My wife and I got paid the highest compliment we could imagine by a buyer today — we got invited to their housewarming party!
The Escher House sold back in May. About a month ago, the buyers had an issue with a soffit that wasn’t sealed properly, causing water to come through the kitchen ceiling and causing a bit of drywall damage. We had fully remodeled this house, so this issue was clearly something that our contractors had messed up. So, we had our roofing crew go out to fix the soffit, and then sent in our painting crew to fix the drywall and repaint.
The buyers were ecstatic that we did this, though I really couldn’t imagine not doing it…when we sell a remodeled house, we stand behind the work.
Anyway, today, we received an invitation in the mail for their upcoming housewarming party. We’re actually very interested in seeing what they’ve done with the house, so I’m sure we will at least stop by.
This isn’t the first time we’ve gotten nice feedback from buyers after the sale, but it never gets old. It’s a good reminder that we’re doing things the right way, which always makes us feel good… 🙂
That’s awesome J 🙂
nice to see that integrity stands before profit. what makes people want to do business with you.
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I think this is awesome. I commend you. Far too often in real estate investing is the investor out for themselves and more or less run over someone who is already in a tough spot. I think getting to know people and understanding the emotion of why they are wanting to buy or sell is a great way to build a relationship. This is what needs to be done every time but many people do not. I cannot commend you enough for your efforts with your clients. You are a tribute to those of us investors who truely do try and who truely care.
You did the right thing! But it’s a bummer that rework was necessary. It would make me wonder about what else is coming down the line.
I’m wondering though if you had to pay for the rework. I’d imagine the painters had to be compensated. How could this have been prevented?
Hi Vlad,
Based on your comments, I would have to guess that you’re pretty new to construction. As you’ll eventually realize, when you do a major renovation (and even on new construction), it’s not at all uncommon for an issue or two to pop up within a few months of completion. For example, any issues with waterproofing are hard to figure out and/or resolve until after the first big rain, which depending on the area and time of year could occur months after the renovation.
It’s very common on new construction and major renovations for the seller to provide some type of warranty to the buyer, either on their own or through a home warranty company. In this case, we purchased a home warranty for our buyers, so even if they didn’t contact us, the repair cost would have been minimal.
But, in this specific case, our roofers were happy to come out and fix the soffit issue for free (it was their mistake, after all), and our painters did the sheetrock and painting repairs for free as well. While they certainly could have charged us for the work, we do enough projects together that they’re happy to help us out on things like this without charging us.
A lot of rehabbers don’t have a reliable, skilled and trustworthy crew, and that’s when real issues arise. Our contractors will do whatever it takes to ensure the job is done right, even if that means fixing problems months after the work is completed. If you ever get into rehabbing, keep that in mind…
Yep, pretty new to construction. I did have some experience with my own house where the contractor was nowhere to be found after the work was completed. I suspect you have a pretty good relationship with this crew and the homeowners benefited as a result (good for you and for them). I suspect the local city government can help with getting the contractor to fix the issues that pop up, but one needs to make sure the permits are pulled for everything.