Center for Real Estate Law
THE PROPERTY LAW CENTER, L.L.C.
WITH OFFICES IN KANSAS AND MISSOURI
Joseph R. Borich
4630 W 137th St.
Suite 100
Leawood, Kansas 66224
913-341-4550
Fax: 913-663-3834
Joe@propertylawcenter.com
James B. Jackson
4215 Hocker
Suite 300
Independence, Missouri 64005
816-461-4762
Fax: 816-252-5319
Jim@Propertylawcenter.com
Douglas J. Patterson
4630 W 137th St.
Suite 100
Leawood, Kansas 66224
913-663-1300
Fax: 913-663-3834
Doug@Propertylawcenter.com
Questions?
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Most reputable homebuilders or contractors will respond to legitimate reasonable claims for incomplete or faulty construction.
WHEN you make a claim may determine whether you get a good response. The best advice is to make a claim with the builder as soon as the problem becomes known. The best means to accomplish this is to inspect your house prior to purchase and then immediately after taking occupancy, noting in writing all areas of deficiency and then bringing these to the attention of the builder, again in writing. Send all correspondence certified mail; be certain to keep copies of all correspondence, both from and to you. Keep a journal of any conversations, whom, when, and what was said.
For new home purchases or the installation of a new product (e.g., a new window system), it is common for the builder, contractor or supplier to provide you with a "warranty" indicating a time limit during which it will respond to problems. Such warranty periods and claims made within a specified time period should be honored without question. This time period, however, is often not the end of the limit for which a contractor is legally responsible for the work or materials in question!
In all states, the time for an owner to bring a claim for faulty construction (negligence) is set by statute. A question often disputed is when did the statute of limitation period start to run. The statute of limitation "clock" begins to tick from the time when the owner "knew or should have known" of faulty or incomplete construction. To be safe, notify your builder as soon as you suspect a problem.
Does simply informing the contractor of a problem stop the running of the clock? NO.
The only thing that stops the running of your statute of limitations is the filing of a lawsuit or obtaining a written waiver from the contractor. As a result, agreements by a builder to correct a condition may be worthless if the condition is not in fact corrected and the statute of limitations passes. Once the statute period has passed, the owner has no more teeth with which to compel performance by the contractor since after that time, the contractor is no longer subject to legal action to fix the problem. Be leery, many bad builders will do all they can, make false promises, delays, and missed appointments knowing these statutes and time limits better than you!
To be safe, follow the these guidelines:
1. INSPECT your home before taking possession, just after taking possession and periodically.
2. Bring all suspected instances of defective or incomplete construction to the attention of the Developer/builder in writing and keep copies of all correspondence.
3. DO NOT WAIT.
4. If the work is not corrected and you are approaching the applicable satute of limitation period after discovery, the only way you can preserve your rights to force the responsible party to correct it is to file a lawsuit or to obtain a written agreement from the responsible party to waive the statute of limitations.
Remember, while most good builders/contractors will respond to your complaints, some may not. The only way to force those "bad apples" to respond may be by the threat of a lawsuit. After your time limit to bring a lawsuit is past, you have no more threats left, and you may end up spending an enormous amount of money to fix the faulty construction yourself. If your builder/developer has filed bankruptcy, dont be too concerned as an attorney can in most circumstances go after the builder's insurance and bond.
The information in this web site is intended for informational purposes, however, it does not constitute legal advice. If you feel you need an attorney seek advice from our firm or other competent counsel.