Rain Damage - New Home

[LearningMan]

Hi everyone ... I had a very nice surprise last Friday from my PM in Brisbane and not sure how to move forward hence reason for post.

First some background ...

Settled on new IP from VillaWorld in Brisbane in July this year. Carried out a pre-settlement inspection with Roger F from Navrainvest's QLD office. This went well. I documented all the outstanding items and gave to solicitor to take up with Villaworld.

On Friday my PM rang me at 5:30pm and told me that the tenant was complaining about water leaking through the roof ! She asked me what I wanted to do. I asked her to call Villaworld however it was too late.

Villaworld went out on Monday to take a look and found 2 cracked tiles on the roof and immediately replaced them.

The damage inside however is substantial. Paint on walls and ceiling all bubbling in 2 rooms.

So ... I immediately started thinking what could have caused this. Either 1) Aircon installation which was away from where the cracked tiles were found or Villaworld had left them like this during construction of the home.

There has not been much rain in Brisbane in the last few months from my understanding so either of the 2 reasons above are valid.

The excess is $500 to make a claim with insurance company. Just curious what others would do in this situation ? Would you follow up with Aircon people ? Villaworld claims it was not their fault. Or just bite the bullet and pay the $500 ?

The HUGE lesson learnt here is that a home inspection by a professional is a MUST even on new homes. I am sure they would have gone on the roof !

 

[The Y-man]

The HUGE lesson learnt here is that a home inspection by a professional is a MUST even on new homes. I am sure they would have gone on the roof !

Oddly enough, my experience is that a home inspection is MORE necessary on new homes than established ones - as problems can be harder to detect (no obvious water marks etc).

It costs nothing to follow up with the aircon people I assume, so follow this up. When all else fails, the insurance....

Cheers,

The Y-man

 

[manny]

Hi LM,

a friend of mine had a similar incident & he did approach the aircon company & they took full responsibility, replacing the broken tiles & even painted the stained ceiling... as per Y-man's reply, it may be worth following it up with the aircon people & even with the builder before making an insurance claim (see if they can come back & patch up the stained/damaged areas)...

Cheers,

Manny.

 

[caramellokoala]

LearningMan

Did you actually get up on the roof and inspect it at your pre settlement inspection? Do you have building experience that you did the inspection yourself?

There is a fabulous company in Bne called handovers.com and they carry out pre settlement inspections and its amazing the faults they find.

I personally would claim on the insurance. I would be amazed if another company accepts the blame. I think an insurance claim would be less trouble all round.

Good luck either way.

Cheers

CK

 

[LearningMan]

LearningMan

Did you actually get up on the roof and inspect it at your pre settlement inspection? Do you have building experience that you did the inspection yourself?

No ... I did not get up on the roof during the pre-settlement inspection. I made a BIG MISTAKE. I ASSUMED it was OK.

I do not have building experience. I again made the same mistake. I ASSUMED on a new home everything would be OK. Villaworld is building over 100 of these homes in the area.

I personally would claim on the insurance. I would be amazed if another company accepts the blame. I think an insurance claim would be less trouble all round.

I agree that the insurance claim would be less trouble. But why should I fork out the excess ?

In any event ... Villaworld has agreed to the repairs verbally thanks to the help of Roger F and his contacts.

Hopefully this will be carried out soon. I'll keep everyone posted !

 

[crest133]

Hi LearningMan
Only just noticed this post, must have a blind spot.
Is there a warranty on the new home ? Some homes do have 'em. Usually the builder has more influence with the subbies, and the builder or building company should be keenly interested in quality control and in keeping their reputation intact. Anyway, roofing tiles are meant to last a lot longer than 3-4 months.
Hope they look after the problem for you.
cheers
crest133