Hangzhou citizen spent 20 million yuan to buy a new house from Greentown developers, but during the house inspection, they found 120 issues. Additionally, the 1.88 million yuan spent on the “home decoration package” was also unsatisfactory, leaving the homeowner feeling deceived. This topic has sparked widespread attention and trended on social media platforms.
In Hangzhou’s Shangcheng District, Ms. Lan is facing headaches over her newly purchased house. According to Zhejiang TV, she recently reported that after spending around 20 million yuan on a 272-square-meter house, she discovered 120 issues during the house inspection this year, making her feel like “the sky was falling.”
She also expressed dissatisfaction with the 2 million yuan house purchase and the 1.88 million yuan home decoration package. The house she bought is located in the Zhilan Yuehua residential area, belonging to the Qianjiang New City Phase II. Two years ago, she obtained the qualification to purchase the house through a lottery and eventually bought a five-bedroom, two-living room house with deluxe finishing, costing over 20 million yuan.
However, during this year’s house inspection, she hired an inspector to examine the property. The inspection report revealed more than 120 quality issues with the house.
For example, there were blurry vertical stripes visible on the glass windows of various rooms, especially glaring under sunlight, making it uncomfortable for viewing. Moreover, various walls and floor panels were unevenly installed, door frames were peeling, and uneven glue application, most of them minor flaws. Two problems were marked as “severe” by the inspector: “three hollow spots on the marble floor” and “multiple cracks and scratches on the marble floor.”
In addition to the hollow spots and scratches, Ms. Lan also noticed other issues with the floor tiles. For instance, one tile had a visible yellow mark, appearing to be a repaired spot, indicating a pre-existing problem. Some tiles had a noticeably lighter color, creating a stark contrast with the other tiles, resulting in a mismatched appearance.
Ms. Lan pointed out that the most severe issue was that the air conditioning unit did not cool the room. After running the air conditioning in the master bedroom for two hours at 17°C, the room temperature still displayed 33-34°C, indicating minimal cooling efficiency.
“My air conditioner has been running for a long time, but even after one or two hours, it couldn’t reach 26 degrees. How can I stay in a house without air conditioning in the summer?” Ms. Lan lamented.
Faced with numerous problems, Ms. Lan expressed her helplessness by saying, “It feels like the sky has fallen, especially after spending so much money on this house.”
Apart from the various issues found during the inspection, Ms. Lan also faced another disappointing circumstance regarding the 1.88 million yuan home decoration package she purchased. Initially, she chose the package due to the reputation of the designer, who was the same as the designer of the showroom she admired. However, the implementation progress and results left her dissatisfied.
“When I purchased it, I trusted the designer of the home decoration package as they were the designer of the showroom I liked. I also expected the package to be delivered concurrently with the house handover,” Ms. Lan explained.
However, after the house was handed over, the home decoration package only included a few wires, failing to meet the promised synchronous delivery. Additionally, Ms. Lan had been trying to arrange a meeting with the package’s designer to discuss design details, but she had only met the assistant once and had yet to meet the main designer.
Ms. Lan doubted that the home decoration package was not designed by the showroom’s designer. Coupled with Greentown developers’ lackluster attitude towards addressing the housing issues, she no longer desires the home decoration package and hopes to get a refund of 1.88 million yuan.
She presented the following rectification requests to the developer: first, repair the air conditioning unit to ensure proper heating and cooling; second, replace the light-colored marble floor tiles inside the house to match the color of other tiles.
Since purchasing this lavish 20 million yuan mansion, Ms. Lan thought she would settle into her new home soon, but it has left her physically and mentally exhausted.
“I feel very upset; it has caused me a lot of trouble and affected my work. I was originally happy, thinking that a simple renovation would allow me to move in joyfully. But now, every day, I feel depressed!” Ms. Lan expressed helplessly.
The developer responded to Ms. Lan’s issues as follows:
Regarding the glass: The patterns on the glass are normal stress patterns of tempered glass and not a quality issue.
Regarding the floor tiles: The damaged stone parts have been confirmed by the homeowner’s signature, and the replacement has been delivered. However, the natural color difference in stone is a normal occurrence, and replacement has not been carried out without the homeowner’s consent.
Regarding the air conditioning: The air conditioning configuration in this project complies with national standards. The recent prolonged hot weather may affect the user experience, but after the homeowner moves in, measures such as soft furnishings (adding furniture, installing curtains, etc.) can enhance the usability.
The topic “Mansion with 120 issues discovered during inspection leaves the homeowner bewildered” trended online, sparking extensive discussions.
A commentary by blogger “Nineteenth Sister” noted that if all the issues are deemed non-issues by the developer, then why did the professional inspector label them as problems? Especially concerning the air conditioning, how could it struggle to lower the temperature in an empty room within two hours? These situations not only reflect Ms. Lan’s individual struggle for rights but also expose multiple weaknesses in the current real estate industry, revealing systemic flaws in quality control, marketing integrity, and contractual responsibilities.
It is clear that the equation “high price equals high quality” no longer holds true. Spending over 20 million yuan on a house does not guarantee quality service but results in excuses and evasiveness. The so-called “the customer is always right” is merely a psychological suggestion to prompt consumption, devoid of real meaning. Without strict adherence to industry regulations and enhanced supervision, Ms. Lan’s predicament could potentially become a nightmare for more homebuyers.