I read Piggington’s daily and had to chime in when I saw this topic because I make a living off of it.
I spent 6 years as a carpenter in Minnesota and Colorado before moving to San Diego to practice law. I practice now in construction defect litigation and I couldn’t agree with you more regarding the quality of construction during the latest boom here. Shoddy at best.
Many of the major problems that could go wrong with your house are not visible to the naked eye. Southern California is full of fault lines and poor soil conditions, therefore if the soil settles underneath the pad your house is built on you are in for major problems. Cracked foundations/concrete/stucco/flooring. Windows and doors become off center, counter tops can crack, plumbing lines rupture, etc.
Often times builders cut corners when testing the soil conditions of the proposed homes. This is because soils engineering is very expensive and can take a long time to complete. When a builder should do soil borings in 100 locations to get a sampling of the development, they instead will choose to do 25. This is problematic in southern CA when the soil conditions can change dramatically over a very small range.
I don’t know what the ultimate factors are for prospective buyers to consider when assessing the manner in which their house was constructed. But, it helps to have a friend that is a builder or to ask the seller/builder every question you can think of.
