Your expeirences with Breland Homes and Brian Homes
Sreedhar Barakam
I am considerings homes by Breland Homes, and Brian Homes in the Madison
area and would appreciate your comments and suggestions.
Sreedhar
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Sreedhar Barakam s...@barakam.b17d.ingr.com
Intergraph Corporation uunet!ingr!b17d!barakam!srb
M/S IW17D1 Huntsville, AL35894-0001 205-7307318
James B. Reed
|> I am considerings homes by Breland Homes, and Brian Homes in the Madison
|> area and would appreciate your comments and suggestions.
You don't say if you're looking at existing pre-owned houses, existing
new houses, or having a house built, so my comments may or may not apply.
In January '92 we closed on a house we had Brian Homes build for us.
Mike Lawson (owner) was very friendly and seemed helpful at first,
but once we signed a contract and construction started, it was very
difficult to actually get in touch with him and his employees tended
to give us the runaround.
We ended up having to send a threatening letter (mentioning a lawyer)
before they would fix a problem we had with water coming into the
garage. Before sending the letter, we had hasseled with them for
about six months during which they kept telling us that they would
have to regrade part of our lot to fix the problem. Everytime men
came out for the work, they "sealed" the foundation instead of
regrading. The work was completed within a couple of weeks of the
letter.
Their workers (or subcontractors) rarely did more than a barely adequate
job. They slopped over simple details frequently, especially the paint.
We finally gave up on getting them to finish a couple of minor items
on the punch list when we realized that they wouldn't (or couldn't)
do it right.
It may sound like I'm being harsh on Brian Homes, but there are
plenty of builders around who are worse. Still, if we build another
house we won't use Brian Homes because they're too difficult to deal
with.
My advice for dealing with Brian Homes is to get an inspection done
(don't use anyone recommended by Brian Homes) and refuse to close
until every little detail on the punchlist is completely fixed.
Don't move in before closing unless they agree to let you live there
rent free until closing. (Once you start paying rent, you're covering
their interest expenses on their building loan for the house.)
I can share more details by email if you're interested.
Jim
--
James B. Reed | If at first you don't succeed,
Intergraph Corporation | Find out why,
jim...@b23b.b23b.ingr.com | **THEN** try again.
(205) 730-8874 |
Les Bartel
|> We ended up having to send a threatening letter (mentioning a lawyer)
|> before they would fix a problem we had with water coming into the
|> garage. Before sending the letter, we had hasseled with them for
|> about six months during which they kept telling us that they would
|> have to regrade part of our lot to fix the problem. Everytime men
|> came out for the work, they "sealed" the foundation instead of
|> regrading. The work was completed within a couple of weeks of the
|> letter.
|>
|> Their workers (or subcontractors) rarely did more than a barely adequate
|> job. They slopped over simple details frequently, especially the paint.
|> We finally gave up on getting them to finish a couple of minor items
|> on the punch list when we realized that they wouldn't (or couldn't)
|> do it right.
Has anyone put a few thousand dollars in a trust account that gets paid
to the builder at the end of the first year? This would (hopefully)
guarantee that the builder would fix any problems that came up. If they
weren't fixed, the owner could use the money in trust to fix the problem
and give the remainder (if any) to the builder at the end of the year.
Another thing I just thought of would be to pay the builder $X/12 each
month from the trust account to give some incentive to fix any problems
within a month or risk not getting their monthly "payment".
I have never heard of this, and wonder if this sort of arrangement could
be done? Of course, if you mention the "l" word (as Jim did), you can
usually get some action, and I suspect the BBB would help too.
- les
--
Les Bartel Push to test ---> @
Intergraph Corporation ... release to detonate
Electronics Division
les...@naomi.b23b.ingr.com Is spec short for specification
(205) 730-8537 or speculation?
Oh, I get it, they're synonyms!
CIS Account
>In article <1993Jan28.1...@infonode.ingr.com>, j...@doink.b23b.ingr.com (James B. Reed) writes:
>|> We ended up having to send a threatening letter (mentioning a lawyer)
>|> before they would fix a problem we had with water coming into the
....
stuff about builder not promptly fixing things deleted
...
>Has anyone put a few thousand dollars in a trust account that gets paid
>to the builder at the end of the first year? This would (hopefully)
>guarantee that the builder would fix any problems that came up. If they
>weren't fixed, the owner could use the money in trust to fix the problem
>and give the remainder (if any) to the builder at the end of the year.
In the terms we used, we set up an escrow account upon closing on the house.
We put a $ value on all the items on our punch list and arranged with our
builder and mortgage company to put this money in an escrow account. If
we were satisfied that after so many days the items were suitably fixed, then
we would sign over the money to the builder. If after so many days the
builder did not fix these things the mortgage company would return the
escrow money to us so we could pay for the repairs ourselves. As it turned
out, our builder went bankrupt (thankfully after our house was adequately
finished; our items on our 'escrow list' were not potentially hazardous or
damaging) we got the money by default.
Be aware that your builder should be made aware of this escrow deal before
closing, and in fact, the builder has to sign an agreement of understanding
of this escrow account, otherwise the builder's going to expect full payment
at closing.
This is a common arrangement, and should be considered by all new homebuyers.
BTW, there are lots of books about homebuying and I learned a great deal
from one by Peter Miller (I think it was called "Buy Your First Home Now!").
If you're a first-time homebuyer, I highly recommend gaining as much
practical education as possible on the subject prior to even looking for a
house.
John Emmert
>My advice for dealing with Brian Homes is to get an inspection done
>(don't use anyone recommended by Brian Homes) and refuse to close
>until every little detail on the punchlist is completely fixed.
>Don't move in before closing unless they agree to let you live there
>rent free until closing. (Once you start paying rent, you're covering
>their interest expenses on their building loan for the house.)
Excellent advice for dealing with any builder.
--
= Micro Magic, 830-2362, Alabama's Usenet/Fidonet gateway.
= Reply-To: John....@f2.n373.z1.FIDONET.ORG
Timothy Lamb
|> |> I am considerings homes by Breland Homes, and Brian Homes in the Madison
|> |> area and would appreciate your comments and suggestions.
|>
|> You don't say if you're looking at existing pre-owned houses, existing
|> new houses, or having a house built, so my comments may or may not apply.
|>
|> In January '92 we closed on a house we had Brian Homes build for us.
|> Mike Lawson (owner) was very friendly and seemed helpful at first,
|> but once we signed a contract and construction started, it was very
|> difficult to actually get in touch with him and his employees tended
|> to give us the runaround.
[Rest of article deleted]
|>
|> Jim
|> --
|> James B. Reed | If at first you don't succeed,
|> Intergraph Corporation | Find out why,
|> jim...@b23b.b23b.ingr.com | **THEN** try again.
|> (205) 730-8874 |
I will echo Jim's assesment of Brian Homes. Last spring I thought they were
building me a custom house, but they really built their standard house with
any upgrades I specified. The plumber put the outside faucets where he wanted
to, not where I specified on the blueprint. The electrician put telephone
connections where he wanted them, not where I wanted them. Also, the electrician forgot to install the cable TV outlets, and I had to threaten to
delay closing before he put them in. In hindsight, I really should have
delayed closing until everything was fixed, or broke the sales contract.
Before closing, Mike kept talking about his one year warranty, but I have
found it is easier to get a budget through Congress than to get Brian Homes
to do any warranty work.
I could list my many problems with my house, but will follow Jim's example
and give details by email if you want them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
|Timothy A. Lamb | "Wise men learn by other men's |
|Intergraph Corporation | mistakes, fools by their own." |
| ti...@lamby.b11.ingr.com | H. G. Wells |
|(205) 730-6305 | |
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Sreedhar Barakam
was valuable if I have to deal with them. But nobody
responded about Breland Homes. I would appreciate your comments about
B. Williams construction co. and Breland homes.
Sreedhar.
Jeroen Vanderzijp
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Talking about builder, we bought a house in Chadrick from a builder
(who lived in the house) in late 1991. Our offer was accepted by the
builder subject to a satisfactory inspection by a home inspector hired
by buyer (us).
The inspector found some damaged wood among some other things that
need replacement since the builder has been living in the house himself
with his family for 3 years.
We have it in the contract that then that these damaged wood need to
be replaced and painted before closing.
Above from never showing up to do any of the unfinished list that was
listed down during the closing.
We have a bad leaks in August 1992 (less than 1 year after we closed).
We have someone from Sears Home Improvement came over, the guy quickly
detected that there were some damage woods that were cover and painted
over and the cracks now are causing the leaks. The leaks had resulted
in an area of damage in our ceiling.
I called the original home inspector to take another look, he came
and recognize the same situation. He wrote us a witness statement, stating
that these are the same piece of woods he listed that needs replacement
and his best estimate for the replacement.
We go ahead and have the Sears Home Improvement Subcontractor (not the
home inspector) do the repair, took picture before they started on the job.
The builder refused to reimburse us of the full amount of repair cost.
Being a matter of principle, I take this matter to small claim court with
my husband.
The judge award us a judgement against this builder for the total amount
of repairment cost in our receipt plus the cost of court fees. We have
not recover the money, but if he dare to refuse to pay, we can put a judgement
lien on all his real property on sale. Since a judgement lien is a general
lien not a specific lien. We actually spend a lot more time and money than
what we can recover from this builder, but it is the principle that counts.
We only sue for the repair cost and the court fees anyway.
Neither side had any lawyer, we did do our research well, I even attended
real estate licensing class to analyze the inside-out of law of contract.
We even attended some other court hearings prior to our scheduled hearing.
My advice to home buyer, don't penny pinched and pound foolish. I am very
thanksful that we spend $125 on the home inspector before we buy the house.
We got his name through recommendation of a friend. His witness statement
plus the photos taken were our strongest material of evidence. The builder
try to say that there was a hail storm in August last year. But the photos
shows clearly that it is not holes or peels problem, but rather you can
see a thick layer of caucks on wood and paint over it.
If you are interested with the name of this builder, write me or my
husband, we will be more than happy to tell you his name. He does not have
a company name, so there is not much help to check him with Better Business
Bureau. His phone number changes as well everytime he moves to one of his
unsold house.
P.S. "caveat emptor"
In Alabama law, it is 'buyers beware' policy. So when a builder
recommended that an inspector is just a waste of money and that his
every step of construction is approved by the city inspector. Think
twice before you decide. Ask around, how many buyer you know
have build a new house and have a leaking roof after the first big
storm. Did that builder came to fix it quickly before further damage
occur ? Will he fix the damage resulted from the leaks as well ?
Ofcourse, having an inspector is useless unless it is specified in
your offer that it is subject to a satisfactory inspection by a
home inspector of the buyer.
Maribel x7285
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| Dr. Jeroen van der Zijp | |
| Phone : (205)730-1284 | T h i s s p a c e |
| Email : jer...@tparty.b17a.ingr.com | |