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Please let us know what has happened to you, and let us know if you would like to help us make buying new houses safer.
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Craig Winsor
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posted 3 February 2007 09:56 CET
One owner is asking owners to fight to have my sign in the window taken down. The CC&R’s read as:
Subject o provisions of Section 13.11, no sign of any kind shall be displayed from any Condominium that is visible from any other Condominium except the following:
(i) any sign advertising the Condominium for sale or rent, provided that: (a) no more than one sign is used, (b) the size, type, color, design and quality of the sin meets and guidelines adopted by the Architectural Committee; and (c) the sign is displayed within the area designated by the Board; or
(ii) any sign approved by the Board either on an individual basis or pursuant to Rules adopted by the Board
Anyway, we believe the sign can NOT be seen by any other condo, unless they are peeping through our side window and reading it from the back or one is on the exclusive common area patios below.
Also, not to mention there are certain restrictions for window coverings and since some abetment had been done some windows are completely covered in brown cardboard, which technically is in violation too.
Does anyone have any thoughts? |
April
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posted 30 January 2007 14:46 CET
Beware of a private builder by the name of RON STOUT. We purchased our home in Strafford, Missouri in 2003, with escrow closing Oct 30. By January the liens started rolling in. Turned out that he had not paid some of the major sub-contractors and materials supplier. We had also paid additional monies for landscaping which was completely lost due to the incompetence of the escrow company. We were looking at having to pay for our home two fold, since the escrow company had not secured all of the "release of liens" from the contractors. We later learned that Ron Stout had secured credit against our home for additional building supplies and was relocating to St. Charles Louisiana. Local suppliers in the area are were also scammed. This guy was smooth, smiled all the while knowing he was taking our life savings.
We later learned that unincoporated areas of Missouri do not have building codes. Anyone can build a home without permits.
I'm doing research for similiar stories in Missouri. If you have one or know of someone please email me april1717a@yahoo.com |
Craig Winsor
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posted 29 January 2007 19:39 CET
Wareham Development builds defective construction! Our Story is located on the following website -- http://www.warehamsux.com |
Toni P.
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posted 27 January 2007 06:14 CET
My 6 year old Choice Home in Garland, Tx is developing some major problems. A few days ago I came home to several inches of water in my house. I noticed water coming from the garage, but when I stepped inside I saw my cat floating around my living room with a mai tai in his paw.
Seriously, this is a nightmare. I tried calling Choice Homes who could care less and tried calling the Warranty company they referred me to. Of course they all have their hands in the air and refuse to help.
My insurance is trying to get out of the whole mess, too. I am on an HO3 policy.
I should have taken it as an omen this past summer when my air conditioner broke down. Fortunately I had extended coverage on that. And about a year before that my framing around the roof of my house was coming down.
So yes you have a Choice when you buy a Choice home. You have a Choice not to do business with Choice and I hope that you will boycott them.
I am a cancer patient and stress is very tough on me. If the insurance company refuses to help then the cost for repair is going to be prohibitive to me. I am going to have to bail.
But I can guarantee you that my Choice is to let people know about how I've been screwed by Choice and my insurance.  |
Christina
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posted 16 January 2007 05:31 CET
House was brand new when we bought it 6 yrs ago. We have had the same problem since we walked through the door. The back sliding door leaks! It ruins the floor. They have put another sliding glass door in. I have had about 5 new floors. Guess what the floor is no good again. The corner of the bar is routed out also. Everytime they put a new floor they cut back the rug into the living room. That is also way off now. Everytime they pull up the floor they have me clean the mold undernealth. The gentleman who built the house told us to go out and buy gutters. We feel since we have had this problem we should have to spend nothing since the house was brand new. The yard also floods since it isn't even. They left a big hill in the back so the water can't drain into the retention pond. I could see if we bought the house and it wasn't new to have to spend money however, it was brand new. Can't handle the stress anymore. |
George Jackson
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posted 10 January 2007 07:17 CET
House is built with defects:
-Yard so unlevel that it floods, almost flooding the house this past week!
-Shelves in master closet was stapled to wall (no studs used), the hole shelfing assembly - hanger rods and all came crashing to the ground last Wednesday.
-Kitchen cabinets are not level on the walls
-Lenoleum was laid after baseboard, cabinets, and toilets were placed.
-Roof decking is stapled to joices.
-Siding on outside of house is cracked due to a patch job they tried doing - the window was not square so they attempted to square it but by doing so they put about 20 big nail holes in the one-bys around the window and cracked the siding
-Several bedroom doors are not level or square with the frame
-The pantry door is 4 inches too short width wise!
-They hung the pantry door frame 4 inches too high so they continued the based board across the bottom of the door and put in a 2x6 and painted it. Can't sweep out the pantry closet now.
-Installed the master toilet in the middle of the bathroom facing the mirror.
I have pictures of all of this.
Georgetown Mobile Homes is now building homes on slabs. This is what we purchased. We saw a lawyer today and he told us to write a letter to Georgetown Homes requested for all of the items above, which only names a few of the hole list. Georgetown homes has so far not responded to our requests in a very timely manner. They have refuses to correct the issues correctly. They want to take shortcuts. |
M. GAYLE TYE
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posted 9 January 2007 11:43 CET
GOFF HOMES / STEELMAN HOMES !! OH WHAT A RIP OFF!
March 2005 started construction on a custom home in St. Paul Texas Builder STEELMAN HOMES / GOFF HOMES. From the start it started out bad . From not allowing upgraded choices of product to bad contruction, broken foundation, No Plans for roof contruction, to failing instection of framing 8 times. To less than sub materials being used for contruction . Heard the Term " STRECTHING THE WOOD" ? Term used for not having the right builing materails to do the job.
No General Contractor on the job site the day the foundation was poured or the day framing started, we showed up to see the progress and the framing GM (sub contractor) asked us to please explain where the second floor stairs are to be built. We have a one story house. And so it started the nightmare on SIlver Maple Drive .
The house set unchaged for over a month. Steelman Homes ( GOFF ) fired four General contractors, that were working on my house , the purchasing staff, my sales rep. were let go. House had to be finished by Mr Tommy Goff himself. He did me no favors. Hard to work with and hard to change his mind on doing a good job in a good time frame. And he did not care if I was happy with the house or not.
We tried to walk away from the contruction of this house. I expected to loose some of the funds that i put in on the house, that was ok, but when I found out they were NOT going to give me back the 21 thousand dollars I put down, i hired an attorney to help in the process of getting my money back. I was told by the attorney that it could and would cost four times that amount to get money back, and he was sure that i would not see any of the money and then I would have large attoney fees to pay. Sounded like a loss I just could not afford to have. So against my better judgement we went ahead. Hind site being 20 20, I just should of walked away. I have something that I will not be able to sell without disclosing all the defects.
Found out for the first year waranty is worthless .. Nothing Steelman Homes did was covered. So that meant noting I submitted got fixed. Oh they sent people out to look at the problems, but did not fix anything.
Waited for over three weeks to get someone to come out to fix all the craks in the outside brick. Put blue tape all over the outside brick, it got attention from the new GM of Goff Homes . They coverd the cracks, but not fix them.
The VISA OAKS area is still being built and I have people stoping by daily to ask me what I think of my new house. They are not prepared for the truth..
The building of this home was to be my last place. I wanted somthing to leave my kids, but I can not leave this to them. I think a bulldozer will be the long term solution.
The house was purcahsed for over 300 thousand, you would think that for that price that someone other than me would care about how it was built. Goff/ Steelman homes do not care. Just give me (Tommy GOFF) my money so I can go to my island and get a nice tan. Thank you very much.
Stay way from GOFF/ STEELMAN Homes INC. they should NOT be building houses .
Be very AWARE! |
Mike McBride
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posted 8 January 2007 20:53 CET
Stay away from D.R. Horton!
We've had our D.R. Horton home here in AZ for a little over a year and have had nothing but problems with them.
I can't even begin to comment on the poor workmanship. During our initial walk-through the house wasn't even completed. It tooks weeks after we moved-in until all the cabinets were completed. Our drywall is absolute mess. We have flat paint where we should have gloss and vice versa. The door trims are a disaster. Very few are sanded and the paint is horrible. All of our toilets do not flush properly. One has a leak and we are unable to use it, which is a pain because it's the only downstairs bathroom. Anyway, I could talk all day about the cosmetic issues.
Our main tiled walkway downstairs has a small "hill" which rises at least 3/8" and lasts for about 12" before it levels off.
Our upstairs flooring is not level. AS you walk along the main hall upstairs the flooring suddenly drops by about 1/2". There are loose floorboards in most of the rooms upstairs. There are horrible carpet squeaks scattered everyhwere upstairs.
Every single window that opens leaks in large amounts of dust/dirt. Enough to where you have to vacuum it up.
The major problem: Our home is on a post tension slab, and when they poured the cement they totally butchered the pour in our garage. It sits about 3" lower than where it should be. Our garage and walkway to the front door are connected by a regular driveway slab. Because the poor was so uneven, when we first moved in there was as negative slope into our garage. Thus, when it rained we had massive water leaks into the garage and a major problem with water ponding. We told the builder about this, so they sent their subcontractor out and they dug up 2 driveway slabs. So, instead of water going the garage it now ponds on our driveway for days at a time. Not to mention, they created a trip hazrd because within about 20" range, the slab deviates about 3" up to the walkway. So, basically no matter what they do now there will always be a problem with that. Of ocurse they likely knew about this before we closed, which is even more upsetting. I feel as though they sold us a home with a known defect.
We informed them about this problem and they are avoiding us like the plague at this point. Considering the driveway slab is surrounded by a post tension slab, I don't think there is anything they can do. Also please note there are at least 10+ exact models of our home on our street alone, and NONE have this problem. They were all leveled as they should be and you can walk directly from the garage to the walkway without having to step up 3" to do!
It's a shame they can get away with selling someone a home with a known defect. Our real estate agent already told us that if were to sell our home we would have to do so at a signifact discount because any potential buyer would want the problem fixed. |
Kelly Silversmith
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posted 8 January 2007 17:27 CET
Kansas City Homebuyers should be aware that McCray Lumber Company readily places Mechanic's Liens on homeowners instead of the homebuilder. The outstanding debt due McCray Lumber Company was not disclosed at closing and 6 mos later (the legal time limit)they place Mechanic's Lien on your property. It seems to me that they must be in cahoots with the homebuilder, since I'm the second in this neighborhood to have this happen. |
Robert Wilson
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posted 7 January 2007 18:55 CET
I would not recommend anyone purchasing from DR Horton. Below is a letter I wrote to the BBB regarding a drainage problem in my backyard. !
It is interesting that Mr. Hughes states that I caused this problem by installing a garden in the back half of my property. The garden was located on the other side of the swale, which would not hinder drainage. The letter from Mr. Hughes was the first anyone from D. R. Horton has told me that my garden was causing the problem. In fact, Mitchell from D.R. Horton told me in August that there was a drainage problem. He told me that he did not know what was causing the problem but that he was going to install a French drain, which would resolve my problem. When he arrived to do the work he said he decided not to install the French drain and that he would have his workers correct the poorly grated area and install some new sod. The area of new sod was very small, not the entire yard as stated by Mr. Hughes. When this did not work Randy, the property manager, told me he did not know what the problem was, his boss did not know, and the irrigation company did not know. He said he would research and get back to me. That was in October and I have still not heard back from him. When I spoke to the Superintendent, Dennis Powell, he also said he did not know what the problem was. So, the only answer I have received from D.R. Horton is that “I do not Know”, which is a contradiction to Mr. Hughes’ statement that they have tried to convey the message to me but with no success. The only logical solution I have received from D.R. Horton was from Mitchell who was going to install a French drain, which never occurred.
To show good faith and to show that I will stop at nothing to have this issue resolved, I removed my garden the day I received your letter. Again, this was the first I have been told that my garden could be the reason for the problem. I did not think that the removal of the garden would work since the garden was located on the other side of the swale and that Randy Masson, D.R. Horton Property Manager, and Dennis Powell, D.R. Superintendent, have both been to look at my yard and never indicated the garden was the problem. Again, the only answer from them was “I don’t know”.
Enclosed you will find additional pictures to support my claim. Since removing the garden, there has been no improvement. For most of the week, the weather has been sunny and dry. There was 1 day of rain, which was not significant. I took several pictures on several different days to see if there was any improvement, which there was not. The last set of pictures, taken on December 23, 2006, was taken 24 hours after rain, which again was not a significant amount of rain. You can see standing water in my yard and muddy areas. The pictures taken by Mr. Hughes focused on the garden, not the problem itself. The pictures I have enclosed show the removal of the garden as well as the problem I am experiencing.
Mr. Hughes states my grass “is very green”. The one spot of grass he took the pictures of is green. The entire yard does not need to be replaced. I am asking that they correct the grating problem, install a French drain, and re-sod the impacted areas as shown in my pictures, which is mainly around the patio area. Mitchell from D.R. Horton told me the yard was not properly grated and that I needed a French drain. D.R. Horton is responsible for making sure my yard is properly grated and if an employee of D.R. states I need a French drain, then they need to follow through.
In addition, I find it odd that each of my neighbors in the building have a sprinkler head in a uniform location outside their patio, except me. One of my neighbors has a sprinkler head but it is not in the same location as the others. This only makes me wonder if there is an underlying irrigation problem that could also be contributing to the dampness of my yard.
Mr. Hughes stated in his letter that he could not find approval for my fence. Please find the enclosed approval letter I received from May Management prior to having the fence installed.
Mr. Hughes also insinuated that I do not cut my grass. My grass is kept at the same level of my neighbors. I maintained my yard weekly prior to this problem. There is no longer a need to cut my yard weekly as most of the grass is gone and it’s difficult to cut the grass while standing in puddles of water. But again, I do keep my grass at the same level as my neighbors.
I have been in contact with the May Management and with the Landscaping company and they have acknowledged their negligence and will be replacing some of the sod around the perimeter of my fence that they killed when they sprayed herbicide.
In closing, I would like to thank you for your time with this matter. It’s unfortunate that D.R. Horton did not respond to my calls, e-mails, and letter. I had to ask for help through a third party to have them respond. It is because of this that I was not surprised when D.R. Horton tried to put the blame on me, the customer. Some of the statements by Mr. Hughes were completely false and I hope my response will help to show a clear, overall picture of my problem. All I’m asking is that the problem is resolved and the impacted sod replaced. I do not feel this is too much to ask from D.R. Horton as their employee, Mitchell, has already admitted negligence. |
jonathan
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posted 6 January 2007 18:47 CET
I just purchased a home from Portrait Homes in the Mid-Atlantic area. With all these complaints and nasty things being said about other builders, it was refreshing to see that nothing on this site or any other site I could find had anything bad to say about Portrait Homes or Pasquinelli. After purchasing my new home and achieving the mortgage I needed, I see why. What a great experience and I would urge anyone to take a close look at this builder. Just thought a nice comment was worhtwhile after a wonderful experience. Thank you!! |
Unhappy with Drees
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posted 6 January 2007 16:50 CET
Hello Everyone. Just wanted to give a quick warning to anyone considering building with Drees Homes. We had Drees Homes build us a home and moved in during November of 2005. The quality of our home left much to be desired. We have had constant water issues surrounding our home. Our basement has had cracks in the walls that were letting water in, therefore if we ever go to sell our home, we will have to disclose this to any prospective buyers which will either deter them from purchasing or causing a much lower bid - therefore we have lost money. We have had cracks in concrete. They messed up our basement floor and had to dig it up to correct their mistake which in turn caused a weak spot in our floor that continually cracks and needs patched. The quality of workmanship in our home was beyond bad. Drywall job horrible. Some of our walls were not even painted before we moved in. Trim work uneven. Defective cabinets that they refused to replace but insisted they would fix them properly in which they did another amateur job where corners are not flush with one another and were never sanded so rough edges are exposed. I could go on and on. The main problem with Drees aside from hiring the most inexpensive contractors to do work in their homes, is the fact that anytime there is a problem of any kind, you have to FIGHT to get things done. They always try to find "loopholes" to not have to fix the things being asked for. Warranty issues take forever and all requests do not get taken care of or fixed the correct way, but rather rigged in a sense. We are extremely unhappy with Drees and plan to do everything we can to tell everyone we know what they are in store for if they choose Drees Homes as their builder  Dont Do Drees |
amber
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posted 3 January 2007 16:02 CET
I feel stuck in a hole in the state of Texas regarding any disputes with Woodhaven Homes. It is not fair to the homeowner, the law is on the builders side.
In 2004 I purchased a beautiful home in Providence Village, Texas my first home. I was disappointed the very same month. I have been experiencing HVAC Design problems since then. I have had their contractor Capital Air come out to my house over 9 times in the two years I have lived here only to be disappointed time after time that there is nothing more they can do. I filed a complaint with the Texas Licensing. In August of 2006 against Capital Air, who had complaints already against them. In June of 2006
I hired a Company to come out and do a load calculation, their finding were home needs System redesigned. I sent a email to my warranty department again, they tried to bandage the system again, then again I hired another company to come out in September and load calculate and audit my home, their finding the same. My HVAC system is to small, its a 5 ton Trane XB12. I need to have two units, one down and one up. My house is almost 2700 hundred sq. ft. Woodhaven homes still choose to do nothing, they legally don't have to. My meeting with them was more of a bribe, (take back my complaint against Capital Air, which will then provide me with a 10 year warranty and then sign another document stating that whatever their company says that they hire, (GWSSI) then that will be the end of it. I did not sign and choose to hire an attorney since my 2 year warranty was coming to an end. Well it looks like they don't have to disclose any of that information to me or my attorney of the finding from GWSSI. Their attorney is a personal injury attorney that now is working for them, more like a used car sales man. The Energy Audit per Ken Lackey which is from GWSSI, told me prior to his leaving my house that it was the HVAC design When I called him today he said he could not disclose anymore information nor provide me with a copy of the work performed since they initially hired them. GWSSI Corporate office could not either since they work for the builder. I know I am just a disgruntled homeowner and there are others in my same position that have no recourse of action. Please help change the laws. Please.. I need help. Amber Kihlberg . |
J
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posted 2 January 2007 13:15 CET
I am in the process of buying a home from Richmond American in the Phoenix area. They were trying to close 50 homes by the end of the year. We were told on December 12th to bring our private inspector for the "Final" walk through by the sales representative. When I arrived for the "final" walk through the plumb trim was not installed (no toliets/sinks), no running water, air conditioner was in a box, roof was not done, electricity hooked up with a generator , heating cooling systems could not be checked, appliances were not in, the city had not inspected the community yet. I asked the contruction supervisor when the house would be done, he said he did not know and could not give me any kind of time line but they are trying to finish by the end of the year. I received a call from the construction supervisor stating that house would be ready for final inspection on December 28th, he said all the major systems will be able to be checked. My wife went out with our private inspector for the "Final" walk through. The roof was not done, the water main to the house had a leak, plumbing could not be checked, the heat pump was not hooked up, the heating/cooling system could not be checked. The contruction supervisor said he was unaware that the heat pump was not hooked up and did not know why the roof was not done. He reported that the water leak was just found on that day and couldn't get any one out to fix it. Now the construction supervisor cannot give me a time line when the house is going to be done and is vague about when things will be fixed. My lease runs out in a couple weeks and it is very difficult to make plans. |
Jane Duan
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posted 27 December 2006 12:03 CET
To Whom It May Concern:
We purchased a new construction from Good Star Homes in May of 2006.
The address is:
4219 Drake St., Unit C
Houston, TX 77005
We had kept had water problems here and there since we lived here. After struggled with builder many times the leaks were stopped finally. But the repairs after the water problem were not completed till today. We had waited more than 4 month!
The stairway were damaged by water leak from the wall. The builder claimed that I have to wait up to 4 month if we like to use the same material to match the existing. Otherwise they have to use the different one. We rather wait than use a different pattern star in the middle of stairway.
Finally, 4 month passed with walked on the damaged stair, builder then saying they can not find the match one. Then they came to put the different color, different pattern, and man cut edging floor pieces on our stair way.
We can not accept this kind of warranty work. We like to file a complain the Good Star Homes, and seeking advise for how to enforce them doing proper warranty work for us.
Please do not hesitate call me at (832)618-2561 if you have any questions.
Builder’s Name:
Good Star Homes, LLC
Builder# 1078
Registered Agent(s): John Goode
Business Phone: 281-797-3294
Thank you,
Sincerely,
Jane Duan |
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