Tough Love For The Starry-Eyed Homeowner In Us All

By Trish Holder

Remember that scene in Moonstruck where Cher slaps Nicholas Cage across his face and yells, 'Snap out of it!'? Well, there's a lesson in that for us all, particularly when it comes to home ownership.
Here's some tough love to all those drunk with excitement over the prospect of their new home or newly renovated kitchen. It doesn't matter how great a guy (or gal) your builder or contractor is, the second your job is complete, the memory of you and the money you spent starts to fade very quickly. You'll notice that he doesn't return your calls as promptly as before. He may not return them at all if he thinks trouble lies at the other end of that call.
And there you are, staring at a stain on your ceiling that appears to be some sort of.....leak.
When Bad Things Happen to Good Homeowners

What happens, if your contractor goes belly-up right after he finishes installing your new roof, which, you subsequently discover has a leak due to improper installation? Who ya gonna call then? Ghostbusters?
No. In all likelihood you've got a big dogfight on your hands if you ever hope to hold that contractor accountable. If you enjoy the fight - go for it! You've got a case and you just might win, but it won't happen overnight and no one's paying you for the time you spend fighting the good fight. You should also know lawyers aren't exactly standing in line to help you win a case against a guy that doesn't have that much money anyway. You could always file a complaint to the licensing board. Oh, wait. He doesn't have a license anymore, or need one for that matter, because now he's joined an Alaskan fishing crew in hopes of landing a role on Deadliest Catch.
The fact is, there isn't much in place in the residential building industry to protect homeowners from contractor error or negligence. And, there are all sorts of ways a contractor can wiggle out of responsibility once those mistakes are discovered.
Homeowner education and preparedness are the best defense against these types situations. In this day and age, there's no reason to repeat the mistakes others have made, not when it comes to home construction. The Internet offers a vast library of research material. (Okay - so not all of it is as fun to read as what you'll find here at Greenspiration Home, but there is a lot of good information that will save you time and money.)
Homeowners educating other homeowners is what Greenspiration Home is all about. So, please, share your experiences with us. Every homeowner in the world has at least one precious bit advice that could save us all time, money, and tears. Let us tell your story.