Tale of Woe at the Novo
A reader forwarded us this distress call to the Park Slope Parents list from a Novo buyer. Maybe someone has advice for her? My husband finally did a walk through with a contractor and found many items that needed to be fixed. They made a number of small repairs while he was there, but their…
A reader forwarded us this distress call to the Park Slope Parents list from a Novo buyer. Maybe someone has advice for her?
My husband finally did a walk through with a contractor and found many items that needed to be fixed. They made a number of small repairs while he was there, but their representative said they would not fix a number of items (one of the floorboards is a very different color than the others, one tile is cracked, noticeable scratches in the railing on the balcony that the contractor said could be buffed out, a fairly large chip is missing from the wood part of the guest bathroom medicine cabinet, numerous scratches on the balcony door and a window frame, etc. etc.) that she acknowledged were problems. We find this to be an issue because they could potentially impact the re-sale value of the apartment. She asked my husband to sign a document saying we found everything in good condition. My husband pointed out that there were several items which were not in acceptable condition, and she responded that she would not add them to the list, and pressured him to sign the document anyway. When my husband told her he would speak with me and get my input and then get back to her, she said this was unacceptable. In short, it did not make sense to me that we were purchasing something new that had obvious problems that the representative acknowledged but would not fix. We don’t understand why they would acknowledge problems but simply say they would not fix them. Any thoughts or advices?
Anyone else had a similar experience?
Novo photo by Slice.
Get a real estate lawyer who has recently experienced and helped resolve the exact same issue with new construction condos in Brooklyn. You need a lawyer who can look at this in context and be able to say to the Novo people without backing down, “this other new development in Brooklyn and this one and this one absolutely fixed the problems for their residents, it’s typical in this market, it’s your legal obligation and you’re doing it”.
And come on people, stop being so smug and superior and making fun of this person for buying there. These were family-sized (relative to NYC) 3 BR condos in the PS 321 school district for under a million. That’s impossible to find and I for one am capable of understanding why some people bought there, even if I wouldn’t have done so myself. Judge the developers not the people they take advantage of.
Thanks Make My Heights the P Heights, I aprpeciate the response. I have to say I was a little worried about buying new construction from a small scale developer. No, it’s not a Scarano building. But we’re very happy with our choice. While the street front exterior of the building may not ne the most aesthetically pleasing, on the inside the apartment has been great. Sure, there are a few things we would have done differently, but when it comes to what was done in the constructing of the apartment, I think it shows that our developer cared about the way the finished product looked. Maybe we’d change the light fixtures in the main rooms, maybe we’d redo the master bedroom closet so that it’s bigger. But these are all personal choices. As for the quality of the workmanship, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.
I’ll let you know what the developer says when I come back to him with one or two more issues a few weeks after our closing. But this experience has taught me that you should never, ever settle for something less than perfect. You’re spending a lot of money on your home. It’s your greatest life decision when you choose to make this investment. If it’s new construction, all those little details should be perfect. Do not sign anything until you are satisfied that the issues have been addressed to your satisfaction.
As for the idea of using a lawyer recommended by the realtor, that is wrong for so many reasons! There’s so many lawyers in NY. How can someone not find one lawyer through a recommendation from a friend or a co-worker? Going with the realtor’s suggestion is just plain lazy.
Nogo
Brooklyn Steve – a good developer will normally still fix things that you’ve found after closing during the first year. I’m aware of some developers who have gone back in 10 months later and put in a whole new floor once it was found that some floorboards were coming up. A good developer cares about their reputation ands wants the positive word of mouth that comes from showing that they stand behind their product. A scumbag like boymelgreen will tell you that it’s not his problem and leave you holding the bag. I say you ask your developer and see what he’s made of.
Whenever I am going to be in a situation where I know someone is going to shove a bunch of documents in my face and ask me to sign them, I always ask for copies of whatever they are going to ask me to sign before the meeting. They way we are on more equal footing when the meeting starts. Remember, these people have had all of the time in the world to prepare those forms and fill them out, and then they ask you to read and sign them on the spot. If it were the other way around, they would never sign without getting their lawyers to review the documents, etc.
Some people of course refuse to provide documents in advance, but in that case I think it is completely appropriate to refuse to sign on the spot and ask to review the documents overnight. Say something along the lines of “thanks for the documents, there is a lot here and I need to read them carefully before I sign them. These are your documents, so you have had plenty of time to make sure you are comfortable with them. I just want to make sure I understand them as well before I sign them, and I really can’t do that with only a few minutes to review them. I hope you understand.”
And never, ever trust someone who won’t let you take a draft away for your review. If there is nothing to hide or worry about, it should be no problem to let you review the documents by yourself for a while.
Also, reviewing the documents without them physically present is very important. You need to sit down with a spouse, wicked smart friend, lawyers, or whatever and have a nice open dialogue about the document. You can’t do that with them breathing down your neck, and you will feel pressured to review quickly, which means you will not read the document until you really understand it.
Finally, never feel like a form that someone sticks in your face is set in stone. You can always say “I will sign this but only with the following modifications.” When you have a bunch of money they want, this can be very effective.
I also find it rather surprising that someone could look at this place, buy it and not expect that there would be some issues.
It’s been a nightmare from day one. Even when the renderings were released, it received horrible backlash from people about how hideous it was.
I’m glad you didn’t sign and would also suggest you back away from this place, if you can. There are far better new construction opportunities in this area. Try Heritage.
From what I’ve seen, with “affordable” new construction, it seems no one gives a crap about their product. If I was the builder, I’d be embarrassed. If I was the buyer, I’d be pissed. If they refuse to fix the stuff until you [probably] give-in (I imagine you’ve already mentally moved there), they will probably be a bitch to deal with once you close, then find more problems.
Class Action or 9:45 AM (your loss in depreciation will likely be much larger than your deposit – buy back in when all becomes well if ever).
Lesson: Only buy spec at a significant discount (subjective) to compensate for these inevitable issues and risks. Better yet, don’t buy spec.
Notify your attorney of all of the things that need to be repaired. This is typical of all new projects. Estimate the cost to you if they are not done, and insist that the money be held in escrow when the closing takes place. If the developer does not fix the problems, the escrow is not released to them, and it will be released to you. Usually, lawyers try to hold a substantial amount in escrow to get the developer to make the repairs. We had the same issues with a new condo that we purchased back in 1990.