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mobertmcshy · Mar 16, 2011, 08:02 AM

Well just as the title says I live in a 2 story townhouse (Ryan Homes) and we recently moved back in after a tenant had been occupy the space for about 2-3 yrs. Anyway we've notice that the carpenter screws are all sticking out of the ceiling and lately Ive been noticing they are coming out the sides of the walls and on top of that the walls that border the home next to us, are starting to separate causing a very bad draft! The draft is the least of my worries ( my fiancé seems to not be worried about any of this) however I don't know if we should contact the association we pay all this money to or what! The house is only about 7 yrs old! What should we do? Has this happened to anyone else? And is it our responsibility to fix this or the association who poorly built the home? ( and trust me it has never been my choice to live in one of these stupid cookie cutter homes!)

smoothy · Mar 16, 2011, 08:13 AM

The association didn't build the home. THey only take your money and tell you what you can and can't do on your own property. The association didn't exist until after the homes were built. They were built by a developer.

Unless you are able to go back on the manufacturer somehow (after 7 years its not going to be easy)... you are going to be stuck with the costs.

Personally... I would pay a building inspector to come out and do a thorough inspection and determine its its cosmetic or structural. If its more than cosmetic, you may want to talk with a lawyer as to what options you may have.

ballengerb1 · Mar 16, 2011, 08:24 AM

So you are part of a HOA , home owners association, right? What do the covenants have to say about the phyical struture. Who owns it you or is it common property? If your unit is this bad the rest are probably similar. Have you talked to your neighbors yet about their issues?

smoothy · Mar 16, 2011, 08:39 AM

Good point... is this technically a condominium... or Townhouse. Technically and physically they can look the same but legally are very different based on who actually owns the structure and is legally responsible for it, and not just a right to live in it. I've seen townhouse condos... and Apartment condos. Townhouse condos aren't all that common. But they do exist. At least in my area.