More than ever, builders and their customers are feeling the downside of Charlotte's building boom. Labor and land are in short supply. Some builders are so busy they can't promptly fix problems on finished homes. Inexperienced contractors, drawn to the business by the promise of good money, sometimes land in financial straits.
Builders say they're meeting the challenges.
Many say improved materials and closer supervision have helped them compensate for the labor shortage. But some homeowners say they're seeing the consequences of the labor crunch. Barbara Hurt, a home buyer in Davidson, says the eight people who put the roof on her new house in 1994 arrived in one pickup truck, slept in the garage and took baths in a nearby pond. They brought no ladder and had to be taught how to do the job. The roof leaked from the start.