Yup. Production builders corrupt the entire system. They especially love municipalities that allow the builder's engineer to inspect and sign off on the projects instead of 'tying up' the city's inspectors.
I used to think it was a payout situation, but now it seems like it might have been originally and now is just blackmail or maybe it's just the threatening of their livelihood because those builders are rich and connected.
I am an electrician in Texas, so I’m not worried about cy checking my work but watching his videos drives me to be better. “No one will ever see it”. Yes they will
But there is Tray Hill from Gold Star Inspections the "That aint right " guy. He's also a home inspector on CZcams. Puts out some good content. He does inspections in the Houston, Texas area.
That carpet urination indicates a no-supervisor situation with untrained, unskilled workers who are hostile. Jesus. It is as if the building company wants to rub the buyers' nose in their greed and hatred.
@@petergraphix6740 I briefly worked in construction doing LV prewires, you had better believe that the builders are screwing over the contractors, that's why they're so hostile and don't give a damn. Everything was going about as well as multifamily construction does, until the engineer and architect come through to inspect the buildings, when shit hits the fan. The apartment buildings were apparently designed with shear wall construction, where a solid sheet of drywall is required to span from floor to floor with no interruptions or penetrations of any kind. This kind of construction is apparently common up in northern states where tornadoes and high winds are common, but it's basically unheard of here in the south, and that's how all of the trades were installing stuff. Every trade had to come back and redo all of their work, all at the same time. So we had trade compression with a bung of guys trying to run the entire building's worth of utilities through the narrow boxes above doorways, the only place where shear wall was to not be installed. The builder dumped responsibility for their screwup on all of the contractors and didn't pay them for redoing all of their work. So you had every trade pissed at them, but they couldn't do much because the builder had their original payments held back until work was complete, so they wouldn't be paid at all if they walked off the job. But the people that got screwed the worst were the drywallers. The builder cycled through quite literally every drywall guy in a 200 mile radius because they weren't paying them. Word got around quickly how the builder wasn't paying up, so they ended up having to fly in a drywall company from out of state to get the drywalling finished. When all of those buildings were finished, everything you se in Cy's videos was present there, the workers just didn't give a damn at that point. Most of them were very good at their trade, but when you piss them off like they did, you get what you pay for, or didn't pay for.
@@petergraphix6740@petergraphix6740 is probably why he's really encouraging them to get a lawyer and insinuating that they should sue. Hopefully, they don't just sue the builders but also the cities and maybe even the city employees who recklessly sign off on these death traps.
@petergraphix6740 that's my guess too. The builders probably screwed some contractors over, and badly. Not the right way to handle this but still, I can understand their frustration. I'd easily imagine contractors going under out of the builders greedy b.s.
Deadlines and no port a potty facilities nearby will automatically cause this situation. My guess is there is no room for pee bottles because that's just gross... but peeing in a corner of a carpeted room... thumbs up.
When I was 15, back in 1990, i worked for a builder during summer and weekends as a gopher/cutman. We agreed that he would get my state certified by my 16th birthday and would pay me under the table $6/he. The first thing he taught me was that the 1/8" rule is BS and any TRUE craftsman can build to 1/16" or better. My main job the first year I was with him was true up trusses and any other pre-fabbed materials that showed up. Paul Huhn took pride in his work and paid his guys according to their level of pride in their work. I owe him immensely for instilling that attention to detail & showing me the right way to build with pride!. Keep up the great work Cy!
On the one hand, he made sure you know what you were doing and cared about the quality of the work. On the other hand... Illegal child labor. And we know it was illegal cuz otherwise he wouldn't have been paying you under the table.
@@kmoecub You had to be at least 17 to take that class at our high school. Seniors only. My brother took it. It was also pretty dumb - they had to pay for the tools they used. And they didn't get any pay for their work. Total exploitation from the construction company that partnered with the school to get free labor. My brother had quite a few stories of them goofing around and ignoring safety equipment. They were lucky no one got seriously hurt.
My daughter has lived in two of those tiny home apartments in Surprise (both Mark Taylor communities), and both have shoddy construction w/ perpetual problems and incomplete tasks, despite being "ready to move in". The city building inspector giving out passes definitely rings true compared to when our home was built 19 years ago.
At this point, people out there should be able to find the cracks , welds ,missing caps, broken cabinets etc just watching your vids. I go visit someone's house now they ask me ,where are you going ? I say I'm off to check your terribly built home . Lemme bring in my Thermal 😁
And just to think all that just to rent a house you're living in and the property it's sitting on under the illusion that you own it but in reality it's the Governments if you live in the USA
That's a cheap house in that area try 700,000 and up and I know a certain contractor there that starts with a c and ends with an x had been bulking trash since the mid 90s when the really cheap labor started flooding Ohio. I have lived back and forth between Columbus Ohio and Phoenix Arizona and a certain demographic have their kids and nephews cousins the whole family with zero experience out roofing houses in Ohio. They don't even understand water flow I have seen waterfalls in kitchens where 2 roofs tied together and shingles were laced from wrong direction. Then builder has the audacity when I give him a repair price to say I didn't pay that much to have the whole roof installed. Yeah I know that's why these folks have a waterfall in their kitchen that was a feature installed at no cost. How wonderful how many people get the luxury of a waterfall.
I worked for a couple of carlenters when I was young. This would get me fired immediately! I remember when all this began. We were framing and drying in houses, except roofing. One day, the builder calls my boss, "I have a crew that says they will do it for less than half what you charge. If you can do it for his price, I would rather you do it because I like your work." My boss said no way. About 2 years later, the builder called my boss, "I've got a massive problem! The siding is popping off all those houses. And numerous other problems!" Doors were not shutting, crooked walls, studs loose, and many more. The boss went and looked, and the siding nails weren't in the studs. Studs nailed halfway. Windows out of square and won't open. The price my boss gave to fix it was more than double what he charged to begin with. That builder got sued out of business. I can guess who the carpenters are. You get what you pay for. People are to blame for allowing them to come and do this. They do not care about quality.
Everything is about profit anymore. They don’t care how many people they hurt as long as their bottom line is bigger.. that is what the United States has turned into everything for profit, including healthcare where it really hurts people and can literally kill them.
In cases like these where an inspector has approved a COA for an obviously deficient property, the inspectors name should be featured onscreen while exposing each violation they were either too stupid, or too corrupt to cite.
I don’t understand 1) Why the hell these builders haven’t been sued under massive class-action lawsuits for fraud, and; 2) Why state officials have not been investigating the local inspectors for their probably illegal buddy-buddy relationship with the builders?
Who's been running state government for 15 years until just last year? And who are their major donors? The corruption goes right to the top on that side of the aisle.
@@jeffcampbell2710 💯. I worked in residential construction for many years. Back when unions were prevalent in the residential sector you would never EVER see this kind of work. But slowly but surely the builders got greedy and started hiring undocumented hacks who have no idea what they are doing and this is the result. Not all of the workers are undocumented but the ones who are not are just hired off the street for the lowest wage possible and thrown in the fire with a worthless foreman who can't keep a job because he's an alcoholic. I've watched the residential side go in the gutter long ago and ran to the commercial side where pride and workmanship is still a thing. This is 100 percent on the greedy builders hiring ppl that are not qualified for the job so they can maximize profits all why screwing everyone over. (The homeowner, Field workers) Somehow they are still getting away with it which boggles my mind. I can guarantee you the guys working on those homes in Arizona are making 14-20 a hour MAX!!!
Cy has shown that builders will spend more time and effort fighting and intimidating the homeowners than actually fixing the problem, let alone making sure it doesn't happen in the first place. In one case, one of his clients began to warn his neighbors and help them file complaints against the builder, and the builder began to openly slander them in the neighborhood in hopes of discrediting them.
This isn't a common thing by the way. This is a corrupt builder who is seizing on an in rush population center and cranking out garbage homes with unqualified, cheap as dirt (illegal) labor. This is the exactly what is wrong with the USA. To elaborate on what someone above said already, these scum bags are paying for lawyers and going to court to try and burn people, when just making the repairs would be cheaper. Obviously it's soooo bad that making the repairs is NOT cheaper. 2 mil in lawyer fees is less than 2.9 mil in complete re-inspection and repair of entire sub divisions. The real mess here is, obviously AZ is hiring unqualified inspectors to keep these builders in check. No freaking way you could get TCO in my neck of the woods with equipment that isn't even finished or functional. Let alone blatant code violations. Even the best of the best get a list of items to address where I'm at.
Apathy, and the knowledge that the purchase contracts are written to screw the buyers if they complain and want things fixed before they take possession.
Would be a shame if somebody went around these communities & created a spreadsheet tying communities to city inspectors for some of these messed up homes..
@Frostsh0k LMAO I was recommended this channel because it shows crappy low paid workers skills. Who make up the majority of crappy paid workers in manual labor jobs Einstein?
For those who think rain caps are not a big deal, Besides water coming in, it also prevents a Vapor block that pushes against the existing air, so the furnace exit gas's expel inside the house.
@@MonkeyJedi99 Where I am, they aren't required, and it's amazing how often a stack vent gets blocked because squirrels have decided to hide winter food in the vent.
Great job. I'm a PE and find the same kinds of problems when ask to do a home inspection. The realtor that use-to-use me won't use me anymore because I stopped so many purchases.
At this point I blame the state for not protecting the public, hope they vote everyone of them out. I give it a couple more years before you start seeing Morgan & Morgan signs promoting a class action lawsuit
Absolutely. I've seen his over videos where he posts outright code violations that got signed off. It makes me think that the state and city inspectors are simply taking the builder's word for it at best or openly collaborating with them at worst.
I think any inspector signing off on a home like this needs to answer to someone. Homeowners need to be making Registrar of Contractors complaints on a grand scale.
I ran a Pro Handyman business for years with my son, and we had Home Inspectors recommending us, because they KNEW the GC’s wouldn’t fix life threatening conditions. Let that sink in.
Dude is 100% right about being forced to close. Had the same issue with my home, and we had to pay up $3k because there were some last minute issues. Lucky for us the builders actually built pretty good houses and we're very happy. I think a large part of this is our city inspectors were fairly tough on the builders.
Congrats on making national news! WBTV in Charlotte covered your story today. Wish I knew about you for our 2020 Pulte build in Peoria. Keep up the great work!!!
Love your videos!! I have been a Home Inspector since 1997. I had back issues last year and have not returned. My age was getting the better of me also. Funny tho how things turn out. Over the years I was so called "a buyers Inspector" Funny, I did every Inspection the the same with trying to constantly Improve and be the best I possibly could. So, you can Imagine how thoroughly entertained I am by your videos. You obviously are a very good Inspector and work for the buyer as Intended. Thank you for your great Inspections and Videos 😇😇😇
I recently got in touch with a lawyer I know from when I worked security for the plaza their firm had an office on. they do property law. He couldn't give details obviously, but when I asked about his opinion on some of the things going on in Arizona and Nevada, he commented that it was very similar to some ongoing cases here in Virginia. I have no doubt in my mind he's probably representing some people fighting against these criminal builders right now. as an HVAC technician who has worked for two companies thst did new construction work, heck even as an apprentice with no experience at the first of these companies, I knew a lot of what I was seeing was wrong. Main reason I'm not with those companies anymore is because I wasnt some fresh faced teen. I was an adult and military veteran and I refused to stay quiet about things that I knew were wrong.
Virginia definitely has similar issues, someone I know recently had their AC (including at least some ductwork I believe) completely torn out and replaced in a fairly recent new build because of the builder's incompetence.
Virginia definitely has similar issues, someone I know recently had their AC (including at least some ductwork I believe) completely torn out and replaced in a fairly recent new build because of the builder's incompetence.
Yep. Even union jobs won't hold against these crooks. Old family $$$$ legacy mob goes back to mid 1800s here in the midwest. My partner was a truthspeaker...for truss supplier at old money outfit. The mold on all that stuff too...will rip through the place in maybe 3 years! Tops.
Please make more long form content, you're one of the few people I would actually take the time and watch through a full inspection. I'm going to be a home buyer here in a few years and I 100% guarantee you'll be my inspector. I'll delay building the home if that's what it takes to meet your schedule lol. ❤
Neighbor knew an electrician whose business went under, so he went to work for the city as an inspector. Next time he saw the guy it was about 2 months he was coming to do an inspection on a place they were working on. A FRAMING inspection. Can you see the problem?
@@BLKMGK4 I only worked a little bit in the construction industry but all I ever heard was that city inspectors were contractors that couldn't make it in the industry.
In so many ways, it's the builders not caring about their work and the local inspectors not doing their jobs at all. I bet the local inspectors are being paid off, and the builders are receiving pre signed inspection tags. It may not rain very often in Arizona, but when it does rain, it pours.
I grew up in New England I’ve lived in houses that were 300 + years old they were not completely level but were solid and the wood work was second to none ! Moved to AZ in 2006 and couldn’t believe the terrible houses I was watching being built around me 😢
These problems started long before 2020 every since you heard the phrase in the 90s they only do the jobs Americans refuse to do. They drove the prices down to half when the influx came and yes it's Americans decided we couldn't justify working 15 hours a day to starve to death still. When you have 11 roommates it's amazing how cheap you can work for with rent split 12 ways
Our Governor and AG are useless. They'll only target those who oppose their agenda(s). They've become drunk with power and could care less about the common folk.
@@InfernusdomniAZ You can check the donor lists. On the left they're pretty varied. On the right they read like an affiliate directory for the Builders' and Developers' Association. This governor isn't going to protect them, but the legislature is.
Cy, you should start a reality TV soap show where in the end of every episode Larry and his Caterpillar D8 will fix every problems of these "houses" in less then 30 seconds.
Cy, you should start an inspector association that gets a critical mass of evidence to take action against corporate builders who enable and protect incompetent contractors instead of ensuring they meet quality standards.
I spent decades working as a paralegal for the plaintiffs/homeowners construction defect law firm in Phoenix. Retired now and living in northern Arizona. Your channel came up in my feed. I watched the first one and immediately knew which builders you were talking about. Keep up the great work 😊
is there any good home builder that you would recommend? Seems like all the crews are trash. Im thinking buy land and put up a modular home on the far west side of phoenix or north side.
i work in the trades in AZ and the things i see these builders get away with are damn near criminal. without writing a novel, if you're looking to buy a new home, just do yourselves a favor and stay away from Ashton Woods/Starlight, Bellero (elliot homes), and Robson Ranch. You're welcome.
Love the anti tip bracket for stove just chilling in cabinet. Guy who installed prob had no idea what these are so just threw it in cabinet. Such craftsmanship.
The first missing anti tip bracket lawsuit for the free standing ovens happened in the 1980's. It's still being missed by the appliance installers. There was a child who used the oven door to stand on to see what was cooking and was critically burned when the oven tipped forward on the child with hot contents. Missing anti-tip bracket. I preach this to my college class to check. No excuses.
My Dad is a contractor, and we just built my house together. He takes a lot of pride in what he does. I'm so lucky I don't have to depend on scumbag builders. Be safe out there people
Saw a news article in Idaho about the builder filing a complaint against you. I find this hilariously telling. You're scaring them. Keep it up. New subscriber.
We (self-built) built a cabin up in Park County, Colorado (finished in 2020). The electrical inspectors for the county are actually state inspectors as the county does not have their own. The gentlemen who did our inspections were very thorough and checked every connection, tested EVERY.SINGLE.OUTLET with a meter, made some recommendations that weren't code required but recommended (so we did them). We had a couple of outlets that had issues that needed rewired and a breaker that needed to be replaced with GFCI so he told my husband how to fix, went to another inspection nearby, stopped back by and signed off on the final permit. I appreciated their thoroughness and they were very professional, but friendly. So many homes/cabins in Park County are built without permits (remote mountain areas) and with the high potential for forest fires it is scary seeing some of these places!
I like to see the longer form content. Man, if you put out some more consistent longer videos, they would definitely start getting a lot more views. I know I'd be watching.
This is shameful so many hard working families putting in all their hard earned money to buy a home just to find out its shit. I would like to see you go from state to state busting these builders. Cy keep up the great work!!
I had a home built by TM and it was a nightmare experience. They knew I had 3rd party inspectors and told me Friday at 530PM that they were going to drywall the following Monday. Giving me no time to get my inspector in there… and I was able to and found so many mistakes they were trying to cover. I have multiple reports from different inspectors and they refused to fix more than half of what was found… stating that it passed their inspections. (TMs paid inspectors) they were so unprofessional and I felt very unsafe in that house. They even changed structurally how the house looked from the model and claimed it was within their right to do that, even though that meant less privacy for my home… I got receipts but their a big corporation and I’m just 1 person.
That’s embarrassing….Home builder and City inspectors are obviously working together on handing off terribly constructed homes to home buyers….Hopefully, both will be properly punished. Buyers need to be made whole..Those homes need to be properly completed ASAP….Nice job exposing this shameful activity.
Man I love watching your videos. Youre such a thorough inspector I can't imagine how many headaches you've saved buyers. I remember one confrontation you had with a builder when he saw how much was wrong and straight up said we're not going to fix any of that. You handled it like a pro
If a builder tells me they'll sue me for a thousand dollars for every day past the closing date until I close the deal on a house that's unfit to be lived in I'd say I'll see them AND whichever inspector accepted their shoddy work in court. Then I would call a lawyer right in front of them and make an appointment to discuss a countersuit against the builder. And I'd look them right in the eye while I described the code violations that builder was trying to browbeat me into accepting. They'd fold. One reason the construction industry is in the state it's in currently is that so many people are either ignorant of their rights or afraid to stand up for themselves. Remember, every time one bully wins every bully gets bolder and more blatant in their bullying. Don't let them win. Fight back, for everyone's sake if not for your own.
I understand the sentiment. I agree with asking people to fight back. But these companies have expensive criminals with bar licences (lawyers who are criminals themselves). They have a lot of people in the city council on their payroll. They have close family members of judges on their payroll. You'd be loosing 1000$ a day plus the legal fees if you can't find an equally expensive lawyer who's had experience with bullies before and an honest judge and luck etc etc. It's just better to not ever walk into the offices or model homes of these builders ever. Never consider buying from a large-scale builder ever
@@abhilashsridhara6343 And that's the fear talking. Fear of losing money. Fear of losing your freedom if you can't pay the money. Fear that some sort of conspiracy involving every contractor, lawyer, cop, and judge in the country (which all of those millions of people manage to keep completely secret, BTW) will cost you everything. The fear propogated by lawyers that if you don't have a lawyer you can't win a lawsuit brought against you. But the fact is that the courts will give a certain amount of leeway to defendants that have no attorney. So you don't have to know legalese or be a member of the bar. You just have to have facts on your side and be willing to stand up for yourself. If the house you promised to buy is not built to code, and you get sued for refusal to sign closing documents, that's just a free day in court. Take pictures of the problems plus copies of the relevant parts of the code being violated into court. Subpoena your inspector, if you hired one, and have him or her testify in their professional capacity as to the subpar state of the home. Force the builder to go on record as to WHY they are refusing to bring the building they expect you to buy up to code. I promise you, they will fold rather than go on record admitting to breaking the law by not building to code. Threatening to sue is a bluff. Fear is their strongest weapon. Take it away from them and they'll give you anything to make you happy. We need to make the builders afraid of US again. Afraid of the damage we can do to their professional reputation, their name, and their bottom line.
@@Dwayne_Bearup I can surely understand your enthusiasm in wanting to fight but not everyone is in a position to risk everything just to stick it to those crooks. You think it's a conspiracy theory that these builders pay people off but any reasonable person will ask why isn't a single city inspector catching these violations? Why are so many inspectors threatening cy. Why is cy currently being sued by a big builder? Why is cy suggesting they hire a bigshot lawyer with experience to fight this builder? How was the builder able to leverage the certification of occupancy to force the customer to pay out 90000 $. Not everyone has the time money and mental resources to fight criminals like this with a proven track record of cheating customers blatantly. Only those people like you who believe they can take on the world and hope that because they are on the right path they will win in the long-term. Others simply can't ignore the mountain of evidence suggesting these criminals are well connected and this isn't the first time they have done this. It's simply better to avoid dealing with these criminals in the first place. For those who have already made the mistake of signing agreements with these builders, they need a saviour with experience to help them out. Otherwise they have very little chance of winning. Naivete can only get them so far
10000000% correct. @abhilashsridhara6343 is afraid from all of the bad outcomes he's constantly fed by the algorithm. He hasn't seen cases where people have won. Money and a crack team of lawyers can only go so far. You can't deny irrefutable evidence, and that is all you need to win.
I didn't know about this channel until I saw the news article.. I just subscribed. I'm glad there are people who still have pride in their work. Looks like you ruffled their feathers. It is sad that they don't try to fix their work ethic.
Building Dept is to blame. You spend a lot of money for a building permit. Make them do their job inspecting and inspect properly. I'd push it to the City Council and maybe a Grand Jury audit. In my area Nor Cal, it took me 5 years to get the power pole and a panel replaced. Back and forth between the Building Dept, PG&E, and went through 4 electricians. When it finally came to an end, the County inspector came out on the day of disconnect, looked around and never showed up again. A month later with a hole still in the ground for inspection, my electrician called the building dept and found out the inspector signed everything off the same day when he got back to the office and didn't tell anybody. Everything was done correctly, but nobody x'cept the electrician took a second look.
We walked away from our Pulte home 2 days before close. Of course forfeiting out 50k deposit. I was so sick just seeing all the cosmetic issues let allow the entire 2nd floor creaked as we walked around it. I hope they hold these guys accountable 🙏🏼
I spent a month during the first bush recession working for a company that did warranty work on mobile homes. they were coming out in better shape than these houses, AFTER going 60 MPH down the freeway. and the manufacturer's response to ANY homeowner complaint was to call warranty service.
Thanks for the good work Cy! I've been learning a lot (of what I don't want to find) when looking for a house one day! You're training the lot of us to be informed on shady builders!
I purchased a home from Pulte 3 years ago. I came out a few days before closing and my home was not ready. I spent a few years in the trade myself so I know what to look for, how trades will try to cover their mistakes and how long stuff takes to finish etc. They assured me everything would be ready to go before before closing in a few days, it was not! On the day of closing the A/C was barely working in the middle of June, the house was easily in the 80s, and master bath door has been torn out because the shower glass would not fit and they didn't realize I didn't upgrade the door height, multiple holes throughout the kitchen walls because they failed the firemans inspection based on some new electrical codes. My super was great to work with, both him and I were both in the Army so I guess a bit of bro code but he was super up front with me about everything. There were lots of pieces of blue tape that he put up as we did our walkthrough but the hard part is getting the builder to coordinator all the trades in one day to take care of something. For example, a wall trim piece had a large gap that was very noticeable since it was next the kitchen. They sent the trim guy out, who tried to caulk it but only made it look worse. Then they sent the trim guy back out to replace it, who did, but then the walls were scuffed up and needed to be repainted but then the paint didn't match and the base still looked terrible. Eventually Pulte had all 3 trades at our house to fix the issue but this was months after closing. So for those buying a new home in Arizona right now, its busy, not surprising right, and trades are in short supply. Plan on being you're own general contractor for that first year as you try to keep the builder honest within your 1 year warranty. And builders are under sizing their A/C units so expect to have to fuss with that. I've already had to replace the capacitor on my 3 year old A/C, which is a common part to fail on A/Cs. If you can afford it, get a flir camera like Cyfy uses for your first walkthrough, I was fortunate that my insulation was done right but it will settle within the first year and you'll want to get the builder to top it back up to code of 14 inches before your 1 year warranty is up. And get a home inspector like Cyfy for both pre drywall and post drywall inspections!!!! I did and he caught a lot of stuff like missing rain caps and broken tiles up on the roof!!
I feel like i was unsubbed not you doing it but CZcams. Im here for it. Im a concrete finisher and I'm very meticulous about everything i do. Its sad im 42 and the only one at my company who seems to care if things are done right. I make sure we have at least 4 inches of concrete,most do a half ass job in subgrade, I dont. I make sure all the edges especially corners are flush. I know concrete aren't the same as some of these problems but people like me are a dying breed. I do EVERY job like its my own
honestly, stumbled on your videos by accident ... as someone who is going through "three monts renovation" .. it's actually fifth year now .... your videos almost make me cry with compassion ... . there are problems everywhere .. builder is not responding, all is going to court in two weeks, but hey ... the owner alerady registered new company with almost the same name ... so ... probably nothing's gonna change for me, except for all the court expenses ...
This should be a heyday for a law firm - but it is incredibly hard to bring a class-action lawsuit, especially against a company that uses many tiers of subcontractors to do the work. Every builder has its own people and inspectors seeing these houses, they know what is going on. If a builder says they cant hire enough good people - then either they should pay more so they can hire those people, or they should make fewer homes. "We sold a home that we couldn't build properly" is not an excuse. There are countless smaller builders who do a great job because they care; they probably just arent able to compete with the major companies that cut every corner. Prevent those major companies drom cutting corners, and you open the market to the excellent small companies again. You'll get better houses, and they will be better built for your personal needs.
I just realized that I got desensitized to poor building quality because I live in a country where stuff like this has been going on for decades. These builders and all their management should get punished according to the law.
More power to you! Thank you for educating prospective home owners for problems to look for. I live in an older home where I have fixed and upgraded most everything myself. I would be terrified to try and buy a new home right now. So few builders have pride in their work.
My father used to do urban planning and refused to let builders let this build houses like this even if he lost his job he now works as a administrator and now he has fired so many urban planners and city inspectors because he gets how bad it is
I really want to believe that you just have a really bad builder marketing themself as a high-end builder, but I have a feeling that these issues are far more common everywhere.
This is why I hired my own builder inspector to work for me ,when I was buying a home. He was old but knew where to look and climb. He left nothing unturned. Gave me a list of things that were not done right and needed repaired. Then afterwards he came back to made sure they were repaired correctly. He was pricey but worth every penny.
It’s crazy seeing you walking around in areas I grew up riding three wheelers and lighting bonfires. I moved in 05 and I wished I didn’t. Keek up the great work!!!
I agree with the inspector on most points. There are few thing that he is missing in his commentary. Most of the projects in new constructions are done on a extremely tight time frame and budget. There is a builder in my areal who wants all electrical done in 2 days, otherwise he will not give the project to you. Also the money is super tight, electrician can only make about $200 a day after working with no breaks being totally exhausted at the end of the day. We can't ask for cheaper home prices and then require highest quality. I've seen violations on every house I've been to starting all the way from the 70's built houses to brand new ones.
I am retired, but during my career I started in new home construction, then worked in the building supply business dealing with the owners and officers of these large builders. I consistently self educated myself in building science and built several homes for myself and here’s my observation. The Builders association both nationally and locally raise money and lobby politicians to create laws that favor them, this is true in every industry. The biggest problem as I see it is to this day is large builders such as DR something and others have masons, framers, roofers, sliders and drywall contractors that are actually employees as they really don’t work for anyone else, but get paid by the job. The men building your nice home cannot afford one of their own. It’s greed that is economically enslaving these men who are mostly new to this country, they work long hours 6 or 7 days a week just to stay poor. My experience with some builders is that they squeeze subcontractors and put many out of business, I learned this because these subs couldn’t pay their supply bill but were really busy losing money on each house until the cash flow stopped and they went out of business.
Well said. There's always someone in the comments lamenting the state of builder labor - yeah for some that's true but buck stops with who hired them, always. And if it's a shady subcontractor it's who hired them to cut corners to take their cut. And more often than not you have employees doing sh-t work, it's because you're treating them as such. Honestly it would be great to see decent home inspectors (or some other organization, maybe one promoting home ownership...) organize a response and maybe even have an insurance/resource program for home buyers. The builders will always have more $ and political influence because people aren't constantly buying new homes. But they deserve to be protected and some of this is dangerous to entire neighborhoods. Not buying new rn but if I was, I'd happily pay a fee knowing there'd be someone supporting me if the builder tried to force me to close, if I could get higher up the waiting list for solid good inspectors, etc. It'd never match builder lobbying power but it'd be a start and a badly needed one.
Um, you mean the AG or County Attorney. The state Supreme Court gets involved after they bring suit and only if the Superior Court bungles the case and the Appeals court likewise embarrasses itself.
I'm a handyman and seeing this video shows to prove the greedy developers that pay low wages. They even tell workers a deadline to finish the home to sell. But the bottom line it is the city inspectors who pass the inspection to sell the house. More power to this guy to have the guts and show the public the big costly repairs.
People having homes built should have their earnest money held by a 3rd party and not allow the builder to have access to it until the home is 100% finished and all issues are taken care of BEFORE closing. That's the only way homeowners will have any leverage against crooked builders.
Been helping a friend with his new condo that was just built in henderson nevada. Every plastic anchor i've tried to use in his drywall ends up failing and spinning in the drywall. Never had this problem before. Had to go to toggle bolts. Convinced that the drywall is low quality as manufacturers try to extend materials to keep up with demand
Oh god, the cold/hot water issue was one I had in a place I lived. The former occupants complained that the washer shrunk their clothes and the dryer never worked. When I moved in, it turned out the hot and cold water in the bathroom/laundry room were reversed, so every cold cycle was running hot. Plus the drier just vented directly into the bathroom, rater to the outside, so no wonder it didn't work for crap. Fortunately the landlord put in a new washer-drier in a better place with a proper external vent, and made sure the hot and cold water intakes were correct on the new ones.
Fortunately I was able to check in my house being built several times a week. I always did my walkthroughs arbiter hours so as not to disturb the workers. As a former product safety inspector, I was well acquainted with the AHJ. After calling the site supervisor six times in the first two weeks to have things corrected, he realized I was one of THOSE buyers. From that point on, things tightened up really quick. When occupancy was approved, I gave him a bottle of top shelf beverage and apologized for giving him a rough time. He said that I was not wrong in one complaint and it didn’t hurt his feelings.
These videos made me check my sliding glass door for broken welds. None found because it’s a different design with double-rivets at each corner. Are all these builders just using cheap sliding doors, or are the builders too rough with them on the install?
@@Taolan8472 I would say it's mainly going with the cheapest materials they can buy in bulk. There is a reason that "builder grade" is foul language for quality contractors.
A few years ago i kept hearing some contractors complain saying that the new city inspectors didn't know what they were doing. It's been a few years and i haven't had any issues with them. Then realized it was cause these new inspectors wouldn't get chumy or take bribes like the old ones. Thats why some contractors don't like these new ones.
because the current state of contract law in the USA is incredibly predatory and overbalanced in favor of large corporations. the larger they are the more favorable their situation.
I had similar issues with my home builder, Salisbury Homes, in Santaquin Utah. There were tons of code violations, but the builder said they didn't have to fix them because the city inspector have them a Cert of occupancy. I threatened to sue the city and get the city inspectors license revoked. The city inspector quickly stepped in and revoked the certificate of occupancy. The builder threatened to sue me for defamation because I posted pictures online, but I reminded them that defamation only applied if what I said was false. I'd recommend the residents threaten suing Queen Creek, and filling to have the city inspector have his license revoked.
I think at this point the city building department should have some liability for passing these houses.
💯 agree
Should have been for years even before this type of crap.
New homes are just horrible. It’s actually nuts.
They should have 100% liability. They Certified that it was okay, when it's OBVIOUS that's it not.
Yup. Production builders corrupt the entire system. They especially love municipalities that allow the builder's engineer to inspect and sign off on the projects instead of 'tying up' the city's inspectors.
That's seems to be the case with every city in Phoenix and Tucson.
It might be time to catalog and publicly list each home and the city inspector that certified it for occupancy. Government should be held accountable.
Growing up, I heard "the truth shall set you free"; I bet that truth would get you locked up
@@amish1Boy oh boy is it interesting finding out how easy it is to become a target.
100% agree. Where is the city inspectors? Who in their right mind is passing these homes?
I used to think it was a payout situation, but now it seems like it might have been originally and now is just blackmail or maybe it's just the threatening of their livelihood because those builders are rich and connected.
You won't get any accountability due to qualified immunity doctrine.
I am an electrician in Texas, so I’m not worried about cy checking my work but watching his videos drives me to be better. “No one will ever see it”. Yes they will
They see it ten years later when they realize it's why their electric bill is three times their neighbors'.
Absolutely love this comment.
one of my catchphrases is "I can see that (problem) from my house."
But there is Tray Hill from Gold Star Inspections the "That aint right " guy. He's also a home inspector on CZcams. Puts out some good content. He does inspections in the Houston, Texas area.
No one will ever see it but I’ll know
That carpet urination indicates a no-supervisor situation with untrained, unskilled workers who are hostile. Jesus. It is as if the building company wants to rub the buyers' nose in their greed and hatred.
Ya, my guess is the corrupt builders are also screwing over the workers and they are giving g
A screw you back.
@@petergraphix6740 I briefly worked in construction doing LV prewires, you had better believe that the builders are screwing over the contractors, that's why they're so hostile and don't give a damn.
Everything was going about as well as multifamily construction does, until the engineer and architect come through to inspect the buildings, when shit hits the fan. The apartment buildings were apparently designed with shear wall construction, where a solid sheet of drywall is required to span from floor to floor with no interruptions or penetrations of any kind. This kind of construction is apparently common up in northern states where tornadoes and high winds are common, but it's basically unheard of here in the south, and that's how all of the trades were installing stuff.
Every trade had to come back and redo all of their work, all at the same time. So we had trade compression with a bung of guys trying to run the entire building's worth of utilities through the narrow boxes above doorways, the only place where shear wall was to not be installed.
The builder dumped responsibility for their screwup on all of the contractors and didn't pay them for redoing all of their work. So you had every trade pissed at them, but they couldn't do much because the builder had their original payments held back until work was complete, so they wouldn't be paid at all if they walked off the job.
But the people that got screwed the worst were the drywallers. The builder cycled through quite literally every drywall guy in a 200 mile radius because they weren't paying them. Word got around quickly how the builder wasn't paying up, so they ended up having to fly in a drywall company from out of state to get the drywalling finished.
When all of those buildings were finished, everything you se in Cy's videos was present there, the workers just didn't give a damn at that point. Most of them were very good at their trade, but when you piss them off like they did, you get what you pay for, or didn't pay for.
@@petergraphix6740@petergraphix6740 is probably why he's really encouraging them to get a lawyer and insinuating that they should sue. Hopefully, they don't just sue the builders but also the cities and maybe even the city employees who recklessly sign off on these death traps.
@petergraphix6740 that's my guess too. The builders probably screwed some contractors over, and badly. Not the right way to handle this but still, I can understand their frustration. I'd easily imagine contractors going under out of the builders greedy b.s.
Deadlines and no port a potty facilities nearby will automatically cause this situation. My guess is there is no room for pee bottles because that's just gross... but peeing in a corner of a carpeted room... thumbs up.
I blame the city inspectors not doing their jobs
Gift card is better than salary
It’s criminal. Not joking.
I blame whoever let those people come here.
they are getting paid not to do their jobs
@@jeffcampbell2710 you m0ron.
As a carpenter, I can verify a lot of these violations ... truthful content is always allowed ... thank you from an honest contractor ...
When I was 15, back in 1990, i worked for a builder during summer and weekends as a gopher/cutman. We agreed that he would get my state certified by my 16th birthday and would pay me under the table $6/he. The first thing he taught me was that the 1/8" rule is BS and any TRUE craftsman can build to 1/16" or better. My main job the first year I was with him was true up trusses and any other pre-fabbed materials that showed up. Paul Huhn took pride in his work and paid his guys according to their level of pride in their work. I owe him immensely for instilling that attention to detail & showing me the right way to build with pride!. Keep up the great work Cy!
On the one hand, he made sure you know what you were doing and cared about the quality of the work.
On the other hand... Illegal child labor. And we know it was illegal cuz otherwise he wouldn't have been paying you under the table.
We surely need to bring back American pride 🙂
Those were the days...
Until it became hard to do any such thing or get your ass fired.
Go into business for yourself....still a better option...
@@SadisticSenpai61 15 year-olds can work construction. The High School I used to work at has a construction class. They build a new home every year.
@@kmoecub You had to be at least 17 to take that class at our high school. Seniors only. My brother took it.
It was also pretty dumb - they had to pay for the tools they used. And they didn't get any pay for their work. Total exploitation from the construction company that partnered with the school to get free labor.
My brother had quite a few stories of them goofing around and ignoring safety equipment. They were lucky no one got seriously hurt.
As a 20 yr RE broker in Phoenix, the builders, cities, and ROC have created such a lax system where even minimum building standards can’t be met.
💯
My daughter has lived in two of those tiny home apartments in Surprise (both Mark Taylor communities), and both have shoddy construction w/ perpetual problems and incomplete tasks, despite being "ready to move in". The city building inspector giving out passes definitely rings true compared to when our home was built 19 years ago.
All I can say is, don't move to Florida.
this is what the people voted for
@@danpinsonsax Shhh, it's called organized crime. Who wants to end up coyote chow?
At this point, people out there should be able to find the cracks , welds ,missing caps, broken cabinets etc just watching your vids. I go visit someone's house now they ask me ,where are you going ? I say I'm off to check your terribly built home . Lemme bring in my
Thermal 😁
Temu sells thermal cameras that plug into your phone. Cheap and invaluable.
@@blairhoughton7918 And you are buying junk quality just like these builds.
@@blairhoughton7918are u serious?
Damn buying one now
@@front1989 don't support temu. please.
the dislike are from the people who build these houses.
All these 500k homes in Arizona are garbage...
The thought of spending 400-500k on a new house just to turn around and have to spend another 100k to fix the new house is horrible.
And just to think all that just to rent a house you're living in and the property it's sitting on under the illusion that you own it but in reality it's the Governments if you live in the USA
That's a cheap house in that area try 700,000 and up and I know a certain contractor there that starts with a c and ends with an x had been bulking trash since the mid 90s when the really cheap labor started flooding Ohio. I have lived back and forth between Columbus Ohio and Phoenix Arizona and a certain demographic have their kids and nephews cousins the whole family with zero experience out roofing houses in Ohio. They don't even understand water flow I have seen waterfalls in kitchens where 2 roofs tied together and shingles were laced from wrong direction. Then builder has the audacity when I give him a repair price to say I didn't pay that much to have the whole roof installed. Yeah I know that's why these folks have a waterfall in their kitchen that was a feature installed at no cost. How wonderful how many people get the luxury of a waterfall.
I worked for a couple of carlenters when I was young. This would get me fired immediately!
I remember when all this began. We were framing and drying in houses, except roofing. One day, the builder calls my boss, "I have a crew that says they will do it for less than half what you charge. If you can do it for his price, I would rather you do it because I like your work." My boss said no way.
About 2 years later, the builder called my boss, "I've got a massive problem! The siding is popping off all those houses. And numerous other problems!" Doors were not shutting, crooked walls, studs loose, and many more. The boss went and looked, and the siding nails weren't in the studs. Studs nailed halfway. Windows out of square and won't open. The price my boss gave to fix it was more than double what he charged to begin with. That builder got sued out of business.
I can guess who the carpenters are. You get what you pay for. People are to blame for allowing them to come and do this. They do not care about quality.
Everything is about profit anymore. They don’t care how many people they hurt as long as their bottom line is bigger.. that is what the United States has turned into everything for profit, including healthcare where it really hurts people and can literally kill them.
In cases like these where an inspector has approved a COA for an obviously deficient property, the inspectors name should be featured onscreen while exposing each violation they were either too stupid, or too corrupt to cite.
I don’t understand 1) Why the hell these builders haven’t been sued under massive class-action lawsuits for fraud, and; 2) Why state officials have not been investigating the local inspectors for their probably illegal buddy-buddy relationship with the builders?
Who's been running state government for 15 years until just last year? And who are their major donors? The corruption goes right to the top on that side of the aisle.
@@blairhoughton7918hell yeah brother. Cuckservatives ruin everything.
the people VOTED for this. This is right wing ideology in action.
Well, the carpenters came looking for a dream. You gonna sue dreamers? You ray siss!
@@jeffcampbell2710 💯. I worked in residential construction for many years. Back when unions were prevalent in the residential sector you would never EVER see this kind of work. But slowly but surely the builders got greedy and started hiring undocumented hacks who have no idea what they are doing and this is the result. Not all of the workers are undocumented but the ones who are not are just hired off the street for the lowest wage possible and thrown in the fire with a worthless foreman who can't keep a job because he's an alcoholic. I've watched the residential side go in the gutter long ago and ran to the commercial side where pride and workmanship is still a thing. This is 100 percent on the greedy builders hiring ppl that are not qualified for the job so they can maximize profits all why screwing everyone over. (The homeowner, Field workers) Somehow they are still getting away with it which boggles my mind. I can guarantee you the guys working on those homes in Arizona are making 14-20 a hour MAX!!!
P is for telling me it's only raining while you're pissing down my back. How's the class action suit proceeding?
I will try and get an update, they recently started invasive testing/inspections
I, too, want to know more, please do a long video! This is very near where i live. ❤@@cyfyhomeinspections
Does anyone else wonder why they leave broken welds KNOWING he's going to check them?
They are like the Gen Z kids out there that don't know the IRS is watching and waiting, until the end of the year.
They leave everything knowing that he will find it. How disturbing is that!!! They know people won't fight back
Cy has shown that builders will spend more time and effort fighting and intimidating the homeowners than actually fixing the problem, let alone making sure it doesn't happen in the first place. In one case, one of his clients began to warn his neighbors and help them file complaints against the builder, and the builder began to openly slander them in the neighborhood in hopes of discrediting them.
This isn't a common thing by the way. This is a corrupt builder who is seizing on an in rush population center and cranking out garbage homes with unqualified, cheap as dirt (illegal) labor. This is the exactly what is wrong with the USA. To elaborate on what someone above said already, these scum bags are paying for lawyers and going to court to try and burn people, when just making the repairs would be cheaper. Obviously it's soooo bad that making the repairs is NOT cheaper. 2 mil in lawyer fees is less than 2.9 mil in complete re-inspection and repair of entire sub divisions.
The real mess here is, obviously AZ is hiring unqualified inspectors to keep these builders in check. No freaking way you could get TCO in my neck of the woods with equipment that isn't even finished or functional. Let alone blatant code violations. Even the best of the best get a list of items to address where I'm at.
Apathy, and the knowledge that the purchase contracts are written to screw the buyers if they complain and want things fixed before they take possession.
Would be a shame if somebody went around these communities & created a spreadsheet tying communities to city inspectors for some of these messed up homes..
How dare you use publicly available information for the good of the public!
And a handy map...caveat emptor....
Just send ICE.
@@jeffcampbell2710 how will that help if the city inspectors are hired by the city exactly? Or you trying to be racist just cause you’re bored?
@Frostsh0k
LMAO
I was recommended this channel because it shows crappy low paid workers skills. Who make up the majority of crappy paid workers in manual labor jobs Einstein?
For those who think rain caps are not a big deal, Besides water coming in, it also prevents a Vapor block that pushes against the existing air, so the furnace exit gas's expel inside the house.
And stops birds and other mid-sized critters from building nests that will block the pipe.
Insects? That's a different game.
@@MonkeyJedi99 Where I am, they aren't required, and it's amazing how often a stack vent gets blocked because squirrels have decided to hide winter food in the vent.
@@RandomAxeOfKindness Which reminds of something many (better) contractors say. "Code is a minimum."
Great job. I'm a PE and find the same kinds of problems when ask to do a home inspection. The realtor that use-to-use me won't use me anymore because I stopped so many purchases.
Realtors should not be allowed to refer home inspectors. Home owners need find their own inspectors.
@@twjull Agreed but unfortunately most home-buyers trust their realtor and rely on their "expertise". Keep up the good work!
At this point I blame the state for not protecting the public, hope they vote everyone of them out. I give it a couple more years before you start seeing Morgan & Morgan signs promoting a class action lawsuit
The state is too focused on banning books, fighting against woke, and battling election fraud.
Absolutely. I've seen his over videos where he posts outright code violations that got signed off. It makes me think that the state and city inspectors are simply taking the builder's word for it at best or openly collaborating with them at worst.
Are you trying to tell us the government doesn't always have our best interests in mind? Who would have thought!
@@goodjunkworkshop8383 and the private sector is even worse
I think any inspector signing off on a home like this needs to answer to someone. Homeowners need to be making Registrar of Contractors complaints on a grand scale.
I ran a Pro Handyman business for years with my son, and we had Home Inspectors recommending us, because they KNEW the GC’s wouldn’t fix life threatening conditions.
Let that sink in.
Dude is 100% right about being forced to close. Had the same issue with my home, and we had to pay up $3k because there were some last minute issues. Lucky for us the builders actually built pretty good houses and we're very happy. I think a large part of this is our city inspectors were fairly tough on the builders.
Congrats on making national news! WBTV in Charlotte covered your story today. Wish I knew about you for our 2020 Pulte build in Peoria. Keep up the great work!!!
You are doing a service to viewers. Expect a fight from these crooked builders.
Love your videos!! I have been a Home Inspector since 1997. I had back issues last year and have not returned. My age was getting the better of me also. Funny tho how things turn out. Over the years I was so called "a buyers Inspector" Funny, I did every Inspection the the same with trying to constantly Improve and be the best I possibly could. So, you can Imagine how thoroughly entertained I am by your videos. You obviously are a very good Inspector and work for the buyer as Intended. Thank you for your great Inspections and Videos 😇😇😇
I recently got in touch with a lawyer I know from when I worked security for the plaza their firm had an office on. they do property law.
He couldn't give details obviously, but when I asked about his opinion on some of the things going on in Arizona and Nevada, he commented that it was very similar to some ongoing cases here in Virginia. I have no doubt in my mind he's probably representing some people fighting against these criminal builders right now.
as an HVAC technician who has worked for two companies thst did new construction work, heck even as an apprentice with no experience at the first of these companies, I knew a lot of what I was seeing was wrong.
Main reason I'm not with those companies anymore is because I wasnt some fresh faced teen. I was an adult and military veteran and I refused to stay quiet about things that I knew were wrong.
Virginia definitely has similar issues, someone I know recently had their AC (including at least some ductwork I believe) completely torn out and replaced in a fairly recent new build because of the builder's incompetence.
Virginia definitely has similar issues, someone I know recently had their AC (including at least some ductwork I believe) completely torn out and replaced in a fairly recent new build because of the builder's incompetence.
Yep. Even union jobs won't hold against these crooks. Old family $$$$ legacy mob goes back to mid 1800s here in the midwest.
My partner was a truthspeaker...for truss supplier at old money outfit.
The mold on all that stuff too...will rip through the place in maybe 3 years! Tops.
Builders in AZ (especially in the Valley) have been cutting corners and raising garbage for decades. About time someone was showing it.
Please make more long form content, you're one of the few people I would actually take the time and watch through a full inspection. I'm going to be a home buyer here in a few years and I 100% guarantee you'll be my inspector. I'll delay building the home if that's what it takes to meet your schedule lol. ❤
How do they not know what the hell they are doing. City inspectors are shit.
Curbside inspections.
"Yep, that there is a house. Here's your certificate of occupancy!"
Neighbor knew an electrician whose business went under, so he went to work for the city as an inspector. Next time he saw the guy it was about 2 months he was coming to do an inspection on a place they were working on. A FRAMING inspection. Can you see the problem?
@@BLKMGK4 I only worked a little bit in the construction industry but all I ever heard was that city inspectors were contractors that couldn't make it in the industry.
In so many ways, it's the builders not caring about their work and the local inspectors not doing their jobs at all.
I bet the local inspectors are being paid off, and the builders are receiving pre signed inspection tags.
It may not rain very often in Arizona, but when it does rain, it pours.
I grew up in New England I’ve lived in houses that were 300 + years old they were not completely level but were solid and the wood work was second to none ! Moved to AZ in 2006 and couldn’t believe the terrible houses I was watching being built around me 😢
Remember, it's not the inspectors fault for pointing it out.
I wouldn’t touch any new construction especially between 2020 to present.
These problems started long before 2020 every since you heard the phrase in the 90s they only do the jobs Americans refuse to do. They drove the prices down to half when the influx came and yes it's Americans decided we couldn't justify working 15 hours a day to starve to death still. When you have 11 roommates it's amazing how cheap you can work for with rent split 12 ways
Someone should reach out to a program like Dateline, or 60 minutes! Increase the pressure on them! Get the governor involved or something!
Or the AG. Kris Mayes has no problem making corporations live in fear.
There is definitely plenty of material for someone to do an hour-long special. I think the AG could file something.
Our Governor and AG are useless. They'll only target those who oppose their agenda(s). They've become drunk with power and could care less about the common folk.
You think the governor isn't the builders pocket?
@@InfernusdomniAZ You can check the donor lists. On the left they're pretty varied. On the right they read like an affiliate directory for the Builders' and Developers' Association. This governor isn't going to protect them, but the legislature is.
I support your channel because I had a home foreclosed on because of inspection and real estate collusion. Inspectors need to have integrity
Saw the termites-infested house video 😢 people are neglectful of public safety keep doing everything to save lives bro 👏🏼🙌🏽💯💯
Renter for Life , however, I really enjoy these videos. It's beyond belief seeing these.
I appreciate the longer form videos.
Cy, you should start a reality TV soap show where in the end of every episode Larry and his Caterpillar D8 will fix every problems of these "houses" in less then 30 seconds.
Cy, you should start an inspector association that gets a critical mass of evidence to take action against corporate builders who enable and protect incompetent contractors instead of ensuring they meet quality standards.
@@blairhoughton7918 no we want entertaining content not someone to actually do something to fix things!!!!
i.e. american politics
Absolutely bad idea. TV is stupid. This is a serious problem out there, and to make it into "entertainment" devalues with Cy is doing.
I spent decades working as a paralegal for the plaintiffs/homeowners construction defect law firm in Phoenix. Retired now and living in northern Arizona. Your channel came up in my feed. I watched the first one and immediately knew which builders you were talking about. Keep up the great work 😊
is there any good home builder that you would recommend? Seems like all the crews are trash. Im thinking buy land and put up a modular home on the far west side of phoenix or north side.
i work in the trades in AZ and the things i see these builders get away with are damn near criminal. without writing a novel, if you're looking to buy a new home, just do yourselves a favor and stay away from Ashton Woods/Starlight, Bellero (elliot homes), and Robson Ranch. You're welcome.
Here in Michigan when i worked construction, some builder's employees would crap in the basement before the floor was poured, it was disgusting
I wonder how much money they actually save not buying all those rain caps.
Death trap. The clogged dryer vent alone is a major problem. Fire waiting to happen, just hope the family's not asleep when it goes.
You're doing the Lord's work, man. Bless your heart
Buying a house could make or break you badly.
I’d be suing town and the building inspectors as well as the builder.
Love the anti tip bracket for stove just chilling in cabinet. Guy who installed prob had no idea what these are so just threw it in cabinet. Such craftsmanship.
The first missing anti tip bracket lawsuit for the free standing ovens happened in the 1980's. It's still being missed by the appliance installers. There was a child who used the oven door to stand on to see what was cooking and was critically burned when the oven tipped forward on the child with hot contents. Missing anti-tip bracket. I preach this to my college class to check. No excuses.
My Dad is a contractor, and we just built my house together. He takes a lot of pride in what he does. I'm so lucky I don't have to depend on scumbag builders. Be safe out there people
Sounds amazing really.
I love this video. Thank you for exposing truth on poorly newly built homes.
Saw a news article in Idaho about the builder filing a complaint against you. I find this hilariously telling. You're scaring them. Keep it up. New subscriber.
We (self-built) built a cabin up in Park County, Colorado (finished in 2020). The electrical inspectors for the county are actually state inspectors as the county does not have their own. The gentlemen who did our inspections were very thorough and checked every connection, tested EVERY.SINGLE.OUTLET with a meter, made some recommendations that weren't code required but recommended (so we did them). We had a couple of outlets that had issues that needed rewired and a breaker that needed to be replaced with GFCI so he told my husband how to fix, went to another inspection nearby, stopped back by and signed off on the final permit. I appreciated their thoroughness and they were very professional, but friendly. So many homes/cabins in Park County are built without permits (remote mountain areas) and with the high potential for forest fires it is scary seeing some of these places!
Good job, sir. The world needs more QUALITY People like you in the world
I like to see the longer form content. Man, if you put out some more consistent longer videos, they would definitely start getting a lot more views. I know I'd be watching.
Glad there are inspectors like you out there. These Builders don't care at all about the product they make. They just want the Buyers money.
This is shameful so many hard working families putting in all their hard earned money to buy a home just to find out its shit. I would like to see you go from state to state busting these builders. Cy keep up the great work!!
I had a home built by TM and it was a nightmare experience. They knew I had 3rd party inspectors and told me Friday at 530PM that they were going to drywall the following Monday. Giving me no time to get my inspector in there… and I was able to and found so many mistakes they were trying to cover. I have multiple reports from different inspectors and they refused to fix more than half of what was found… stating that it passed their inspections. (TMs paid inspectors) they were so unprofessional and I felt very unsafe in that house. They even changed structurally how the house looked from the model and claimed it was within their right to do that, even though that meant less privacy for my home… I got receipts but their a big corporation and I’m just 1 person.
That’s embarrassing….Home builder and City inspectors are obviously working together on handing off terribly constructed homes to home buyers….Hopefully, both will be properly punished. Buyers need to be made whole..Those homes need to be properly completed ASAP….Nice job exposing this shameful activity.
Man I love watching your videos. Youre such a thorough inspector I can't imagine how many headaches you've saved buyers. I remember one confrontation you had with a builder when he saw how much was wrong and straight up said we're not going to fix any of that. You handled it like a pro
If a builder tells me they'll sue me for a thousand dollars for every day past the closing date until I close the deal on a house that's unfit to be lived in I'd say I'll see them AND whichever inspector accepted their shoddy work in court. Then I would call a lawyer right in front of them and make an appointment to discuss a countersuit against the builder. And I'd look them right in the eye while I described the code violations that builder was trying to browbeat me into accepting. They'd fold.
One reason the construction industry is in the state it's in currently is that so many people are either ignorant of their rights or afraid to stand up for themselves. Remember, every time one bully wins every bully gets bolder and more blatant in their bullying. Don't let them win. Fight back, for everyone's sake if not for your own.
I understand the sentiment. I agree with asking people to fight back. But these companies have expensive criminals with bar licences (lawyers who are criminals themselves). They have a lot of people in the city council on their payroll. They have close family members of judges on their payroll. You'd be loosing 1000$ a day plus the legal fees if you can't find an equally expensive lawyer who's had experience with bullies before and an honest judge and luck etc etc. It's just better to not ever walk into the offices or model homes of these builders ever. Never consider buying from a large-scale builder ever
@@abhilashsridhara6343 And that's the fear talking. Fear of losing money. Fear of losing your freedom if you can't pay the money. Fear that some sort of conspiracy involving every contractor, lawyer, cop, and judge in the country (which all of those millions of people manage to keep completely secret, BTW) will cost you everything. The fear propogated by lawyers that if you don't have a lawyer you can't win a lawsuit brought against you.
But the fact is that the courts will give a certain amount of leeway to defendants that have no attorney. So you don't have to know legalese or be a member of the bar. You just have to have facts on your side and be willing to stand up for yourself. If the house you promised to buy is not built to code, and you get sued for refusal to sign closing documents, that's just a free day in court. Take pictures of the problems plus copies of the relevant parts of the code being violated into court. Subpoena your inspector, if you hired one, and have him or her testify in their professional capacity as to the subpar state of the home. Force the builder to go on record as to WHY they are refusing to bring the building they expect you to buy up to code. I promise you, they will fold rather than go on record admitting to breaking the law by not building to code. Threatening to sue is a bluff.
Fear is their strongest weapon. Take it away from them and they'll give you anything to make you happy.
We need to make the builders afraid of US again. Afraid of the damage we can do to their professional reputation, their name, and their bottom line.
@@Dwayne_Bearup I can surely understand your enthusiasm in wanting to fight but not everyone is in a position to risk everything just to stick it to those crooks. You think it's a conspiracy theory that these builders pay people off but any reasonable person will ask why isn't a single city inspector catching these violations? Why are so many inspectors threatening cy. Why is cy currently being sued by a big builder? Why is cy suggesting they hire a bigshot lawyer with experience to fight this builder? How was the builder able to leverage the certification of occupancy to force the customer to pay out 90000 $. Not everyone has the time money and mental resources to fight criminals like this with a proven track record of cheating customers blatantly. Only those people like you who believe they can take on the world and hope that because they are on the right path they will win in the long-term. Others simply can't ignore the mountain of evidence suggesting these criminals are well connected and this isn't the first time they have done this. It's simply better to avoid dealing with these criminals in the first place. For those who have already made the mistake of signing agreements with these builders, they need a saviour with experience to help them out. Otherwise they have very little chance of winning. Naivete can only get them so far
The inspectors are generally shielded from liability for missing violations. It makes it easier for them to be bribed.
10000000% correct. @abhilashsridhara6343 is afraid from all of the bad outcomes he's constantly fed by the algorithm. He hasn't seen cases where people have won. Money and a crack team of lawyers can only go so far. You can't deny irrefutable evidence, and that is all you need to win.
I didn't know about this channel until I saw the news article.. I just subscribed. I'm glad there are people who still have pride in their work. Looks like you ruffled their feathers. It is sad that they don't try to fix their work ethic.
Building Dept is to blame. You spend a lot of money for a building permit. Make them do their job inspecting and inspect properly. I'd push it to the City Council and maybe a Grand Jury audit. In my area Nor Cal, it took me 5 years to get the power pole and a panel replaced. Back and forth between the Building Dept, PG&E, and went through 4 electricians. When it finally came to an end, the County inspector came out on the day of disconnect, looked around and never showed up again. A month later with a hole still in the ground for inspection, my electrician called the building dept and found out the inspector signed everything off the same day when he got back to the office and didn't tell anybody. Everything was done correctly, but nobody x'cept the electrician took a second look.
I always appreciate a home inspector that does their job rather than cut corners to pander to selling agents.
We walked away from our Pulte home 2 days before close. Of course forfeiting out 50k deposit. I was so sick just seeing all the cosmetic issues let allow the entire 2nd floor creaked as we walked around it. I hope they hold these guys accountable 🙏🏼
I spent a month during the first bush recession working for a company that did warranty work on mobile homes. they were coming out in better shape than these houses, AFTER going 60 MPH down the freeway. and the manufacturer's response to ANY homeowner complaint was to call warranty service.
Thanks for the good work Cy! I've been learning a lot (of what I don't want to find) when looking for a house one day! You're training the lot of us to be informed on shady builders!
I purchased a home from Pulte 3 years ago. I came out a few days before closing and my home was not ready. I spent a few years in the trade myself so I know what to look for, how trades will try to cover their mistakes and how long stuff takes to finish etc. They assured me everything would be ready to go before before closing in a few days, it was not! On the day of closing the A/C was barely working in the middle of June, the house was easily in the 80s, and master bath door has been torn out because the shower glass would not fit and they didn't realize I didn't upgrade the door height, multiple holes throughout the kitchen walls because they failed the firemans inspection based on some new electrical codes. My super was great to work with, both him and I were both in the Army so I guess a bit of bro code but he was super up front with me about everything. There were lots of pieces of blue tape that he put up as we did our walkthrough but the hard part is getting the builder to coordinator all the trades in one day to take care of something. For example, a wall trim piece had a large gap that was very noticeable since it was next the kitchen. They sent the trim guy out, who tried to caulk it but only made it look worse. Then they sent the trim guy back out to replace it, who did, but then the walls were scuffed up and needed to be repainted but then the paint didn't match and the base still looked terrible. Eventually Pulte had all 3 trades at our house to fix the issue but this was months after closing. So for those buying a new home in Arizona right now, its busy, not surprising right, and trades are in short supply. Plan on being you're own general contractor for that first year as you try to keep the builder honest within your 1 year warranty. And builders are under sizing their A/C units so expect to have to fuss with that. I've already had to replace the capacitor on my 3 year old A/C, which is a common part to fail on A/Cs. If you can afford it, get a flir camera like Cyfy uses for your first walkthrough, I was fortunate that my insulation was done right but it will settle within the first year and you'll want to get the builder to top it back up to code of 14 inches before your 1 year warranty is up. And get a home inspector like Cyfy for both pre drywall and post drywall inspections!!!! I did and he caught a lot of stuff like missing rain caps and broken tiles up on the roof!!
I feel like i was unsubbed not you doing it but CZcams. Im here for it. Im a concrete finisher and I'm very meticulous about everything i do. Its sad im 42 and the only one at my company who seems to care if things are done right. I make sure we have at least 4 inches of concrete,most do a half ass job in subgrade, I dont. I make sure all the edges especially corners are flush. I know concrete aren't the same as some of these problems but people like me are a dying breed. I do EVERY job like its my own
honestly, stumbled on your videos by accident ... as someone who is going through "three monts renovation" .. it's actually fifth year now .... your videos almost make me cry with compassion ... . there are problems everywhere .. builder is not responding, all is going to court in two weeks, but hey ... the owner alerady registered new company with almost the same name ... so ... probably nothing's gonna change for me, except for all the court expenses ...
This should be a heyday for a law firm - but it is incredibly hard to bring a class-action lawsuit, especially against a company that uses many tiers of subcontractors to do the work.
Every builder has its own people and inspectors seeing these houses, they know what is going on. If a builder says they cant hire enough good people - then either they should pay more so they can hire those people, or they should make fewer homes. "We sold a home that we couldn't build properly" is not an excuse.
There are countless smaller builders who do a great job because they care; they probably just arent able to compete with the major companies that cut every corner. Prevent those major companies drom cutting corners, and you open the market to the excellent small companies again. You'll get better houses, and they will be better built for your personal needs.
wow i feel bad for that buyer. I'm learning more and more about what to look before buying a house. Thank you.
I just realized that I got desensitized to poor building quality because I live in a country where stuff like this has been going on for decades. These builders and all their management should get punished according to the law.
More power to you! Thank you for educating prospective home owners for problems to look for. I live in an older home where I have fixed and upgraded most everything myself. I would be terrified to try and buy a new home right now. So few builders have pride in their work.
My 1964 brick and stick house has much better build quality than these expensive new builds. Plus, no one is peeing on my carpets. wow.
My father used to do urban planning and refused to let builders let this build houses like this even if he lost his job he now works as a administrator and now he has fired so many urban planners and city inspectors because he gets how bad it is
Thank you! The news brought me here. Keep going because I love it!!
It's really hard to fathom that new homes, in that price range are that poorly built.
I really want to believe that you just have a really bad builder marketing themself as a high-end builder, but I have a feeling that these issues are far more common everywhere.
Yup
This is why I hired my own builder inspector to work for me ,when I was buying a home. He was old but knew where to look and climb. He left nothing unturned. Gave me a list of things that were not done right and needed repaired. Then afterwards he came back to made sure they were repaired correctly. He was pricey but worth every penny.
It’s crazy seeing you walking around in areas I grew up riding three wheelers and lighting bonfires. I moved in 05 and I wished I didn’t. Keek up the great work!!!
I agree with the inspector on most points. There are few thing that he is missing in his commentary. Most of the projects in new constructions are done on a extremely tight time frame and budget. There is a builder in my areal who wants all electrical done in 2 days, otherwise he will not give the project to you. Also the money is super tight, electrician can only make about $200 a day after working with no breaks being totally exhausted at the end of the day. We can't ask for cheaper home prices and then require highest quality. I've seen violations on every house I've been to starting all the way from the 70's built houses to brand new ones.
Buy pre-WW2 homes.
This is like a superhero origin story! I’d watch a dramatized 3hr long version of this over Marvel any day. At least make it a Netflix doc🙏🏻
I am retired, but during my career I started in new home construction, then worked in the building supply business dealing with the owners and officers of these large builders. I consistently self educated myself in building science and built several homes for myself and here’s my observation. The Builders association both nationally and locally raise money and lobby politicians to create laws that favor them, this is true in every industry. The biggest problem as I see it is to this day is large builders such as DR something and others have masons, framers, roofers, sliders and drywall contractors that are actually employees as they really don’t work for anyone else, but get paid by the job. The men building your nice home cannot afford one of their own. It’s greed that is economically enslaving these men who are mostly new to this country, they work long hours 6 or 7 days a week just to stay poor. My experience with some builders is that they squeeze subcontractors and put many out of business, I learned this because these subs couldn’t pay their supply bill but were really busy losing money on each house until the cash flow stopped and they went out of business.
Well said. There's always someone in the comments lamenting the state of builder labor - yeah for some that's true but buck stops with who hired them, always. And if it's a shady subcontractor it's who hired them to cut corners to take their cut. And more often than not you have employees doing sh-t work, it's because you're treating them as such.
Honestly it would be great to see decent home inspectors (or some other organization, maybe one promoting home ownership...) organize a response and maybe even have an insurance/resource program for home buyers. The builders will always have more $ and political influence because people aren't constantly buying new homes. But they deserve to be protected and some of this is dangerous to entire neighborhoods. Not buying new rn but if I was, I'd happily pay a fee knowing there'd be someone supporting me if the builder tried to force me to close, if I could get higher up the waiting list for solid good inspectors, etc. It'd never match builder lobbying power but it'd be a start and a badly needed one.
This has become a state issue, and needs to be brought up to the Supreme Court. This needs to be fixed ASAP!
Um, you mean the AG or County Attorney. The state Supreme Court gets involved after they bring suit and only if the Superior Court bungles the case and the Appeals court likewise embarrasses itself.
You're also getting viewers now because a big name developer decided it was a good idea to sue you. I'm sure they're going to regret that.
I'm a handyman and seeing this video shows to prove the greedy developers that pay low wages. They even tell workers a deadline to finish the home to sell. But the bottom line it is the city inspectors who pass the inspection to sell the house. More power to this guy to have the guts and show the public the big costly repairs.
People having homes built should have their earnest money held by a 3rd party and not allow the builder to have access to it until the home is 100% finished and all issues are taken care of BEFORE closing. That's the only way homeowners will have any leverage against crooked builders.
Escrow for new construction.
Been helping a friend with his new condo that was just built in henderson nevada. Every plastic anchor i've tried to use in his drywall ends up failing and spinning in the drywall. Never had this problem before. Had to go to toggle bolts. Convinced that the drywall is low quality as manufacturers try to extend materials to keep up with demand
Oh god, the cold/hot water issue was one I had in a place I lived. The former occupants complained that the washer shrunk their clothes and the dryer never worked. When I moved in, it turned out the hot and cold water in the bathroom/laundry room were reversed, so every cold cycle was running hot. Plus the drier just vented directly into the bathroom, rater to the outside, so no wonder it didn't work for crap.
Fortunately the landlord put in a new washer-drier in a better place with a proper external vent, and made sure the hot and cold water intakes were correct on the new ones.
Fortunately I was able to check in my house being built several times a week. I always did my walkthroughs arbiter hours so as not to disturb the workers.
As a former product safety inspector, I was well acquainted with the AHJ.
After calling the site supervisor six times in the first two weeks to have things corrected, he realized I was one of THOSE buyers.
From that point on, things tightened up really quick.
When occupancy was approved, I gave him a bottle of top shelf beverage and apologized for giving him a rough time.
He said that I was not wrong in one complaint and it didn’t hurt his feelings.
You are a gem of AZ.
As a carpenter I appreciate what you do. People should be accountable for laziness
These videos made me check my sliding glass door for broken welds. None found because it’s a different design with double-rivets at each corner.
Are all these builders just using cheap sliding doors, or are the builders too rough with them on the install?
a bit of both. but mainly the builders are being too rough with them.
@@Taolan8472 I would say it's mainly going with the cheapest materials they can buy in bulk.
There is a reason that "builder grade" is foul language for quality contractors.
Thank you for pointing these out. I find them helpful, honest and transparent. Don't get bullied by these people.
As a 25 year old who’s looking to buy a house this terrifies me financially
A few years ago i kept hearing some contractors complain saying that the new city inspectors didn't know what they were doing. It's been a few years and i haven't had any issues with them. Then realized it was cause these new inspectors wouldn't get chumy or take bribes like the old ones. Thats why some contractors don't like these new ones.
How can they force them to close the deal when the building is incomplete?
because the current state of contract law in the USA is incredibly predatory and overbalanced in favor of large corporations. the larger they are the more favorable their situation.
Because they have the CO for the property which legally means it's OK to occupy.
I had similar issues with my home builder, Salisbury Homes, in Santaquin Utah. There were tons of code violations, but the builder said they didn't have to fix them because the city inspector have them a Cert of occupancy. I threatened to sue the city and get the city inspectors license revoked. The city inspector quickly stepped in and revoked the certificate of occupancy. The builder threatened to sue me for defamation because I posted pictures online, but I reminded them that defamation only applied if what I said was false. I'd recommend the residents threaten suing Queen Creek, and filling to have the city inspector have his license revoked.
This is sickening and has to be criminal. How can builders do this over and over and get away with it?
Regulations are frowned upon until something like this effects you...then people scream about it.