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Life long, 30+ years, Madison goon here and Veridian is still a mediocre copy & paste McMansion slap it together-er. It may look like they have cleaned up their act but it is more that the housing downturn forced them to not cut as many corners as they would during a boom period. If there is another housing boom they will go right back to slapping houses together as quickly and cheaply as possible. I would keep a close eye on them and visit the site after hours or have a friend drive past during working hours and report back to you.
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Jan 18, 2015 19:43
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That's another thing. When I went looking for used houses, I specifically looked for houses built during an oil bust in my area. My theory was that the builder would be moving more slowly over the house, if for no other reason than that the trades wanted to keep milking their limited work for as long as they could by goldbricking the house. So far it seems to have turned out. My buddy's house was built by the same builder but a few years newer, and he's had substantial foundation issues as well as other oddities. As I start to reverse the previous several owners' worth of neglect, sometimes I pull something open and find a bit of seriously overbuilt carpentry. Seat Safety Switch fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Jan 18, 2015 19:45
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Assholio posted:While not being novices to the whole owning a home thing, this is our first home together and I'm a little concerned. All of the things you mentioned already, because they mean this is likely to be a bad situation. Is there some reason you are stuck with this builder? Surely there must be other places to buy and proper carpenters around to build for you? I get this would likely be more expensive or result in a smaller home/less inside trimwork but you have to pay for quality, and be there on a daily basis to ensure you are getting what you are paying for.
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Jan 18, 2015 20:28
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Veridian is sloppy and lazy. I lived in Madison from 78-85 and from 2001-2011. From what I heard from friends and family that had bought them; it was instant regret on signing.
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Jan 18, 2015 21:07
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I have a Veridian home and live east of Madison. So far, I've only had minor issues and they were all resolved by contractors that Veridian brought in. The big thing is don't go crazy with the upgrades. They are supremely expensive. For instance, the backsplash we wanted, they wanted to charge us around $2500. We left it off and are having another company do the exact same tile plus install for around $1000. So far no regrets. Also, go visit the house as much as you want. Just go after 5pm, when there are no construction people around. GreenNight fucked around with this message at 21:44 on Jan 18, 2015 |
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Jan 18, 2015 21:40
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:Oh god dammit. Yeah, no kidding, expanding foam is used all the time for props and set pieces in film and theater. It's a hell of a lot lighter than stone or metal and with the proper finish will look exactly the same.
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Jan 18, 2015 22:54
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I feel really stupid asking this, but how do those foam houses stand up to the elements? Foam isn't usually structural.
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Jan 19, 2015 00:26
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NancyPants posted:I feel really stupid asking this, but how do those foam houses stand up to the elements? Foam isn't usually structural. This poo poo was all loving over in Afghanistan  
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Jan 19, 2015 00:48
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NancyPants posted:I feel really stupid asking this, but how do those foam houses stand up to the elements? Foam isn't usually structural. I would imagine it's plenty strong enough (foam-type materials are generally immensely strong for their weight), but I'd worry about UV degradation and water damage.
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Jan 19, 2015 01:26
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Don't trust Veridian any farther than you can throw a forlkift by it's exhaust. Veridian used to be Don Simon and changed the name/dissolved the company to avoid legal hassles from utterly poo poo construction. I used to provide in home health care services so I got to see the inside of lots of those places, and over 5 years the settling and cracking was just amazing. Electrical issues, drainage issues, the works - needing to evacuate someone with early stage Alzheimers from a flooding basment apartment was a nightmare, and the aftermath was worse for the family. They thought the house was still under warranty, and DS/Veridian tried to weasel out of it so they didn't have to fix the crappy job they did on the basement. The way that company totally took advantage of people desperate to get their parents/grandparents into a home was utterly foul. Go for another company and tell Veridian to gently caress themselves the way they did everyone who ever bought one of the crappy homes they poo poo out to the south and east of Madison.
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Jan 19, 2015 01:37
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Why do people knowingly hire these huge house building companies? Aren't the like the walmarts of house building? I've known a few people who built their own houses and they would always hire a proper contractor. Not some huge house-building corporation, but a local respected person who builds houses, generally with the same crew and sub contractors. Any money you save going with some huge corporate McMansion mill over a real contractor will be lost in your house being a piece of poo poo that need way more upkeep and fixes.
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Jan 19, 2015 03:49
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Baronjutter posted:Why do people knowingly hire these huge house building companies? Aren't the like the walmarts of house building? I've known a few people who built their own houses and they would always hire a proper contractor. Not some huge house-building corporation, but a local respected person who builds houses, generally with the same crew and sub contractors. Ignorance. Sometimes justified with "but, but....this is the only possible development I could every possibly be happy to live in!" Then comes the insane association + fees that has a legal right to put a lien on your loving house for fees or fines created by people that have no legal oversight. Yeah....it's a great deal. Motronic fucked around with this message at 04:13 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 04:11
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Find yourself a good contractor. Someone who actually cares about their work, who cares about their crew, and who wants to build the best house they can. It won't cost much more than this walmart of home construction, and you will get a house that will survive until the end of time.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:15
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Y'all make me depressed about my home purchase. I did visit a few coworkers homes who used the same builder, between 2 and 6 years ago and they are still happy.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:18
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GreenNight posted:between 2 and 6 years ago Not to pile on, but that's pretty much an irrelevant amount of time for a home. I mean, sure....if it's bad enough things will happen sooner. But seriously.......that's not even close to any amount of time in which you should expect to need any meaningful repairs or maintenance even with the lowest bidder and cheapest materials. It's not a picnic table umbrella we're talking about here.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:22
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kastein posted:Would you be buying the lot before construction begins? The price we will be paying is for both the lot and the house. It honestly sounds more like a CYA legal bullshit thing than anything else. I definitely plan on visiting outside working hours and taking pictures at will. MH Knights posted:Life long, 30+ years, Madison goon here and Veridian is still a mediocre copy & paste McMansion slap it together-er. It may look like they have cleaned up their act but it is more that the housing downturn forced them to not cut as many corners as they would during a boom period. If there is another housing boom they will go right back to slapping houses together as quickly and cheaply as possible. I would keep a close eye on them and visit the site after hours or have a friend drive past during working hours and report back to you. I agree, I just got done looking into them a bit more. It seems that the more current reviews from homeowners are fairly favorable, whereas some of the earlier housing boom-era homes are of shittier quality, which makes me slightly more comfortable. Currently it looks like another bull housing market is on the way, so we would be timed pretty well for not slapped together construction. Motronic posted:All of the things you mentioned already, because they mean this is likely to be a bad situation. We are definitely not stuck with this builder, however it seems to be the best option for our situation. We are moving for the town (and neighborhood) and the school district, and based on the current market and our financial means buying from Veridian allows us to get into a house for a good price. I am going to look into some other options before we fully commit, but based on the incentives they were offering at the time we jumped in- this may be the only way we can afford to buy right now- in addition to some other reasons we would like to not be renting anymore. We have no illusions that this house is going to be perfect, nor are we planning on it being our 'forever home'. The way we figure, this will be a good first home for the two (four) of us, and we don't plan on being there in 10 years, maybe even 7. The plan is to use this house to start building equity towards something better, and get closer to our ideal home. A huge factor for us is providing a stable first childhood house for our kids. Doesn't hurt that the neighborhood is populated by young families with kids for my kids to run around and play with. Honestly that is one of the more appealing things about building where we are planning on building. If we do move forward with this, I will definitely look into that independent inspector, although that seems like enough of a challenge on its own based on the anecdotes in this thread. In the meantime, I do have some more questions to ask the builder before we commit.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:23
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My parents purchased a Don Simon home in 1990 when we moved to Madison from Chicago. It was about 5 years old then. They've had issue but nothing serious.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:23
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Assholio posted:use this house to start building equity That is a bet on the future durability of not only your home, but those of your neighbors (if this is a development). So even if you have the only well built house in that neighborhood based on your raw diligence but everyone else's is a piece of poo poo you still take the equity hit. You also take an equity hit if the homeowners association goes insane.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:27
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Honestly the big thing that pissed me off is that the bank estimated value of my house is $30,000 less than the city estimated. gently caress you Sun Prairie and gently caress you Wells Fargo. The home owners association here doesn't give a poo poo about anything. It's $80/year and they plow and do the sidewalks.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:27
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Assholio posted:The price we will be paying is for both the lot and the house. It honestly sounds more like a CYA legal bullshit thing than anything else. I definitely plan on visiting outside working hours and taking pictures at will. I'm assuming the build is a fixed cost? It's not unheard of to set a specific amount of client visits, as it takes time for the project manager/foreman/designer/architect to walk you through the job for a few hours. $150x4 adds up quickly. As mentioned, you can always go after hours, (or negotiate additional visits) but read your documents carefully. You might not actually own the home until you take possession/make the final payment, and they could call you out for trespassing.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:34
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GreenNight posted:The home owners association here doesn't give a poo poo about anything. It's $80/year and they plow and do the sidewalks. I don't want to go into a whole thing about this but.......that's great for you right now. There is little to no legal oversight in most jurisdictions over these associations and your title is encumbered. If the wrong/crazy people get on the board things can change quickly. The best thing you can do is to get on the board, become president and push to liquidate it and remove the title encumbrances.
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Jan 19, 2015 04:38
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Motronic posted:That is a bet on the future durability of not only your home, but those of your neighbors (if this is a development). So even if you have the only well built house in that neighborhood based on your raw diligence but everyone else's is a piece of poo poo you still take the equity hit. This is true. At the condo in CO we used to live in, the association was made up of the most colossal chucklefucks you could possibly imagine. Given, it was a 10 unit building, and this development is going to end up being in the hundreds of homes. One would hope that having more people involved would somewhat buffer the dipshittery, but we all know better than that. Off to see if anything new has popped up in the market 
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Jan 19, 2015 04:40
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I was the treasurer of an association here in town for 7 years before I purchased this house. The association I'm in now is run by a big company until all the lots are sold which won't be for a long time. When that happens I plan on trying to get on the board.
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Jan 19, 2015 05:00
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Motronic posted:The best thing you can do is to get on the board, become president and push to liquidate it and remove the title encumbrances.
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Jan 19, 2015 06:19
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I do like how someone else does all the snow removal. gently caress shoveling.
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Jan 19, 2015 16:23
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When I bought my house the seller's relocation company brought in two contractors, who I call tweedle dee and tweedle dumb, who "fixed" one of the sink drains with duct tape and poorly cut a light switch frame such that it's basically a hole in the wall. I'm a little haunted by what else they touched and I don't know about.
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Jan 19, 2015 16:27
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Motronic posted:You also take an equity hit if the homeowners association goes insane. Hey, it's the HOA in the neighborhood I moved into. The same 5 jerks have been running it for the last 12 years (since inception), and there has never been enough of a quorum for the bi-annual vote (just 10%) to vote them out
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Jan 19, 2015 18:56
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I know it's been talked to death but I would rather live on the street than ever buy into a HOA. I don't care if its $10 a year and run by chill dudes, all that can change.
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Jan 19, 2015 19:11
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canyoneer posted:Hey, it's the HOA in the neighborhood I moved into. The same 5 jerks have been running it for the last 12 years (since inception), and there has never been enough of a quorum for the bi-annual vote (just 10%) to vote them out Check if your HOA rules allow proxy votes, and if they do, get signed permission from other folks in the neighborhood to vote on their behalf the next time around. That's one way around quorum issues like that.
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Jan 19, 2015 19:15
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Our first home was built by M/I Homes and was total garbage. The site was a garbage pit, the house had water running down an interior wall within 1-2 years leaving me to discover the completely junk job they did drywalling and framing and then the vinyl siding blew off one side of the place. Oh and they forgot to put in the little 6 inch dividing wall from the kitchen to the dining room .. they told me we'd have to be out of the house for two weeks for them to fix it. Knowing what I do now .. that was the most idiotic statement and one to just scare us off from having them fix their screwup (it worked).
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Jan 19, 2015 19:25
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43 Insanely Cool Remodels if you're a millionare with a 10,000sqft mansion They do manage to take insulated stairs to the next level, so that's something. E. Also, secret fallout shelter. lol ExplodingSims fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 20:13
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ExplodingSims posted:43 Insanely Cool Remodels if you're a millionare with a 10,000sqft mansion Dude, all you need is a shovel and some good buddies and you got yourself a secret fallout shelter in your back yard!
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Jan 19, 2015 20:27
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ExplodingSims posted:43 Insanely Cool Remodels if you're a millionare with a 10,000sqft mansion I will say that raising the floor in the bedroom by a foot or so so you can install in-floor storage sounds halfway smart. But most of these are just inefficient re-uses of storage space you'd normally be using anyway, or things that exist solely to show off how much money you have.
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Jan 19, 2015 21:02
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TooMuchAbstraction posted:I will say that raising the floor in the bedroom by a foot or so so you can install in-floor storage sounds halfway smart. But most of these are just inefficient re-uses of storage space you'd normally be using anyway, or things that exist solely to show off how much money you have. I will admit I'm kinda curious how well the whole bug poison in your walls thing would work. It sounds like a good idea in concept anyways.
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Jan 19, 2015 21:17
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ExplodingSims posted:43 Insanely Cool Remodels if you're a millionare with a 10,000sqft mansion #18 seems like a great way to screw with so many things: cell phones, wifi, pacemakers, there are so many possibilities! #27 put the knives down where the baby can reach them! Also, I'm not used to having numbered lists all on a single page, instead of separate ones on separate pages.
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Jan 19, 2015 21:49
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The 'stuff under the stairs' ones are prretty cool, I would probably do one of those if it weren't for the fact that my wife is a wheelchair user and I will never own a staircase.
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Jan 19, 2015 22:17
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kid sinister posted:#18 seems like a great way to screw with so many things: cell phones, wifi, pacemakers, there are so many possibilities! Electromagnetic radiation (cell phones, wifi) isn't affected by static magnetic fields.
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Jan 19, 2015 23:03
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Phanatic posted:Electromagnetic radiation (cell phones, wifi) isn't affected by static magnetic fields. But magnetic memory is! My wife and I want a hidden room.
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Jan 19, 2015 23:12
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Two Feet From Bread posted:But magnetic memory is! Got you covered (some more): http://io9.com/5896087/secret-door-inside-this-wardrobe-leads-into-a-narnia-themed-playroom edit: Obviously, some of those ideas aren't realistic for most people, but a lot of them are perfectly reasonable and, I would say, excellent ideas. totalnewbie fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Jan 19, 2015 |
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Jan 19, 2015 23:37
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1 easy way to burn to death because the fire department doesn't know about your stupid hidden room. 1: make a hidden room.
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Jan 19, 2015 23:43
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