HOBB Community

What's past is prologue. The acid test of the accuracy of future promises is how well previous promises have been kept in the past.

We (We, meaning my family) got ripped off. But don't worry it won't happen to you.

At one time my attorney told me, "They (meaning Sanford/Beazer Homes)may have insurance to cover your new house warranty claim". This was in the context and my understanding that my attorney had spoken with a Sanford/Beazer Homes', Beazer/Sanford Homes' representative.
---------------------------------------
America supports a winner. America supports competition. America supports truth and justice. America supports fair-dealing. America frowns on winning by dubious means, dishonesty, arrogance, unfairness, and the taking advantage of the less fortunate, less capable, and less well-equipped of its citizens. Unethical is not illegal. This is my understanding.

Let me share an experience with you, which was shared with me, by a new house owner:

Beazer Homes had not yet acquired Sanford Homes. A Sanford/Beazer Homes', Beazer/Sanford Homes' warranty manager told a Sanford Homes' new house owner that it was not unusual for windows to leak during a rainstorm (this is in a new house). The new house owner suspected that the window(s) had been installed incorrectly. Eventually, it was determined that the windows had been installed incorrectly, and the problem was corrected. This result was not an easy task for the new house owner to achieve.

This new house owner also had to seek legal representation to address other issues regarding his new house and related warranty matters. He sought the advice of a prestigious, construction defect law firm and was referred to another attorney/law firm, as the prestigious law firm had a conflict of interest, or some other such thing, and could not represent the house owner in his complaint against Sanford Homes. There eventually was a settlement. The new houseowner did not seem satisfied, but was grateful to have this ordeal with his builder Sanford Homes behind him (Beazer Homes had not yet acquired Sanford Homes). The new house owner refused to pay the final invoice he received from his attorney. The new house owner also was required to sign a Non-Disclosure/Confidentiality Agreement as a condition of this settlement.
How do I know this you may wonder? I too had to seek legal advice regarding warranty issues with Sanford Homes. I sought advice from the same prestigious, construction defect, law firm, and I too was referred to the SAME attorney who represented the new house owner above. Again, how do I know this you may wonder? A local television station had an on-air report about new house owners having warranty complaints regarding the houses they had purchased from Sanford Homes. I forwarded a transcript of this report to my attorney. A later phone conversation to confirm that my attorney had received this report, disclosed that my attorney, "had talked with", one of the Sanford Homes' homeowners mentioned in the television report. I thought that this was an amazingly unusual coincidence. There was no disclosure to me, by my attorney, regarding his representation, or former representation, of this particular new house owner, regarding the new house owner's complaints against Sanford Homes; this must have had something to do with attorney client privilege, confidentiality, etc? Or, the attorney was not, in fact, representing this house owner at the time of this phone call, or while he was representing my interests. My notes could determine this precisely. Following this phone conversation, several months went by before I felt compelled to speak with this new house owner to determine the nature of this unusual coincidence (that my attorney "had talked with this homeowner") and to regain faith that MY INTERESTS were being PROPERLY REPRESENTED by my attorney. My attorney had been VERY AGGRESSIVE in trying to CONVINCE me to allow Sanford/Beazer Homes (BEAZER HOMES HAD ACQUIRED SANFORD HOMES AT THIS TIME) to make 'cosmetic' repairs; statements such as, 'Sanford's attorney is a good litigator', etc. Not trusting my attorney, I subsequently received an independent repair estimate which exceeded $50,000 which did not reflect the 'cosmetic' nature of this issue as espoused by my attorney and Sanford/Beazer Homes; my attorney said the firm providing the estimate had a vested interest which may make the estimate questionable. The estimate was given without any disclosure to the repair company there was an on-going dispute with Sanford/Beazer Homes. There has been no resolution of this matter.
See kbhomesucks.com, Online Discussions, User Forum, pp. 8,9, 'Choosing An Attorney', for further insight. (Site no longer active; I wonder why?)

Do not assume that you are dealing with honorable people. Get an independent, second opinion regarding ANYTHING of substance related to your new house; however, at this point it may be too late. YOUR interests are YOUR interests, only.

Do not let the largest purchase of your family's life become a financial and emotional nightmare. How much are you willing to risk? Financial security in your retirement? Your kids' college education?

Learn from my mistake (One would not think that the purchase of a new house for one's family could possibly be a mistake.) the mistakes of other new house buyers, and the behavior of some corporate/public new house builders.
IN MY OPINION, WHICH IS BASED ON MY EXPERIENCE, THERE IS NOT A LEGAL PRODUCT AVAILABLE IN THE MARKETPLACE TODAY WHICH CARRIES THE DEGREE OF POTENTIAL FINANCIAL AND EMOTIONAL RISK FOR THE PURCHASER AS DOES THAT OF A NEW HOUSE.

Your control is now, not later.

Many web site references have been trucated by unknown systems/parties making web site access difficult. A little persisitence, ingenuity, and creativity in a search engine should help with access.

Visit Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings, HADD.com, HOBB.org, Homeowners For Better Building, WESH.com, Building Houses: Building Problems, Consumer Reports' research study: Housewrecked--link available at the HADD web site, 10 Things Your House Builder Won't Tell You, www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?st... an00, 10 Things Your Attorney Won't Tell You, www.smartmoney.com/consumer/index.cfm?st... ctober03, How To Prevent A New House Nightmare, www.lakesidepress.com/dreams/section4.ht... Shoddy Building in the Housing Boom? Business Week April 25, 2003, www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/apr... _1874_db035.htm, Exposing New Home Builders, exposingnewhomebuilders.typepad.com/newhomebuildersnews blog/,
(some builder specific web sites have been effectively eliminated), ourrylandhomes.com(use google.com for this one: our ryland homes), paltryhomes.com, jdpowers.com, kbhomesucks.com, kbhomestink.org, The Pulte Home Experience, www.trendzweb.com/pulte/.,or,............ http://home.att.net/~pulte/,............... paylessbills.com/richmond_american.htm, drhortonlemonhome.com, drhortonsux.com, mybadhouse.com/pages/1/index.htm, Home sweet crooked house, money.cnn.com/2004/06/09/real_estate/buying_selling/hom edefects/index.htm, bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20040812a1.asp, Monday, June 21
New-home warranties not what they are cracked up to be bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/BuyerGuide2004/fthb-b log-archive.asp, webgripesites.com, mymccrearyhomesucks.com/, w3.ripoffreport.com/reports/ripoff76506.htm, Home-building report/broken system, www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2... /504200384/1030, www.screwedcentral.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/0... http://keepernsol.com/RyanHomes/Ryan_pag... www.constructiondefects.com,............ NPR.org, All Things Considered, 7/8/04, Your Money, "Confusion, Ire Over Lemon Housing Law", Building with Richmond Homes, http://www.orion77.com/,http............://satanscit... hive.html, Saturday December 17, 2005, June 21st entry, "Home Builder Reviews" http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.c... choicehomescomplaint.com, myrottlundhome.com, missouricitychatter.blogspot.com,
and ANY search engine (new house construction, lawsuits, defects, complaints, etc.), to examine the 'ISOLATED','ANECDOTAL' nature of this issue, to separate 'FACT' from 'INNUENDO', and to gain insight into the business practices of some members of the corporate/public new house building industry, determine and evaluate the 'weasel' factor, and to protect your financial and emotional interests. Reading the court cases available on-line is a good idea, too.

Your due diligence is only effective BEFORE the fact.
I wish you well.
Read more: To access the following, copy and paste the quote below into a Google search.

www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/7...

"Hovnanian's letter to the homeowners claims that 'when there is a problem, we make things right,' " Spatz said. "After several years and a long legal battle, I am still waiting for that to happen."

Believe what you want. Protect your interests before the fact. Do not make the mistake that I did. Justice delayed, justice denied?

"Freedom, democracy, rule of law, these are the safeguards for coping with human nature",Clifford May, president of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies.