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Displaying messages 1 - 15 of total 634 entries Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 > >>

Name: Enter Complaint:
Chip
Send Chip an email
posted 9 April 2016 16:35 CET
The entrance is somewhat impressive with a gate house manned 24 hours, and two sets of gates to give the impression of serious resident security considerations presented to potential home buyers at IslandWalk at the West Villages, in Venice - North Port, Florida, built by Pulte - Pulte Home Corporation – PulteGroup and its subsidiary DiVOSTA in its sales presentations.
However, what you see, and what you may hear in the Sales office is not reality. Simply, if you don’t care to go through security, then you only need to drive 2 miles south on Route 41 to West Villages Parkway and come into IslandWalk at the West Villages via its back gate which is left open and unattended 6 days a week, 11 hours each day.
There have been, and continues to be, multiple queries and requests by IslandWalk at the West Villages homeowners about placing a security guard at the back gate during its open hours, more so after several burglaries occurred, to no avail.
Pulte - DiVOSTA – Pulte Home Corporation - PulteGroup responded by installing a “security” camera, a minimal after the event posture instead of being pro-active as their main gate security presentation suggests to the unknowing eye.
It’s not unusual there’s only one guard on duty at the main entrance, therefore there’s no realistic active monitoring of the security camera images, and even if there was, there’s no identifying method to determine if a vehicle is or is not an IslandWalk at the West Villages resident’s.
If, for instance, a burglary occurred but when it did is not known which is not unusual in a mixed full time/seasonal community, there isn’t a viable method for law enforcement to enhance its investigation of the event via security camera images.
Money can’t be the issue as this longstanding open back gate condition began years before Pulte - DiVOSTA – Pulte Home Corporation – PulteGroup installed a second set of gates at the main entrance, and built an extensive “clock” tower/water fountain/floral addition at the main entrance within the past year (2015).
To Pulte - DiVOSTA – Pulte Home Corporation – PulteGroup image is important, security apparently isn’t.
Alicia
Send Alicia an email
5
posted 24 July 2010 15:35 CET
6/23/09 we contracted a builder Steve Boettger owner of Athio Construction, Cascade MT. to build a home for us. March12,2009 he exhausted all construction money and our banks inspection of 4/2010, the house is only 50% completed. Back in 7/09 he withdrew $6,000 for electricity, $3,000 for water and kept withdrawing for items that he never bought for the house! In 5/10 he showed up saying he would finish the house without labor costs, we just had to supply material, we agreed because the bids to complete the house was ranging from 150,000-200,000 money we could not afford. As of 7/2010, he has not showed up and we are now seeking a suit against him, but he has no assests, We would like to stop Steve Boettger, Athio Construction from doing this to someone else again. The bank is thinking of suing him for withdrawing money for his own personal use. I kept a journal thinking that we would be recording an enjoyable experince but this has been a total nightmare, we have no windows, siding, roof is not done, we have water damage and the house is unhabitable!! We got a loan to complete the house with us doing 50,000 work ourselves. I have Congental heart disease and am waiting for a liver transplant and my husband has a fractured rib and a fractured Tibia at his knee from a fall trying to sweep rain water from the floors from being damaged more than what they are.
M Miller
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5
posted 27 June 2010 16:30 CET
I had a new home built by Manuel Builders LLC from Lafayette, Louisiana. It was completed April 2009. We have a problem with our windows. They are Mayfair double paned aluminum windows. During the winter , we found heavy condensation building up on our window sills. We placed the first warranty request and were told to wipe down the window sills each morning, it was due to my house being so air tight. I placed a warranty request, and a home inspector which works for them, came and said it was because my windows were aluminum instead of vinyl. I was not given an option on window material since this is my first new construction home. We emailed Manuel Builders and asked that they replace the windows with vinyl and we would pay for the price difference in material since it was not given to us as an option. They responded that it was not a warranty item. We contacted the manufacturer MayFair rep from Doug Ashy builders who stated it was because our heat was not high enough - so we ran the heater higher and it made it worse. I have sheetrock damage on my window sill because of the heavy water buildup. We have emailed them numerous times before our 1 yr time frame. They waited 2 months to respond - Feb till April (past my 1 yr time frame) and stated there was nothing they could do but send a manufacturer rep. We stated yes, and we have not till this day been contacted by a MayFair rep. Now I have moisture in between my double panes clearly indicating a leak in the seal. I have emailed Manuel Builders again stating I am still having problems with their windows. If the material they are using is a cheap window - not designed for Louisiana, they should stop using it and advise the customers. In the mean time, I am stuck with leaky windows and hate the fact that I did not go with a better builder.
ALEXANDER L. KAPLAN
Send ALEXANDER L. KAPLAN an email
5
posted 17 May 2010 18:19 CET
BEWARE DIVOSTA/PULTE/CENTEX/DEL WEBB: THEY DON'T HONOR THEIR CONTRACTS!

DIVOSTA-PULTE HOMES REFUSES TO HONOR ITS CONTRACTS WITH HOME BUYERS.

A Federal Court Petition has been filed against Divosta Homes L.P., (Pulte Homes/Del Webb/Centex) by two homeowners in Divosta’s Villagewalk of Bonita Springs for refusing to honor its contracts. All Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex contracts have clauses requiring mediation and arbitration of disputes between the homeowner and Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex on claims arising out of the sales contract or the construction of its homes.

When Denise and Alex Kaplan sued several years ago to get their money back because their NEW Divosta house had toxic mold and a contaminated water supply, the state court said that the claims for rescission and sales fraud had to be arbitrated. Their claims for personal injury remained in the circuit court.

When the Kaplans tried to get Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex to mediate and then arbitrate their claims for rescission and fraud however, Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex refused to honor the terms of the contract it wrote, insisting the Kaplans give depositions and discovery first. This was NOT a requirement of the contract and will effect thousands of homeowners in Florida, as Pulte is building the homes in Ave Maria, as well as a number of other communities all over the state as well as in numerous other states as well.

Mediation is an attempt to come to a resolution with an impartial third person acting as intermediary without power to decide anything; arbitration is where there is formal evidence and testimony; the third person acts as judge and jury.

When the Kaplans tried to get Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex to start the mediation and arbitration process, Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex refused unless the Kaplans first agreed to have their depositions taken. “This is not what the contract terms require and for Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex attorneys to refuse to proceed with mediation violates the contract. Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex drafted the contract and should be strictly held to the terms of it. Now they were trying to run the clock down on the statute of limitations so we couldn’t sue them” said Alex Kaplan.

Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex have filed an objection to the Federal Court’s Jurisdiction, claiming the case belongs in State Court. The State Court Judge has already ruled he has no jurisdiction on the issue of the mediation and arbitration. Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex have also claimed they set no “preconditions”, yet their correspondence to the Kaplan’s states otherwise.

This should serve as a “wake up” call for other home buyers in all Pulte communities, especially in Ave Maria, where Pulte is building homes. A contract is only as good as the paper it’s printed on, and if the builder refuses to honor its own contracts, where does that leave the homeowner?

The Divosta name has been hit hard with bad publicity in this area, and Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex obviously feels they can sell more product by rebranding under the Del Webb name in Ave Maria, which is more commonly used in other parts of Florida and in other states. In other states, Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex has been sued in class action lawsuits for mortgage fraud and price fixing of its homes. It’s only a matter of time before a similar suit is filed here in Florida.

Divosta/Pulte/Del Webb/Centex advertises itself as rating high in customer satisfaction and spends extensively on advertising in the area, yet it fails to assist in fixing conditions of its own making. As a result, the Kaplans own a house that cannot be lived in due to toxic mold, a contaminated water supply and the house now sits unoccupied. Divosta-Pulte refuses to make the situation right. The Kaplans asked Divosta-Pulte to take back the house and they refused; they repeatedly asked Divosta-Pulte to take care of the problems and they also refused.

Questions can be directed to Alex & Denise Kaplan, at lawalexkaplan@aol.com
Natasha Cummings
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5
posted 6 May 2010 14:14 CET
We closed on our newly-built home Aug 15, 2008. Our family was is great health. Slowly our respiratory illnesses started to occur and got severely worse up until Dec 11, 2009 when we fled out home due to an allergic reaction I experienced that inhibited my breathing. We are now involved in a huge battle between the homeowner's insurance, the lawyers, and the mortgage company that we recently stopped paying because affording 2 different households for the past 6 months has now drained our savings account. The insurance company is blaming the builder for structual damage that led up to the mold growth, so we get NOTHING for even inconvenience expenses. Myself and my son have had to have major sinus surguries due to chronic sinusittis and allergic rhinitis. My 19 month old daughter just got out of the hospital last week for a bout with pneumonia, and now has a spot on her lung that doctors are currently monitoring and will possibly have to undergo an bronchoscopy for a biopsy. We are now in debt because we could not take any of our belongings due to the risk of cross-contamination. This has truly ruined out lives and our health up to this point, and I don't know what it takes for these careless builders to understand that this is SERIOUS. Unfortunately I believe that the drive for money has rendered them professionally "useless" for buiding a quality home with a builder that you can trust. I am sickened that they are getting away with damaging people's lives like this. We were first time homeowners and this experience has been worse than anything I have ever experienced in my life. Now the only thing we have is a lawyer that says we may not see the first court date for 2 years, PILES of medical bills (exceeding $100,000.00, $200.00+ a month in medicine, an empty savings account, an apartment life with our children that used to have a backyard to play on their very own swingset, God only knows how much in attorney's fees, and doors slamming shut in our faces as if WE were at fault for simply wanting to be homeowners and have a nice home to raise our family in. Isn't that the American dream? Well ours turned into a nightmare, literally overnight. This is devastating and no one should have to live like this. People MUST be held accountable for their actions!ncummings@cableone.net
Tommy Myers
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5
posted 29 April 2010 15:44 CET
Melody homes of Colorado- I am the 2nd owner of a house originally built by Melody Homes which was taken over by DR Horton. There are several cracks in the living room of my home. The house is 3 years old. The biggest crack is yhe one in the high ceiling area. Well being that I am a drywaller who has over 35 years in the trade, to my discuss and dismay the crack was caused by whoever taped the house. They did not apply any tape to the joint therfore they just put taping mud over it. Well gee, after time the house is going to settle and naturally it's going to crack out. My beef is mostly with the drywall contractor. I live in Aurora, Co. in the Tallgrass developement and if in anyone that would happen to know what drywall contractor did these homes, please let me kbnow so that i can file a complaint with the Better business bureau plus I will do everything I can to blackball this contractor.
rob gord
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5
posted 5 April 2010 10:01 CET
Builder: G. Carey Construction Company
Address: 20 Monaco Drive,
Roselle, IL 60172
Project: President Manor Town Homes, Carol Stream IL, 60188.

On December 26, 2008 I closed on a new construction townhome constructed and sold by G.Carey Construction Company of Roselle, IL. As part of closing on this home I was provided with a 1 year home warranty against defects on the said home. In March of 2009, 3 months into the home warranty period, I started to note a number of defects in the said home chief of which was a significant roof leak affecting the attached garage of this townhome. This defect was pointed out on numerous occasions to G. Carey Construction Company both verbally and in writing. Attempts were made by Carey Construction Company ( by applying Dap glues etc) to effect repairs proved to be be "Botched up jobs" and did not correct the roof leak in the said garage. I have made several follow up calls and correspondence to Carey and to date April, 4th, 2010 this roof leak has not been repaired. At this point in addition to the still leaking roof in garage I now face a significant mold issue that is affecting 2 of my children who both have certified respiratory disabilities and which the now present mold in the building is contributing adversely to their medical condition. I also have had damages sustained to a number of personal household articles and a motor car that is currently stored in the garage as a result of the constant roof leaks and mold growth. The ceiling of the garage is also destroyed resulting from the roof leak and is now increasing becoming a threat to collapsing causing injury to my family and major damage to my personal items stored in this garage.
Despite numerous attempts to contact G Carey Construction Company by telephone, in writing and through their representative workmen on the site of my home,to date I have not been contacted by Carey Construction Construction and despite numerous telephone calls to the Carey Construction office no response or remedial actions have been taken or acknowledged. It appears that this builder / developer Carey Construction Company is operating in a "rogue" way and is not honoring its obligations under the new home sales warranties and appears to not have a functional homeowner complaints and resolution mechanism as numerous calls to their office are never answered and messages left are never responded to or calls returned.

In the meantime we are in the rainy season of April 2010 and my roof continues to leak and the mold continues to grow and my children continue to be affected by the mold growth in the home that I purchased from G Carey Construction Company that is defective as described. I also have had to make many trips to the emergency room of the hospital to have my children treated for respiratory illnesses resulting from the mold growth in the home that was constructed by G Carey Construction Company.
Jerry Young
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5
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
Send Kathy an email
5
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
Send Michael an email
5
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
Send Victoria Ballard an email UIN: 5282
5
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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5
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
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5
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
Send Leah Dean an email
1
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
Send Claudette an email
5
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

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