james winslow
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posted 29 March 2006 21:46 CET
Reference my offer for home inspections. Please first time home buyers in San Antonio only. If you live too far from my home, I will ask for gas money... |
james winslow
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posted 29 March 2006 21:41 CET
This is not a complaint, but an offer to first time homebuyers. I am not licensed, bonded or insured yet. I have 18 years as a construction inspector for the Air Force and a degree in Construction Technology. I will offer my experience and time for the next few weeks to inspect homes for the first 6 first time homebuyers to e-mail me their request. I will inspect new contruction or homes that are within the 12 month warranty period. This gives me an opportunity to help you while learning more about Texas construction. I believe we are in this crazy life together. Saturdays are the only days I will be available. I will base my decision to do this again on my experience the next couple of weeks. No strings attached. I just want to help as much as I can. I understand the stress. If I cannot answer your concerns, I can at least recommend the type of specialist you should conact for further inspection.
Jim |
Michelle Gilford
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posted 29 March 2006 05:04 CET
Capitol Corp1 David Staley-Dustin Andrews etc. I bought a home in April 2005 and have foought them ti correct my backyard which is in a fragile sate rom them not preparing the soil or yard from landscaping which evenutally will result my neighbors yard slidding into mine. I get lots of water with no wear for it to go. I also got a floor with manuacturing defects in it and they nor the subcontractor "Classis floors will fix it. They claim my guets came in one night and had high heels on and just randomly walked over the floor and casused these very small holes. |
joanne viville
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posted 28 March 2006 00:27 CET
I am a first time homebuyer and I am shocked at the level of professionalism I am recieving from DR Horton..I went by the site last week and the workers were drinking beer while framing my house. I went their today and things are missing from the floor plan I picked a supervisor was there and actually told me do not buy this house. I am so stuck. I wish I had come to this site before |
Rhonda
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posted 27 March 2006 15:26 CET
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james winslow
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posted 26 March 2006 20:32 CET
My most recet discovery was found this wekend. I was in my attic to look for evidence of leaks. (we recently had a good rain) Fortunately we appear to be leak free at this time. Unfortunately, a sizeable section of my roof deck is floating. It is not supported by all of the roof trusses. I turned it in to DR Horton's (Continental Homes in San Antonio) warranty department and expect that they will repair it, but it is the most sinificant defect in a long, long, long list of defects from this builder. They need to fire some of their quality control people as a minimum. Just think of how many defects, whether small finish work or significant structural defects, are being forced upon thousands of unknowing homebuyers... |
K.TYRELL-SMITH
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posted 25 March 2006 06:13 CET
KATHY TYRELL-SMITH
WE JUST BOUGHT A HOME FROM D.R. HORTON. THE LAND PRICE WAS $8000 BUT UPON WRITING UP THE PAPERWORK THE SALESMAN LOWERED HIS VOICE AND SAID "IT'S REALLY ONLY $4,000". THEN CLOSING COSTS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE $7000 WITH D.R. HORTON'S BANK, AND SINCE WE'RE PUTTING $60,000 DOWN HE SAID "YOU'LL PROBABLY PAY LESS IN CLOSING COSTS SINCE YOU'RE PUTTING SO MUCH DOWN AND THEY'LL REMIT THE REST AND YOU'LL PROBABLY BE ABLE TO BUY DOWN THE RATE". I ASKED HIM TO PUT THAT IN WRITING BUT HE WOULDN'T. THEN HE SAID THE HOUSE WOULD TAKE 6 MONTHS TO A YEAR TO BUILD. NOTHING MORE SPECIFIC THAN THAT. I'M GOING TO CHECK WITH THE CITY OF COOLIDGE ON THE WATER, SEWER, ELECTRIC SET UPS SO FAR AND SEE WHAT THE CITY HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE DEVELOPMENT. THEN SINCE I'M A NEWSPAPER REPORTER IF THIS IS ALL A CROCK I'M GOING TO POUR THE CROCK OUT IN EVERY PAPER I CAN FIND AND PULL OUT OF THE DEAL AND YOU CAN BET I"LL GET MY MONEY BACK. WHAT KIND OF CONSTRUCTION COMPANY ONLY REQUIRES $1,000 EARNEST MONEY ON A HOUSE? I HOPE THIS WORKS OUT BECAUSE WE REALLY LIKE THE HOUSE AND AREA BUT SOMETHING SEEMS OFF. |
Carla Clement
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posted 20 March 2006 04:09 CET
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Ken Faulk
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posted 19 March 2006 18:30 CET
We purchased our land and work to get the monies to start a new house. I was told Texas builders had to be registered, WRONG. They only need a number easy to get, I am not a builder and I will apply for one to show just how easy. Well our builder ran off about 4 months into the project, My bank was good and allowed me to finish the project. So now I am a Builder I guess. Now Texas can give me a number and let me help those who find FOXMITCHEL Homes the bulider that go us..
Thanks Texas.. |
Lisa Giraldi
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posted 16 March 2006 22:31 CET
I just purchased a $739,000 home in Fairfax ( Marin county) California that has major siding problems. We discovered the problems during the pest inspection and we bought the house anyway-hoping we could get the problems fixed through the warranty company as the home is less than 10 years old. ( It's a about 9 1/2 years old). I don't know the name of the warranty company and the builder won't give it to me. They will also not tell me the name of the siding used-they just say it is not made anymore. The builder is Douglas Ross Construction and when you call their number they also say it is the office for Benchmark Builders.
There is buckling and certain areas of the pressboard siding feel like a squishy sponge. It is estimated that it will cost around $5,000 minimum to fix the damage. I called the builder and spoke to the warranty department and faxed them a copy of the pest report.
The builder told me that it was a maintenance issue and that with proper maintenance this would not have happened. I asked them how they could come to that conclusion without even seeing the siding problem.
Our neighbor who is an original owner also has siding that is warped and waterlogged. He discovered this problem about 3 years after the homes were built and that he had been maintaining the house and yet he is still having problems-either due to the materials or the construction.
The builder sent his superintendent out for a look and the guy kept telling me that I "signed off" on the pest report so I could not claim any damages. I don't know what he was talking about. I bought the house knowing there were some plumbing problems too , but the home warranty took care of them. All we had to do was pay the deductible. He also called the pest company and one of my realtors, trying to determine if I had "signed off" on the pest report.
I live on a street with 16 homes that were developed by the same company. All of these homes are just shy of being 10 years old. Should I contact the other neighbors to see if they are having siding problems too? ( I'm sure they are since the same materials were used on all the homes and they were all built by the same builders). Would this strengthen or weaken my chances of getting the damages taken care of by the builder or through the home warranty?
If I was an original owner would it make a big difference? Does this seem like I will have any chance of getting this taken care of ? |
james winslow
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posted 16 March 2006 18:33 CET
Believe me at this time I cannot recommend DR Horton to anyone. The stress these inexperiences or careless construction managers caused me is unbelievable. I tried in desparation to convince my wife to walk away from this builder. But she did not want to have to deal with this all over again somwhere else or potentially with another builder. Unfortunately, we will not know how the foundation is going to hold up for years. So far so good.
As my wife and I walk around the Wildhorse development, we see no improvements in the builders supervision or quality. Even in light of teh TRCC standards that were established last June. What a waste of government resources if the TRCC has no authority. Whos cousin got that cash cow? Obviously the builder is not worried about what the TRCC should bring to bear on companies that fall short of quality construction. |
wilson2207
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posted 16 March 2006 18:20 CET
Dear Mr. Winslow:
I should have stated that the risks involved with the long term consequences of shoddy construction are in addition to the trials and tribulations of dealing with the games played by the new house builder following your closing.
Wilson |
wilson2207
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posted 16 March 2006 09:30 CET
Dear Mr. Winslow:
You seem to be a decent, patient, optimistic person. Imagine the predicament of other new house buyers who do not have your level of experience and capability as they try to get what they paid for regarding the largest investment of their lives.
I learned my lesson. I will never buy another new house from a corporate/public new house builder. From my experience, this is the only effective recourse for avoiding a potential new house nightmare.
You have a good idea of what you are buying, and have had obvious mistakes corrected. The long term consequences of shoddy contruction are what hold the greatest risk for the new house buyer.
I wish you and your family well.
W |
David and Maureen Champoux
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posted 15 March 2006 20:53 CET
1. Bought home from DR Horton 1/04. It is called The Traditions - a golf community. It is on the now defunct Old Carolina golf course.
2. Look at this web site that is still active and it is obvious that the marketing was as much about the homes as the golf amenities.
3. The golf course (not owned by Horton) has been targeted by owners since it was their decision to close; it is my opinion that the golf curse promised homeowners nothing but DR Horton did.
http://www.drhorton-homes.com/communities/traditions/traditions.html |
james winslow
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posted 15 March 2006 20:39 CET
The letter I submitted was the first of about a dozen memos I sent to DR Horton. Fortunately, our situation is basically working out. Unfortunately, it has been an abnormal struggle. I would not mind taking the big corporation to court, and may still if they force my hand. I really want the company to successful but in a positive way. They have an obligation to provide sound, well built homes with reasonable craftsmanship. I am just getting here to Texas, but I knew right away that there was something wrong with the construction quality in the San Antonio area. All builders are using basically the same cheap materials and the same unskilled labor force. I have 18 years in the construction business so I was ableto get the builder to repair most of the deficiencies. What is most frustrating for me is that they are more proud of the fact they fixed 8 pages of discrepancies than they are ashamed they had them. This lack of pride needs to change. I have seen more workmanship pride in third world countries. The builder blames the labor force. But the companies that hire them do not train or supervise them properly nor do they provide them with the right tools to do the job. We definitely need more policing agencies with authority to hold the big builders accountable. They obviously have no desire to do it on their own.
There are more homeowners than politicians. So if it is legilastion causing the problem, this can be fixed the easy way or the hard way.
My wife and I were planning to retire here. However, with all the problems we have experienced since we got here we are reconsidering our future in Texas. I hope we can eventually make positive change for everyone's benefit. |
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