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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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Jerry Young
 |
posted 11 January 2010 13:53 CET
Bought a DR Horton home new in 2005 in the Savannah subdivision in Denton county, TX. In spring 2008, came home and found some broken tiles in the Master Bathroom.
DR Horton agreed to fix the tiles but refused to investigate the foundation.
As sheet rock cracks, driveway cracks, tile cracks started appearing all over I contacted an engineering company. The engineer found signifigant movement and suggested the house be fully piered and drainage be installed.
I contacted DR Horton with the findings and they sent several "experts" out who said we over watered in some areas and under watered in others. Their engineer said his results were inconclusive and needed to take second measurements in a few months.
After being stonewalled for months we hired an attorney who took us through the process of sending a demand letter, filing a SIRP, etc.
It was only when Horton found out who the state inspector was going to be that they panicked and agreed to fix pier the house and install drainage. Their plan almost exactly matched what our engineer had said many months prior.
We just recently completed cosmetic repairs and it has cost us over $11,000 in legal fees to get to this point. Now DR Horton is trying to fight paying the legal fees. This coming spring will be over 3 years that I've been fighting to get my house fixed and get on with my life.
I wanted to share my story to let other homeowners in a similar situation know what to expect.
DR Horton really had an opportunity here to make things right and turn a negative experience into a positive one. Instead, they treat homeowners with legitimate complaints like felons. |
Kathy
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posted 5 November 2009 18:25 CET
Is Drees the best builder in the nation ? No! No! No!
If yes, I can not imagine are other builders even more worse than Drees?
Marquis, part of Drees Company, did a lot of bad and cut the corner things for building my house. I have very very bad experience with this company.
I wish Drees CEO, Mr. David Drees, know how these people made his company’s name bad.
Two managers treated me with black heart:
1. Their sales manager, Priscilla Tigner, over charged me for house base price. Drees denied but don’t want to show me the base price for the same floor plan they charge other people. At the same time she did not gave me the equal credit for unfinished basement compare to other neighbors’. She refused my request for building a ranch and Drees did not have any evidence that they can not build a front entry ranch in my lot. Also she did a lot of cheating to me and did not give me right to chose most stuff for my new house.
2. Their construction manager, Larry Furnish, does not have any work related license certificate ( he is not qualified for this position) and made a lot of mistakes. The Company can not show me the quality inspection report for my house he built. It seems like Drees company does not have quality control for their products. They said the City already inspected. But as I know the City only inspect the safety not construction details.
3. Drees gave the survey (which I filled) to Larry. He forced me to make change in order to get his bonus.
4. One worker Drees hired brought two kids under 18 working in my house.
5. Larry and Drees contractors did a lot of bad things when they built my house both inside and outside.
Inside the house:
(1) They put a broken, rusty hot water heater, a bottom frame broken stove and a cracked bath tub in my new house. They knew I don’t have any experience myself and I can not afford expensive home inspection.
(2) No insulation around the doors and windows framing. Not enough insulation under the roof. (found from my neighbor’s home inspection. No doubt they did the same things in my house which was built about the same time.)
(3) Many gaps in framing. I can easily pass through from those gaps. Larry said every house like that. My neighbor’s home inspection required him to fix for their house.
(4) I want the kitchen hood can expel cooking smell to outside, they charge me extra $150 just made a hole on the wall. It is useless.
(5) From all the corners of the front door, the back door and the door to garage I can see outside light. Plus no insulation, make my house more cold in the winter and more hot in the summer.
(6) My laundry tub has no feet even if Priscilla charged me extra $310.
(7) Vinyl floor left gaps, exposed wood floor without cover in several areas.
Outside the house:
(1) My house size should be 1870 square feet, but my house outside appraisal only get
1833 square feet. The front is 1 foot short compare to the blueprint.
(2) Two garage lights are not in the same level, one is high, the other one is low.
(3) Filling small stones between concretes instead of extension joint in some place.
(4)Dumped tons of construction trashes (plastic, broken brick, concrete, etc.) in my yard
under the grass.
(5)Big hole under the driveway concrete.
Two years passed, Drees have not finished one year warranty repair work yet.
Although Drees finally fired those two managers but it is not enough for the victim, like me.
Attachment:
This is 1 of 5 page problems found in my neighbor’s home inspection before Larry was going to put
Drywall
1.Many gaps in framing to outside are yet to be filled by framing contractor.
2.Insulation contractor will caulk or install insulation around windows and door framing.
3.Kitchen wall to outside wall needs 2x4’s removed to install wall insulation.
4. Framing for pantry to bay window was not square.
5.Door way framing to dinning room is not equal from top to bottom.
6.Loose wall at furnace in basement to be tied in ninth boxed framing around supply
ducts and beams.
7.Return air ducting on second floor needs blocking and fire stop sealant on second floor.
8.Steel bracket at top of stair beams needs all nails installed.
9.Electric in kitchen for stove and wall outlets need to be finished after insulation contractor done.
Drees hired unqualified person but the consumer pay his bad job. Drees loose nothing. All my wrong is to trust them. Drees don't care their house quality, don't care consumer's loss. As one of Drees sales manager said they just want to make biggest profits.
Kathy Xu
1835 Yorktown Rd. Cincinnati OH 45237 |
Michael
|
posted 15 October 2009 17:39 CET
TopNotch Homes builder is the absolute epitome of incompetence. After moving in my new home I found water coming in the basement between the top of the foundation and the wall. After removing the siding and disassembling the deck I saw the Moisture wrap (aka Flash Wrap) was nailed to the wall and the adhesive backing was never removed! This would be like installing a new tire on a car and not filling it with air. That’s how ridiculous this was. TopNotch homes obviously uses people that DO NOT know what they doing.
As far as their vendors are concerned, well let me say this: most of them aren’t fit to be selling peanuts at Fenway park. Here’s why:
I couldn’t get American Irrigation, the company that installed the rain sensor for the sprinkler system to come out for warranty service if my life depended on it. They just kept on lying to me and never showed up. I gave up on getting service from these clowns and repaired the sensor myself.
Top Notch’s landscape company has awful customer service. They never returned any of my calls to date. Not one! I gave up on them too. I told the builder I had trouble getting service and they refused to help me.
TopNotch employees advertise how they do such a good job cleaning up once the construction is complete. To this day I’m still finding trash such as coffee cups, cigarettes, glass bottles, cans, discarded construction materials, wiring, sheet rock screws, etc.
My Advice and opinion is that if you really want to buy a TopNotch Home, buy one that has been lived in for a few years or be prepared to hire people to do the repairs that you can’t. |
Victoria Ballard
|
posted 12 October 2009 08:34 CET
Builder Complaint: Bryan Hicks DBA Bryan Hicks Custom Homes, Tuscola, TX
We wish to communicate the issues that my family has had with this local builder for the past three years. The problems center around warranty issues of the new home we purchased our home in Abilene, Texas from Bryan Hicks in July 2006. The conflict has not come to a resolution despite an exhausting and frustrating number of attempts to communicate and follow the necessary steps to reach a resolution.
The first hint that there was a problem with the customer service with this builder was evident when he refused to pay the property taxes owed on the home according to the real estate contract. After failing to discuss the matter through the Better Business Bureau we were forced to take this matter to small claims court. When we won the judgment he finally paid the taxes and penalties owed us.
From this time forward any warranty issues we had on our new home, which were numerous; we were told by letter to contact all individual contractors directly. Some contractors were helpful; others refused to do the repairs or wouldn’t return calls. We tried to get the work done through the contractors for months. All the while keeping Bryan Hicks up to date on the status of the repairs via fax, email, and certified mail we communicated regularly to Bryan Hicks about the repairs that were not getting done. We never had any communications back from Bryan Hicks about how we should proceed. At no point did Bryan Hicks dispute that any of the indicated issues needing repairs were warranty issues, he just failed to get the work on them completed.
Trying to be nice and not bring the State into the problem, we did not contact the Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) (turns out to be a big mistake). Instead WE contacted Better Business Bureau, this time he failed to respond to their inquiry on the matter. Our last resort was to seek legal counsel who told us to go ahead and have the repairs done by other contractors at our cost and ask for reimbursement from the builder Bryan Hicks. We had all repairs done at our cost. Including replacing tile in our kitchen and eating area that was cracking and buckling after less than a year of being installed, repairing a faulty mailbox, painting a garage door, replacing carpet that was originally installed with a manufacturer’s flaw, and repairs to the sheetrock and furniture damaged by a severely leaking roof. Contact was made to the builder in January of 2008 to request the amount we were out for the repairs. There was, yet again, no response from Bryan Hicks.
After many more attempts to contact Bryan Hicks, we brought our case, with the aid of our lawyer, to Small Claims court and won judgment for the full amount. Bryan Hicks appeared and at no point disputed that the items we had repaired by other contractors were warranty items on the home. After the judgment he failed to pay us the amount, instead he hired legal counsel that told him about the TRCC laws that protect builders and require complaints to be filed within 30 days of the warranty expiring in order to have a case against a builder. In our situation within 30 days of the 1 year warranty we were still communicating via letters with the builder’s contractors to get the work done. So in essence, we are being punished for giving the builder the benefit of the doubt that he will live up to his contractual requirements to uphold the warranty on the new home that he built and sold to our family.
We have been very careful to keep to the facts in this case so as to spell out our story accurately for others to beware of this man and his business. The home that we purchased from him was not the quality that it appeared to be at first and his promises to uphold the state-required warranties and his own company’s warranty on the home are empty. We are still out the thousands of dollars in repairs to our new home and even more in legal costs, in these hard economic times this has really hurt our family. In our opinion, don’t have Bryan Hicks of Bryan Hicks Custom Homes build you a home. |
dan fisher
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posted 25 September 2009 09:15 CET
BUILDINGS BY ALL PHASE SEPTEMBER 25TH 2009. UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE:
SEPT 23 i finally got a fax from joe at buildings by all phase in which he was listing what he had done on the punch list. he answered a bout 50% of the punchlist when in fact he told me "i only have 3-4 things left on the list to do". he also said he replaced all weatherstripping in the house. * he just told me 2 days before that he hadnt been able to get to the front door weatherstripping because it needs "special weatherstripping".[KEEP IN MIND THIS WAS TO HAVE BEEN DONE BACK IN THE 1ST OR SECOND WEEK OF JULY 2009 PER HIS PHONE CONVERSATION WITH ME AT THAT TIME] thats just couple examples. what a stinkin joke. so i resent a fax to him and entitled it "simplified form" and ask all the questions again and put "YES or NO" at the end of each and left room "to please explain if needed" below them, instead of seeing his mealy mouthed answers of which are just completely opposite of what he told me in many instances on the fax or are different than what he told me. i asked him flat out: you told me you will be back to the house in two weeks, monday oct 5th. do you have all materials ordered and all the workers lined up to meet that day and get things done"? [after all he has had 2 weeks to line all up. I HAVENT HEARD BACK FROM HIM AND I SENT The FAX / QUESTIONAIRE TO HIM AT O415 HRS CST 9/24/09 |
dan fisher
|
posted 22 September 2009 10:33 CET
THIS IS AN UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT ON "BUILDINGS BY ALL PHASE":
· Sept 10 2009 1120am Thursday joe calls and tells me he goin to house Sunday 13th
· September 13 Sunday 235 pm joe calls and tells me now he isn’t going until Monday evening
· Says window and door people wont be at the house for another week. ie: sept 21 [today as I type this no one has been to the house yet nor called to ask for gate combo or alarm to be turned off.]
· Says he has materials here in kingwood at his house,5hrs away from the job site, but he has no one to haul them to the job site.[material=deckingmaterial: composite I assume.] ok well this isn’t my problem. He says all the facia needs replaced around decks. Im thinkin, ok, I have been saying and telling him that since may. He asked me where are the leaks, I said I have no idea because they are under the decking material. [how about go and look for yourself next rain?, im thinking]
· Sept 13 Thursday: I had sent an architect out to house, jeff, to assess. He said these two decks are not fixable short of tearing off and starting over. Builder joe put a tin material, much like you would a boat house which is fine, under the front composite decking but only sloped it 1” for the entire 12ft. jeff said there was so much trash on the tin that there is no way it will drain, thus the problem with leaks. He didn’t use hardie backer board nor a blue skin which is what should be used on exposed deck. Jeff said with the present design, the facia , even if replaced will be ruined again in 2 months and that the deck will leak again in 2-12 months. Joe the builder tells jeff “I am using a sealer on the facia”, jeff says fine , then it has to be sealed every year. Jeff says that the facia needs to be caulked, its not.
· Joe has not addressed all the cypress on ceiling under decks[carport] that are all bowed and warped due to leaks
· The 1x2 trim strips where garage rock walls meet the ceiling need to be removed and mortar used like the rest of the house. They are warped and have 100’s of gaps for scorpions and spiders and wasps to make homes.
· September 17th 525pm builder joe calls and says he will be back in 2 weeks [OCTOBER 5TH] to finish up things [remember the 2 weeks he asked for for the back deck, that’s the 2 weeks] so we will see if and what all gets done.
· He says “if the decks leak in 5-10 years, I’ll be back”. [I don’t want him back]
· Says he tried twice to fix the outdoor shower to no avail. Has cut / chiseled out the rock around shwr guts and says will try one more thing. [so did he just leave for 2 weeks and leave open hole?]
· Says he fixed bedroom 1 window and that bedroom 4 window wont work and that “his guy” is coming. Ok well today is window and door guys day, where are they??? And who exactly is “his guy”?
· Shower handle in master: he tried to fix, he cant. So the guy from 25 niles away in bandera that installed it is going to come fix. WHEN?
· Says he has ventilated microwave by drilling holes in the upper and lower shelf.
· Says instead of putting face plate on dishwasher they “wooded it real nice”. [ok so you have know for 6 months it was missing or forgot where he put it, why not just order one?
· Says he fixed leak by stairs in garage. Didn’t see the leak that has ruined sheetrock and mildewed the other part of garage. [WHICH I GAVE HIM PICTURES OF. HE FORGOT] said he never knew there was a leak. [he has pictures and its in writing on 2 punch lists] I told him to look at pictures.
· As many times before, I told him “joe take the punchlists and go line by line and look at each item in the house and touch and put your eyes on it, that will help you remember.
· He admitted, “danny, I let alotta stuff get by me out here[when he called from the site]
· Then as usual starts in on how he lost money on this house. Bottom line, as he mentioned to my architect, he underbid it. Sorry once again this isn’t my problem. So I started talking about something else so I don’t have to listen to the whining.
· He tells me:your guy,jeff the architect, knows his stuff but he aint a ripper like me. Regardless what jeff says, these decks will not leak. [im thinkin if you are such a hot shot ripper, why not do the decks right to begin with.] he admitted to jeff that he cut corners to save money.
· I said to builder joe, “so u pulled the decking up and put it back down, are the screws back in the same holes or new holes”? he says , “nah, I just pulled up a few boards and I found the leak and its fixed”. [BS]
· SEPT 19TH 215pm my electrician out there doin some things for me says hey dan, the study door and the breezeway door is open. I am closing them as they are not supposed to be open by your instruction. Thanked him. In the country rats are always lookin for places to get in in the fall. So can anyone tell me why it was necessary for those doors to be left open as well as all 4 garage doors? There was no reason other than lazy. JUST PLAIN SIMPLE LAZY.
· Sept 19th 220pm I sent builder joe a text to REMIND HIM ONCE AGAIN that all doors are to remain closed. I followed that with a phone call stating same.
· He says ok. [I found out they had been up again by a neighbor]
· Asks during this phone call if I will be around sundat sept 20 to go over punch list. Im thinking , no whats to go over ? you had lists since may 2009. Do it.
· SEPTEMBER 19TH 550PM SATURDAY: joe calls [on his way back to kingwood, 5hrs, says he needs a good rain to see if the decks are gonna leak. Number 1 he said they wont, number two he said they wont leak as he found the leak, and number 3 how ya gonna know if you aren’t there to see.? It rained the Sunday he was back here in kingwood and is scheduled to rain tues. today he took his son fishing.
· Blames hisself for all the things that happened on job because he wasn’t here like he shoulda been.[I told him that almost a year ago!]
· So I asked why he has left job site to come back 5hrs away to kingwood. He says…………”I have to order stuff for the decks and I need 20ft pieces and no one has em” . I’m thinkin don’t you have a cell phone[yes] and you can order from out there while you finish up the rest of the stuff. Man this just doesn’t make sense. We are on month 26 fixing to be 27 and STILL NOT DONE. Puzzles me because he said already he has deck material here and needs someone to haul it out there. Just lie after lie after lie.
· Also remember he said, “I have my guys all lined up danny”. Well I’m kinda wonderin where they all are.
· Mid conversation he says “my money is fine danny”
· Late conversation he says “im outta money danny, in fact I am losin money now on this job”
· Then says “all these change orders I didn’t make a dime”. [of course I never mentioned all the screw ups and all the things I let him “out of” that is worth more than the profit he would stand to make on change orders. If it ever came down to it and it went to arbitration or court, he would actually “OWE ME” money, I have all records and documentation to stand behind.
· Admitting to jeff he cut corners was a pretty huge blunder. HUGE.
· THEN I GOT TO THINKIN, IF HE SAW PIECES OF COMPOSITE CUTTINGS, SAWDUST SHAVINGS, NAILS AND TRASH ON THE ONE LITTLE AREA OF THE DECKING HE PULLED UP, WHY NOT PULL IT ALL UP AND CLEAN IT OUT SO IT WILL AT LEAST SOMEWHAT DRAIN FOR A WHILE?
· SEPT 19 601pm Saturday, I sent him text to fax to me punch list and go line by line telling me what action he took.[SINCE HE SAID HE HAS “ALL” BUT 3-4 ITEMS DONE.just like he lied to me and the inspector before.its sept 21. Nothing.
· Sept 19 1012pm. Saturday. I text him telling him once again , he didn’t set the alarm at the house. No reply. I failed to mention that sept 17th he left front deck door wide open and making it soooooo easy for rats and coons to invade. He says he closed and locked jimself that door. Well my alarm system is pretty elaborate. No he didn’t. ironic the next eve it armed perfect…………….
· Builder joe also told me,”danny we fixed all the weather stripping on the doors too.” I said ok great so when you are inside the house and look toward , for example, the front door do you see daylight around the door? He says well danny we didn’t fix that one as it takes a “special weatherstripping”. Huh? So there ya have it again, another untruth. I think its “just tell the owner what he wants to hear so he will get off your back” type deal with him.
· That’s the latest. He did call sept 21 Monday to say he got my text and sorry for not getting list to me but will do it tues. will see what happens……….
*TODAY IS SEPT 22, NO FAX, TEXT OR CALL FROM THEM.
· Dan fisher |
Leah Dean
 |
posted 20 September 2009 18:33 CET
My name is Leah Dean and I live in Twin Villas @ Red Bluff a community built buy Lennar Homes in Pasadena, TX. Our neighborhood is 3 years old and just my home alone has a shoddy roof which has leaked into my front bedroom 4 times and the problem began with the first big rainstorm when the house was 6 months old. Lennar Homes has sent contractors out 3 times in 2-1/2 years and even with inspection reports from a private inspector and State Farm Insurance (2) times, they can't seem to fix the problem. On August 21, 2009 rain storm came and again, rain came back through the same exact area seeping through and damaging the ceiling once again. When you get up inside my attic and turn out the lights, you can see light shining through the front of the home. A report was written that my soffit was broken, starter course is upside down, I have a hole big enough for rates, raccoons and many more unwelcomed predators to get inside my attic. Lennar seems to think it is my problem. My front entry way has a crack running through the tile, now there is a crack running along the top of my front door way. Lennar seems to think this is called normal settleing. Front rooms two rooms in the front of the house upstairs are 10 degrees hotter at all times than the rest of the home. These rooms never cool and this is a major complaint from 95% of the neighborhood. (6) Homes have had to replace coils in attic costing them hundreds even thousands of dollars to repair. Sidewalks on homes are cracking, driveways are cracking, hardy plank is warped, paint is peeling off of homes, driveways and many of them have corrosion where rebar is breaking down concrete and causing driveways to sink or one side is down and the other side is up. Our neighborhood looks like these houses have been here for 15 years. I spoke with Lennar on a couple of occassions around Sept 19, 2009 and the lack of courtesy in regards to our situation is unbelivable. Lennar wants to blame the homeowner. Our driveways, streets and sidewalks have rebar coming through the concrete in every single area of the neighborhood. Homes were built without water meters installed and homeowners did not even know this until they had closed on their homes and started receiving water bills in the range of $400.00 and reports of up to $1,500.00. Many homes now are foreclosed on, people are walking away because HOA dues are $170.00/mth, we were hit with 80/20 mortgages by Countrywide Homes, ARM's and realizing many people could no longer afford to live in the community. People fed up with construction issues and selling their home for $20,000.00 under what they owe on it just to get out from under it. I have filed a complaint with the BBB and the Texas Attorney General's office told me this is a personal dispute. Govenor Rick Perry's office just directs you to other people. This is a nightmare not just for me but our community as a whole. I want the President of Lennar Homes to know that his office in Houston, TX is hiding shoddy workmanship and not reporting it as it should be. I would like him to know that his homes are shoddy, and I will not pay for driveways and sidewalks, shoddy roofs, cracking tile, or any other form of shoddy workmanship on a 2-1/2 year old home. Twin Villas @ Red Bluff is disgusted with this homebuilder and we should not already have to be paying thousands of dollars out of our pockets for shoddy workmanship. I have had (2) different adjusters come out to my home, (1) licensed inspector, (3) roofing companies and they all have told me I should not be seeing light through my attic at the front of my home, the roof is clearly shoddy workmanship, rebar should not be coming through the concrete, walls and tile should not have cracks but Lennar has told us that the driveways and sidewalks our the homowners responsibility. Lennar wants to know how we know the air conditioning coils is their responsibility. All I can say if this is what you get when you buy a new home from Lennar then "Lennar Homes, keep your poor excuse of a home" and take your poor customer service out of Texas. For all of you State Representatives who really don't give a damn all I can say is you should. It is neighborhoods like this that the property value sinks even lower when you have 4 or 5 foreclosures and homes for sale trying to get out from under these homes because the homeowner feels they have nowhere to turn, no one to stand up for them and we are left with the damaged goods, damaged credit, and broken hearts because homebuilders such as Lennar Homes is able to get away with their shoddy workmanship, poor quality, lack of proper home inspections, and lack of consideration for the consumers feelings. Lennar Homes are pathetic.
Leah Dean
2616 Mill Creek Dr
Pasadena TX 77503
I invite anyone living in our area to drop buy and take a look at our community and see our driveways, sidewalks, and paint peeling from our homes. We would love to have all the wittnesses we can get. |
Claudette
|
posted 8 September 2009 17:32 CET
I bought a Ryan Homes built townhouse in 2007. I was unable to close on my Ryan Homes built house in November 2007 because I was deployed to Afghanistan for the fourth time. The house is a four-story town house. I own the top two stories and my neighbors have the bottom two stories. When I moved into my house in January 2008, I noticed on the top floor that there were little dark spots along the edge of wall next to the base boards. I didn’t think anything of it because it’s a new house; the edges I presumed were pretty spacious due to lack of being walked on during insulation. These spots were initially in the hallway, they are now in all of the bed rooms, and even on the 32 stairs that it takes you to get from the front door to the first floor.
Oh by-the-way, I live by myself, no children, no pets, and when people come over, they have to take their shoes off. I lived in the house for the first five months and then the Army sent me away again. This time it was for a short moment. When I returned in May I was sent away again for six months. During the course of the six months, I stayed close by but in a hotel because the assignment required so. I hadn't paid much attention to the floor whenever I did come back to the house for maximum of six days every two and half months and then back to the hotel I'd go.
Since leaving the Army full time in January 2009, I've gotten a chance to really pay attention to my home. My aunt and niece were supposed to come live with me-that didn't happen. I had to tell them that they can't come because there's a chance that I'd have to move out of the house because of this black substance that has now spread throughout the top floor of my NEW house.
I called Ryan Homes in February 2009. They sent a guy out in March 2009 and he saw the substance and said that it was from candles. When we went to the furnace we pulled out the filter after 42 days and it’s was horrible. Since then, I’ve put in a 90-day filter and it’s fine. I left the filter in for 120 days and I don’t have the problem. I knew better and kept my cool. That was an insult. If candles were causing this type of problem it would be on my ceiling and walls - it isn't and has not been.
So that following Monday I called the county. They called Ryan Homes and Ryan Homes calls me to let me know that they have called their contracted company, TMS Heating and Air Conditioning (TMS) to come out to my house and inspect the furnace. They sent out the first guy and he showed me that it's not the furnace. Of course, he could go so far without having to do major work. Plus, heating and air conditioning is not my expertise. He noticed that there were gaps in the furnace and scheduled a date for another employee to come out and fix the gaps.
Before the actual closing of the gaps, I called TMS to find out who will be fixing my carpet. They said to contact Ryan Homes. I called Ryan Homes and they said since it was candles that they don't have to fix it and they won't. If I feel that they are wrong to get an inspection.
I ask Ryan Homes for a letter stating such. He sends the letter and it states that candle soot was not a Ryan Homes warranty issue and no action will be taken.
The next guy comes through from TMS and fix the gaps. When I asked for a written from the first guy of his findings, he said to contact the main office. After three attempts of trying to get a statement from TMS, I was told that they don't give out copies of work orders as long as the house is under warranty.
I hire a home inspector. He looked at my carpet and said that candles didn’t do this. He goes into my attic to find that both types of fiber glass insulation: pink batt and the white snow-like type have the same black substance on it as does my carpet.
I got a report from the inspector and acquired an attorney. My attorney sent a copy of the report to Ryan Homes and they revisited my house in June 2009. After visiting my house, I got a call from Ryan Homes with a proposition to avoid spending more money and trying to find out who's at fault; Ryan Homes will come in and replace the carpet on my top floor but I will be responsible for the carpet on the down stairs stairwell. They both saw the attic and in the proposal that Ryan Homes mailed me they didn't mention the attic at all.
This substance is on my junction box, my fax machine, my toilet paper packaging in my laundry room, in my medicine cabinets, my bathroom cabinets, my shower gels bottles underneath my bathroom sinks, my security key pads (upstairs and downstairs), my Airwick plugs (new and old), my dishwasher, my microwave splatter proof covers (the one in the microwave and the one that's never been used that sits in the kitchen drawer, it's in my refrigerator, freezer, blender, mixer, and mixing bowls, it's also on my Lysol timed sprayer that I have hanging up on the downstairs wall in a corner.
Help! They are taking advantage of the consumers. I am not the only Ryan Homes customer that has gone through this type of problem with them. Please visit the site: www.ryanhomesnightmare.com, the owner of the site has the same exact problem that I do. His issue occurred around 2000 and mine started in 2007 and is still ongoing.
Stop this horrible company for it’s negligence and false advertising of commitment and impeccable quality. We put our trust in them to build us a quality home and they fall extremely short.
Their site reads:
“At Ryan Homes, we believe that the most important element of your home is you. And that’s why we’ve spent the past 60 years building exceptional, award-winning homes – one home at a time.
Commitment
Part of what makes us different is our unwavering commitment to building. Not just building homes, but building trust. Peace of mind. Relationships. Our people have a passion for what they do and the homebuyers that they work with, and it shows. We communicate with, encourage, and guide our customers throughout the entire homebuilding process, from well before the concrete is poured until long after move-in day. Your home is very important to you, so it’s also very important to us.
Impeccable Quality
Perhaps the most important difference of all is our homes. With one step inside a Ryan home, the extraordinary quality becomes evident. Look a little further and you’ll notice the rich character, the meticulous attention to detail, the exceptional craftsmanship. Chances are, before that first visit is over, you’ll finally understand what people mean when they say, “When you find the right home, you just know.”
Your home is a reflection of you. Shouldn’t your homebuilder be, too?”
Claudette Clark
a very disgusted customer |
Jessica
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posted 29 August 2009 10:42 CET
TopNotch Homes in Tewksbury, MA - Nightmare on Ames Run
My experience with TopNotch Homes builder located in Tewksbury, MA was an atrocious experience. The best recommendation I have to offer is to either NOT buy a home from these buffoons or buy one that’s been lived in for at least a year. That way you can avoid their ineptitude and cantankerous attitudes not to mention having to hire competent people to repair the shoddy workmanship they do. Below are some of the major issues I’ve had with them.
Their broker from Coldwell banker in Tewksbury didn’t inform us of the new construction tax in Tewksbury, which amounted to several thousand dollars.
We ended up with asphalt berm for the sidewalks -- instead of the touted granite berm.
TopNotch tore up the sod in everyone’s front lawn without warning when they put the sidewalks in. Everyone’s sod was replaced with cheap weed-seed. The weeds that grew in look terrible.
I priced an alarm system through the TopNotch vendor. They wanted three thousand dollars to wire the front door and four of the front windows! That price didn’t include any security for the back of the house. I got a Brinks security system instead for a better price.
Not enough sprinklers installed to water bushes and areas of sod. I had to hire another vendor to install additional sprinklers. I don’t blame the landscaping company. I blame TopNotch homes for being too cheap to designate enough money to do the job right. |
dan fisher
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posted 20 August 2009 10:15 CET
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BUILDINGS BY ALLPHASE
Monday, August 17, 2009
BUILDINGS BY ALLPHASE: BUYER BEWARE texas home and barn builder.
do you see that beautiful rock house on the buildings by allphase sight? that is my house, and it has been 25 months in the process now and should only have taken 8-12 months. so if you want slow? these are the guys. if you want it built not the way you asked for it? these are the guys. if you want to never see them again after they get their final funds? these are the guys. i should have known that a barn builder/hotel builder are not capable of building a custom home. they only know how to build things that are "cookie cutter" [or repetitive]. i have a stack of paper, mostly faxes reminding them or asking them to do certain common sense things or asking them if something has ever gotten done. now they wont leave me a voice mail, letter, fax or nothing. they seem to think i owe them money for the labor on the extra work they did for me, however they havent really thought about the fact that i let them out of doing a lot of other things that were to be done to the house that are valued more than the labor of the extra things they did for me. they have known about the items still not done, since march 2009 and some of them "officially" the first week of may 2009.
-they installed 2 large decks on 2nd floor using tile that is not impervious and no expansion joins to cut costs rather than use the composite decking i paid for that they underestimated 4 times. now the tiles are popping and the subflooring underneath holds water and leaks thru below. they came back and installed composite on one deck, and it looks like a 5th grade shop class did the job. they just left the other deck.
-the rock pillars around the garage, the centerposts, and the rock firepit are cracking apart
-the facia around the garage was ruined after the first rain from a watery goo coming from under the decks.
-the outside shower has quit working
-2 of the crank out windows are inoperable
-the microwave was installed with NO VENTILATION and is thus a fire hazard
-they forgot to install a foot rail at the island
-they forgot where the face plat is for my dishwasher
-they forgot where my garage remotes are
when installing garage plumbing they cut through several electrical wires
-the roof had 2 leaks in the den and was dripping on bamboo floors, after 2 months they fixed leak
-the garage ceiling has leak and is mildewing
-they installed one door with the door lock button on the outside, they finally reversed it last month
-all the exterior doors daylight can be seen as the weatherstripping is incorrectly installed[they told me 2 months ago that the weatherstripping will be in "tomorrow and i will have my guys install it. ?where does weatherstripping "come in from? lowe's or home depot". just a random excuse....]
-they told me when i asked if the bath exhaust fans were vented to the outside and not the attic-yes. inspector said they were NOT. after inspection they told me and the inspector they were now. i looked yesterday and NO THEY ARE NOT.
-several interior doors are too short
-they still have not painted my study door
-they still have not painted my bathroom door in the garage
-my home was never registered with the texas real estate construction commission
-rain blows in thru the doors in the rooms over the garage
these are just VERY FEW OF THE MANY MANY problems i have and have had. this has been an absolute nightmare and they are not responsible enough to get in touch with me to give me any information. not that it would be any correct information just as in the past. ie:i was givin 24 or 25 different completion dates.
*fortunately for me, and unfortunately for BUILDINGS BY ALLPHASE, its now outta my hands although i try contacting them once or twice a week to no avail. good luck.
Posted by dan at 9:04 AM 0 comments
Labels: buildings by allphase; builders; texas builders; hill country builders;barns;kingwood builders;houston builders
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Karen Douchette
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posted 19 August 2009 05:33 CET
I live in Berks Home community in lebanon pa. They make all kinds of promises and don't keep them. My one wall in the palor was discovered when we moved in at night when the lights from wall shone on it. You could see the drywall tape all across the wall then there was a bulge that went horizonatal at the end of that . They came in and put mud and then sanded over a painted wall. you could see lines and it looked worst than before. They sent a drywall person out he did best he could it looked good until I primed and painted the wall with 3 coats and still looks horrible when you turn light on at night. I spent 249,000 for this house and I expect a smooth straight wall for my money. I think they should rippped this defective drywall out and replace it the right way. I am not the only person with grievences againt this builder |
Yvonne Harris
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posted 11 August 2009 13:05 CET
Beware of a builder by the name of Archie Smith dba Archie's Construction. He built my home and the slab was underconstructed and consequently it has failed and my house is sinking causing my bulkhead to fail, cracked tile on my floors, cracked sheetrock, cracked rock on my fireplace, etc. He has refused to accept any responsibility for this failure. I filed a complaint with TRCC and they and the TPI have determind the slab was not adequate to suppor the weight of the house. Trcc has determined that the builder is responsible for paying for the damage to my home, however, they are no long going to be around after the first of the year so they are not very confident that the will be able to help me. It is going to cost $56,000 just to repair the slab and I don't know how much to repair all the rest of the house. This builder should not be allowed to build homes. There are other homes he built in this area and they all have some sort of problems. The other owners just have fixed their problems and not pursued any action to make the builder responsible. Be careful if you ever run across this builder. |
Pat
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posted 8 August 2009 13:06 CET
I am currently suing DR Horton. The house was built in 2001 and is, quite literally, falling down. In addition, the cement pad is missing expansion joints, I'm missing load bearing beams, the house was framed incorrectly, the sheathing was nailed on incorrectly, the windows were not flashed correctly, the siding has the wrong nails, the roof doesn't meet code. And, sadly, I signed the standard horton contract with the binding arbitration clause. This is a financial disaster and a personal nightmare. |
shirley byrd
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posted 2 August 2009 09:45 CET
Since January 2009 I have been trying to get refunds from Pringle Development Inc. I had contracted with this company November 2008 to build a new home. I wanted to close on the lot and house at one closing. They presented me with a Contract Addendum called Quick Start 7/10 Program. To qualify for this program, purchaser “must use 5th Generation Mortgage Co.; make an initial deposit of $7000; and then 10% 30 days from contract date. “
I filled out a loan application and paid a fee December 2, 2008; waited nearly two weeks for the loan manager to make a better Good Faith Estimate; and signed the application December 11. The manager was aware that I needed a 90% construction to permanent loan. A week after I signed the application, the manager said that the policy guidelines for 90% construction-perm loans were no longer available in Florida. She asked that I wait until after the New Year while she tried to get an exception. After the New Year, the manager said that she could not get an exception; that she had made arrangements for me to get a refund for the application fee because she had done nothing with my loan application; and that she then worked for a different loan company. Around January 15, in another conversation with the director for sales which ended with his saying that he “had no problem with my getting my deposit back” for the house. He instructed me to write a letter to him. Then the nightmare really began:
1. The chief financial officer replied that the 10% “was through the design process.” No one prior to or during the signing of the Contract and the Addendum explained what that the 10% represented a payment for or through the design process.
2. The chief financial officer stated that “no policy ha[d] changed in regards to the loans offered.” He does not explain why my loan was not processed. My credit score was over 780.
3. At a deposition June 30, 2009 I learned officially that 5th Generation Mortgage was closed December 31, 2009. At no time did the manager of 5th Generation Mortgage, the director for sales, the chief financial officer disclose to me that 5th Generation was closing or had closed. Why would I be required to finance a mortgage loan with a company that was closing within weeks of my making a loan application?
4. During this same deposition of the director of sales, he was extremely evasive when asked questions about the requirements of the Quick Start 7/20 program. My attorney had to read each of the conditions to the director of sales just to get an acknowledgement of the conditions. The director of sales was evasive on whether or not the Addendum was part of the Contract, and even claimed he did not know who on his staff of 6 sales people sold the lot/house to me.
These are just some of the contradictory statements made by Pringle representatives; their failure to disclose important information about the Addendum Quick Start and 5th Generation Mortgage; and their efforts to ignore or evade the conditions stated in the Quick Start 7/10 program presented to me. My intention is not to malign the reputation of Pringle Development Inc, a company that I had once thought reputable. In their treatment of me, however, I believe they have acted unethically-- possibly illegally.
Being new to the area, I sought legal assistance. The deposition of the director of the sales manager has convinced me that Pringle’s tactic is just stall long enough in the hopes that through frustration and the expense of an attorney I will fade away. It has taken six months and thousands of dollars just to get someone at Pringle to even “grudgingly” acknowledge requirements stated in the Quick Start Program. The director of sales stated that Pringle no longer uses the Quick Start program; three weeks later they posted an “Available for Quick Start” sign on a lot in their community where I rent. |
charlene ziegler
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posted 15 July 2009 17:41 CET
Visit our site for more info.
WWW.pultesidingfraud.com
In November 2007 we notified Pulte that all of the siding on our house was improperly installed, thus voiding the 50yr warranty by the manufacturer. ( Hardi-Plank siding in our case)
If you have a Pulte Home inspect your siding to make sure it was properly installed according to the manufactors specifations. This involves hundreds if not thousands of homes in the Houston area alone.
By installing the siding they did not use the required minimun one and one quarter inch overlap, therefore stretching the material used one each house. They also nailed the siding incorrectly causing the corners to start breaking off after only 5 years.
The following people are responsible for not correcting these fraudulent transgressions. This was the Pulte Homes of Texas Houston Division, Executive Team.
In Dec 2007 the following individuals would not replace the siding because it would cut into their yearly bonuses. Some of the people have made hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years with their bonuses.
Jim Rorison ----President
Kimberly Paulus
Dave Dronberger
Tim Winchester
Gregg Hough
Allen Bauer
Tanya Rizzo
David Smith - Pulte Inspector Warranty Dept.
We are in the process of trying to get the Texas AG to investigate. We found out the contractor who installed our siding. His name is Glenn Skates. He owns at least 2 siding companies. They are even registered with TRCC as a reliable contractor. When we contacted Mr. Skates he sent us a letter via his attorney. The letter stated his contract with Pulte was only valid for 2 years, even though he took a product with a 50yr warranty installed it incorrectly and voiding any and all warranties for the siding. By installing the siding incorrectly,Pulte Homes, Glenn Skates and other contractors shorted each house several pieces of siding. (approx. 10 to 25 pieces per house) Multiply that by 1000-2000 homes per year and the money quickly adds up.
More about Mr. Skates, Glenn Skates owner of Glenn Skates Inc TRCC number 1982 and Houston Siding Co TRCC number 2303 both listed with the same address and phone number . This man is the poster child for dishonest contractors. He even has the nerve to advertise in our subdivision monthly news magazine under his company - Houston Siding Co. Mr. Skates gives a bad name to all honest contractors and all honest skilled tradesmen..
Do Not use Houston Siding Co. or Glenn Skates.Inc. He does not stand behind his work.
We contacted James Hardi Siding and they verified our claim that all siding was improperly installed.
We can prove Glenn skates installed our siding and after talking with several ex employees of Pulte Homes we have been told Mr Skates did considerable amount of siding installation in Sundown Glen Subdivision.
Houston Siding Co. claims to be Members of the BBB,TRCC,NARI (National Association of the Remodeling Industry), GHBA (Greater Houston Builders Associates), and the first Platinum Remodeling program for James Hardi Siding.
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