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.
Um, am I supposed to be surprised? Sorry to hear what the person went through, but buyer beware. How about doing some research into where and what you are buying and whom the development team is. Save yourself a lot of heart ache/head ache and not losing your deposit when you walk away.
And the NOVO of all places. Did you just fly in from Mars? It’s been on every blog, mag and paper as one of the biggest POSs in the area.
No real sympathy here…
I don’t expect perfection in anything but you’re paying good money for this place and I’d worry if the contractor is like this now, what problems will you have down the road? Chipped new cabinet? They either must fix it or replace it.
It’s outrageous the contractor would tell your husband that he behaved unacceptably by not signing the document. I’d complain to the developer and the management company. But don’t sign anything until you’ve gotten professional advice and you feel your concerns were addressed.
I will say that I am not a fan of the “this is typical of every new project and this is typical of NYC real estate” attitude. Lessons learned, but we were pressured A LOT with this kind of talk when we bought (1st time buyers)and I feel we were underrepresented by both our broker and lawyer. I’ve learned a lot by reading this site and realize our first mistake was using a lawyer suggested by the broker. It’s worth it to find and pay for someone who will fight for your team. Many things are typical, for instance rounding up or down numbers; yet I didn’t pay less for the condo or the broker’s fee on the assumption that they would just round the money we’ve given them up. We don’t have to be maniacs about what we expect, but we are right to expect the delivery of the product that was promised.
did they promise to fix the outside of the building to make it less hideous? A cloaking device might do the trick.
Get your deposit back and back away from that building. These are superficial construction mistakes – but these guys are a bunch of scumbag ameteurs. It won’t take too long for more signifcant structural issues to appear on this building. Get out now and count your blessings. Don’t buy from Boymelgreen!
I agree. You did the right thing by not signing. My wife and I just moved into a new 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment in Boerum Hill. It’s new construction and we’re the first occupants. During our walk through a week before the closing we came up with a list of a little over a dozen things that needed to be corrected. There wasn’t anything huge… clean up some paint and calk on the kitchen wall’s tile, put a door knob on a closet door and paint around the door frame, install the toilet paper holder in the master bath, fix a droor in the kitchen that didn’t close properly. It was all typical stuff that a developer usually sends back their best guy to put the finishing touches on before the closing. My biggest concern was that for some reason the electrical outlets in the 2nd bedroom weren’t working.
One week later, during the finally walk through, I found taht every single issue has been fixed/addressed. If you are buying new construction and you are the first occupant, it’s the developer’s responsible to hand over the keys to an apartment in perfect condition.
The things this soon-to-be owner is talking about can all be fixed in a very short time period with very little effort.
I do have a question, though. What if after your closing you discover something that you didn’t see during the walk through? Two out of the four phone jacks do not work. They appear to have not been connected. Can I call the developer and expect him to fix that or is it my responsibility now?
Was this the first indication that you were dealing with scumbags?? Speak to a lawyer but the most likely scenario is that they may refund you some small amount of money, at best. All of this depends upon the wording of the original purchase contract.
WHOA. You did the right thing by not signing. Never, ever, ever let someone pressure you into signing something on the spot like that.
I would speak to a local real estate lawyer briefly about this. Shouldn’t cost too much $$ and they will be able to explain to you what your rights are in this situation. It might cost you a couple hundred dollars, but absolutely worth it if you avoid signing away your rights. I’m not suggesting that you sue them, just that you get a professional who is on your side to tell you what they are asking you to sign and whether they have any right to make you sign it under those circumstances.
This is typical of every new project. It is not going to be perfect –goodness, many people buy and then rip it all out! Get over it!