Home Building Pitfalls [Paperback]

Lawrence Thomas (Author), Robert Batcheller (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0971955093 | ISBN-13: 978-0971955097 | Publication Date: May 17, 2002

The true insider's guide to getting the quality new home you deserve.

From choosing the right community through the final inspection, Home Building Pitfalls has the new home buying tips and tricks you must have to be on equal footing with your builder including:

How to avoid the "model home trap" used by every big builder

How to prevent your builder's assembly line construction techniques from getting in the way of the quality and craftsmanship you deserve

How to discover if your builder is telling the truth about claims of superior quality and customer satisfaction

How to prevent damaging mold growth that has become so common in new homes

The tactics used by new home sales people to "up-sell" and persuade you to unnecessarily spend thousands of extra dollars

How your builder’s attorneys are working overtime to make sure they have the upper hand... and what you can do to foil their efforts!

How you can protect yourself from the exclusions and exceptions in most new home warranties.

How to avoid the biggest scam you will encounter when buying a home - The Home Inspector Scam.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Building one's dream house should be a pleasurable experience, but all too often it ends in disappointment. Thomas, who spent many years in the home-building industry, including a stint managing the warranty department of one of the nation's largest builders, offers readers plenty of inside information in this indictment of the new home industry. After perusing this title, some readers may give up on building a new home, but others will find valuable advice for dealing with aggressive sales people, seeing through deceptive model home presentations, choosing options, and monitoring their construction's progress. Readers learn how to protect themselves from contract loopholes that favor the builder and could force buyers to take possession before their home is completed. Although the price seems excessive for a fairly slight paperback, this book contains enough helpful information to justify its purchase for comprehensive public library collections.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"Cincinnatian Lawrence Thomas is the kind of friend you want if you're building a home." -- Joy Kraft, The Cincinnati Enquirer, July 13, 2002

"Consumer manuals like 'Home Building Pitfalls' should be mandatory college reading!" -- Sandy Skipper-Lopez, Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD) National Director www.hadd.com

"Lawrence Thomas expertly iterates items that should be part of every home buyer's arsenal." -- Sonia Mayrath, National Secretary, HADD, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: New Community Pr (May 17, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971955093
• ISBN-13: 978-0971955097
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A "Must Read" before you walk into a model home!, June 24, 2002

By 

M.P. (OH United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Building Pitfalls (Paperback)

Our new house is nearly complete and we used the book to guide us through the entire process. The book is laid out logically and very well mirrored our experience. The most helpful information came from the chapters informing us of the missteps that can be made before construction even begins, especially from a legal standpoint. Even though we used a reputable builder, we still had several occasions where our sales person and the construction supervisor tried to pull "fast ones" on us.

You can tell the author knows his stuff. The real life examples of other people's mistakes clearly reinforce the reasoning behind the advice he offers.

The only thing lacking was illustrations, but they weren't really necessary. I thought the book served its purpose well and kept our builder honest.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tight, November 11, 2005

By 

JPB "JPB" (Ar.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Home Building Pitfalls (Paperback)

I should have read this BEFORE I bought my house... All of my fake wood siding is falling off. I'll definitely follow all of the HBP's guidelines on my next home purchase! Bottom line... Tight book.