Why I Started This Web Site and Blog! 09/17/2010
Homes are not being built RIGHT. I’m Kathy Barto, and I should know. We discovered our home wasn't built right in November 2008, directly after an External Invasive Home Inspection revealed we needed to have the stucco and natural stone torn down; the windows and doors replaced with new construction windows and doors; and mold remediation done to a home that was only nine years old. We bought our home when it was six and one-half years old and the inspector, to whom we paid $825, said our house was "in GREAT shape." Even the Seller’s Disclosure Statement noted that there had been no moisture intrusion. To our dismay, we discovered differently. This GREAT shape translated just two years later into a full home remediation that cost us $200,000 of our own money. None of this was covered by homeowners’ insurance, because insurance companies don’t insure against “poorly constructed homes.” I began this Web site in February 2010 because what my family and I (and countless other neighbors in our over 300-home community) have experienced is inexcusable. And if all this wasn’t bad enough, what we’ve come to discover is that no one person nor entity appears to be accountable: not the township; not the township inspector who issued our home’s Certificate of Occupancy; not the builder; not the home inspector; and not even our state’s Attorney General’s Office as we were advised by our representative to hire an attorney. Our homes were built in 1999 during a good economy and there were significant corners cut. I believe that in today’s economic environment, these same corners and perhaps even more will be cut: extremely important corners such as not adhering to state and/or local Residential Building Codes and Builders' Best Practices. BuildHomesRight.com demonstrates how extensive a home remediation can be. Visit Kathy's Blog to read our remediation story - from a homeowner's point of view. And I'd like to hear from you - other homeowners. Perhaps, together, we can get legislators to enact legislation that better protects homebuyers – especially when it comes to the largest investment they will probably make in their lifetimes. God bless you. CommentsLeave a Reply |  Kathryn M. Barto AuthorHi! ArchivesOctober 2010 Categories |
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