UNDETECTABLE LEAK

Once upon a time, a build-and-sell businessman (BSB) sold a house to a couple. Everyone was happy until...

A few months after the sale, the buyers called the BSB, reporting a leak in their ceiling. Since the house was still under warranty, the BSB and his contractor went to check on the problem.

When they arrived, they found a large watermark on the ground floor ceiling. After hours of searching, they couldn't find the source of the leak.

Finally, they decided to do what they hoped to avoid: dig through the slab. Only then did they discover the leak. Someone, likely one of the contractor's workers, had put a screw into one of the pipes. The screw caused a slow leak, which the buyer only noticed months later.

Lessons:

1.⁠ ⁠Just as you should be nice to waiters to avoid them spitting in your food, be nice to your workers. They have many ways to cause problems. Problematic employees should be terminated immediately.

2.⁠ ⁠Implement quality check systems before closing off segments in your construction.

3.⁠ ⁠All developers have construction defects, even the top names.

Instead of quickly judging them, assess how promptly they address these problems. One publicly listed developer, for instance, repaired water damage by replacing wooden flooring due to poor waterproofing, even though the unit had been turned over 10 years ago.

4.⁠ ⁠Use the property as soon as it's turned over. This is the only way to find these defects. After developer's turnover a unit, the developer's one-year warranty period starts ticking.