Avoiding Shoddy Home Constrction Practices
A Consumer Reports investigation conducted a couple of years back concluded that 15% of the new homes built during the boom days of building and renovating had serious construction defects. That's probably doubled in today's construction climate given the length of time these homes have been on the market and the time it takes for many of these defects to come to light.



Industry types attribute this to the "fast pace" and frenzy that was on going in the industry and the lack of skilled workers presented many challenges. Both builders and contractors alike took advantage of these non skilled workers "aka", Mexican immigrants - some legal, some not - hiring them to do jobs they should not have been involved in performing due to insufficient training. Add to this low paying wages and little or no supervisoin and you have a recipe for disaster. So it's no surprise with the rise in foreclosures being scooped up by home buyers that they're also facing a myriad of construction defects.



You can read a report from ConsumerReports.org that addresses the most common problems to look for when purchasing a home here: http://blogs.consumerreports.org/home/2008/04/shoddy-homes.html