In theory, the advantage of a new-build home is that it’s in perfect shape when you buy it.
That’s what motivated retired radio host Patty Wood to purchase a new Apollo Beach, Florida ranch home — recently constructed by D.R. Horton, a home builder with 45 years’ experience.
Unfortunately, as Wood shared with ABC Action News, far from being problem-free, her new home is a nightmare. The biggest problem? Plumbing.
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“I paid a lot of money for this house. It should work,” Wood told ABC Action News.
An unacceptable situation for one new homeowner
Wood said water started rushing out of her toilets three days after she moved in. Since then, the pipes have been repeatedly clogged with waste.
She can’t flush toilet paper without the pipes clogging, so she has to put her toilet paper in a trash can near her toilet.
“I have two indoor outhouses and that’s unacceptable in any house let alone a new house,” she said.
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Under her new home warranty, Wood is entitled to have the problem fixed. She called D.R. Horton to address the issue and the company referred her to their contractor, Northwest Plumbing.
After Northwest Plumbing made one visit to clear out the pipes and inspect them with a video camera, the plumbing company blamed her toilet paper and recommended a brand she already used.
Then the plumbing company sent her an email commenting that such clogs aren’t as common in large families when multiple people flush and more water flows to move solids out of pipes. That didn’t help her.
"I’m not going to find a family to move in with me so I can flush my toilets,” Woods responded.
Frustrated by Northwest Plumbing’s inability to resolve the issue, Wood reached out to her own plumber — Thomas Flynn, a master plumber with 47 years’ experience. He identified a problem with the underground pipe that carries waste from the toilet to the sewer.
He said it was not set at a sufficient angle, or pitch, to remove the waste. He added that fixing that could cost tens of thousands of dollars.
“To make it right, you would have to saw, cut up the floor, go down to the waste pipe, and readjust it," he explained. "It’s a huge undertaking."
When ABC Action News reached out to D.R. Horton to see what the company could do, the home builder issued this statement:
"D.R. Horton has worked with Ms. Wood to evaluate her plumbing concerns. We and our vendor, Northwest Plumbing, have investigated this matter extensively, including performing a video camera line inspection, and we have not discovered any issues in the home’s plumbing system. We have provided guidance to Ms. Wood on how best to prevent future clogs."
Wood, who is trained as a paralegal, has since filed a complaint with the Florida Attorney General’s Office against both D.R. Horton and Northwest Plumbing.
Financial takeaways for buying a new-build
In a 2022 survey by Real Estate Witch, 66% of people who bought new construction felt regret about the home-building process. Meanwhile, 26% said they wish they’d purchased an existing home instead of building from scratch.
Even more telling is that 88% of buyers of new-builds dealt with "premature" repairs or maintenance issues after moving into their homes.
The problem is that issues during the building process don’t always get discovered during the inspection process. That can lead to situations like Wood’s.
And while a new home warranty can protect buyers against construction issues, it doesn’t guarantee they’ll be resolved, as Wood discovered.
So, if you’re going to buy new construction, it’s important to anticipate things going wrong — and to have a backup plan.
Vet your builder thoroughly before signing a construction contract. Talk to other people who have worked with the builder and ask what their experience entailed not just during construction, but in the year or so after they moved in.
Consider adding a clause into your contract giving you the right to bring in your own home inspector to sign off on the building process every step of the way. Your contract should give you the right to walk away without a financial penalty if your inspector discovers problems that your builder won’t fix.
Negotiate a good home warranty. Carefully review the warranty your builder offers, and if necessary, bring in a lawyer to negotiate better terms.
Make sure you have a solid emergency fund when you put in an offer on the home. That way, if there are problems with your new home and your builder doesn’t step up to fix them, you’ll be able to fix things so your home is livable and then pursue your builder for the cost of repairs.
And if you hear too many horror stories that are similar to Wood’s experience involving the builder, run.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
