Tire Kicking: Secret Tests To Check A Property's Condition
Las Vegas is a bustling community that attracts thousands of new residents every month. Unfortunately, the rapid growth of Las Vegas and the high demand for new housing has caused some homebuilders to throw together residential projects quickly and without paying attention to the quality of their work. New homes are selling very quickly in Las Vegas while home builders frantically attempt to keep new construction in pace with the continual influx of new residents to the Vegas Valley area. This hectic pace of housing tract development often may lead to less than optimum home construction quality, generally speaking. Neither the homeowner nor home builder likes having to fix numerous construction flaws, even if they are covered by home warranty programs - emotions tend to fray.

Homes are more than a set of amenities -- four bedrooms, three baths, walk-in closets, etc. They're really a complex set of systems -- plumbing, electric, heat and air conditioning -- all integrated by architectural design. A home can look good on the surface and offer all the right features yet have serious systems or structural problems that make it a less-than-worthy candidate for your home investment.

So how can you avoid the lemons?
You can include an inspection contingency in your purchase offer to protect you from buying a money pit instead of the dream home you've wanted. In fact, there are a number of contingencies that can be included in an offer to guard your interests in case something doesn't turn out as expected.

One of my professional duties as an Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) is to inform all my home buyer clients about any defects or problems that I might have observed or discovered regarding the property, and encourage the Home Buyer to have professional inspectors inspect the property if their purchase contract is accepted. After their Offer To Purchase is accepted, I will counsel the Buyer about home inspections, and provide the names of real estate inspectors. I always encourage my home buyer clients to be present during inspections, if at all possible. As your buyer's agent, I can advise you about the smartest ways to structure a purchase offer so you get the most home -- and protection -- for your money. Feel free to contact us for more information.

Corporate Press Releases:

Link Source: Realty Times Online Magazine:

Read Las Vegas News Article: Contractors Board Awards Record Amount to Homeowners

December 08, 2004, The Nevada State Contractors Board this week awarded almost $200,000 out of its Residential Recovery Fund -- the most ever paid out because of a single contractor's misdeeds -- to 69 homeowners who were allegedly misled by Curtis Construction Co. Inc. Homeowners who filed claims against the recovery fund won't receive a windfall, however. Most won't get enough to cover the damage to their homes, to cover the costs of incomplete work or to recover money paid for upfront for work that never materialized.

The most any of the claimants will receive is $10,000, and the least is $337, despite claims of as much as $30,000 by some of the homeowners. The amount awarded by the contractors board is dependent on a number of factors, including how much work had been done. Sonya Ruffin, Nevada State Contractors spokeswoman, said some people felt they had more than $30,000 in losses, but state law only allows people to claim up to that amount, no matter what the actual loss. Among the complaints, homeowners claimed that Curtis Construction took money and didn't perform any work, started work but never finished, or performed inadequate work.

The board found that Curtis Construction had performed substandard workmanship, failed to comply with a notice to correct, failed to establish financial responsibility, disregarded building laws, worked with an unlicensed person, abandoned construction projects and other administrative violations. The board revoked the almost 30-year-old company's license in June. Once a contractor's license had been revoked, people can file claims with the state contractors board to try and collect losses from the state's

During its three decades in operation in the valley, Curtis Construction, owned by George and Mary Curtis, had few problems with the contractors board, Ruffin said. It wasn't until recently that the complaints started pouring in. In July 2003, the Curties sold the business to someone named Frank Hall, according to information submitted to the board during hearings, although that sale was never recorded with the secretary of state and a transfer of contractor's license never occurred at the contractors board. In May 2004, George Curtis, a longtime Las Vegas boxing referee, died at the age of 79. The contractors board deemed the sale of the business unlawful and held the living licensee -- Mary Curtis -- responsible.

Read Dayton Beach News-JournalNews Article: Planned Communities Confront Problems

Sunday, October 24, 2004, Associated Press -- ROSEVILLE, Calif. -- Jim Viele moved to Sun City Roseville in 1997 expecting to think more about golf than landscaping, drip irrigation systems and lawsuits. But as head of his homeowners association, Viele is mired in a lawsuit with Del Webb, the nation's premier builder of privately run adult communities. The association claims the developer saddled the 5,400 residents with defective water systems that caused trees and turf to die and the golf course to become soggy. So, Viele and other residents in this decade-old community east of Sacramento, fearing huge hikes in their $120 monthly dues or a big drain on cash reserves, sued Del Webb to fix it or pay the bill.

As developers build more planned communities, they are also turning them -- and their multimillion-dollar annual budgets -- over to residents and volunteers to run once the developers sell out. Often, development experts said, residents from California to Arizona to Florida learn they've inherited financial time bombs. There are no statistics on how often these problems occur. But experts in association finances say they're one element in a larger phenomenon in which one-third of the nation's 260,000 associations don't have enough money for their long-range upkeep.

Del Webb's attorneys have denied allegations of defects, and talks are aimed at resolving the issue. Del Webb, which began creating communities for adults 55 and older in 1960 -- and became the signature name in communal Sunbelt retirement living -- also has attracted lawsuits alleging construction defects or inadequate reserves at Sun City MacDonald Ranch and Sun City Anthem near Las Vegas and Sun City Grand near Phoenix.

Las Vegas attorney Edward Song has sued Del Webb's parent company, Michigan-based Pulte Homes, alleging it underfunded a homeowners association that took over its 372-unit Stone Ridge condominium project in Las Vegas. Pulte's 2001 merger with Del Webb made it the nation's largest homebuilder. Pulte strives to ensure smooth transitions, said spokeswoman Mark Marymee. "When we transition out of communities we leave reserves fully funded," he said. "We want to leave a community with a positive feeling for both sides. That goodwill is something we definitely feel is important to us."

Read Las Vegas KLAS-TV News Report: Pardee Homes Target of Class Action Lawsuit

Thursday, October 18, 2004 -- Hundreds of Las Vegas homeowners are part of a class action lawsuit filed against Pardee Homes. The lawsuit contends the company rushed through construction when it built three subdivisions near Windmill and Bermuda, leaving homeowners to deal with serious defects.

Involved in the lawsuit against Pardee Homes are 530 homeowners. "These were built too fast and too many shortcuts were taken." Attorney Jason Bruce represents the homeowners. In the dossier given to residents, obtained by Eyewitness News, Bruce outlines serious defects found in homes within the subdivisions; unsecured roof tiles, allowing water to damage ceilings, deep cracks within stucco walls and bathtubs and showers that leak water.

Attorney Jason Bruce believes there's also a problem with the copper piping Pardee used to hook homes up with water. "Good industry standards require copper piping be sleeved so that it's protected. None of that was done at any of these subdivisions and so we're seeing these pipes start to burst all over in these subdivisions which is a very costly repair."

Pardee Homes declined an on-camera interview. In a statement, the company says it is ready to repair any damaged home, but by law can not contact any homeowner involved in the class action lawsuit.

Read Las Vegas Review-Journal News Article: Skilled Building Labor Seen as Scarce Contractors focus on trying to attract young people to trades

Thursday, October 14, 2004 -- Construction employment in Las Vegas accounts for 91,900 jobs and is growing at an annual rate of about 10 percent, an August report from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation shows. Even with those numbers, finding qualified skilled labor in the construction trades can be a challenge in Las Vegas, industry sources said.

It varies from trade to trade and it's cyclical as well," said Warren Hardy, executive director of the Southern Nevada chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors. "Now that it appears there's a slowdown in the housing market, there won't be a shortage in framing and drywall. That'll subside as the home market cools down. But overall, it's a concern for the industry to get quality folks."

Major users of construction services agree that a growing gap between demand and supply of skilled construction labor is a major problem facing the industry.

Link Source: Las Vegas SUN online newspaper:

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