Shoddy Construction Exacerbating Foreclosure Crisis?

BusinessWeek has a story that raises the issue of the extent to which foreclsoures are being driven by poor workmanship in new construction. One new homebuyer anecdote describes the first night spent in a brand new home. Reportedly, the homeowner had pulled the plug in the Jacuzzi tub upstairs, and 100 gallons of water came crashing through the ceiling downstairs because the plumbing drains were not connected. The dining room ceiling ended up collapsing. "That was a preview of coming attractions," said the homeowner. The homeowner ended up walking away from the home, which appraised at $408,000 the day it was bought. It ended up selling for $234,000 at a foreclosure auction.

For the rest of the problems enciuntered by the homeowner, see Foreclosure's Building Problem (Is shoddy home construction exacerbating the foreclosure crisis—or is it just an excuse for buyers to walk away?) (Story also available here on MSNBC.com).

Postscript

Whether poor constrution workmanship is driving foreclosures is debatable, but it is driving some disgruntled customers to set up web sites to share "new home horror stories" with others. See Angry Homeowners Take to the Web (As homebuilders struggle and houses get harder to sell, builder-bashing gripe sites are grabbing more attention and more traffic).

For some of the web sites, check out: Homeowners For Better Building, FightPulte.com, FightDivosta.com, FightDelWebb.com, CrapConstruction.com, KhovSucks.com (re: Hovnanian), LevittAndSonsHome.org, Defective-Homes.net, GeorgiaMoldHome.com, JustAnotherLemon.com (re: Pulte Homes).