Defective Home. What Should I Do?

LJambaroo on 14/10/2018 - 21:18
Last edited 14/10/2018 - 21:19

Hello Fellow Bargainers,

now that i’m in a dilemma on what to do in this situation, i thought i will turn to my favourite website to understand what can be done.

I bought a new town home as part of a package from a reputed builder in 2015. we moved in mid 2016. we noticed water leaks and stains during our pre inspection in one of the corners and we complained which they fixed and painted. all good.
we always heard noises from the roof like birds walking on the roof all the time.

after 2-3 months we observed leaks and we complained again and the builder prompted cane and “fixed” the issue with the roof.

after that it didn’t rain and we didn’t observe anything for a month and the walking of the birds went out of control. we also had allergies on our bodies thought there is some bugs in or attic which might be impacting us so i asked to do general pest control in the home and he said he will dust the attic too.

he came back shocked saying that there is a gap in the roof and we have at least 20-30 birds living in my attic. it was shocking to us too and we were attacked by bird lice and it turned out horrible as we had to take steroids to get some relief from that. we complained to our builder who promptly came and fixed it and after repeated complaints until they fix it and do pest control control we vacated the house and lived in a hotel for 3-4 days. this was reimbursed.

after that we keep having these leaks every time it rains heavily and they keep coming and trying to fix it. after 3 attempts the leak is still not fixed and i’m fedup now and planning to take them to the court to get some compensation for all the pain we have gone through. we were new migrants and we saved our hard earned money to buy our dream home and we are going through this. every time the issue happens it makes me angry as the builder a very big company simply sends people to visit and they do superficial fixes.

the builder is very responsive but have not resolved the issue and the maintenance managers simply come and do whatever and the issue happens again.

it’s been 2.5 years we moved and i still have this defect. am i right in claiming 30% of the home cost from the builder for the defect which is still there? is it worth going to a lawyer who will charge at least $3000 to study the case and advice? what are your thoughts? being new to australia (4 years) i am not very aware of the legal system whether taking them to court for compensation is worth or not.

i have evidence of the email communication, disgusting photos of the attic where the birds were living and every email we sent the builder.

please share any experiences you have. sorry for the lengthy post. if you are wondering the property is in sydney metro area.

thanks in advance

Home & Garden

Comments

  • toristo on 14/10/2018 - 21:26
    +5

    $3k to get proper advice on an investment of more than $500k (I presume) seems like money well spent.

    Sometimes free advice is the most expensive.

    Edit: Grammar.

  • holdenmg on 14/10/2018 - 21:43
    +3

    I'd get an Independent assessment from:
    https://www.archicentreaustralia.com.au/property-advice/resi… or similar.
    of the entire house.

    • Jambaroo on 15/10/2018 - 01:55

      thanks will explore that

  • [Deactivated] on 14/10/2018 - 21:47
    +1

    I dunno where you get the 30% of the value of the home in damages from the builder from. See a lawyer and they will give you good advice, or try consumer protection, there is probably a specialised government department that handles builders complaints in your state they will advise you who to go to.

  • JimmyF on 14/10/2018 - 22:14
    +4

    am i right in claiming 30% of the home cost from the builder for the defect which is still there?

    Say what!? Where did you get that figure from?

    and no is the answer.

    • Jambaroo on 15/10/2018 - 01:54

      i made it up based on the compensation i thought would be ok and may i ask why do you think i should seem that as compensation

      • JimmyF on 15/10/2018 - 09:05

        i made it up

        Yes asking for $150k+ for a leaking roof is over the top.

        Your house is under 'warranty'. The builder is trying to fix it as they are allowed. You yourself said they are responsive to fixing the issue.

        Your options are get someone else in to do a plumbing report on the roof, for resolving the issue and chase the builder for the money for the report and the fix.

        If they fail again at a fix, you get a 3rd party to fix it and chase the builder for all the above.

      • onevstheworld on 15/10/2018 - 09:16

        You shouldn't make up numbers like that. Defer that to someone who knows what they are doing:

        If you underestimate it: you aren't compensated fairly
        If you overestimate it: you look like you're after some fat pay-out and the court/assessor looks at your case less favorably.

  • dcep on 14/10/2018 - 23:00
    +1

    try the no win no fee lawyer

    stories like these should be shared , there are plenty of nightmares in home building with dodgy construction

    for future reference , get your own building inspector to do the final sign off and hope you don't get a dodgy one

    • Jambaroo on 15/10/2018 - 07:09

      i never knew that something like building inspector exist before i moved in. this is due to my lack of understanding on the various resources available to ensure you get a defect free home.

      i now know

  • Wystri Warrick on 15/10/2018 - 00:19
    +6

    Defective Home. What Should I Do?

    Depends what country it defected to comrade.

  • AdosHouse on 15/10/2018 - 02:30
    +1

    You won't get 30% back, hell I'd be suprised if you get anything except the cost to get an independent repair done.

  • mskeggs on 15/10/2018 - 06:14
    +1

    Where is the leak coming from? Maybe step one is to fix it yourself?
    Visit the attic space while it is actually raining, if necessary.
    And it will be very hard for any house to be completely bird/pest free over the years. You need to maintain the property and respond to issues like wildlife noises.

    If the builder has been negligent, they might be ordered to fix the issue and repay any costs you had. You won’t get 30% of the cost refunded. It sounds like the builder has been pretty good about trying to sort this out. Maybe if you can show them what is needed to fix the leak they will do so? I know from my experience looking at a dry roof it is hard to tell where the issue is.

    • Jambaroo on 15/10/2018 - 07:08

      Thanks it comes from one of the corners from the front. the builder responds pretty good but the issue is still not resolved after 2 years and me getting into the attic is dangerous as there is very limited space and full of hazards inside. the leak started because they didn’t built it properly as they left a 12X15 inch gap there and no matter what patches they put there it doesn’t work against mother nature. so i have this forever. i have no idea what to do and i’m frustrated that this happened to us. even the builder has no idea what to do other than coming and inspecting every time it leaks.

      i have a contract with a very good pest control company and they visit every 6 months and do a great job but pest is not the issue here

      • mskeggs on 15/10/2018 - 07:30
        +2

        I think you might have to risk the hazards in the roof(?) to see what is going on.
        My suspicion is that the leak is unrelated to the concern you have over the 12x15 hole(?!?) and is actually dripping from somewhere further up. So fixing the hole isn't making any difference.

        Maybe you could post a picture of the gap? It sounds like a very large defect to have overlooked.
        I recognise you just want this fixed, but you will likely have to be very clear on what actions you want performed, or you will get a court order to fix the leak, the builder will send the maintenance guy again, and you will be where you started!

        • Jambaroo on 16/10/2018 - 15:02

          the gap is closed and it’s flashed all around. i noticed the water made it’s way do ground floor as there are water stains in one of the beams in the middle of my hall now after heavy rains in the last week.

          you might be correct the leak isn’t from where they fixed up it might be coming from somewhere. i will ask the roof person to check everywhere as we always go and check only where the gap was

      • garetz on 15/10/2018 - 10:16
        +1

        You need your own professional to come out, and make a report for you, which then you can provide to the builder and have them fix it as specified in the report, then have your own guy out to review what was fixed, this will also help you in your suit against the builder if it continues to be an ongoing issue. You basically have given the builder alot of rope, and they used it to hang you with it.

  • [Deactivated] on 15/10/2018 - 10:08
    -1

    what should I do

    Just sell it and make it someone else's problem

  • garetz on 15/10/2018 - 10:13

    "a reputed builder"

    Doesnt exist in australia, they will screw you if given half a chance.

  • HighAndDry on 15/10/2018 - 12:00
    +2

    Talk to the builder about having an independent expert assessor make an assessment and sign off on any repairs. If they're being cooperative, no need to spend money on lawyers yet.

  • Will Mcdonald on 15/10/2018 - 14:26
    +1

    out of curiosity who's the builder?

    • Jambaroo on 16/10/2018 - 15:01

      i don’t think it’s fair to name them. they are a good builder and always responded when we contacted just that they don’t have smart people to figure out what’s wrong.

  • Jambaroo on 15/10/2018 - 20:42

    There is no gap it is all patched and fixed. No one can figure out how it leaks when it rains heavily. It would take 3-4 hour heavy rain fir the leak to show up

    • bumblebeetuna on 15/10/2018 - 21:02

      3-4 hours to show up where? Inside on your ceiling? 3-4 hours heavy rain is a lot, water would be pooling in your attic, and easy to see coming in. You will need to get into your attic for a look yourself. Do you have building plans?

      • Jambaroo on 16/10/2018 - 14:59

        show up on the walls oin the corners. the water usually drips. i tried getting into the attic but it’s very congested and looked dangerous for me to fit( i am classified as overweight and big) no i don’t have the building plans.

        • bumblebeetuna on 16/10/2018 - 20:33
          +1

          That's fair enough. I feel your pain, because I had similar water ingress problem, but was resolved first time by builder. It is always on my mind now when I hear heavy rain! Like mskeggs says though, it would be good to check for gutter blockages.

          Reason I ask about plans, is that there is a trend of really poor design in recent years in Australia, for types of gutters that are higher on the outside than the inside, installed on houses with no eaves. This means if they become blocked and overflow, it overflow on the house side, and potentially inside the wall if there is no flashing. If you add a careless install where gutter is not falling away properly, say from a corner that's far from a down pipe, then you can have sufficient water overflowing at that point of there's a bad blockage and heavy rain. By the time rain has stopped, and the builder is called in, the 'leak' has subsided, showing little evidence. This is even worse if it's a box gutter. Someone would need to check that gutter for water or dirt suggesting sitting water at that point to rule that out.

          • Jambaroo on 17/10/2018 - 21:45

            @bumblebeetuna: I have a box gutter. I will get that checked thanks for the suggestion

            • bumblebeetuna on 18/10/2018 - 21:00
              +1

              @Jambaroo: In my case, we had a huge downpour, about 20+ml in ~20 mins I think. Had water coming inside at one spot. I was able to get into the attic, and arrest it a bit with some containers and towels. I was also able to get onto the roof and see that my box gutter was full, and not blocked.

              Turned out, my box gutter is about an inch lower at the bottom corner of a roof valley, than the ends of the gutter where the water runs off, so it filled up when water couldn't escape fast enough. Worse still, there was a layer of flashing missing entirely, so when the gutter got full enough it just overflowed inside the roof.

              I was livid and ready for a fight with the builder, but he turned out to be really good, reminded me that he is obliged to repair and defects under warranty for 10 years, and got it fixed up, about 2 hours before another downpour! It was not found before then, because there was never that much rain that quickly here before.

              Anyway, just wanted to share that, so you know the problems can get fixed. whether it helps you or not is a different matter.

    • mskeggs on 16/10/2018 - 19:13

      Are you sure the gutter down pipes are clear? If there is a blockage near where they empty, they can slowly fill up with water until they cause the gutter to overflow.

      If you are reluctant to investigate yourself when it is raining, when the evidence is visible, you will need to get a friend or local handyman to do so.
      It is extremely hard to tell where a leak originated when everything is dry again.

      • Jambaroo on 17/10/2018 - 21:47

        I’m not reluctant to investigate it’s just dangerous for me to get into the attic. I will have to talk to a handy,an who can come in at short notice. I will explore that option

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