Pitfalls Buying a New Home: Location, Location, Location

Living in New York, you already know that the market for new homes is very strong.  So, you already recognize that purchasing a new home will not be an easy process. A new home often fills so many needs and solves so many problems that once the “right” house is found, normal caution expected in making such a major investment frequently goes out the window.  The problem we see is that many buyers don’t even try to protect their rights-even where and to the extent they still can.  
           
Once the buyer settles on the right model and plot location, a written offer is prepared with the skeleton details of the purchase.  If the home is in a condominium development or homeowners association, they would also be given an offering plan to review.   

This is usually the point at which the attorney is brought into the picture.  Unfortunately, in a strong seller’s market, the purchaser has a very limited time within which to sign the binder and thereafter a very limited time in which to sign a contract of sale.  As a result, the attorney does not have much of an opportunity to do a good job protecting his client.

What needs to be covered in this limited period of time?  To start with:

Site location.  In a new development, the location of the home could have a long-lasting influence on the owner’s enjoyment of the property.  For example, is the home in a high-traffic area of the community?  Is the plot’s contour going to cause continuing water-control problems?  Is the plot abutting or near a sump?  

One more consideration:

Utility locations: Will the maintenance of utility lines over the property continuously disrupt enjoyment of the property?  How so?  Unless the utility lines for a future community are located on a site plan, a prospective owner has no idea whether telephone, electrical, gas, cable and other utilities will cross over his property.  Unless the service vaults for the utilities are located, the owners of the properties on which the vaults are located could have utility trucks parked at their driveways almost continuously, or their front lawn dug up on a regular basis.  If  there are multiple vaults at the foot of your driveway, the situation could be a nightmare in the making.  

These were only samples, and we haven’t even discussed the examination of title issues, specifications for the actual construction of the house, financial terms, possible delays in construction and many more issues. Issues involving location of the property and utilities are not even issues that involve  much confrontation or  negotiations with the builder.  What the buyer can do to protect his rights is to be aware of the danger of accepting a particular plot and house that has unacceptable problems and either choose a different plot location or look at another development.  The point is that unless you have an attorney who is aware of these potential disasters and can get the necessary information from the builder’s attorney before you sign any binding documents, you could wind up buying a property that will only give you aggravation, year after year while you live there, and a diminished value on the resale of the property.  

So, if you are starting to look for a new home or already may have found one, it is  never to early to start protecting your interests.  Please call our office for an appointment.  We can start immediately to review where you are and start pulling information from the builder to give you a fighting chance.                 

626 Reckson Plaza
Uniondale, NY  11556

Telephone
(516) 522-2575

Copyright © 2007 STEPHEN C. SILVERBERG, PLLC  All rights reserved.
Last modified: December 27, 2007

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