwright873his comment is primarily for people who are going to buy, but it is also helpful and necessary for those who have bought as you have to accept your part in all of this in order to move forward in a way where you can get results and not stress over it all. a lot of these buyers are jumping at price point and making a heroic assumption about quality, without considering the differences in quality across builders. take responsibility for your own mistakes so that you can get resolution going forward and keep your sanity. If all you are going to do is blame others, as if you had no responsibility, well, good luck, you’ll never get resolution either.
I’m closing in on my retirement and I’d like to move from Minnesota to a warmer climate, but the prices on homes and the qualities are stupidly ridiculous and Mortgage prices has been skyrocketing on a roll(currently over 7%) do I just invest my spare cash into stock and wait for a housing crash or should I go ahead to buy a home anyways.
A recession as bad it can be, provides good buying opportunities in the markets if you’re careful and it can also create volatility giving great short time buy and sell opportunities too. This is not financial advise but get buying, cash isn’t king at all in this time!
On the contrary, even if you’re not skilled, it is still possible to hire one. I am a project manager and my personal portfolio of approximately $750k took a big hit in April due to the crash. I quickly got in touch with a financial-planner that devised a defensive strategy to protect and profit from my portfolio this red season. I’ve made over $350k since then.
@@MarkFreeman-xi3rk I've been thinking of going that route been holding on to a bunch of stocks that keeps tanking and I don't know if to keep holding or just dump them, do think your Inv-coach could guide me with portfolio-restructuring as i wouldn’t mind a recommendation.
Actually, I've shuffled through a few advisors in the past, and Margaret Johnson Arndt remains the most resourceful thus far. Her strategy proves profitable, and sustainable both in a bull & bear market. Most likely, her deets can be found on the net, so you can confirm yourself.
Insightful... I curiously looked up her name on the internet and I found her site and i must say she seems proficient, thanks for sharing.
When you build "cookiecutter" development homes/condos at a rapid pace to meet $$$deadlines for contractor bonuses, this is what you get, shoddy workmanship and it happens all over the country.
NEVER close on a house until your fully satisfied and all issues fixed.
ALL new homeowners should have a home inspector at their closing walk through and at the end of their year warranty!! It is the most important purchase you ever make, so have an expert on your side !!
Why is the most important purchase warranteed for only 1 year?
This is why I love my 1955 home. Does it look great? No but there are few structural problems. I have seen so many of these stories and sometimes the company will go bankrupt. I would never buy new construction.
This is why you need to get your own inspections and not rely on the builders inspector.
And check on the inspector's reputation. Even a good one will miss stuff.I know, I found problems later on 3 homes that were all inspected.
Thats why i love older homes built before the 70s.
I left the valley 12 years ago. Apparently, not much has changed. Shoddy builders have been a problem there since the '70s when I first arrived.
bought one of those cookie cutter homes here in NorCal from the developer. No big issues; but one area of comfort is that during construction the developer invited me to visit the in-progress home as many times as I wanted to, usually unaccompanied - and actively encouraged that pictures be taken during the build to record locations of pipes, wiring, etc. I had to sign numerous liability forms for being on a construction site but it gave me some comfort that nothing was being hidden.
It's also a problem in Texas. They slap houses up as fast as they can and take buyers for granted. Some states are growing too fast and these are the problems that are happening.
My brother is an electrician and its crazy how common shotty work is, even on million dollar homes. Absolutely horrible and unfair.
Single-family homes in California now start at $1M-plus.
Facts! But a lot of people also don't realize that work is contracted out and then subcontracted down 2-3times sometimes. At that point someone who isn't even licensed or experienced is the one now building the home.
@@james2004TxVet And the Southern Border is wide open! A many-tiers-down subcontractor's dream! Lot's of cash under the table.
We need quality.
Can troll nuts even purchase a home?
It's no secret new homes are made poorly. Companies would rather get the house built as fast and as cheap as possible even if it means cutting corners.
tip for all the prospective buyers of any new home, and current Meritage customers, “Builder Grade” means the lowest possible quality that can pass code-if there is an applicable code. if no code, then it means complete crap. Buyer beware.
We bought an older (2001) Meritage home. As someone else commented here about "planting" issues, our home has sustained water / structural damage to an exterior wall, due to plants being placed up against the foundation. Our foundation repair company said no plants within 10 feet of the foundation. We've also had to address a drainage issue on one side of the home.
Otherwise, issues haven't been too bad. Just keep stuff like that in mind, and understand that new does not mean good.
Ten feet seems awfully far away to plant shrubs and flowers. I’m so used to seeing homes nestled into foundation plantings that a house would seem naked without them. Many houses in Europe do not have foundation plantings and it’s a very barren look IMO.
We bought a brand new 5-bedroom house for $29,000 in 1969. Recently saw that it’s now listed at $750,000 and it’s in crappy condition and in a now sketchy neighborhood.
If anyone has driven by all those new apartments going up, u can just see it being built cheaply with cheap wood...
I would put a big "shoddy workmanship" sign in my front yard for realtors and prospective buyers of other nearby houses to see.
Excellent series by Channel 12. I used to live in one of these matchstick houses in the Phoenix metro. Never again. Now I'm happy in my forever block home which is 80 years old. Builders used to take pride in their work, but now old fashioned craftmanship is unfortunately a thing of the past. 😪
This has been a problem for decades throughout the country when you build tract homes. Especially if you buy one of the last homes built in that subdivision. The workers are burned out and just want to finish the project and leave.
this is what happens when we let corporate conglomerates take over our nation and reduce everything to nothing in the name of profits. And no one is saying they cant make money but they are clearly taking us all to the cleaners.
Good point…….
THE BUILDER .SHOULD BUILD THE HOME THE RIGHT WAY ON THE FIRST TIME
With our new built home we had an inspector for every phase of the contraction. Fortunately we didn't have many issues during the construction process and all minor things that were covered under the 1 year warranty were addressed in a timely manner. Anything that was "major" we were able to get someone onsite the next day by calling the direct emergency number. Anything that was cosmetic has been taken care of within a few weeks.
We're building in FL, and our builder sends us weekly updates, and we'll go down and check on it every other month until the final walk-through with our home inspector. I'm a real estate appraiser, and I always recommend a home inspector.
Boomers coming to grips with reality in America 2023.
bomb a country
steal their labor to pay cheap prices
complain about not being "made in america"
can you find a group of people with any less self-awareness?
I'm a boomer! My advice about new homes: DON'T😅
This boomer was smarter than that. Bought a home built in 1973, been here 11 years and not😅 a single issue it’s what was already here. New appliances Bought on day 1 were replaced last year, new dishwasher arriving next week.
Home owners need to know the UBC TOO, IT'S SAD. I HAD A ISSUE WITH MY NEW HOME AND TOOK OFF WORK 3X FOR IT AND EACH TIME KEPT GETTING TOLD BY THE 2 GUYS THAT WOULD SHOW UP (SUPPOSEDLY FROM TWO DIFFERENT TRADES) THAT THE OTHER TRADE NEEDS TO BE THERE TOO. AFTER TAKING OFF 3X AND GETTING TOLD THIS AGAIN I BLOCKED THE DOOR SO THEY COULDN'T LEAVE AND TOLD THEM THAT THEY WILL FIX THE ISSUE OR I'LL CALL THE POLICE. VOILA THEY TURNED AROUND AND FIXED THE PROBLEM IN 15 MINUTES.
Welcome to Az...home of the cheapest labor in the southwest 😂😂..get what ya pay for labor wise
Bingo
South Carolina is just as bad. Many builders here just declare bankruptcy ,move to another state and do it again.
And people wondered why I checked progress every day during our new home build. I caught crooked bathroom and kitchen tile, wrong paint colors, incorrectly installed tile(it had a design on it), and, excuse me, where are you putting those cellar stairs??? Yeah. My home was move in ready and perfect.
You were an exception to the rule. Most build contracts don’t allow the purchaser in the home until the final walk through.
I'm just months away from 60, and it blows my mind I'm old enough to qualify for living in these 55-plus developments. It doesn't seem too long ago I was in my 20s.
All new homes are this way. We bought new because we deal with health issues and didn’t want to deal with an old home having issues. 🤷♀️ The luck never seems to strike 😂 we are handling our new home issues and eventually will have this home better than they built it.
Watching home inspectors videos from there those houses are pure garbage and what ever city inspectors are passing them should not only be fired but prosecuted. He/she is taking bribes from the builder
Thanks for investigating all this! Please keep doing so! This whole rip off thing is out of control and getting worse
I thought I was alone! Bought a DRB home and OMG, it’s a nightmare!!! I wish I bought an older house ….5 months into this and not I’m ready to sell at this point …
Skilled craftsmen retired 20 years ago and young people were not willing to work and learn from them. The workforce is worse today with the current generations that got a trophy for just showing up. No pride in workmanship, no personal reward for a job well done. After Generation X we have adult children running the world.
Who is creating a list of all these garbage development companies? It needs to be widely shared. In this video it is implied that these defects are at least fixable. But you hear about new homes with such profound structural defects that they have been condemned.
This is what the builders tell u to do focus on the cosmetic issues not the actual problems. My dr horton house is done pretty good, dont know where to put up the blue tape!!.
I knew a couple that bought a new home there and signed the closing paperwork and believed the promises that things would get fixed. They called over and over to get things fixed. They realized near the one year warrantee expiration they were going to be screwed. They mentioned they thought it was time for lawyers and then suddenly all these crews came over to fix things.
Put a sign on your yard warning potential buyers not to buy from that builder until they fix all the problems
I have bought 2 new construction homes. A townhouse in 2009 and a single family detached earlier this year. In both cases, I had my own home inspector come in before closing and inspect the house,, then the builder's 3rd party inspector inspected the house and then me and my realtor did a walk through and submitted all of the findings to the construction manager and they had to fix it before closing.
If a builder discourages you from getting your own home inspector or tells you that they use a 3rd party inspector not affiliated with them so you don't need your own inspector, run away very fast. It's fine to let the 3rd party inspector hired by them do whatever but get your own as well and do it before they do theirs. Also, get another one done about 11 months in cause a lot of builders have a 1 year warranty on the construction of the house. That way, you can have them fix any known issues.
Meritage is no good. Stay a way.
No unions, no quality controls.
Screw unions. Nothing to do with that. I was in a union for 2 years. Lazy people
exactly these non union contractors building all this trash and paying mcdonalds wages to their workers obviously they wont care
AZ developers really took all these fools.
2:24 Exactly. Companies have been able to ride on these excuses for the last few years, along with running skeleton crews for cheap while claiming "labor shortage".
The builders make astronomical profits.
Insurance companies and lenders should refuse t offer their services to these builders.
Sad this happened to all these people. I would never build a new home. I would rather have an inspection on a older home and buy it. Stop building that would mean they would stop getting endless flows of capital. Most builders seem to be always in pursuit of the next deal. I have a very small business and have been told that if your not growing your dying. I don't agree do your work well and with integrity and business will follow. Less volume but happier customers and steady profit.
This is why I didn't buy new. I just bought a 12 year old house at the beginning of the year. I knew they were cutting corners to get these out.
DO NOT BUY A D.R. HORTON HOME, ANYWHERE, ESPECIALLY IN NW ARKANSAS!!!!!! YOU WILL REGRET IT!
Rules:
1. Understand zoning laws and buy your own land.
2. Build your own home custom. With a reputable custom, home builder. Review the contract with a lawyer.
3. During your build, have independent inspections for each stage of the build.
4. Make sure there is no HOA
Those seem like very sound rules. Any suggested rules for finding a reputable custom builder? Preferably one that isn’t looking to only build mansions.
if you're following rule 1, ¿is rule 4 really a possibility?
no one forced them to take ownership lol
In Alberta, we have the 10 year home owner's warranty which covers everything within the home as well as the envelope of the house structure. Builders have to apply and maintain standards to get into the program to offer this service and have to be good builders. Everyone in the province knows to make sure their builder is a member. I just recently moved into a new townhouse and had a number of small issues, all were fixed to my satisfaction within 5 months (had a couple of fixes that needed warmer weather). In the first year, the builder offers a warranty too so double protected by both. We have cowboy builders in Alberta but only those that don't do due diligence would get caught with a bad builder. So sorry for these folks, it is not right when they have put down their life's savings. Disgraceful.
Anytime I see a house that was obviously flipped - I just move on to the next one. No developer is going to treat the construction with the same care you would. They will use cheap materials and rush the job to make maximum profit.
One the major problems is every one protects these builders and contractors. So many shows point out the flaws of these homes, but they blur out faces, bleep out names etc when it comes to outing which companies built them.
Buying a house from a track builder is like buying a hamburger from McDonalds. Everything will be made with the cheapest materials and contractors they can find. Unfortunately that is their business model. Subs are hired solely based on whos' the cheapest. Iv been in construction for 20 years, track builders have always been this bad. Unfortunately if you cant afford a reputable custom builder, your going to get a crappy house. The cheapest subs employ the cheapest labor.
My parents' former 1967 tract home in Fort Worth was built with more than satisfactory quality. I grew up in that home, and it's still in fine shape today, or looks like it as I drive by. I think the builder was Comer Homes, probably a local builder no longer in business.
It's the same in Charlotte,NC. There's new condos and neighborhoods popping up everywhere.
I knew this would happen when i seen houses popping up left and right during the pandemic. They just wanted a quick buck
my builder I work with says he'll never buy our build a new house. always best to buy a fixer upper and make it the way you want it. too many people out there building houses don't know what they are doing.
In my area the fixer uppers cost as much as the brand new homes. It’s insane.
@@PamelaBellOfficial wow, this housing market is insain.
The problem is, some of the instructions online on how to put together a proper house are not available on UA-cam or TikTok that's why most of those houses are incomplete.
Most underrated comment! 😅
I watch his UA-cam shorts daily
Great home inspector
I would take an older house where the issues have long been addressed over the new JUNK that builders are putting out today. 🤔🤗
Fischer Homes is the same way. I’ve had to fix so many issues and even had to complain to all of the executives. They just don’t care.
In this wonderful Christian nation, we are ruled by “I got mine so screw you”. Money and profit is the true god of this country and he’s very awesome and powerful
For a long time after World War II people had a strong sense of civic duty. There isn’t a sense that we are all in it together any more. Even the politicians do not talk about “us” anymore, the ones that get elected openly celebrate greed and spite.
When having my moderate sized house built years ago and talking with construction guys, comparing mine to really expensive houses, they said , those are probably worst built than mine. My house with minor issues that builder fixed !
Cookie cutter homes have been made poorly in the Phoenix area for over 30 years. I inspected on a weekly basis a home my parents bought as a new build around 2004. A couple of problems every week for 31/2 months and in addition the workers used the attic as a garbage dump as the ceiling drywall was being installed and any corner of any room as a urinal before the carpet went in. All was documented with pics. The builder hated my guts.
No portajohns at the construction site?
@@MisterMikeTexas Yeah there were but the workers from another country were too lazy to walk halfway down the street to use it.
@@tdc9136 Maybe whizzing in the corner of the room under construction is standard practice in their home country. But yeah there's no excuse for that. I don't think I'm ever buying a house. You don't really own it anyway, the government does.
Las vegas is the same
I'm in the gatage industry ever since the housing crisis 08 newer homes have been cutting corners on garages motors that last 2 or three years part wise..
Also customers in New homes always tell me the water heater are failing ac units are cheaper and other building issues.. ridiculous
I'm a bit worried about this. It's bad enough that homes are out of reach in price now, but even when you are "fortunate" your property isn't always up to par, with the builder's being evasive. Those builders are drifting dangerously close to tofu dreg. If we can't count on our biggest, most necessary investments (car, house, etc), what can we count on then?
Only buy a pre 1970 house.Only thing special about new builds is they will have more problems.
No, wait, you're missing one huge element: where is the government inspector in all of this? Yes, you should NEVER "close on a home" before having your inspector come in but where are the records of the permit inspectors. I'm betting there is some government corruption here as well. ps: if the seller doesn't allow a potential customer to look in the attic or up on the roof, run, don't walk, away.
agree with sentiment, but doesn’t need to be a “government” inspector. yeah, a huge red flag to say “if you inspect my work independently it voids the warranty”. Just think about that people, why in the heck would you accept such BS? No one is forcing you to sign that contract, and with that term it is a huge red flag that they want to hide their issues from you and then avoid or delay any fixes in the future.
Great reporting
I was thinking about retiring there. 😢 I will NEVER RETIRE THERE after watching this video.
Sorry, it's rampant nationwide. South Carolina, where I live is terrible. Safer to buy a pre 1970 house.
As a Realtor who see all kinds of homes, the new homes are cheaply made and in 30 years will look worse and older than my home built in 1910. The problem is the home builders are promising homes but they do not have the laborers (immigrant labor that is) they used to have who could knock out homes with no problem. Now they are cutting corners to meet unrealistic deadlines. My client’s homes was 14 months behind schedule and he is finding issues all the time after 2 months moving in.
Inspections should still be a part of the home buying process whether new build or not.
Glad I didn't go with Meritage but Lennar wasn't much better!!
Is Fox & Jacobs still around? They had a poor reputation over 40 years ago.
Why would you not get an inspection before closing?!
Just to note, not one of these homes would survive a Florida hurricane. They'd be flattened in minutes. That's how awful these homes are.
It’s obscene to pay these super high prices for homes while at the same time getting crap quality.
Wonderland is ready goneeeeeeeeeeeeeee
Menifee CA has a lot of new homes. I toured some of the models and they are so crappy and cheaply built. They look good so people fall for them. My parents house was built in 1955. No comparison. I would absolutely buy an older well built house. The new ones are a joke.
They know everyone is desperate for a house and they cut corners. Buy an older house. If that thing has been standing for decades, it was built RIGHT.
Yeah, but just be sure it doesn’t have decades of deferred maintenance. Fortunately that’s usually pretty visible.
Meanwhile these homes aren’t cheap. In CA n the middle of nowhere Meritage newly built homes are around 1 million bucks!! And shoddy. Probably because everyone building the homes of Mexicans and they don’t care about quality. I saw new homes where the wood paneling that went up the word was splitting where the name was placed…ridiculous.
So this is a perfect example of how capitalism does not work anymore. These customers are being (basically)told just pay more money - they’re getting away with not being held accountable. And this is a specific example of how companies shouldn’t be allowed to keep doing their business if it’s actually hurting other people.
Warranties insurance, and all these major complications aren’t working either. They’re just not. We need a change now.
Well, I'll say this: For All capitalism's flaws and risks, socialism is worse! Empty retail and grocery ailes, courtesy of the COVID lockdowns and continuing supply chain woes, has given a good sample of how the socialism/communism model "works".
Well we got lots of examples of how communism didn’t work during the Cold War. (Except now that China has combined capitalism with communism it’s a lot more confusing.) Socialism is not the same thing as communism though. Europeans understand the difference and I don’t know why our teachers muddled that point when I was in school. It maybe wasn’t that important then, but it’s becoming important now because young people are losing all faith in capitalism.
@@MisterMikeTexas Socialism for the wealthy-bootstrapping for the rest of us? Big companies CEO's recieving Golden parachutes of million dollar retirement aFTER destroying their own company? Thats how it is in America! The majoritey of people work endlesslesly just to get by while the 1% wealthy have more than they'll ever need. It's absolutely unAmerican!
Socialism deosn't have to be exactly like it was in the past, and also doesn't have to be the answer to capitalism-but capitalism definitely needs to change, I don't think we have a choice any more.
There should be no way to force closing until a 3rd party inspection is complete. The city/state need to stop the builder from starting any more new homes aka hold the building permit
Why did they agree to close if the house wasn’t finished?
Worse part is this isnt just meritage there are multiple builder in the valley doing the same thing!
🕊Quality Is Key 🔑
🕊I saw this coming
🕊🏡👸🏽
One new home buyer said she had discovered a problem with the electrical system. The builder had to tear down a wall to get to the issue and they found trash from a fast food inside the wall, in her new house.
That seems to be a frequent occurrence.
Did they not hire inspectors prior to closing?
Time to sue the home builder.
Who closes on a house that isn’t finished, and has obvious issues? Idiots…
called getting an home inspector