Real Estate Warranty Claims

Colorado Warranty Claims - Residential Real Estate

Though considerably amended to the disadvantage of homeowners in recent years, Colorado law still protects residential property owners from defects in design, workmanship, or materials. New and existing home buyers are also protected from the serious problem of soil expansion, which can weaken or crack foundations, floor slabs, and other structural components. For information about your rights concerning Colorado construction warranties in residential real estate and your potential claims, contact Denver construction warranty attorney John Mattey for a free consultation.

Among the more common defects covered under the construction warranty are the following:

• Defective roofs with associated drainage and water penetration problems
• Window or door frame leaks
• Inadequate water supply
• Problems with heating, plumbing, or electricity

The most serious construction warranty claim problems encountered by Colorado homeowners usually involve the builder's failure to allow for the expansive properties of bentonite, a principal component of the soils throughout the state. When wet, bentonite can expand by as much as 50 percent, with potentially disastrous consequences for foundations, floors, garages, and paved driveways. In extreme cases, soil expansion can effectively destroy the value of the house.

Residential real estate owners with warranty claims for soil expansion or other construction defects can expect to encounter problems with the statute of limitations. Against developers or builders of new construction, the warranty expires after just one year. Buyers of existing homes have three years in which to sue their sellers for failure to disclose defects, but in many cases the defect is not apparent within that time. Then the issue becomes: when should the homeowner have discovered the defect?

Denver construction defect lawyer John Mattey has long experience with the investigation and litigation of breach of warranty claims in residential real estate cases. For more information about his ability to help you recover for your losses due to faulty construction or soil expansion, contact the John J. Mattey Law Offices in Englewood for reliable legal advice.