What is a well known 'public secret' in the industry you work in that the majority of outsiders are unaware of?
What is a well known 'public secret' in the industry you work in that the majority of outsiders are unaware of?
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New home construction materials are the lowest possible quality that will meet specs. The allure of a new coat of paint and modern design masks the cheap quality and low durability. Some doors are basically slightly stronger cardboard. My theory as to why American homes have gotten so huge is that for the same budget you can get a much larger volume of materials than in the past.
There is a golden period from about 1985 to 2000 where houses were built without asbestos but with real building materials. I only buy property built in this window.
Every property I've inspected built after 2010 that's more than 5 years old is either splitting at the seams, sinking into the ground or both. They're built from polystyrene with a coat of plaster. They're built to palm off to naive new homeowners who don't understand or landbankers who don't give a fuck and I pity anyone trying to live in one for more than a few years.
My parents just sold their rock solid old house to have a new one built and I was so pissed off. Now I'm going to have to inherit this piece of shit when it's falling apart. It's less than a year old and already has a ton of issues they're just living with because the builder refuses to fix anything and they apparently signed something that says there's nothing they can do about it.
Housing cost still rising tho :/
Never buy a brand new home. Get one that's at least ten years old. All the mistakes made during construction will have been found and hopefully fixed correctly. It's still new enough to not have a lot of the old code issues that crop up in pre 1990s houses