9-12-11 Monday (The Not So Final Final)

The saga continues.  Click here (for previous post) if the next paragraph doesn’t make any sense. 

Adams homes was unwilling to extend the contract!  Odd that they still seemed confident that they’d have everything done although we knew otherwise.  They were positive that the 4 items the NACA inspector found would be corrected before his re-inspect Tuesday and that the other outstanding items would be placed a promise to repair after the fact.  We were leery. 

We met with Ted, the Adams Home production manager, for our final walkthrough.  Well, now it’s going to be more of a semi-final walk through.  Ted told us that the superintendent, Roger, is no longer with the company.  Now this all makes sense.  Roger quit and didn’t care about the outstanding items so most were never addressed.  At the end of today’s meeting, Ted thanked us for coming in to redo this all and was awesome to work with.  He really wowed us with his willingness to correct any issues. 

From the NACA inspector (non-cosmetic issues only) were 4 items on the list:

1. Anti-tip on stove.  This was completed but when Jim tested it, the stove severely wobbled.  It needs adjustment otherwise I’m sure it will fail tomorrow’s re-inspection. 
2. Cracks in garage floor and side of house.  The garage floor was sealed but not the side of the house.
3. Dishwasher hits knob.  They adjusted it slightly and hopefully enough to pass inspection but they will be redoing some cabinetry and the draw to accommodate the dishwasher.
4. The swale in the front yard was a trip hazard.  This has been widened to be less shallow.  I think it’s barely noticeable except for the grass that appears dead in it.  I think they should have replaced the sod in it since the dead grass draws attention to it.

Remember the prior entry the builder stated in an email:

Ted spent some time out here the other day going through the house.  All items from the initial walk through and NACA repair list are complete.  Most of the items from your additional list are complete as well, however they had to…

Item 1 and 3 a definite disappointment.  Item #2, you only got half that fixed.  So as I said yesterday, you guys lied.  You wasted our time.

As an act of good faith, they are going to pay the $75 re-inspection fee.  I just wish they would have been honest enough up front and said, “Hey listen, Roger is no longer with the company, we’re not sure if he addressed all your concerns, would you mind coming back in for another walk through?”  Then we wouldn’t have been so upset about the “waste of time”.

We’ll have another “final” walkthrough tentatively for Thursday of this week.  Per NACA, we can’t close by the 15th so Adams had to extend the contract.  Here’s some stuff they have to take care off:

Above: Bad caulk job

Above: Noted at first walkthrough and wasn’t addressed.  It’s like Roger just removed the tape and nothing more.

Above: House number bolts are rusting, one missing.

Above/Below: Bottom of the banister.

 

Above: Scratch in the wood floors.

Above: Banister at the top of the stairs.

Above: A small problem that was made worse.

Above: Weird blemish above the light fixture that was never corrected even though it was pointed out during the initial walkthrough.

Above: Finger prints above the toilet tank.

Above: Gouges in the door frames.

Above: Still there from the initial walkthrough.

Above: That’s only part of what there is to see.

Above: No biggie.  The stopper took off some paint.

Above: They painted around the downspout.

I think in the end they’ll be able to get most all done before re-inspection.  Most likely the cabinetry/dishwasher/knob problem will still exist and they’ll provide an addendum stating so if need be for closing.

Ted was great to work with.  I’m glad Roger is gone. Too many times we were met with opposition for a correct repair.

Jim and I stopped into Furniture Row and bought the bedroom furniture we saw over the weekend.  Just as with the fridge and sofas, we made sure we can cancel for a full refund.  Their Labor Day sale runs until 9-23-11 but I wanted to get it over with and locked in at the sale price.  We may cancel the bedroom furniture just due to the money factor.  It’s the last of the big ticket purchases we needed wanted, however, we think the small purchases may gobble up a lot of money.  Besides, we can make due with our hideous bedroom furniture for a while.  It functions.