We have recently learned that a new law firm in town is trying to drum up business by trying to lure homeowners in to filing lawsuits against their builders. This is nothing more than a scheme to create business for themselves - since they are the only ones that benefit from these suits.
Homeowners should first contact their builder with any problems in their home. Trust me, any builder would rather fix your problem than have to go to court or settle on a lawsuit. It will be much less expensive for the builder and the homeowner.
If the builder is no longer in business or can’t help, for whatever reason, the next step would be the State Contractors Board. This board exists to protect the consumer and has a fund for construction defect issues.
An attorney would be the very last resort in settling a construction defect issue. While a homeowner may be lured in by no up front costs to file a lawsuit, it will really cost them in the long run. By suing the builder they will likely decrease not only their own property value, but their entire neighborhood. They will probably end up with a settlement for the amount it would cost to fix the problem. The attorney will then keep roughly 40% of that money. Now, the homeowner has only a little more than half of the money for the repair. When they want to sell their home, they will have to disclose the problem they had with the house, whether is gets repaired or not.
Who wins in this situation? Only the attorney.
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