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Author: Norma Holt
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Buying a Home With Built-In Problems

It is a terrible situation when one buys a property with unseen flaws in its construction. Usually in Australia this is covered by government departments that oversee the building of such and push the company to fix them. Recently, however, it has come to light that many buildings cannot be fixed and the builders have no responsibility for the mess they create for purchasers. A radio program did a story on high-rise apartment buildings and the list of complaints from purchasers was long and horrendous. It appears that people only have a month or so to raise certain issues and after that the company is off-the-hook. That would seem reasonable under normal circumstances where one can do a visual check on things and pass it. It happened, however, that Sydney had a long dry spell and many apartment buildings were put up during that time. Then came a month's worth of rain in a day or so and all hell broke loose for many apartment dwellers. Their beautiful home was suddenly flooded with rain water. One gentleman told of bailing our some 80-120 litres of water from a dam he had to erect in his lounge-room. His entire apartment was flooded before he was able to get the wall built and this ruined carpets and furniture. With the Grenville Towers episode in London showing the effect of poor building materials and the danger to tenants as a result one wonders if the same could happen here? The government wondered the same and sent inspectors around to check. Sure enough some 1,200 apartment buildings have the same type of cladding which has entered the country illegally. Money is the main goal of building companies and over the years the standards have slipped so far that one must think twice before purchasing any home. With many apartments now sold off the plan, that is before they are constructed, the future for any purchaser may be one of heart-break and being stuck with something with no resale value. Norma Holt has knowledge that enables her to understand many issues. Social, political, and behavioural problems are usually on her list for discussion and the depth of her research will amaze. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9756267