re: Closing on a house question

You definitely need to hold back some significant cash in reserve pending their completion of your punch list.

Otherwise, good luck getting their attention over the next 6-12 months to actually finish the little stuff.
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This is correct..... Have the closing attorney hold back ...I don't know, maybe $20K until the house is completed and then release the proceeds.

I have done that in the past, and both parties agreed. Hopefully, the closing attorney is your attorney and not the builders.

How many houses have you closed on again?
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If that question is directed to me, the answer is dozens.

How unfinished are we talking? I wouldn't do it.

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How many houses have you closed on again?

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3, what now a-hole?

Don't just look for the major problems like you listed. Look in every nook and cranny and try to make sure everything is on your punchlist. We bought a new construction townhouse a few months after moving up here from college. There were a few major things, like the stairway not being finished, and the landscaping needing to be done. A few others I can't remember at the time. But the little things are what caused me the most grief because they had to be fixed while we were living in it.

The first thing we noticed was when we ran the washing machine the first time. The drain pipe for it ran down in the wall between the garage and kitchen. Next to the pantry. Apparently whoever installed the shelving in the pantry put a screw right into the drain pipe. Luckily it leaked into the garage instead of into the wood flooring in the kitchen. So they had to come remove the shelving, where we had a bunch of food, and remove a strip of drywall in the garage from floor to ceiling, replace the pipe, and repair the drywall.

The second one was that they forgot to run wiring for this speaker system. Behind the TV was an audio input that was supposed to run to 3 pairs of speakers. One in the den, the other in the little den on the 2nd floor, and the third in the bonus room on the 3rd floor, so you could play music throughout the house. They installed the hookup, and installed the speakers, but didn't run wiring to the speakers from the hookup. They had to cut holes in the ceiling to drill between the joists to run the wires. So there were about 8-10 holes in the brand new ceilings on each floor to hook up the wiring. If any of you have ever cut holes in drywall, you know how messy that can get. White powder everywhere. Then they had to patch the holes, sand them, and repaint them.

The third thing was that the faucet out front was hooked to a hot water line instead of cold. Was washing my cars one day and about scalded myself when I reached into the bucket to grab a sponge. It was next to a half bath on the main level, and they said to change it out they'd have to remove the built in cabinet/sink, or they could just add a cold one. So we ended up with a hot and cold faucet out front.

The builder was really in over his head. Young and starting out, and his Dad (retired) was supposedly helping him get off the ground. He finally finished out the 7 units in our building, let the land next to it sit for about a year, so we had a nice view of a dirtpile, and then sold it off to his partner who finally built those 7 units. The whole ordeal was enough for me to swear off new construction. So when we finally got out of that place we bought a house built in '67.

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Your point changed after I called you out on your horrible advice.

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It changed after having all the facts. Crazy notion, right?

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I don't know why you feel the need to post in every thread when you have no idea what you are talking about

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Yea, check every thread, I'm definitely in every last one.

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Sorry I called you on your bullshite.

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You didn't, and what's funny is there are several here who have gave advice that wasn't just walk away. Want to call all them out as well.

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Here is some advice, if you don't have real life experiences in something, it is ok to not post your opinion. You don't have to be a know it all child.

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I have real life experience with it, so you can take your OPINION and blow it out your arse. Not everyone has to do what you would.

no chance I would close with all that outstanding. I have worked with several contractors and anything you find after they get paid is your problem. They will talk a good game but it will not be a priority for them. Anything they fix after getting the money is a favor to you or at least that is the attitude they approach it with.

No way I would close with that much construction left to do. Living in your house with all that going on will be inconvenient and your house will be a dirty mess. Not to mention, not knowing who your builder is, some of them take care of punch list quickly while some will not even return your call once you close.

Your 40K incentive was to close on a completed house, which yours is not, and it's not your fault.

I hate buyers and I hate sellers.