Well the sign, and apparently this blog worked. Mostly. There are still some drips and runs on our new door, and on the wall coming from the railing. But over a two week period, thanks to Mike Melle and Rhonda Reyna, almost everything has been fixed.
Still some outstanding items, as we reached the one year anniversary of moving in (11-1), but no major complaints left. So it looks like I won't have to spend the weekends picketting the sales office. Thank Goodness, and those who finally did what should have been done 11 months ago.
Hopefully my next edit will be noting that everything is done.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
DR Horton Employee Kicks Homeowner While He's Down!
This complaint was sent to DR Horton's San Antonio Texas Warranty Department via email on October 17th.
I am requesting that you pass this up the chain of command or DR Horton, to whoever takes formal complaints regarding employees. I would also like to know what DR Horton's policy is regarding employees reporting CC&R violations"? I'd guess they would be to advise the homeowner, but to remain neutral. Especially when the "violation" is the result of the subject homeowner's home not being complete, after almost a year.
This is regarding Tyler Larson/Larsen(?), construction supervisor, who is not representing DR Horton well at all. Although I'm frustrated beyond belief... still, unfortunately, Tyler is not only working against the process of progress, he is apparently acting out of "vengeance" or something. Especially since I've never met the man. I realize our incomplete house may not reflect well on his management skills. But that is something he did on his own before we closed on our house on Nov. 1, 2006 (yes that's almost a year).
So I posted a sign (attached) approximately last Saturday, on my property. As you can see in the photo, it is not that noticeable--not that that has any bearing, as I'm going to move it to a more noticeable upper window. I told this to Brian P a few minutes ago when he stopped by.
Anyway, yesterday one of my neighbors (who said he's about to put up an even larger sign) said he asked Tyler what he thought about our sign. The neighbor said, that Tyler said "what sign?" The neighbor explained about our 24"x18" sign, and said that Tyler stated: "the homeowners association will make them take it down!" The neighbor then came to our house, around 3PM, and of course told us about Tyler’s bad attitude and poor customer service. As, is Tyler had done a better job the first time our whole situation would never have never come up in the first place.
Low and behold, less than 24 hours later we are personally served with a notice from DCHA, Inc./Pauline Simmons, stating that we have to remove our "protest sign" by 5PM 10/18 or "this matter will be turned over the Association Attorney." Along with other legalese to try and scare us, including a "Temporary Restraining Order."
Based upon talking with several other homeowners within Dove Crossing, it is clear they not only support our displaying this sign, but that I could start supplying them to other disgruntled homeowners if I wanted to. I know that "Spectrum" will not likely tell us who filed the complaint, as their letter states "...we inspect your community to ensure that each owner is complying with these standards." Of course they didn't inspect anything yet, but are acting upon Tyler's complaint. If necessary, and IF this ever goes to civil court all HOA/Dove Crossing Homeowner's Association, Inc. records will be subpoenaed--as part of the Discovery process--and the complainant will be revealed. I'm also willing to bet that an attorney will be willing to take this on pro-bono, and that the Judge will rule based upon what’s right. Especially with so many homeowners negatively affected.
Based upon my Constitutional rights, under the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."), I will not be taking down the sign until all problems with our house are properly fixed. But I will move it, so it can be seen more easily.
Having worked in Planning and Zoning for almost 2 years, after 15 years in law enforcement, followed by 2+ years as a regional manager (10 States) for the largest real estate auction company in the US, I am not intimidated. I am familiar with the civil complaint process.
In fact the sign will grow in size, and I will make available similar signs to any homeowner who wants one at my cost. I'm guessing that the problems with our home aside, that soon this will become a media issue (beyond my web blog).
It is sad that a DR Horton employee would stoop so low as to do something like this. Even more troubling is that, knowing his poor management skills at least partially resulted in our house being in it's present state, he would feel that the answer to the situation is that we take down our sign. When he should have joined the DR Horton "warranty department," jumping in to assist them now that the ball has slowly started to roll towards the very small light at the end of the tunnel. It is no wonder that there are so many construction related issues with so many homeowners, at least in Dove Crossing. In fact of all the homeowners we've talked to (and that list is growing due to our sign), everyone has problems and nobody is satisfied. Hmmm, that's a 100% percent disapproval rating in my unofficial pole. When I start going door to door with fliers, NOT JUST in Dove Crossing, but also in other higher end subdivisions, I expect I'll find more who will join our blog and cause.
Since I'm waiting for my electric wheelchair, and can't go door-to-door until I get it, DHR Horton has a short reprieve before I can start that. I've been forced to hold on picketing the model homes/sales offices in my area for the same reason. But I expect the wheelchair within a week. At that point I'll be rolling.
--ks
Please see the almost 100 photos of some of the problems we have, or have had.
I am requesting that you pass this up the chain of command or DR Horton, to whoever takes formal complaints regarding employees. I would also like to know what DR Horton's policy is regarding employees reporting CC&R violations"? I'd guess they would be to advise the homeowner, but to remain neutral. Especially when the "violation" is the result of the subject homeowner's home not being complete, after almost a year.
This is regarding Tyler Larson/Larsen(?), construction supervisor, who is not representing DR Horton well at all. Although I'm frustrated beyond belief... still, unfortunately, Tyler is not only working against the process of progress, he is apparently acting out of "vengeance" or something. Especially since I've never met the man. I realize our incomplete house may not reflect well on his management skills. But that is something he did on his own before we closed on our house on Nov. 1, 2006 (yes that's almost a year).
So I posted a sign (attached) approximately last Saturday, on my property. As you can see in the photo, it is not that noticeable--not that that has any bearing, as I'm going to move it to a more noticeable upper window. I told this to Brian P a few minutes ago when he stopped by.
Anyway, yesterday one of my neighbors (who said he's about to put up an even larger sign) said he asked Tyler what he thought about our sign. The neighbor said, that Tyler said "what sign?" The neighbor explained about our 24"x18" sign, and said that Tyler stated: "the homeowners association will make them take it down!" The neighbor then came to our house, around 3PM, and of course told us about Tyler’s bad attitude and poor customer service. As, is Tyler had done a better job the first time our whole situation would never have never come up in the first place.
Low and behold, less than 24 hours later we are personally served with a notice from DCHA, Inc./Pauline Simmons, stating that we have to remove our "protest sign" by 5PM 10/18 or "this matter will be turned over the Association Attorney." Along with other legalese to try and scare us, including a "Temporary Restraining Order."
Based upon talking with several other homeowners within Dove Crossing, it is clear they not only support our displaying this sign, but that I could start supplying them to other disgruntled homeowners if I wanted to. I know that "Spectrum" will not likely tell us who filed the complaint, as their letter states "...we inspect your community to ensure that each owner is complying with these standards." Of course they didn't inspect anything yet, but are acting upon Tyler's complaint. If necessary, and IF this ever goes to civil court all HOA/Dove Crossing Homeowner's Association, Inc. records will be subpoenaed--as part of the Discovery process--and the complainant will be revealed. I'm also willing to bet that an attorney will be willing to take this on pro-bono, and that the Judge will rule based upon what’s right. Especially with so many homeowners negatively affected.
Based upon my Constitutional rights, under the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."), I will not be taking down the sign until all problems with our house are properly fixed. But I will move it, so it can be seen more easily.
Having worked in Planning and Zoning for almost 2 years, after 15 years in law enforcement, followed by 2+ years as a regional manager (10 States) for the largest real estate auction company in the US, I am not intimidated. I am familiar with the civil complaint process.
In fact the sign will grow in size, and I will make available similar signs to any homeowner who wants one at my cost. I'm guessing that the problems with our home aside, that soon this will become a media issue (beyond my web blog).
It is sad that a DR Horton employee would stoop so low as to do something like this. Even more troubling is that, knowing his poor management skills at least partially resulted in our house being in it's present state, he would feel that the answer to the situation is that we take down our sign. When he should have joined the DR Horton "warranty department," jumping in to assist them now that the ball has slowly started to roll towards the very small light at the end of the tunnel. It is no wonder that there are so many construction related issues with so many homeowners, at least in Dove Crossing. In fact of all the homeowners we've talked to (and that list is growing due to our sign), everyone has problems and nobody is satisfied. Hmmm, that's a 100% percent disapproval rating in my unofficial pole. When I start going door to door with fliers, NOT JUST in Dove Crossing, but also in other higher end subdivisions, I expect I'll find more who will join our blog and cause.
Since I'm waiting for my electric wheelchair, and can't go door-to-door until I get it, DHR Horton has a short reprieve before I can start that. I've been forced to hold on picketing the model homes/sales offices in my area for the same reason. But I expect the wheelchair within a week. At that point I'll be rolling.
--ks
Please see the almost 100 photos of some of the problems we have, or have had.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
When Does Are Broken Promises JUST Lies?
I'm a Tigers Baseball fan, so I have to say three strikes and you're out! Just in the last week, DR Horton has three new strikes, so they're out again. When you have to post a sign in your front window about all your problems, and neighbors are stopping to say they thought only they were having problems, you know it is the rule rather than the exception.
So here we go again... It is 10-16-07 already, and of the list sent to us by Brian Patrick, DR Horton Warranty department out of San Antonio, and only the mortar work was done since we received this in an email. I must note that Chester (#3) also came by and said that the design of our roof over the front door is architecturly unsound. Per Chester, the water coming off the roof, from the “flash” lands right at the corner of the roof and stone fascia, where they join.
More rain today, as this year hasn’t been a dry one in Texas, and still multiple leaks in the 11.5 month old roof.
This is the email from DR Horton/Brian Patrick:
Without a doubt I have not kept my word and I will not offer any excuses. However, I will offer the following work schedule that has been coordinated and de-conflicted with the appropriate vendors.
1- 10/11 AM: M&M Framing (Benny) will show up to address the squeak @ the master bath floor/door casing. Also framer will re-nail siding nail pops near A/C compressor.
2- 10/11 AM: Ramirez Roofing will show up to address shingles on porch roof to ensure that is not the reason for the leak.
3- 10/11 PM: Chester from DEH Engineering will show up at 5:30 PM to inspect and eventually provide you a structural integrity report per your request.
4- 10/12 PM: Cabinet Creations will install a new counter top (right of oven only) where you requested a buffing, laminate could not be buffed, so I’ll replace.
5- 10/12 AM: Bailey’s Building Materials will install gutters over porch ceiling where kick out flashing drains directly on porch roof, this is where we believe the leaking problem originates.
6- 10/12 PM: Trim-Rite will come back and adjust rear and garage entry doors.
7- 10/12 PM: Rodriquez Masonry will point up mortar where identified.
8- 10/12 AM/PM: I have the drawers for the kitchen and will install them as promised.
9- 10/12 AM: With verbal concurrence from the certified engineer, I have Richter Drywall Company on standby to button up the sheetrock hole.
10- 10/12 PM: If drywall repairs occur, paint drywall repairs and attic access panel. Fall back date if problems occur will be 10/15.
11- 10/12 AM/PM: Pending weather R&G (Dirt Contractor) will address drainage issues. If for some reason grading can not be done on 10/12, 10/15 will also act as a fall back date.
Barring any unforeseen problems, hopefully this time the repairs will go smoothly. Deepest apologies!
Brian
So again... do yourself a favor. Buy and existing home, so you can see what you're getting (a complete home). Stay away from DR Horton homes, and save yourself allot of stress and inconvieniance.
So here we go again... It is 10-16-07 already, and of the list sent to us by Brian Patrick, DR Horton Warranty department out of San Antonio, and only the mortar work was done since we received this in an email. I must note that Chester (#3) also came by and said that the design of our roof over the front door is architecturly unsound. Per Chester, the water coming off the roof, from the “flash” lands right at the corner of the roof and stone fascia, where they join.
More rain today, as this year hasn’t been a dry one in Texas, and still multiple leaks in the 11.5 month old roof.
This is the email from DR Horton/Brian Patrick:
Without a doubt I have not kept my word and I will not offer any excuses. However, I will offer the following work schedule that has been coordinated and de-conflicted with the appropriate vendors.
1- 10/11 AM: M&M Framing (Benny) will show up to address the squeak @ the master bath floor/door casing. Also framer will re-nail siding nail pops near A/C compressor.
2- 10/11 AM: Ramirez Roofing will show up to address shingles on porch roof to ensure that is not the reason for the leak.
3- 10/11 PM: Chester from DEH Engineering will show up at 5:30 PM to inspect and eventually provide you a structural integrity report per your request.
4- 10/12 PM: Cabinet Creations will install a new counter top (right of oven only) where you requested a buffing, laminate could not be buffed, so I’ll replace.
5- 10/12 AM: Bailey’s Building Materials will install gutters over porch ceiling where kick out flashing drains directly on porch roof, this is where we believe the leaking problem originates.
6- 10/12 PM: Trim-Rite will come back and adjust rear and garage entry doors.
7- 10/12 PM: Rodriquez Masonry will point up mortar where identified.
8- 10/12 AM/PM: I have the drawers for the kitchen and will install them as promised.
9- 10/12 AM: With verbal concurrence from the certified engineer, I have Richter Drywall Company on standby to button up the sheetrock hole.
10- 10/12 PM: If drywall repairs occur, paint drywall repairs and attic access panel. Fall back date if problems occur will be 10/15.
11- 10/12 AM/PM: Pending weather R&G (Dirt Contractor) will address drainage issues. If for some reason grading can not be done on 10/12, 10/15 will also act as a fall back date.
Barring any unforeseen problems, hopefully this time the repairs will go smoothly. Deepest apologies!
Brian
So again... do yourself a favor. Buy and existing home, so you can see what you're getting (a complete home). Stay away from DR Horton homes, and save yourself allot of stress and inconvieniance.
Monday, October 1, 2007
DR Horton Equals Idle Promises
“Extreme Home Makeover” shows how many builders go above and beyond to help those in need. DR Horton does not conduct business in this ethical, generous and giving manner. They boast how many homes they build, and being “America’s Builder” but once they have the home buyer’s money, they ignore customers, moving on to sell to the next victim.
A few months after moving into our house I was diagnosed with ALS. I lost my job a couple weeks after that due to “corporate downsizing.” With the disease progressing rapidly, I’m now in a wheelchair, plus we have lost about 60% of our family’s income. So we are trying to get our house’s initial construction, as well as warranty issues completed before we have to sell it. In its present condition, as you’ll see from the photos, no one would buy it.
We chose to buy a DR Horton home because we thought they were one of the better builders, based upon numerous model homes we visited from numerous builders. We should have done more research. DR Horton claims to be “America’s Builder” and that they are number one. But our experience only shows that they are an extremely poor quality builder, and don’t follow through correcting problems identified prior to closing, or warranty problems after closing. This is confirmed by JD Powers ratings of new home builders (see link below). The model homes look good but this doesn't translate to the customer's home when it is "done." They’ll tell you what you want to hear about repairs, but will not follow through. Or even tell you when someone will show up, but no one ever does, or show up several days later, when you rearranged your schedule to wait for a contractor.
See the photo link near the top right of this page for photos, with descriptions of some of the problems with our house. This will take you to our Flickr photo pages. You will be shocked at the extremely poor quality of our $200k+ home (TX market). You will see the problems are numerous.
After numerous construction delays, which caused us to have to rent an apartment for two months, we closed on our house (not a home yet) on 11-1-2006. At that time we were promised that the items we listed as problems, on our final walk through, would be fixed in 2 to 4 weeks. So we went ahead and closed on the house. It is now almost a year later and we are still waiting. Other than a 2 tiles which were cracked and replaced, there isn’t anything on our original or subsequent warranty list which has been completed.
Ours situation is not an isolated one. At my prompting prior to our house’s closing, my parents purchased a house in the same subdivision, Dove Crossing in New Braunfels Texas, and they’ve had similar problems. In talking to our neighbors, they also have long lists or problems as well as unfinished repairs. For everyone who chooses to go public with a problem, out of complete frustration, there are many more who give up and fix them themselves. It’s clear that this is a strategy DR Horton is taking to cut repair costs, thus increasing their bottom line.
A story aired by a local San Antonio TV station, last week, said that the San Antonio's home prices are lower than many other areas possibly due to illegal aliens working at low wages here. Unfortunately this also effects quality, as the "worker" may only be working for the day or week, and will not have to repair his poor quality work. Based upon the high number of construction and landscaping workers, which I've observed, which don't speak english, I believe this is the case.
We have heard the same idle promises from six different construction or warranty supervisors, including: Ray (“fired”), Skip (“transferred to a more upscale subdivision”), Tyler (construction superintendant), Bryan (warranty department San Antonio), and Jimmy (warranty superintendant /Bryan’s boss).
Every time a new construction supervisor or warranty supervisor is assigned to us, each confirms that all the work can be completed in 2 weeks. Then nothing gets done until we start calling to complain that nothing is being done. A few repairs have been started, but never finished.
The latest DR Horton representative who we came by about 8-28 and 8-29-07, Bryan (with his supervisor the second day), said things would get done now that he was in charge. I told him I would believe it when I saw it, due to idle promises from all his predecessors. He also said he would call the next day to advise which contractor appointments could be made first, and when they’d be. Ten days later (9-10) without even that one phone call from Bryan, I sent him an email giving him a 1 month deadline to finish all work. Since then 4 projects have been started (ripping out wall due to lead, re-replacing a botched replacement of the stairway banister spindles and molding, replacing master bath vinyl flooring, and replacing 1 cracked tile), with only the single tile replacement being complete. Clearly this is a pattern, and DR Horton cares nothing about customer satisfaction. They just take the money, run, then build someone else’s house, and then do the same thing again.
Some of the major problems include leaking roof and wall resulting in stains and mildew in drywall and paint, extensive cracks and hole in mortar on stone fascia, wrong front door (poorly stained with stain drips all over it), siding coming loose due to not being nailed to studs, unfinished bathroom and bathroom door, paint drips all over stair spindles and base boards (replaced with spindles which aren’t plumb or all square with base boards), unfinished stair banister with black paint transfer and gouges (on new banister), gaps in miter joints (middle and bottom of stairs), nicks in cabinets (kitchen and bathrooms), paint on vinyl and tile floor all over the house, cracked driveway. This is not a complete list of problems, doesn’t include the problems in the garage, which I fixed myself so that I could paint it (this was a couple months before I was affected by ALS). If this is what we can easily see is wrong, imagine the poor construction in areas we can't see.
One of the other major problems being that except for the tile replacement, every time a contractor comes to repair something, they either don’t do it correctly, mess up something near the repair (which then also needs to be repaired), or leave a repair sit incomplete for weeks or months. The botched repair, then setting back a "finished" house even further.
“Skip” told us that he was going to take a door, which was installed by mistake on another house, and install it on our house. Skip said he was going to put it on his own house originally. Skip never had the door installed on our house, and the last time he talked to my wife (she had to call him after a long time without any word on anything on our list), he said that he’s busy due to being transferred to a more “upscale” subdivision. I can't help but wonder where that door is now. Either way, we are still waiting for our door.
Everyone D.R. Horton construction and warranty representative says the work can be completed in 2 weeks, yet as of this date none of the reported problems have been completed yet. Every new rep has to make a new list, because they didn’t provide us with a copy of their list and can’t find the prior representative’s list. So we have to start from scratch each time (4 times so far).
One of the big promises that the latest warranty representative (Bryan Patrick) gave us, was that he would ALWAYS call to arrange a day and time prior to sending any workers over. Workers have come over at least 5 times since, without any warning or Bryan ever calling and scheduling with us as promised. The problem DR Horton not making appointments with us, is that due to my disease I have unexpected doctor’s appointments, plus it takes considerable effort sometimes to get ready so I can watch the repairs, not to mention it affecting my wife’s work, being that she is presently our only means of income.
If our house was a new car, we would have never been able to drive it off the lot in the first place, and we would have be having to be towed around everywhere for 11 months. It just doesn’t make any sense. If a car company was doing this, the government would recall all the vehicles, or shut them down.
Our problems with DR Horton are not isolated to the San Antonio Texas area either, as is evident in these Consumer Affairs complaint links: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/housing/dr_horton.html
Report Your Experience If you've had a bad experience with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now. (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php)
Other links related to problems others have had, or are having, with DR Horton are below.
http://www.my-drhorton-hous%20e.com/
http://drhortonsucks.info/_wsn/page5.html
http://www.hobb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=64&Itemid=295
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/real/content/business/epaper/2007/09/13/a1d_jdpower_0914.html
http://www.jdpower.com/homes/ratings/home_builders/index.aspx (Nationwide customer satisfaction as well as “quality” ratings. DR Horton only gets “average” rating). Not in top 3 builders (or even close to it) in any category in San Antonio market area. In fact D.R. Horton isn’t even listed in the JD Powers top 12 http://www.jdpower.com/articles/article.aspx?ID=437
You may also report your DR Horton problems through emailing me, through this blog, and get permission to post your comments.
A few months after moving into our house I was diagnosed with ALS. I lost my job a couple weeks after that due to “corporate downsizing.” With the disease progressing rapidly, I’m now in a wheelchair, plus we have lost about 60% of our family’s income. So we are trying to get our house’s initial construction, as well as warranty issues completed before we have to sell it. In its present condition, as you’ll see from the photos, no one would buy it.
We chose to buy a DR Horton home because we thought they were one of the better builders, based upon numerous model homes we visited from numerous builders. We should have done more research. DR Horton claims to be “America’s Builder” and that they are number one. But our experience only shows that they are an extremely poor quality builder, and don’t follow through correcting problems identified prior to closing, or warranty problems after closing. This is confirmed by JD Powers ratings of new home builders (see link below). The model homes look good but this doesn't translate to the customer's home when it is "done." They’ll tell you what you want to hear about repairs, but will not follow through. Or even tell you when someone will show up, but no one ever does, or show up several days later, when you rearranged your schedule to wait for a contractor.
See the photo link near the top right of this page for photos, with descriptions of some of the problems with our house. This will take you to our Flickr photo pages. You will be shocked at the extremely poor quality of our $200k+ home (TX market). You will see the problems are numerous.
After numerous construction delays, which caused us to have to rent an apartment for two months, we closed on our house (not a home yet) on 11-1-2006. At that time we were promised that the items we listed as problems, on our final walk through, would be fixed in 2 to 4 weeks. So we went ahead and closed on the house. It is now almost a year later and we are still waiting. Other than a 2 tiles which were cracked and replaced, there isn’t anything on our original or subsequent warranty list which has been completed.
Ours situation is not an isolated one. At my prompting prior to our house’s closing, my parents purchased a house in the same subdivision, Dove Crossing in New Braunfels Texas, and they’ve had similar problems. In talking to our neighbors, they also have long lists or problems as well as unfinished repairs. For everyone who chooses to go public with a problem, out of complete frustration, there are many more who give up and fix them themselves. It’s clear that this is a strategy DR Horton is taking to cut repair costs, thus increasing their bottom line.
A story aired by a local San Antonio TV station, last week, said that the San Antonio's home prices are lower than many other areas possibly due to illegal aliens working at low wages here. Unfortunately this also effects quality, as the "worker" may only be working for the day or week, and will not have to repair his poor quality work. Based upon the high number of construction and landscaping workers, which I've observed, which don't speak english, I believe this is the case.
We have heard the same idle promises from six different construction or warranty supervisors, including: Ray (“fired”), Skip (“transferred to a more upscale subdivision”), Tyler (construction superintendant), Bryan (warranty department San Antonio), and Jimmy (warranty superintendant /Bryan’s boss).
Every time a new construction supervisor or warranty supervisor is assigned to us, each confirms that all the work can be completed in 2 weeks. Then nothing gets done until we start calling to complain that nothing is being done. A few repairs have been started, but never finished.
The latest DR Horton representative who we came by about 8-28 and 8-29-07, Bryan (with his supervisor the second day), said things would get done now that he was in charge. I told him I would believe it when I saw it, due to idle promises from all his predecessors. He also said he would call the next day to advise which contractor appointments could be made first, and when they’d be. Ten days later (9-10) without even that one phone call from Bryan, I sent him an email giving him a 1 month deadline to finish all work. Since then 4 projects have been started (ripping out wall due to lead, re-replacing a botched replacement of the stairway banister spindles and molding, replacing master bath vinyl flooring, and replacing 1 cracked tile), with only the single tile replacement being complete. Clearly this is a pattern, and DR Horton cares nothing about customer satisfaction. They just take the money, run, then build someone else’s house, and then do the same thing again.
Some of the major problems include leaking roof and wall resulting in stains and mildew in drywall and paint, extensive cracks and hole in mortar on stone fascia, wrong front door (poorly stained with stain drips all over it), siding coming loose due to not being nailed to studs, unfinished bathroom and bathroom door, paint drips all over stair spindles and base boards (replaced with spindles which aren’t plumb or all square with base boards), unfinished stair banister with black paint transfer and gouges (on new banister), gaps in miter joints (middle and bottom of stairs), nicks in cabinets (kitchen and bathrooms), paint on vinyl and tile floor all over the house, cracked driveway. This is not a complete list of problems, doesn’t include the problems in the garage, which I fixed myself so that I could paint it (this was a couple months before I was affected by ALS). If this is what we can easily see is wrong, imagine the poor construction in areas we can't see.
One of the other major problems being that except for the tile replacement, every time a contractor comes to repair something, they either don’t do it correctly, mess up something near the repair (which then also needs to be repaired), or leave a repair sit incomplete for weeks or months. The botched repair, then setting back a "finished" house even further.
“Skip” told us that he was going to take a door, which was installed by mistake on another house, and install it on our house. Skip said he was going to put it on his own house originally. Skip never had the door installed on our house, and the last time he talked to my wife (she had to call him after a long time without any word on anything on our list), he said that he’s busy due to being transferred to a more “upscale” subdivision. I can't help but wonder where that door is now. Either way, we are still waiting for our door.
Everyone D.R. Horton construction and warranty representative says the work can be completed in 2 weeks, yet as of this date none of the reported problems have been completed yet. Every new rep has to make a new list, because they didn’t provide us with a copy of their list and can’t find the prior representative’s list. So we have to start from scratch each time (4 times so far).
One of the big promises that the latest warranty representative (Bryan Patrick) gave us, was that he would ALWAYS call to arrange a day and time prior to sending any workers over. Workers have come over at least 5 times since, without any warning or Bryan ever calling and scheduling with us as promised. The problem DR Horton not making appointments with us, is that due to my disease I have unexpected doctor’s appointments, plus it takes considerable effort sometimes to get ready so I can watch the repairs, not to mention it affecting my wife’s work, being that she is presently our only means of income.
If our house was a new car, we would have never been able to drive it off the lot in the first place, and we would have be having to be towed around everywhere for 11 months. It just doesn’t make any sense. If a car company was doing this, the government would recall all the vehicles, or shut them down.
Our problems with DR Horton are not isolated to the San Antonio Texas area either, as is evident in these Consumer Affairs complaint links: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/housing/dr_horton.html
Report Your Experience If you've had a bad experience with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now. (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/php/a_report.php)
Other links related to problems others have had, or are having, with DR Horton are below.
http://www.my-drhorton-hous%20e.com/
http://drhortonsucks.info/_wsn/page5.html
http://www.hobb.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=64&Itemid=295
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/real/content/business/epaper/2007/09/13/a1d_jdpower_0914.html
http://www.jdpower.com/homes/ratings/home_builders/index.aspx (Nationwide customer satisfaction as well as “quality” ratings. DR Horton only gets “average” rating). Not in top 3 builders (or even close to it) in any category in San Antonio market area. In fact D.R. Horton isn’t even listed in the JD Powers top 12 http://www.jdpower.com/articles/article.aspx?ID=437
You may also report your DR Horton problems through emailing me, through this blog, and get permission to post your comments.
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