As a developer, you’re looking to build an apartment complex that you can rent out to local workers or college students. You hire a company to do the job, and it seems like everything goes smoothly. But then you do an inspection at the end and find out that there are some significant construction defects.
There could be a wide range of defects, starting with structural integrity issues. This could mean that the carpentry or masonry has been done incorrectly, and the apartment is now unstable and unsafe. There could also be mechanical problems if certain systems – like a heating and cooling system – won’t work properly. Other examples include water intrusion, electrical issues, finishing defects, and problems with doors or windows.
You’re losing money the longer it takes
No matter what the defect looks like, you know that you have to get this fixed before it’s going to be an apartment that you can rent out. And that creates the problem. Every day that you don’t have someone in that space, you are actively losing money as an investor. You need to get the construction defect issue sorted out as quickly as you can because you’ve invested a lot of money in this space, and you’re not getting any return.
You could also potentially have deadlines if you have future tenants who have already signed a lease. For instance, college students may have known months ago when they would show back up for school. But will the defects be fixed in time for them to move in?
As you can see, it’s very important to know what options you have so that you can work quickly to get everything resolved.