Comments:

Ethics are IMPORTANT!!!

First of all, the person representing the builder who also advised us in making our offer to the builder, verbally assured us that certain items we specifically inquired about would ("of course", "that goes without saying", or "that's pretty much standard") be done. At closing, the builder said, "No, absolutely not! I did not agree to that." even though his representative sat right next to him and admitted that he told us it would be included. The construction superintendent (overseer) was very unprofessional and insensative to our concerns, trying to brush off every question or complaint we had and made lame excuses. He spoke to us as if we were totally uneducated even about the simplest, common sense items. Instead, it appeared to us that they were the ones who just didn't have the knowledge or experience and were just trying to act like they knew better than us. When my husband approached the person responsible (for the placement of the grass, the dirtwork, drainage, and management of erosion on a large steep berm, which is an extension of the house pad), about having done things contrary to what we were expecting or the way it was stated in the original agreement (but not in the contract at closing), he told a flat out lie, that I had told them personally a certain way to do or not to do it; when in fact, I was never present on the days the work was done, had no communications with him at any time, nor had any knowledge that anyone was going to be on the premises that day or of the work being done. No one set foot on the property for over a month after we had reached an agreement with the builder and signed the first set of papers. On the day first scheduled for closing, it was far from being complete, so we had to push the closing date back. When that date came, it still was far from being complete, but we went through with it based on good faith in the builder's word that all standard expectations would be fulfilled as well as our punch list, because we were told that if we did not close on it that day, our payments would be increased by at least $50/month. After that closing date, they spent two days trying to complete it so that we could move in. One month later, we moved in although it still was not complete. We, ourselves, had to make continuous calls to the office to schedule the builder's people to come out and disrupt our lives for them to do the work. After planning my entire schedule around them, they didn't even bother to call to let me know if they weren't going to show up. This happened numerous times. When they finally did show up, it was on a day that was not scheduled, and again they didn't even bother to call before they showed up on my doorstep. Once there to get some work done, they didn't have the proper information or verification of the work they were to do, nor did they have the supplies. The next time they showed up to do the work, they only did a small fraction of it before they left; so it was still incomplete. The job superintendent has been replaced by someone not much better than he; and we have had to virtually start all over with the process because he isn't familiar with the history of our case. We have been in the house 1 yr/8 mos, and there are still major issues as well as minor ones that have not been taken care of. This builder is one of the most successful in the business in our area, but I don't know how. He has lied to us, and put us in a position where we will have to go a step further by pursuing a law suit against him in order to get satisfactory results. We are not those kind of people, and I guess it is our own fault that he probably knows that and continues to take further advantage of us. Our advice? Do your homework! Check with your local builders' association and the Better Business Bureau. Ask neighbors who have already been through their own experience with the same builder. Of the neighbors who bought a home from that same builder, we found that nearly every single one we spoke with after the fact had previously had similar problems or complaints with stories of their own; and some of them were still trying to get satisfactory results. Be smart - be informed. Get every little detail written in on the contract or a signed addendum to the contract, before you sign the bottem line. Make sure you know all of your rights and the loopholes in the contract as well as the warranty. I will NEVER again sign off on a contract, under pressure or otherwise, especially a major life purchase, unless it is a fully and satisfactorily complete product.