Leaky House – Are you screwed?

When I recently read a “Leaking House Story” from a couple in Auckland that admitted “We purchased the property about 11 years ago and as first time buyers we were shamefully ignorant of the necessary caution and numerous pitfalls that accompany such an important financial decision” I felt touched because that could have happened to everybody, even experienced house owners became victims of leaking homes.

I read somewhere that 90 percent of apartments, terraced houses and other multi-unit homes built between 1992 and 2005 would leak badly at some point. And everybody knows in the meantime that houses built in this time frame are affected with water tightness problems.

These houses have been built in new appealing designs, but with materials not proven for the climate conditions in New Zealand and often faulty by design. Monolithic cladding in particular is prone to leaks because of not visible cracks or moisture in frame work, behind cladding and because of lack of ventilation or roof cavity.

Surprisingly all houses I have inspected were leaking at some stage, because of

· Faulty built or bad workmanship

· Wrong material or design

· Fatigue, leaking pipes and water damage by condensation, and

· Lack of maintenance or “I don’t care attitude” by occupants, trades people, inspectors etc

That mentioned couple above was on breaking point and for many New Zealanders that dilemma became an issue simply because of the financial and emotional stress endured during the problem resolving process. Dealing with a leaking house as family home results in unbelievable stress, loss of retirement assets and more sadly it destroys marriages and tears families apart. After years of fighting with massive legal bills and unsuccessful settlements the results often are emotional fatigue and financial ruin — it is a real man made disaster.

What are the options moving to a normal life?

In most cases only two options are left;

1) Get the leaking home water tight

Depending on the extent of damage, commitments to family or career and health issues a DIY project might be an option for a cost effective repair. If DIY management for replacing rotten timber, new gibs and plaster, adding some extra flashings and possibly re-cladding is not for you and you can’t re-finance possibly you have to make a tough decision to sell.

2) Sale with loss

For moving on in some cases selling the house with full disclosure at a discounted price is an option to be considered.

With these two options - do you feel screwed?

Ask yourself, would you rather carrying on with hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs, or would you rather start new with an unforgettable set of experiences?

If you have to make that decision, get the land valued and speak to us. Maybe we can figure out together your next move. If you need to talk to somebody— DO IT NOW.

Good luck.

Klauster

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Victims of leaky homes, built between 1992 and 2005, can tell a house story about buildings with water tightness problems, monolithic cladding and bad workmanship