Brick By Brick - The Condo Problem
There's an opportunity for creative legislators to address two major issues in Colorado for the builder industry and for homeowners construction defect reform and affordable housing.
Construction defects and affordable housing are intrinsically linked. Condos are a key part of young consumers' ability to build equity and be financially successful, according to Brian Workman, president of Blind Corners and Curves, and a member of the Construction Resource Group (CRG). However, concerns about defect suits have stifled construction in that sector.
Strategic Insurance Services owner and CRG member Stephanie Beninati believes the builder industry needs to do a better job of educating consumers about what a construction defect suit means for them in real terms.
"The people who are purchasing these products have to fully understand the extent of what happens when you take a builder to court and sue them for $10 million," she said. "How it plays out when they're awarded that judgment is not necessary beneficial to them."
Beninati added the insurer's perspective. "The insurance carriers should fight harder because once they pay -and the builders want to fight -but once they pay that builder's insurance, [their premiums are] going to double, if they don't get dropped."