Do You Have Water Intrusions or Mold in Your Newly-Built Home?

You finally accomplished your goal and dream of having your own custom-built home. You worked hard so that you would be financially comfortable taking on a new builder’s mortgage loan. You scouted out properties for the house and even helped design the layout using a software program. Selecting the cabinetry, roofing, carpeting, and paint was exhilarating. Then came move-in day and you couldn’t have been any happier. As you and your family settled you thought you would finally be content in your home for the rest of your years. However, a year later you got a sense that something may be wrong.

It had been raining for two days and the ground was soaked. You didn’t really pay too much attention to the mustiness when you arrived home from work one day because the whole world seemed to smell musty. But after several days of sunshine, your nose noticed something amiss. As you searched out where the smell was coming from, it led you to the basement of your beloved house. There you discovered a rank and musty odor. You ventured in deeper to find where the problem was coming from. The walls looked wet. You touch them and they felt slick and damp. You notice a bit of wetness on the floor near the wall. Yes, there was more dampness and water along the floor and wall on one side. That’s when it dawned on you that your home had a construction defect. Water had leaked in through tiny cracks in the foundation and now mold was growing.

Unfortunately, this type of scenario can happen and often times homeowners aren’t sure what to do. They may not know that the problem is due to a faulty home construction job. They may think it is just a natural result of time, but this should not be happening in a newer home. If you are experiencing any type of dampness, mold, or water intrusion in your home, it may be due to one of these reasons:

Improper installation of stucco.
Faulty siding installation.
Leaky roofs due to poor shingle installation.
Improperly installed windows.
Structural issues with the foundation.

If you notice any of these issues occurring in your home, what should you do?

Do take pictures of the damage.
Do record dates and notes when you noticed the situation occurring.
Do contact a construction defect attorney.
Do clean up any water.
Don’t pay to have any additional work done until you speak to an attorney.

When you contact an attorney, they will help guide you through the process of regaining your loss. You don’t want to sink more money into the home until your attorney tells you how to proceed. Your attorney may have you begin the repair process and keep receipts, especially if it’s an emergency. They may advise you to have a professional come out and give an opinion as to what caused the situation, thus proving that it was a structural defect. So, you want to wait until you and your attorney are on the same page before you do anything further.

If you are experiencing water damage in your new home or smelling mold, mildew, or dampness and believe it’s due to the way your home was constructed, contact Smith Jadin Johnson. We are an experienced group of attorneys who specialize in property insurance claims. With an extensive legal knowledge of property and insurance law, you are sure to obtain the expertise you deserve. Contact us today for a consultation.