Q: We have a synthetic stucco house (it has an EIFS exterior). We have it inspected annually by a synthetic stucco inspector and we maintain it very well.
Yet we know the stigma surrounding synthetic stucco homes. We were just told that it would probably cost $140,000 to replace the synthetic stucco with hardcoat stucco because of the size of our house.
Are there other sidings that would be less expensive? I don't know if our neighborhood allows vinyl or if it would look good in place of the synthetic stucco.
A: While the EIFS Industry Members Association, a nonprofit trade organization for EIFS (Exterior Insulation and Finish Systems) manufacturers, maintains that today's synthetic stucco is new and improved and has been shown in a new study that it's as good as any other sort of exterior cladding, you're right that there is still a stigma surrounding synthetic stucco.
Buyers worry that the synthetic stucco, which is a polymer-based product, has been poorly installed, which can lead to serious water infiltration and mold problems later.
But should you spend all that money to replace your synthetic stucco? That's a dollars and sense question, so let's walk through the issue.
First, you may be able to replace your synthetic stucco with brick or a synthetic stone product for about the same price or a little less. Vinyl siding might cost less, as would prestained wood. You should check out what kind of exterior siding is permitted in your neighborhood (if you're in a homeowners association, sometimes house exteriors are regulated) and then start to price it out.
The real question you have to answer is this: What will you get for your $140,000 when you sell the house? In your neighborhood, will someone pay more for a brick house that needs only to be retuckpointed every 10 to 15 years or a vinyl-sided house that needs minimal care? Will spending the money mean you'll sell more easily because you've eliminated the issue? Are you even planning to sell your home in the near future?
On the other hand, can you save $140,000 by keeping the synthetic stucco, maintaining it in good condition, while spending $5,000 to $10,000 to spruce up the exterior and interior of your home?
If your neighborhood is desirable, but someone has the choice of buying a home without synthetic stucco, you'll be at a competitive disadvantage, whether or not your home has ever had a moisture infiltration problem.
If your neighborhood is undesirable for other reasons, or if most of the homes are for sale, it may not make a difference, and you could be throwing your money away. You might be better off dropping the price by $80,000 to $100,000 and moving on.
You should have a conversation with two or three top agents who actively work in your area. Pick their brains for ideas on whether this kind of investment is something that could be recouped or, if not, would allow you to at least sell your home quickly.
Remember to keep good records of the maintenance you have given to your synthetic stucco just in case a buyer wants to check how often you inspected the stucco and what repairs you made to it. With diligent maintenance, your synthetic stucco can remain in good condition and you can probably make better use of your money.
Finally, if you have to sell your home in this market and find out that the synthetic stucco of your home is preventing the sale, you will have the option to replace it or negotiate a lower price for the home allowing the buyer to replace the stucco at a later time.
Q: My fiancée and I recently purchased a home in the New York City metropolitan area. It's an 1880s brownstone. It was completely renovated about four years ago. Because the home is a bit unique for the area and can be converted to a single-family building, we agreed to work with the seller's agent to complete the sale.
We used your first-time-buyer book and felt that we were asking all the right questions and did a thorough inspection. We closed at the end of May and we've been in the home for less than three weeks.
Yesterday, we had a thunderstorm in the late afternoon. We were away for dinner during the storm, and when we returned, we discovered water coming in the ground-floor level over about one-third of the area, which is all living space, including the living room, kitchen and a half-bath. The storm was not that bad, and now we're worried that we've got a serious drainage problem on the property.
The seller's disclosure mentioned that there had been standing water in the backyard and we asked if water had ever gotten in the house. They said that it had not, but we suspect that this problem has happened before.
What should we do? We think we've just purchased a home that has a serious and expensive problem.
A: Your current situation sounds troubling, and has clearly marred the purchase experience. How unfortunate.
Please call your real estate attorney and consult with him or her about what your contract says, what New York's seller disclosure laws require, and what your sellers stated on their signed seller disclosure statement.
While it seems unlikely that water has never gotten into the house before, it's also possible this is the first time. You need to do a little investigating. You should call the home inspector who helped you with the purchase and seek his or her advice.
In addition to your home inspector, you might want to talk to a plumber to see if there are any drains around the home that are clogged and need to be cleaned out. What you are trying to do is find out where the water is coming from. If you find that out, then you can see what it will cost to fix the issue.
Some homeowners never realize when they buy a home that failure to perform routine maintenance can cause severe problems.
Some homeowners don't clean their gutters and downspouts. When they get clogged, the water pours down the side of the house and enters the home through open windows and bottoms of doors or even through cracks in the foundation. A simple cleaning of those gutters and downspouts fixes the problem.
I'm not saying that the cause of your problem is your fault, but you need to make sure you know what caused the water problem. If your problem isn't anything that you could have prevented through maintenance and find out that your sellers lied to you, your attorney will then advise you of your options where the sellers have failed to disclose a material defect with the property.
If your attorney recommends that you sue the sellers, make sure you understand the costs involved in following through with litigation. In the course of suing the sellers you're going to have to prove that they knew or should have known about the defect. Proving it will mean finding the contractors who fixed the problem previously or getting a neighbor to confirm that there has been an ongoing problem for years.
At any time during this process and once you have found out what the problem is, you'll have to find contractors who can come in and give you an assessment of what's wrong with the property and how much it will cost to fix it. Construction isn't cheap in New York City, but it could be that you simply need an extra drain in the garden to tie into the city sewers. It may also be a city problem in that a sewer is clogged and needs to be repaired.
Until you know what the problem is and how much it will cost to fix it, you don't know what you're dealing with, and can't make a smart decision about any legal options you have. So, get moving and start talking.
To get even more valuable advice from Ilyce, visit her Personal Finance and Real Estate Center.
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