The front page of Sunday’s New York Times Real Estate section headlined the dubious proposition that, if a builder chooses to live in one of his own condominiums, the condo would “most likely work for the buyer” since “the developer’s eye is on every detail.” (Vivian S. Toy, “If It Seduces the Builder . . ., New York Times, Real Estate, Section 11, p. 1 (October 29, 2006).) Our experience suggests that there are better ways to evaluate the quality of a potential condominium purchase than the builder’s decision to buy a unit himself.

Attention to detail has not been apparent in an ocean-front community that we represent, even though approximately one in three initial sales was to a principal of the developer, a subcontractor, or a party with financial connections to the developer. From our point of view, another factor that Toy identified is much more important to a developer’s decision to purchase a unit in a condominium he or she has built: the opportunity to “get first choice, sometimes at a substantial discount.” Speculating that his unit might sell for $6 million, one developer reflected to Toy that he paid “more than it cost to build and less than market value.” Often a developer’s purchase price is less than the unit cost to build, with the difference made up by skimping on construction and materials elsewhere in the development.

The advantage of first choice is especially apparent when certain units boast extraordinary advantages, such as ocean frontage or a magnificent view. The developers that Toy profiled selected such units as a “penthouse with sweeping city views” and a Brooklyn waterfront unit with “views of eight different bridges.” Non-developer unit owners in one of our client communities were surprised to discover that what had appeared to be common green space above the beach in the plans and models was actually the back yards of the beach front units, which were, for the most part, owned by the developer and his associates. Prospective condo buyers need to look carefully at both the prospectus and what is actually being built to ensure that apparent amenities are not disproportionately allocated to the builder and his cronies, with other unit owners footing the bill through inflated purchase prices or maintenance fees.

Builder’s options are enhanced by early choice and limited only by constraints imposed by one’s business partners, reported Toy. The profiled developers incorporated into their units additional space and custom features, such lap pools, rooftop party spaces, and casitas for the grandchildren, without the necessity of approval from condo associations that were not yet formed. Toy does not acknowledge that condo associations might reasonably frown on upgrades that have the capacity to increase the association’s insurance or maintenance costs, to pose a threat of water leakage, or to overtax the building’s structure.

Focusing on the congenial developers interviewed for her story, Toy extolls the advantages of unit owner/developers who can “hurry the contractor[s] along,” resolve plumbing and electricity issues as they occur, and make sure “the lobby’s going to be clean.” The author seems not to have encountered the overextended builders and developers that we construction litigators too often see: cutting corners on construction, rushing closings in hopes of quieting the creditors, and ignoring unanticipated (and unbudgeted) defects and deficiencies because adequate funding simply isn’t there. The importance of keeping the lobby clean fades when the builder is desperately trying to pay the dry wall contractor enough to keep him on the job until the last units are finished. As the real estate market cools, more builders and developers will find themselves shortchanging construction quality and customer service in order to satisfy unanticipated carrying charges.

“Having a developer living on site should also assure buyers that the typical problems that come up as any development is being completed will be dealt with quickly,” Toy gushes. The unacknowledged assumption underlying Toy’s premise is its dependence on the builder/developer’s self-interest being concurrent with that of other unit owners. Conflicts of interest between the developer and other unit owners quickly emerge when construction goes bad or the money runs out. In short, the fact that the builder has been “seduced” by his latest project offers no assurance that purchasing a unit will work for an unrelated buyer.