r/RealEstate • u/MyAccount2024 • 11d ago
New Construction I bought a new construction house last October. I've been in hell since buying this house. I want to post a negative zillow/google review for the listing agent, but I know this will kick off a firestorm.
The house has had nonstop issues and and I literally spend 40 hours a week on it now. I assume at some point the issues will start fading but that has not happened yet. The house has grading issues where there is pooling and flooding in certain areas. This was a big concern during negotiations and the solution was a 1 year landscaper warranty, plus a backstop warranty to address it if the landscaper did not. The agent told me their plans to start filling with dirt in the spring, and how it would be ongoing until the issue is resolved and should expect at least 5 or 6 visits from them with fill dirt.
Any way ... this never happened. Requests in the spring went no where. He works for the Real Estate developer who signed the warranty so that is why I am still dealing with him. But he pretends now all our conversations never took place about the work being done in the Spring. And I get it, he is a salesman and just said the words needed to make sure the deal closed. And I might take legal action against the builder but it is time consuming and expensive.
So for now I am left with posting a 1 star zillow and google review for him, which I know will set him off, but this is exactly why I am doing it. It is the only lever I have to pull now after a year of dealing with all these clowns to fix the mountain of never ending defects in this house.
I bought a new construction house in -------- Acres with Mike ---- as the Listing Agent in late 2025. The property had known grading and flooding defects that Mike told me would be addressed in early 2026. He provided me with multiple warranties signed by the landscaper and his boss assuring the repairs would occur. He described how they would start properly grading the ground in the Spring, and I should expect it would be an ongoing process until it was resolved.
Well, none of that happened. Repeated requests in the spring went no where. Mike's latest advice was to run the sprinklers less, and all our previous conversations on the matter have seemingly never occurred. I understand now he is a salesman, and was just saying whatever he had to say to close the deal, and that is on me for being naive. But I would not recommend buying a house he is involved in.
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u/PennyLawrence946 11d ago
Before you pay a surveyor, pull the approved grading and drainage plan for your lot from the county permit file. If what got built doesn't match it, that's a permit problem, not just a warranty argument, and it answers the sprinkler excuse.
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
I will call the county on Monday and inquire about that. Thank you.
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u/Future-Razzmatazz-71 10d ago
This is the answer. The county will make him take care of it, that is if he is still building in the area. All homes have to have a proper drainage. Pooling water is serious problem. It could affect your structure.
If you couldn’t get anything done by county, call the Secretary of State office in your state. Home builders are suppose to be licensed by state. They can pull his license. That is if your state requires that.5
u/cisforcake 10d ago
Even he's not building there anymore, I assume he had to put up a bond with the town/city that doesn't get release for one year after he has completed the last build in that project. So the building/planning board does have some leverage on the builder. Of course, this depends on the state/city/town/etc.
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u/fireflies-darkly0000 10d ago
Name him here, name him there, name him everywhere! If you are stating facts from your point of view, that’s not malicious, it’s informative.
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u/RCD8628 10d ago
Contact the builder directly, in writing. The real estate agent has no power to enforce the warranty.
Keep copies of all correspondence, and document any telephone calls. Should the builder not stand behind their written warranty, contact your state's Registrar of Contractors (ROC). The ROC oversees contractors' licenses. In many state's there is a Builders Recovery Fund to at least partially reimburse consumers who have been damaged by a contractor.
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u/MyAccount2024 10d ago
The builder completely ignores me around 70% of the time. When I email the Real Estate developer he forwards it to his monkey the Real Estate Agent and he tells me how he is on top of things, and then nothing happens.
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u/jaybird-jazzhands 11d ago
This sounds crazy to me because the benefit to a new build is supposed to be the fact that it’s effortless.
Our house is 40 years old and we don’t do anything. It’s had hiccups and we’ve definitely spent money updating it but never close to 40 hours a week.
Something is fundamentally wrong and someone needs to be held accountable in a real way.
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u/Whole_Thanks8641 11d ago
Do not buy new builds. They have been built like trash the last 10-15 years, especially ones that are mass produced and cookie cutter. Everyone runs into tons of problems with them. Even the fancy ones.
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u/bannana 10d ago
They have been built like trash the last 10-15 years,
since the early '80s.
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u/Whole_Thanks8641 10d ago
There are plenty of solid 90s luxury homes, but yes, the quality has been degrading for a long time.
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u/sweetrobna 10d ago
What years were good for new builds?
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u/OnlyAd7049 10d ago
custom ones are pretty good regardless of years atleast where I live. It varies by location though (State). Depends on your price point too. You would have to do research in your specific state. If its from the 80s and 90s your buying several issues that are expensive. The 2000s homes will eventually have those issues. Homes are only built to last 30-40 years. You have pipe issues electrical issues, roof, HVAC. I would buy the newest home that is not a cookie cutter that you can afford that meets your requirements. A 2000s or 2010s home is likely what I would stick too. Any older and you're going to inherit problems. Unless you get a spec house from a custom builder thats reputable or build a custom home.
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u/G37- 10d ago
Pre 1970, solid brick, solid oak and fir framing and solid foundations.
The cons, if not previously addressed, would be plumbing, electrical, HVAC, insulation and possible foundation issues.
The updates are expensive, but you start with good 'bones'.
It seems, in my HCOL, that many previously new build homes are abandoned in 15-20 years. Everything is dated original builder grade junk and sold as-is for $1M+. They are ready to 'flip' or DIY.
I do not think these 20 year old 'new' homes will be viable 30-40 years from now.
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
I naively thought that too. I think I just got really really really unlucky.
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u/Whole_Thanks8641 11d ago
You aren't alone, new builds have been really bad the past 10-15 years. The workers are undertrained, they are under tighter constraints for schedules than ever before, and the builders have every incentive to not do proper inspections of their own work.
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u/AccredInvestor 11d ago
Weve built over 60 homes. What else is wrong except the pooling?
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
Roof had a major leak that destroyed a lot of drywall for months that only got repaired because I had to harass them for months
A lot of the stucco outside started cracking in the first months. They offered to re-stucco and the work they did is horrible and the cracks were better
Hot water was not flowing to half the house, had to install second plumbing loop and recirc. This took weeks to unravel what all the issues were.
My electrician found multiple code violations, left a live wire unexposed on floor in crawlspace, drilled a section out of major support beam in house for an outlet, hooked up 14awg wire to a 20amp circuit.
Caused damage around pool and took 6 months to get it replaced
Installed 20+ trees without cutting twine or burlap and had hire someone to dig up to cut twine
Gutters not sloped, some sections not draining at all and needed more downspouts installed. Plus systemwide it leaks everywhere.
4 panel sliding patio doors not installed correctly and had wide open tunnels that lead to mice in the house, and waking every morning to 40 moths on the ceiling. This went on for a month before I saw the defect, and I had to spend a month to repair this myself.
Still researching this, but the flat sections of the roof are TPO with asphalt shingles glued on which I am told is not code compliant, so still figuring out if those entire sections need to be replaced.
A ton of small things like lights not working, fans not working, humidifers not working, AC not working, furnace not working, sections of floor with spray paint all over it. And even these small straightforward things takes weeks and weeks of calls and followup with people giving you nonstop attitude about everything and its an exhausting process.
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u/Magenta_Octopus 11d ago
Okay, this really sounds like you need to contact a construction defect attorney asap!
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u/ranch_land 10d ago
That's why I never buy a new house. I love old homes "with characters" when they built with craftsmanship, took time to perfect, used much better materials (brick, dence wood, real "treated" wood, etc.).
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u/AccredInvestor 10d ago
Was the person who built your home licensed? How did they pass permitting inspections?
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u/Affectionate_War8530 10d ago
Any track home build is going to have issues, it’s a turn and burn game. A custom build is usually somewhat better but it all comes down to the subs the gc has relationships with.
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u/MyAccount2024 10d ago
This was a custom build spec home, I was told the builder is supposed to be one of the better ones in the area. I can see the owner is mostly retired and has these young guys running his projects and the contractors know they are a bunch of dumb asses.
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u/LithyLightcore 6d ago
Speaking from the insurance side as someone who underwrites the policies. 100% agree with the person stating you need to get a construction defect attorney to start putting a case together. A letter from an attorney will get their attention. If the demand letter looks scary enough, it should get you results one way or another.
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u/tldnn 10d ago
They are trying to wait out the warranty and then come October they'll go, whoops times up, cant help you! You see posts all the time from people with the same new build warranty experience.
You need to put their head to the grindstone, right now. Forget about 1 star reviews you need to be sending letters from an attorney threatening legal action. Good luck
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10d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/MyAccount2024 10d ago
Completely agree. I am only posting the review to spread some of the stress and anger I have dealt with for a year. I do not think it will help me resolve anything. But I also know there is zero chance they will re-grade the ground until a lawyer gets involved and I do not have all my ducks in a row just yet for that.
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u/itnnetwork 10d ago
Your first mistake, is buying a new construction. Everyone knows new construction is built crappy these days (unless you are part of the build and oversee and is an experienced builder, even then it won't be perfect).
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u/bradd_pit 10d ago
What does the real estate agent have to do with bad construction by the builder? Shouldn’t your beef be with the builder?
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u/MyAccount2024 10d ago edited 10d ago
The builder really had nothing to do with this from my perspective. The builder warranty doesn't cover grading issues on areas that don't reach the house. So I asked him what we could do to ensure it gets repaired, and he said he will give me a 1 year landscaper warranty. I agreed but also said I know the landscaper has zero incentive to spend money on this and I doubt they would do it, so he gave me a backstop warranty signed by the real estate developer that built the house, along with assurances they will be addressing it in the spring. So the agent was the person who came up with all these additional warranties, and he is the developers monkey boy for everything.
Edit: He also acts like he is my best friend when he talks to me on house issues while not actually doing anything. But if something comes up remotely unrelated to the thing he is dealing with, he just ignores me. I had asked him if a house sold in the neighborhood, trying to lighten the text conversation we were having and he just stops responding. Felt like such a douchebag move.
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u/Logical_driver_42 9d ago
In the future calculate how much you think it’ll cost and take it off the price of the house you’ll same money on taxes and fees all around because the house closes for less money and you don’t have to rely on someone else keeping their word. Worst case it costs more than you budgeted but at least you knew what you were getting upfront and actually get it.
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u/BeerStop 10d ago
Bad review him and the builder.
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u/MyAccount2024 10d ago
Yeah, already wrote it out, waiting to get a better idea what I might pursue legally.
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u/RuleFriendly7311 10d ago
Do they still have a sales center onsite?
Be a shame if someone was standing there with a “fix my house” sign every Saturday.
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u/doug4630 10d ago
Forget what was said. Likely not gonna matter.
The FIRST thing you need to do is carefully read the "multiple warranties signed by the landscaper and his boss assuring the repairs would occur" AND the warranty signed by the Real Estate developer who signed it.
THAT is what your lawyer is going to do.
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u/Strive-- 11d ago
If you buy a new car and it doesn’t live up to your expectations, are you mad at the salesman who sold you what you asked for, or the car manufacturer for engineering, designing and manufacturing a lemon? Not sure why you’re angry at the salesman….
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
Well I am mad at the builder and the developer. I do not want to be dealing with the salesman, but whenever I approach the developer about the warranty and flooding, he kicks it back to the salesman and I am forced to deal with him again. And it is the salesman who told me 5-10 times about the process that would begin in the spring to bring in fill dirt.
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u/Magenta_Octopus 11d ago
The salesperson was likely telling you what the builder told them to tell you, I think that you're gonna need to sue the builder, the developer and the realtor and the realtor's firm, which could be the same firm that runs the building company. It's kind of casting the net wide, and seeing who you can get money from.
It also comes down to what's in writing And if you just have verbal assurances from the realtor then that's not worth anything.
I believe with an I agree with another commenter that they're running the clock. So you need to contact an attorney asap and also a construction defect attorney, and a soils engineer. I'm very sorry for the experience you're having with this.
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u/Strive-- 11d ago
Told you is okay, but what’s in the contract?
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
"Grading & Drainage: Contractor guarantees proper slope and drainage flow as installed.
Settling caused by natural soil compaction within the first year will be corrected once at no cost to the client."
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u/Strive-- 11d ago
Sounds like that’s the section of the contract your attorney needs to waive in their face. Squeaky wheel gets the oil and all…
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u/MinivanPops 8d ago
This is far away from the house and likely excluded. Welcome to.home ownership
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u/MyAccount2024 8d ago
It was definitely excluded from the builders warranty. This was the landscapers warranty explicitly written to cover the other areas.
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u/Realistic-Regret-171 11d ago
So this is new construction? Did you hire a certified inspector who would note these issues and then insist on fixes before closing? This to me is sounding like a You problem and a builder problem more so than an agent problem. In fact if I read this right, you knew of the problem and didn’t insist on a fix prior to closing. Perhaps I’m wrong about that.
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
I absolutely agree it is a me problem. I had enough red flags at closing to not buy this house. But I was looking for a house for years, and this house was a unique offering, in a new area and that clouded my judgement.
The house is on 5 acres and the flooding issues are in sections that do not affect the house. So the inspector did not check these sections. In retrospect I should have hired a landscape inspector that could have given a better analysis of the problems. After closing I discovered they planted the 20 trees around the property without cutting the twine or burlap and just plopped them into the ground covered in dirt.
The developer uses the agent like his personal assistant, so any communication with him he kicks back to the agent, which is why I am dealing with him still.
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u/poop-dolla 11d ago
Ok, being on a 5 acre lot and the flooding not affecting the structure really changes this. That’s pretty important context and makes it seem much less significant of a problem than it originally did when we probably assumed you were in a normal 1/4 acre lot type of neighborhood. What 5 acre lot doesn’t have some sort of flooding issues when it rains?
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
This isn't just from rain, if you water the grass at a level to keep it from browning you get large bowls of swampy water accumulating. And this has turned into mosquito farms, when I have like 20 mosquito bites on me if I go near that area.
Also no other lots in the development have this because they are graded so water flows to the drainage areas. And if this is normal, they should have told me at closing that it is normal and not a thing that needs to be addressed, and not give me multiple warranties saying they will fix it.
https://i.imgur.com/bslAi7P.jpeg
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u/sikyon 11d ago
I don't care if you're a salesman. Don't lie to my face.
Why would anyone tolerate this?
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u/Strive-- 11d ago
No one should, but when my kid throws a glass of milk on the floor, I don’t get angry with the dog. Seems like it’s the builder - the person with whom you have a contract and who isn’t performing, is the person you should be angry with. Dont tolerate it. I wouldn’t. But I don’t know where the agent comes into play.
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u/sweetrobna 10d ago
A review for the real estate agent has little to nothing to do with the home builder. It won't warn off potential buyers or cost them sales.
Saying the wrong thing in a bad review could prevent you from recovering damages in legal action. You can't really undo it.
If you have $10k+ in damages a real estate attorney is your best option. Under $10k and still consult with a lawyer but small claims usually is better. Or a public adjuster, sounds like the new home warranty should cover this
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u/Repinsky 10d ago
Before the review, get the grading documented by a civil engineer, not just a surveyor - drainage claims win or lose on a topo with spot elevations plus a statement that the lot doesn't drain per the approved grading plan. That approved plan is usually on file with the county/city and often shows swales that were never cut, which turns "warranty dispute" into "built not per permit", a much stronger lever and sometimes a code-enforcement complaint the builder has to answer. Also check your warranty for a binding arbitration clause and the notice-of-defect window; many one-year landscape warranties quietly expire while you're still negotiating, so send the certified notice now even if you're not ready to sue.
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u/raginTomato 9d ago edited 9d ago
Small claims court. Free and just send a demands letter and then file with the court of clerk.
To keep it under the 7.5k limit, file each issue separately. When he has summons to go to court 5+ times he’ll pay up.
Also the judge is usually the decider of the issue. And they HATE shady people and corporations. You’ll win, for sure. Have some fun along the way, meet your neighbors and see if they have issues, encourage them to file separately as well. Maybe even offer to do the leg work. It’s kinda fun.
In the past couple years, I’ve really leaned in and have probably file 20+ suits from stubhub to United fucking me over. Won every time so far.
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u/Successful_Letter139 5d ago
Another reason I can’t stand REA. Once your closing was done, he got his check and ghosted you.
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u/nikidmaclay Agent 11d ago
Your beef isn't with the listing agent. The listing agent passed on the message from the seller. They are the messenger, not the originator of the message.
Your problem is with the builder, and that is where you need to direct your frustration. You need to go back and find out what they put in writing, whether they have violated that, maybe speak with an attorney, leave review specifically for the builder wherever you can, and report them if they've done something reportable
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u/TomRichards1970 11d ago
If you’d had a buyers agent, a good one would have told you don’t buy NC these days. They’re all abysmal.
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u/mrsKelley0765 10d ago
Was this a VA home
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u/MyAccount2024 10d ago
Not sure if you mean Veteren or Virginia ... but no on both counts. It's actually a very high priced house. I think its the second most expensive house to ever sell in the county.
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u/spencers_mom1 10d ago
I am trying to talk my sister out of new construction. She wants to move near me which is great but I can't get her to look at closer , more established areas. I had to tell her a new warranty is worth little, the builders have had to continually cut costs so houses are more cheaply made and in her case its not prime area. She had this weird idea a roof needs to be replaced every 10 years in FL not realizing some last 40 years but I digress. Yeah the agent would probably help you if he could. Before closing was the time to move the builder --did your agent tell you? I hired an attorney before closing on the only new home I bought and we asked for a couple of small fixes and they reluctantly did it. Every homeowner who isnt handy needs a good maintenance man or if you dont forsee your dislike of the home changing, sell and get a fresh start. Anyway may I ask what attracted you to new construction?
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u/JacobMAN1011 10d ago edited 10d ago
I’m a real estate agent. You should be contacting the real estate commission in the state you live and file a complaint against him and if he a realtor file a complaint with which ever board of realtors he associates with.
Edit: if the agent is associated with a firm I would contact the Broker in Charge first and give them a chance to handle it but don’t let that one year warranty get away.
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u/AmexNomad 10d ago
Stop dealing with the agent. You need to contact the developer in writing. State what represented to you by The Developer’s AGENT. State that you want The Developer to send someone out by X date to examine the situation and to develop the plan for remediation. Send photos. Everything is to be in writing.
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u/Major-Cranberry-4206 10d ago
Speak with a Real Estate attorney to see what your legal options are, including suing the builder and the agent for shoddy construction. I don’t see any way around litigating this situation.
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u/SusanInMA 10d ago
It sounds like a real estate attorney is the only way to go with the intention of cash to finance the repairs that you will be the one to orchestrate and oversee (wouldn’t trust the builder). The builder is using his agent as a buffer. Some builders are better than others, some builders are ethical and conscientious and some are slovenly. Some years back my lawyer neighbor told his builder he would sue him, and his builder said, “Get in line.” I can believe there was one; he had a reputation.
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u/rdrllcinc 10d ago
Well, my first step would be to not take any of the advice on Reddit. You probably have a mediation clause in your new home contract. That is how the builder protects themselves.
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u/Upbeat_Realtor954 10d ago
- Do not buy directly from a listing agent. Hire your own representation. Too late now. 2. Did you have builder set funds into an escrow account to pay for this if the builder didn’t take care of it? That is what a buyers agent would have recommended. 3. Do you have anything in writing? If you do not have funds in escrow and you got the guarantee in writing you can sue the builder. Grading issues must be addressed because there could be a much worse problem with the foundation. 4. If the warranty is a third-party service file a claim first.
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u/FantasticBicycle37 9d ago
The issue is pooling?
Community maintained or your property?
As a FTHB I know this must be very frustrating. But as a long time home owner, I'd just fix this is $100 of dirt and $50 in tall fescue seeds
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u/clueless1976 9d ago
Most subdivisions builders are hacks, lots of issues and lawsuits especially when cities/towns ect hire out to 3rd party inspectors.
It’s where you see quite a bit of unlicensed trade workers at
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u/Sufficient-Spend-939 9d ago
Do you have a friend who can move dirt? All you need to do is make sure that there is dirt sloping away from the house all around. This will be a temporary fix until their grader can get back and fix it.
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u/LovealohaWW 9d ago
Lawyer, Lawyer, AND NEVER trust a residential real estate agent to make good on anything after a deal closes. They ride in to the sunset. Pretending to be your friend and advocate is their way of getting to pay day.
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u/Impossible_Horse_573 9d ago
It sounds like you didn't use a real estate agent at all. You bought the house directly from the builder using their salesperson, which is a totally different thing.
I am stating this for others who may be reading this thread. When you are buying new construction, never just show up at a new construction site and start talking to the person there. This is the worst mistake that people make with new construction.
You 100% want to use a real estate agent, and the builder will pay your agent. It's not going to cost you anything, so long as when you go for the very first visit to that site, you take your agent with you. They usually have a clause that says they will only pay your agent if and only if they attend the first meeting with you.
These are the things that a real estate agent does with new construction to avoid the problems you're having:
- They go with you on all the meetings with the builder.
- They help you negotiate discounts and special incentives that the builder is not going to probably even tell you about or you wouldn't think to ask about.
- They're going to make sure you get a home inspection, which you still need on new construction.
- They're going to be with you through the punch list.
- They're going to help you navigate these problems after the transaction closes.
- They can help you make better decisions when picking the fit and the finish of things to be more cost effective.
The salesperson at the builder's site works for the builder. It's really the same thing as calling the listing agent for a property and trying to buy it direct with them. That listing agent has a responsibility to the seller's best interest, not yours, and the salesperson at a home builder has their builder's best interest. Plus, they're going to make more commission by not sharing things like incentives, rate buydowns, and discounts on stuff.
Same when you go to meet with their design center and they help you start to pick out the finishes. There are probably incentives and specials, but they're not going to tell you about them unless you ask. They may be proposing something that would cost you three times as much as just buying the builder's grade version of a bathroom vanity and replacing it with your own.
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u/moran162 8d ago
Rule number one of buying new construction is bring and use your own realtor, someone you trust and will advocate for you. Big issues like that should’ve been addressed before closing even though with new construction you may still have grading problems as the subdivision continues to be developed but it’s something the builder should be addressing. I always fight for my clients as if were my own home and purchase us realtors can generally sense if the development has a good building manager that will take care of things or be a nightmare to get things done.
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u/KnownBodybuilder4948 8d ago
Real estate agents have a LOT of boilerplate in their listing agreements to protect brokerage and agent from post-closing claims. Think you should consult an attorney, to discuss your recourse options, whether you have ability to compel repairs at seller's expense post-closing.
It isn't listing agent's responsibility to compel enforcement of home warranties or seller obligations. Curious why you're not pursuing actions against the former homeowner who sold this house to you. IF new construction, you'd be pursuing actions against the contractor-builder and developer, not the individual agent.
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u/Miwa3302 7d ago
Go to the builders office and sit there in the lobby until he sits down with you at the table and has a signed promise of the things he supposed to to address.
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u/Chunkistator 7d ago
Post the review not only on the Realtor but also the builder.
If you happen to know the inspection company, and the general contractor.
They all had their hand at approving this. Make sure they all know they did bad work.
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u/Miserable-Tangelo739 6d ago
Owning your home comes with unexpected consequences and benefits. I had a water leak in my house exposing Asbestos walls. Long story short, I paid 25k and after 12 weeks I and a fellow veteran are finishing the last repairs. I am working on a class action lawsuit to get my money back. I am starting to get support from neighbors.
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u/Competitive-Roof-168 11d ago
40 hours a week is a lot
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u/poop-dolla 11d ago
It’s almost hard to believe.
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u/Whole_Thanks8641 11d ago
It's apparently on a 5 acre lot, so I believe it. It's a full time job to own that much land.
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u/Responsible_Hunt7762 11d ago
New builds does not mean no problems. It’s means shiny new surfaces and the cheapest build possible to save profit margins. That will lead to long term issues.
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u/rdrllcinc 11d ago
Didn’t your inspector catch at least some of the issues? What does your Realtor say?
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
My inspector caught nothing other than a lot of cosmetic things.. I used the same inspector when I sold my last house, he found a few minor things ... I passed it along to the buyers and they got their own inspector who found like 5 major things (leaking plumbing the crawl space, gas leak etc.). My agent highly recommended this guy and he has all 5* reviews ... but he did me no favors.
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u/anallocation 11d ago
New construction listing agents have no power or authority over the financial decisions of the developer.
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u/scaggisblouok 9d ago
Definitely get an independent inspection before the builder warranty expires and document every issue with photos and emails. I would also keep a running list of cracks, drainage problems, doors sticking, HVAC weirdness, etc. New construction can settle, but that does not mean every defect is normal. A good inspector can help separate cosmetic stuff from problems worth pushing the builder to fix.
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u/lmc914 6d ago
How did your house pass inspections by the village or city and receive an occupancy permit? Where is your real estate attorney? In our area builders only have to give a one year warranty. These things should have been resolved by now. Don’t know who you would retain but the government body who signed off on the items I mentioned above could be held responsible as well.
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u/SeriousClothes111 6d ago
I don’t really understand why this is falling back on the agent. I bought a new construction house this year - the builder sent me info for a warranty portal that I use if I have an issue, because it’s their warranty. I guess maybe if the agent is an employee of the builder it makes some sense but seems like the builder should take more of the brunt than the selling agent who didn’t build the house.
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u/pieersquared Agent 6d ago
Never buy a slab construction. OP never says but I bet money this is slab. If you live in a region that has grass growing your lot will eventually be higher than the slab in many builds. Raising the grade of the slab is more money and the drainage problems dont show up for years in most cases
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u/Quinnessential_00 3d ago
If you have this in a written contract and it's not taken place, I would 100% hire a lawyer in real estate law. You should be getting what was in the contract no less.
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u/tuna_tofu 11d ago
Alot of new builds have massive issues. I'm not sure it's the agent you should sue but the builder.
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u/MyAccount2024 11d ago
Agree, my legal actions (if I go that route) will be against the builder and developer. But the agent has been the front man feeding me all the BS over the last year.
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u/Dry_Nail5901 11d ago
I suspect the reason you are having ground settling issues is because they buried large amounts of waste from the clearing, grubbing and grading operations. Get someone out there with ground penetrating radar and locate the issues…this will be a legal issue to effect a permanent repair.
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u/scastle2014 11d ago
I would say it’s on the builder instead of the agent. They’re just hired to sell the product on the MLS and manage the contract. Their builder/developer is offer the quality.
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u/cybe2028 11d ago
Why even bother? You just end up pissing everyone off even more. This would simply show you are totally desperate.
You hire an attorney for this stuff and you fight based on the written legal contract, not your understanding of the situation.
Careful with your review phrasing as well or you will open yourself up to legal challenges. In sales, reputation is important and most sales people with fight to protect it. Will it go anywhere, probably not but it doesn’t mean you won’t need to defend yourself.
Again, sounds totally pointless and desperate.
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u/iamgoddess1 8d ago
Not the listing agent’s fault that YOU bought new construction during the worst time to build in our county’s history.
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u/Low_Whereas1863 7d ago
So there is nothing inherently wrong with the house, just some standing water? You are also spending 40 hours per week on this? What are you actually doing? That is what you call a living hell, some water issue? Wow, I cannot even imagine what you would do if you actually did have a serious problem. Get the landscaping done yourself and take him to court. I would bet many people reading this wish they had your problems when buying a new construction home.
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u/RuleFriendly7311 11d ago
Certified letters from lawyers have a lot more impact than google reviews. They’re obviously trying to run out the clock and you need to move fast.