KB Home Complaints
SC - ALL of the homes on my street are out of code! They keep lying to try to get out of this situation. Jeff Meyer, the SC Pres. of KB, says that he doesn't want to replace all of these roofs. It is critical that they be replaced so that we are better protected from storms. We live in a 120-130 mph wind zone. My roof is only warranted up to 60 mph winds...TX - We bought our KB home brand new in May 2006. We recently moved out of the home and back into an apartment, November 1, 2007. We had continuous problems with the home from the day we moved in...Our dream of owning a new home for us is gone. We were first time buyers.

Consumer Affairs - KB Home

Carol of Summerville SC (01/07/08)
I purchased a brand new KB Home in 2006. They subcontracted an unlicensed, unregistered roofer to put up my roof. The roofer used very thin three-tab shingles attached with only four nails. This is a hurricane area, and the code calls for six nails per shingle. It does not specify the type of shingle, but anybody knows that architectural shingles are a must. The valleys are not done properly; they did not follow the instruction manual. KB Home denies a problem and thinks I am just a troublemaker. ALL of the homes on my street are out of code! They keep lying to try to get out of this situation. Jeff Meyer, the SC Pres. of KB, says that he doesn't want to replace all of these roofs. It is critical that they be replaced so that we are better protected from storms. We live in a 120-130 mph wind zone. My roof is only warranted up to 60 mph winds. Consequently, I cannot expect my homeowner insurance to cover any claims from higher winds.

Desired resolution: I want either $8000 to cover the cost of a new roof, or I want KB Home to contract a licensed, certified roofer to replace it.

Curri of Pasadena TX (12/06/07)
We bought our KB home brand new in May 2006. We recently moved out of the home and back into an apartment, November 1, 2007. We had continuous problems with the home from the day we moved in. The floors in the kitchen were uneven as well as the stairs and master bedroom. The back door was replaced and worked on three times and still leaked every time it would rain. The front door was the same. It would not close properly. Right after the one year anniversary was up, the master closet door would not shut properly and cracks started showing in the walls. Even though complaints were filed, no one was interested in fixing the house even before the 1 year anniversary was up. Our dream of owning a new home for us is gone. We were first time buyers. Thank you for your time.

Andrea of Cedar Hill TX (11/05/07)
I have has several issues with KB Homes since before closing on my home in 2002. Prior to closing, the construction crew would use my water and electricity to help with building of other houses. They would hook up water hoses and extension cords at my house and extend them to the others. This was after the utilities had been switched to my name.

After moving in, the shower in the master bath leaked into my master closet and flooded it out. They had to knock a huge hole in my kitchen wall to repair the problem. Due to poor construction on my back door (located in the kitchen) when ever it would rain, my kitchen would flood..the rain would come right through the door and not slowly.

They came and did minor repairs to the door to help close the crack, but did not replace the wood, which I requested.

Due to the negligence of KB Homes, the wood is not completely rotten and has a hold in it..both inside and out. My house is now infested with ants due to this problem and also due to the still existing crack in the door that daylight can plainly be seen through.There are ants crawling up my kitchen walls, in my pantry, both bathrooms, laundry room, and bedrooms...even in bed with my youngest child.

My air does not flow properly in the bedrooms. They don't cool like the other parts of the house and these are smaller rooms. I've had the air conditioner checked and it does not seem as though anything was done.

Also, when the house was being built, I questioned whether the bath tub in the guest bathroom was new because it was dingy. I have never been able to get that tub completely clean. They've never replaced it. I want to either transfer my loan to another house, or be let out of it completely.

I have been a victim of KB Homes since March 2002 when the building process began. I was taken advantage of as a single female and I have reached my breaking point.

The consequenses are that I have to live with an ant infested home. I have paid for pest control, both professionally and personally. I have had to deal with water damage to my home which can and may have already set up mold in my walls. I have an asthmatic child that could suffer worse than anyone if this is the case. My son has awakened with ant bites to his legs on several occasions. It is very stressful to come home from being at work all day and have to fight ants that are crawling from the floor to the ceiling. It is embarrassing to have gatherings with friends and have ants to greet them before I am able to.

Melanie of Fort Worth TX (05/02/07)
I purchased my home on March 31, 2006. Since I purchased the home I have had nothing but problems. KB has been to my house every month or two to address problems with my home. I have had four leaks inthe past year. Two were from the master bathroom which have leaked all the way through to my dining room ceiling. They have had to replace my dining room celing one and have repaired it at least three other times. The latest leak is still not fixed and my dining room has half the ceiling cut out just waiting on someone to come and check for mold. They tried to replace everything without checking for mold and I asked them to stop and have an environmental specialist come to check for mold before anything is replaced.

I had sewage leaking from my master bathroom upstairs through the outside wall and onto my concrete slab/porch. This was repaired after approximately one week of once again haveing my home torn apart. I have had foundation cracks and problems that are still not addresd. I spoke with John H who is the Regional Service Manager during the first leak incident in November 2006. He was very rude and did not agree with me that someone should check for mold. He seemed very agitated when I pursued the mold issue. He basically said he felt as if I were overreacting. This is the feeling I also am getting from Gary G who is the Director of Operations. They just keep saying that mold id not that big of a deal and that the whole mold issue is really not for the Fort Worth area but for places where the environment has more moisture and people keep their houses dirty.

I have tried to explain to them that I will have problems selling my house with mold or if I have to do mold remedation and it will also affect my insurance. I keep hearing all I can do is apologize and I guess your house is just one that has problems and someday we will get it all fixed and be out of your hair. No one seems to understand the impact and inconvenience on me and my family due to all of the problems with the home. I have had painters in the home to repair other problmes. I have had to have my yard dug up because I have a drainage problem. The list goes on. I feel as if my home should be condemned as I feel like this is only the tip of the iceberg. If both the tub and shower in the master have seal problems then does my other bathroom. They will not even address most of my concerns and keep sweeping them under the rug. I would like for them to buy my home back so that I can purchase a home that I can live in and not be wondering...what next!!!!

Charla of Tucson AZ (04/06/07)
I purchased my home for 246,786.00 (assuming the HUD is correct - we had to sign 3 diffrent times before I assume KBCTWD got the loan amounts correct). On July 7, I got an e-mail  from the processor stating that the appraisal had come in at only 215,000.00. On July 17th, a new appraisal arrived from another appraisal at 248,000.00.

In February, I was going to refinance the loans and roll them into one loan, or sell the house if necessary to protect my credit...in October, I was diagnosed with Rheumatiod Arthritis, and my medical bills have skyrocketed. I am so mad I could bust...when I got the new appraisal, it came in at 208,000.00. I have worked in the mortgage industry for many years, and have never even heard of a property losing 40,000.00 in value in a matter of 6-7 months!

I contacted the appraiser to make sure that she was going to stand behind her appraisal, and she told me that she has been having a lot of problems with KB home values, and that they simply sold the homes for way over the value of the properties at least here in Tucson.

I first and foremost need to do something about this...I really need to sell the home (but can't without being stuck with a 50,000.00 + deficit that I can't even close to afford, and move back to Alaska where my medical expenses are covered. This has also caused me so much stress, which has worsened my condition, and with the high interest rate that we are pretty much stuck with my back up resources are pretty much exhausted.

 I am over 50 years old, and even if there were a crazy market appreciation, I will never in my lifetime, gain any equity in this anchor of a home that my husband and I purchased from KB Homes, through KB Countrywide Home Loans.

Sandra  of Fairfield CA (12/06/06)
Major structural deficiencies in home construction, joists cut in half, no support for 2nd story loft, 2 nails where there should be 10.

Lai of San Francisco CA (10/13/06)
We purchased a home 6 months ago, it's new construction, but when it is completed, the house is built below the curb. It is at risk of flooding. When we brought this to the sales rep. she told me that the sales manager agree to let us choose another new home and apply the deposit toward to the new purchase. Few days later, the sales rep. contacted me again and said the verbal agreement is no longer valid.

I have 3 choices, 1, proceed the presnet home 2, cancel the contract and lose the deposit 3, find an arbitrator.

Michael of Jacksonville FL (08/14/06)
We purchased this house on June 27, 2004. We purchased the 2319 square foot house in the Plum Tree Subdivision. Since we acquired the house, we have had a nightmare of problems that have not been fixed or they were fixed 2 yrs after we moved in. There are many problems that were found prior to signing for the house. These issues, prior to signing, were addressed with Pete and John B. on the final walk thru. There are still problems that were not addressed back then that are still present. There are also numerous problems that we have found along the way that are still not correct.

I'm going to list the problems that we have found with the house since we moved in. All of these problems have been documented with the Customer Service Representatives that were assigned to the Plum Tree Subdivision at the time. These list of problems, are coming from the copies of the Homeowners Warranty Request Form that were provided to us by the Customer Service Representative for the area, plus additional forms that we have from KB.

1. Move plug in the laundry room.
2. Dining room light, add support.
3. Shingling on front (per conversation with John)
4. Flashing on side of garage

Form "Questions about our home" lists the following items:
1. Please replace 2x4 at end of short wall on hallway side as wood is damaged
2. #2 bedroom has water damage to floor near door. Please replace boards on floor.
3. Roof leaking from vent in bedroom #2
4. Shingles under the master bedroom closet window still not fixed
5. Please take down sheetrock in bed #2 ceiling until roof fixed. Water dripping onto from up top

Form "Questions about our home"  lists the following items:

1. Wrong color towel bar, soap holder and toilet paper holder. Bone color is supposed to be inside shower. And we paid for nickel colored towel bars and toilet paper holders in all 3 bathrooms
2. Why is railing on left side and not the right side
3. Roof has now been seen by John B and Chad. Leak in #2 bedroom. Ceiling also needs to be fixed
4. Plug moved in laundry room
5. Wall bowed right wall going up.

Carla of Cumming GA (02/08/06)
I invested most of my life savings for my home.I was led to believe I was buying a well built house,much to my surprise,it has turned out to be a nightmare (a house from hell)not only for me but 192 other home buyers. I had many complaints about shabby flaws I found after moving in,they were fixed. The sign coming into the site read,you live here we cut the grass. They failed to tell us they wouldn't cut the common ground, my property has been surveyed and staked out and the hill behind me is my property not common ground. Other areas here have erosions and we were led to believe that these hills including mine would have ground cover to prevent the washing away of my property.

Behind my property was the KB office and had a parking lot big enough to be common use for the residents. Greed entered into the picture and they built three homes.

Another misrepresentation by KB home reps. when I first moved here as every other tenant our assn. fees was 83.00 a month for the grass cutting and a sewer systems. ( Overated septic tank) At the present we are paying 110.00 a month and only get our grass cut and no pinestraw , no tree trimming. Greed entered into the picture again by KB Homes and instead of buying an easement to run our septic system on they leased private property for 5 yrs. Said property has been sold and the complete sewer system has been turned over to HOA. If the owners of this property so chooses to shut down entry to our septic system I guess we will have to build outside johns.

We have a mass exit by people putting there homes on the market.. as of this date we have 17 homes for sale or rent..to get away from this nightmare,, I cannot understand why a company the size of KB HOmes left 192 families all of whom bought in good faith are caught in this turmoil and left to suffer through the greed and misrepresentation of KB HOME and its reps. In closing I would like to ask the president of KB HOMES if he would buy a home in MTN. RIDGE Subdivision with a assn. fee of 110.00, with no place for children to play ( the site where 3 homes were built) and no other amenities.

Stacye of Oakley CA (09/14/05)
In November 2002 we purchased a home from kb homes. It was called an affordable home through kb and our city. We were told there were restrictions they told us we could not sell the home for over the median income we could not rent it out and it was a 15 year restriction. we recentlr received a letter from the cit stating we were out of compliance we should not havr refinanced and were not allowed to have a swimming pool. There are 28 out of 45 homeowners in our same situation. The city wants us to rapid pay our mortgages down so that we are in compliance.

We feel we were misled by Kb homes and now we will all suffer financially if we are forced to pay our mortgages down faster. Kb also financed most of the homes.

Edward of Las Vegas writes:
I have to say that, our new home purchase from KB Home started out as a wonderful jaunt through dreamland and ended up in hell. I work out of my home about 90% of the time, so we can live just about anywhere. With that, we moved from the mountains of Colorado to Las Vegas after the Hi Meadow fire. Las Vegas was chosen because it's booming and is, essentially, the "last frontier." The homes and the cost of living were much less in Las Vegas than most of the other cities we researched.

When we arrived, we decided to rent for a year so that we could get our bearings and enjoy the "house-hunting experience." However, after having been through our "rights of passage" with the realtors of Las Vegas, we decided that it would be easier to either live in a port-o-pot on The Strip, or just go ahead and buy a new home.

It all started one fine day in Dec of 2001 when we were out house-hunting. We came upon Granite Peaks, in West Summerlin. It is a beautiful little oasis in the middle of the desert. We walked into the model and it was "exactly" what we were looking for: 2,500 sf, office on the lower level, view of the city ... everything. It was even next to a park and backed up to a cul-de-sac ... we had one neighbor.

But, the only thing that was missing, was a competent builder with customer service skills ... this, we found out later. However, at the time of our utmost ignorance and delusions that this might be "fun," we signed on the dotted line and coughed up our deposit. One day, in February, we met with the superintendent to go over the plans for the house. During this meeting, he told us that the wall by the park had been moved in three inches. We thought nothing of it until my wife asked who would maintain the exterior, toward the park, since the wall was now on our property. He said that "you own the wall" and that you will have to maintain the wall.

Apparently, KB Home either had to put the wall wholly on our land or move the other five houses over three inches to meet the plan submitted to the county ... or so we were told. Whoa! It's not that we lost three inches, but now we're told that we are responsible for any and every little miscreant that happens to smash into the wall and break his nose! SO, we asked KB Home, "What affected the [wall] move and what will be the liability, title, and convey-ability impact of the move?" Evidently this small question popped a capillary in their collective pea-brains because, this started some strange political ritual the likes I hope to never see again!

Of course, the first volley in tennis is a warm up and usually the opponent doesn't return the serve. It's good to give them a break ? once. SO, we asked KB Home again, "What affected the [wall] move and what will be the liability, title, and convey-ability impact of the move?" This time, I sent the e-mail to the CEO, the head of the mortgage group, and the sales manager ? who was caught in the middle. I have to ask why a sales person felt the desire to get in the middle of this is beyond me. All they do is, well, "sell," and to do that they don't have to know anything, or so it seems.

SO, the sales manager finally sent a packet of information to my wife and me. This packet contained, of all things, the original setback plan, which showed 5' on both sides of the house, and a hand-sketched plan, which showed 5', less three inches, on the wall by the park. Yes. The original plan showed a 5' setback and the hand-sketch, in the same packet, showed 5' less the three mysterious inches. YET, the sales manager felt the need to argue with my wife about "her" fact that the wall was never moved and the superintendent says he never told us anything. But, when my wife asked if the sales manager had looked at the packet, the sales manager spit and sputtered and finally saw that indeed the wall was moved three inches on to our property.

What's better still is that the sales manager signed the cover letter in the packet! But, the packet didn't answer my question; however, it did demonstrate KB Home's aptitude for political prattle. The presentation of KB Home's response packet, for some reason, made me think about the way my dog chases the reflection of her collar on the wall for hours on end ? or until she becomes cross-eyed and begins drooling.

SO, once again, we asked KB Home, "What affected the [wall] move and what will be the liability, title, and convey-ability impact of the move?" The sales manager then called me directly and told me how lost they all are and that she wants to have a meeting with me and "everyone" else. Hmmmm.

At this point, I needed an unbiased intermediary. To help resolve this issue, we contacted the county and they were not happy about this situation. They felt that KB Home had made a mess that they needed to either move the wall back or resubmit a modified plan of the subdivision. We also contacted city management to find out about liability and CC&R issues surrounding this odd situation. The county sent out a compliance officer to review the situation and get some answers for us.

According to the final compilation of information ... the wall was moved because, according to the superintendent, Summerlin did not want the wall on their park ... the city had put in place an easement to cover the issue of liability ... convey-ability is no longer an issue as KB Home was within an "acceptable tolerance." We finally had an answer! However, after all of this, we were also informed that this is a matter for civil litigation because of misrepresentation and nondisclosure as well as loss of land because of the relocation of the wall.

So, to ask, and answer, a few questions:

Q: How did all of this come about in the first place?
A: We would've never known had the superintendent not told us! What was all that about? It isn't a disclosure issue if you don't tell anyone that there was a disclosure issue! DOH!

Q: How could KB Home provide the original setback plan and a hand-sketched plan that demonstrated that the wall had indeed been moved, and then argue about it?
A: DOH!

Q: Why was this minute, three-inch issue even an issue?
A: I have no idea! I didn't bring it up! Once that tidbit of information escaped the lips of the superintendent, all I wanted was a simple answer to a simple question, but no one would answer the question until the county got involved and investigated the issue. But, the reason it was brought up in the first place "as an issue," if it wasn't an issue, is a universal mystery as KB Home either has a problem with responding to queries from their buyers or really, just, has absolutely no idea what's going on around them.

Q: Why did KB Home stick a sales person in a situation that required someone with some knowledge of the situation?
A: DOH!

Q: You're being a problem buyer!
A: When someone tells me something out of the ordinary about an "expensive bunch of wood" that I happen to be buying, it's my right to make sure that I am getting what I pay for and that I don't take on a slew of potential litigation down the road. It's also the obligation of the builder to provide competent answers, not packets of political poppycock, in a timely manner.

As a builder, they are not doing a favor for "the buyer." "We," as buyers, are offloading product from their "warehouse" so that they can scurry off to throw together a few hundred more homes for other unsuspecting souls.

Q: What now?!
A: Had KB Home simply provided an answer in the first place instead of mess about the way they did, we would not have wasted time, the county would not have wasted time, and we wouldn't have had to contact our attorneys to discuss the civil suit for misrepresentation and nondisclosure. All I can say about it is ... DOH!

Okay, okay. I admit that I do understand one aspect of this situation quite well. It's where an individual complains about an obvious issue and the organization doesn't want it to go public. In this case, they try to ignore, squelch, intimidate, or pounce on the individual. However, if the issue becomes public, the organization would then have to deal with the problem from the multitudes, instead of that one person.

Well, here's a hint for future reference: when they run into this situation again, as I'm sure they will, when dealing with a "buyer," they should try to make the individual happy instead of ensuring that they'll evangelize the company's shortcomings. I'm sure the buyer will work with them. They have to remember that they are in an industry that requires "buyers." DOH!

Well, now I'm off to deal with the unusual personality and non-stop ramblings of our KB Home Mortgage loan counselor. At this point, her only problem is that she feels it is essential to recite the equivalent of the Gettysburg Address when I ask a simple question, and then becomes very short or talks over me. How funny! One side won't say a word and the other side won't shut up! I'm sure this will be as enlightening as our current experiences with KB Home.

Henry of Vacaville CA (12/8/01):
We first reported a water leak in the southeast corner of our family room to the builder, Lewis Homes, in January 1998. Lewis made several attempts to fix the problem but failed (both contractors have done "repairs" in the summer, so we don't know how effective these repairs are until it starts raining again). Since Kaufman & Broad bought Lewis Homes and the problem continued, we reported the ongoing leak to Kaufman on 2/26/00 and again 1/17/01 and KB personnel signed off both times on-site on Warranty Claim Report forms. Their minimal efforts to solve this problem were ineffective and we again had water damage during a storm on 11/29/01.

KB Home required that we fill out another Warranty Claim Report Form which we did. On 12/4/01 they responded in writing that "we found that the item listed on your claim was determined not to be covered under the terms and conditions of your Limited Warranty Booklet." In January 2001, this "item" was covered; in December 2001, it is now "not to be covered."

Dealing with Kaufman over these years has been a horror show with much yelling, screaming and threatening necessary to get them to respond at all. Several times they have openly lied to us. At one point, we were told they had sent a subcontractor to check the roof and he had found no problems.

What Kaufman didn't know is that my wife and I were both working out of the house that day, so we know positively that no one was on our roof (!) on the day they claim. I've filed a complaint with the Contractors State License Board on 12/3/01 but I'm not sure what good that will do. What can be done about such unscrupulous contractors?

Northan of Alexandria VA:
I bought a home with a 10-yr warranty. The home is 7 yrs old, but foundation started shifting after 3 yrs resulting in considerable damage. The builder told me to file a warranty claim which was denied because they say my yard wasn't maintained properly. I have two separate engineering reports which tell me this house was destined to shift from the day it was built because of the soil elasticity.

Doors and windows don't open and shut, dry wall separating, cracks in wall throughout the home, the house is at an obvious tilt. I fear plumbing may be damaged at this stage

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