They call it a fluke when knowingly the city allows developement of land that has been condemned for dense building of homes? And the contractors, builders, and developers, and the city are endemnified of any responsibility for the sinking homes. When this goes to court it will end up as another "Buyer Beware" and buyers fault for buying a home built on unstable ground. Utah and its cities do not ensure any private homes built or property developement is held to zoning and building codes. Buying a home anywhere in Utah is all at buyers risk, regardless of claims to following code and building a safe home. Developers and builders in Utah know all this but the unsuspecting home buyer is always the fall guy where the buck stops. Even to have developers and builders repair faulty construction and code violations is almost impossible. Once the dotted line is signed, the buyer becomes the victim of Utah's laws protecting itself (the cities) and developers. When lawsuits show up in a court, the fine print of "terms and conditions" and indemnifications all of a sudden become large print in the contracts. The only out for the home buying victims, is bankruptcy.

The article specifically mentions that the settlement is likely caused by overlooking of bad soil in the geotechnical investigation.

MY GUESS (as a geotechnical engineer) is that either an investigation was not conducted (in which the developer IS liable), or that it was not conducted adequetly enough (in which the geotech company IS liable). In either case the liablity does NOT rest upon the homeowner.

HERE IS THE PROBLEM... Taking these people to court and proving liability is not only messy, but very expensive and time consuming! It could take years to recoup the costs, and even then they may spend more than the cost of the home trying to simply get the cost of the home back.

These people are forced into bankruptcy, not because the liability rested upon them, but rather because it is easier and cheaper.

UNFAIR? YES!

Unfortunately, though, REALITY!!!

ALSO, remember that the wise man built his house upon the rock, and the foolish man built his house upon the sand. (or really soft clays, or unstable low strength soils of any kind). I would personally know what a house was built on before I bought it, even if it wasn't on the listing.

Good advisory comments regarding a sad commentary on the development practices in many communities. The consuming public has, all too willingly (naively, ignorantly, irresponsibly, blindly, selfishly...?), misplaced a disproportionate amount of trust in those individuals, collectively or solely, who regulate development, whether by ordinance or by applying basic morals and ethics.
Buyer beware is reality. The reality is that those who primarily seek their own self interests will often exploit those who have let others decide for them what is in their self interests.

Some developers are more responsive than others. This appears to be a case where the more expensive the fix, the less responsive the developer. Development is a high stakes proposition. Is Richmond American the only developer and solely responsible for problems or are other parties liable? I have no knowledge and have not researched it at all but did Kennecott Land or others have any role as a previous owner or developer here?

We live in this neighborhood. Richmond American never finished the development: no stop signs, unfinished concrete work, incomplete landscaping, promised amenities not done. They just moved on to their next project. Future homebuyers: beware of this company.

What is the main reason stories like this are coming through from all over the country?
GREED and Shoddy work.

Who really cares? Is this the most interesting and thought-provoking thing that happened today to report?

So, people are unhappy with their homes. So what?

People died in the world today, and there was civil unrest and injustice.

These people have it made. Stop trying to create these pathetic "sympathy" stories to mask what is REALLY going on in the world.

Jan Bowen: this is a local newspaper, so why not report on the local happenings of the community? The worst kind of ignorance is to be more informed about what is going on in the outside world and yet to be ignorant of what is going on in your own back yard. As a prospective homebuyer, this is actually a VERY pertinent article. So thanks for the coverage DN - try to ignore the truly uniformed comments of the Jan Bowens out there.

The web page for Richmond American Homes states "Detailed soil tests are conducted on the land we acquire in order to determine what type of home foundations or basements are feasible and structurally appropriate. This information also helps us assess conditions that could pose a threat to the home or its foundation, such as elevated groundwater, corrosive soils or soil gases."

It would seem that Richmond American Homes is rushing through its developments in order to overtake Ivory Homes as Utah's #1 Builder. Quality control and customer service are tossed aside and stepped on as RAH tries to make it to unscrupously the top.

HA HA, HOAs are a joke and a scam. The Developer splits when the money is made, and the town is not responsible....the HOMEOWNER IS!

Guess who else ALWAYS wins...the lawyers.
Win or lose, the lawyers always win in these situations.

Declare bankruptcy and move on. Don't get sucked into an expensive lawsuit that will cost you dearly, gain you nothing, enrich the lawyers, and THEN have to declare bankruptcy.

This is happening all over the country, guess who is in the legislature making sure the laws always favor the developers, property managers and lawyers??

THIER OWN LOBBY! The Community Associations Institute represents these interests and allow NO homeowner friendly bills to pass.

Disgusting

Before speaking out without the history of the developement with the builder and the ORIGINAL HOA hired by Richmond...You should get all the facts.

Richmond may hire lawyers... but there is so much documentation that would sink them not you, it's pathetic. If you have a problem "owners" or current new "HOA"...Do a bit of homework, bite your lip, stay COOL and get a lawyer. Any decent lawyer [again IF you do your homework initially with them] could correct the problems.

Yes, if you like it out here you may have to temporarily relocate...a real pain...but you should be compensated legally...

Again keep your cool, get ALL the facts[history] with an experienced lawyer and you can get things fixed...

Richmond counts on the winning "anger factor" in an effort to get you to throw your hands up and quit while feeding you or your legal help a load of misinformation. This gets you nowhere and drops the property values WAY out of whack with reality of the situation.

NICE PIC HOA MEMBER...but this in my opinion...is totally weak and irresponsible reporting.