The housing boom legacy
This article, while somewhat grim, definitely hits the nail on the head so to speak, about some of coming fallout from the housing boom that seems to be waning. Brad Inman’s article is yet another dissenting opinion from the rhetoric coming from QA/QC firms. Inman instead sees the handwriting on the wall pointing towards a flood of construction defect lawsuits in the aftermath of overzealous production in the housing market.
Mix a love fest with Europe, a little bit of Home Depot Expo and the craftsmanship of the average American homebuilder and you get an ugly statement about this housing boom. Mortgage-liquidity architecture dots the landscape as a reminder of our real estate excess.
Shoddy construction is another consequence as homebuilders slapped up homes faster than at any period in history. Building inspectors, like mortgage regulators, often turned a blind eye as they raced to keep up with the builders.
The litigators are having a field day, representing homeowners who are suing over a myriad of defects. Poor workmanship becomes evident to homeowners when their property depreciates — a bad market brings out the bitterness in us all. The investor lawsuits from the dot.com crash are still being sorted out, and I suspect housing defect litigation will persist for a decade, which is the statute of limitations period for new construction in many states.
14 August 2007 | Construction, Construction Defect, Construction and Law | Comments
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