CAUTION: Do not be fooled by new construction!

I just have to vent quickly: new construction has NOT been all it's cracked up to be so far!

Our last home in Missouri was built circa 1968, so understandably it needed lots of love and remodeling, which we did and made a pretty good little profit. We had originally intended to buy another fixer-upper here in PA, and even were under contract on a GREAT 1920's colonial, but ultimately, we decided to go with a brand new home instead. The choice was tough to make; i LOVED the old home and all the original hardwood floors throughout and all the character-- it did my little designer's heart good! But, with Joe's schedule and hours still very much unknown, we just didn't want to put all of his time off into the house and miss this beautiful place and all the great things there are to do around here. So, we sucked it up and paid a little more to get a brand new townhome in a very up and coming neighborhood. I think our general assumption was "it's new, so there will be nothing for us to do!" WRONG!!!

Now, before i go any further, let me stop and say that i am truly thankful for our new little home and I know that we are so very blessed...don't get me wrong, we love it here and this is exactly where we are supposed to be right now in life.

That said, we were in NO way prepared for the number of things that can go wrong in a new home! I have been here a month now and I have had a different contractor/ painter/ handyman here almost every single day! There is NO WAY I could have a job right now and still be able to coordinate everyone! This is all at the builder's expense, of course, because we have a year warranty on everything in the house, thank goodness! But seriously, the ceiling drywall had to be redone, multiple cracks in walls, baseboards and molding separating from the walls, windows broken, brand new energy star appliances breaking, sliding door locking me out beecause it slips off the track, bubbles in the floor, cracks and chips in the tub/shower surrounds,a potty that was broken, a vent that didn't work, a leak in the sink that almost flooded the kitchen...COME ON PEOPLE! I email the builder on almost a daily basis...I know he is probably totally fed up with me by now, but I just bought a brand new home, and that's exactly what I expect to get for what we paid!

I told Joe today, "You know, I think T.M.(our builder who will remain nameless...for now) should have to live in one of his own houses so he can see the quality of work he is putting in to these new homes...just like Obama should have to get the healthcare that he's proposing for the rest of the nation instead of his own Cadillac insurance!" Whatever happened to people taking pride in their work...hmmm? So there you go, I solved the world's problems once again!