kittcat Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Townhomes that were built in 2006 by Valentine Homes. They are in foreclosure... they need quite a bit of work but I am enamored by the windows that are hard to find in Houston construction. Any experience or advice on homes by this builder? My parents are very worried that they used shortcuts when running out of money. I appreciate any feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscarbor Posted February 13, 2009 Share Posted February 13, 2009 Lots of builders are in same position as Valentine. I don't know them but if they were built in houston then the COH inspections are pretty good. The main issue is roof typically, its not an inspected item. What is left to do in home? Is water on? I would flush toilets with tp, run water for a while on each faucet....Get thourough inspection, possibly by an engineer as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittcat Posted February 13, 2009 Author Share Posted February 13, 2009 Lots of builders are in same position as Valentine. I don't know them but if they were built in houston then the COH inspections are pretty good. The main issue is roof typically, its not an inspected item. What is left to do in home? Is water on? I would flush toilets with tp, run water for a while on each faucet....Get thourough inspection, possibly by an engineer as well.The property was never inspected by the city. Would I have time to get it inspected before my option period was up? (assuming the bank even allows an option period) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jscarbor Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 The property was never inspected by the city. Would I have time to get it inspected before my option period was up? (assuming the bank even allows an option period)Typically banks give a time for you to inspect. They don't do the inspection period outlined in the 2nd to last page of a trec earnest money contract. What I would do is spell out that you want X amount of days to "inspect" if you don't like what you see then you get your EM back.Now, you have an oppurtunity to go to city and ask for a copy of the plans on file...I don't see how a home could not have any inspections...that being said you could ge these but I think it takes 5-7 days which is about how long banks usually give. So....if that is what you are looking at then I would hire an engineer to inspect the property.As a side, if the house is sheetrocked and has not had inspections it is probably something not worth pursuing unless you get it at or near lot cost IMO.If you want to pick my brain give shoot me a PM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderman Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 Townhomes that were built in 2006 by Valentine Homes. They are in foreclosure... they need quite a bit of work but I am enamored by the windows that are hard to find in Houston construction. Any experience or advice on homes by this builder? My parents are very worried that they used shortcuts when running out of money. I appreciate any feedback!Are these the townhomes across from Baldwin Park at the corner of Anita and Chenevert? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittcat Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 Are these the townhomes across from Baldwin Park at the corner of Anita and Chenevert?Yes- these are the ones - do you know anything about them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiderman Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 Yes- these are the ones - do you know anything about them?I live in the area. I can not speak to the quality of the construction, but that would be an obvious area of concern. There are 2 units that are occupied. When the first unit moved in, the City red-tagged all the units. I think they just needed final inspections, the new occupants were able to get the red tags removed relatively quickly.Based on a quick review of HCAD, it looks like 2 units are currently in foreclosure. It also looks like several units were purchased by investors, and are still not occupied - not sure if these are flippers, I have not seen any for rent signs.I think the prior post made a good point about using an engineer to assess construction quality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 definitely get this property inspected by a reputable inspector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Chenevert Posted February 16, 2009 Share Posted February 16, 2009 stay away...I live across the street and saw many illegal things.... it too months to get the street fixed.They guy (it was just one guy, his first project too) took a backhoe and dug up the street... he illegally connected the water to the water main that was on the opposite side of the street.When you go over, look for the gray pipe sticking up out of the grass across Chenevert St.... yup... that was his handy work... then look at the big pothole patch job in the middle of the street... yup, his handy work... now look at the fresh concrete on the upslope of the driveway.... not his handy work... the city did that... his handywork was leaking for 3 months... yes, a constant trickle of water was flowing into the sewer... for months I had to fight with the city to get it repaired... they claimed there was no water meter, so they assumed it was a private issue... when i showed them the illegal hookup, they dug it up and did the job right...that was just water... i could go on and on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kittcat Posted February 16, 2009 Author Share Posted February 16, 2009 stay away...I live across the street and saw many illegal things.... it too months to get the street fixed.They guy (it was just one guy, his first project too) took a backhoe and dug up the street... he illegally connected the water to the water main that was on the opposite side of the street.When you go over, look for the gray pipe sticking up out of the grass across Chenevert St.... yup... that was his handy work... then look at the big pothole patch job in the middle of the street... yup, his handy work... now look at the fresh concrete on the upslope of the driveway.... not his handy work... the city did that... his handywork was leaking for 3 months... yes, a constant trickle of water was flowing into the sewer... for months I had to fight with the city to get it repaired... they claimed there was no water meter, so they assumed it was a private issue... when i showed them the illegal hookup, they dug it up and did the job right...that was just water... i could go on and on...Thank you - this was the kind of information that I was looking for and exactly the thing my parents feared. It's really too bad because the location is so great for Houston and these units could have really added to midtown. Thanks again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missmsry Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Listen to your parents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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