New Construction Warranties

In conversions the tenants association will get their own engineer in to double-check the sponsor's engineer. There've been some cases where new-construction buyers got together to fight the developer over systemic problems.

Start by reading the offering plan.

I won't have access to offering plan until I put in an offer. I just wanted to get some feedback from people who already went through the process.

You have a legal right to review an offering plan. Some sponsors take the sleazy approach of making you hand over a deposit, but then you can cancel within a reasonable time upon reviewing the prospectus.

I guess I'm not being clear, I don't want to have to go through the expense of my attorney reviewing an offering plan if generally people are not having a decent experience with warranties. My target property is an older building, built in the last 5 years so most of the kinks are worked out. This is the first time I'm seriously considering new.

Please only feedback from people who have actually gone through a new construction purchase and warranty period.

i have..., being cheap can be costly. If you don't know your rights , you should not buy.
of course this info is available downtown at the a.g's office. Why people are penny wise pound foolish is beyond me.

why not start with the property managment company- see if they are reputable- talk to the actual property manager- he will give you a handle on the building- its the property managers position to purchase warranties and service the building. biggest ticket items are (elevators, boiler, a/c units (central), roof, local 11, etc. look at the budget of the building and the reserves.
Secondly- River is on the money, the offering plan is big- you should be able to read it yourself, its in english, in this market they should provide you with an offering plan, if not AG office

I purchased my current place new construction in 2002. The sponsor did a decent job with warranty period items. It's difficult to say how other sponsors would be. I did have to fight a little for some things like when water leaked from my sink through to the apartment below because the pipes were not sealed properly. They eventually fixed it but it took some constant follow-up from me. Also had mice in the first year because they didn't properly seal the kitchen back wall pipe openings from the basement city services access points. Every unit owner had that problem till they came in and addressed it. Mice free since then (fingers crossed). Smaller items didn't get addressed unfortunately but from what I hear, that's pretty typical. The ceiling light openings weren't properly wired and my bathroom fixtures were mismatched. Didn't get anywhere on those items so just sucked it up and took care of that myself.

My advice is that if you really like the place, put in an offer you're comfortable with. If there is any issue with the warranty offered per the prospectus, have your attorney specifically address new warranty terms in the purchase agreement. The sponsor will likely be very flexible on non-cash items right now if they can unload a unit. And do a thorough pre-closing inspection. I literally plugged a lamp into every electrical outlet and turned on every faucet and the shower, opened the windows and made sure the doors locked. Wish I noticed the mismatched bathroom fixtures at the time :( You can also hire a home inspector to do a walk through for structural items. Good luck.