Complain about a product or service

KB Home

lawrence of summerville, SC September 25, 2009

i built the home and closed on 2/27/09. before closing they took pine straw and covered 75% of my backyard. when i removed the straw i discovered alot of broken glass, build trash and car parts. I did call in a complaint and the building project manager, ryan, said " we dont clean yards, but he will have the landscaper comeback to clean up. the retured twice and nothing was done. i did call his boss and told them that this is not acceptable. he said "we will try again and please give us 10's on our customer service survey and i give you free gutters." what kind of builder does this?

the other thing is i cant even grow grass on the side of my house because of the steep slope and solid clay yard. now the company that kb home hired for the HOA, I have 4 days to grow grass or pay 25.00 a day that there is no grass. now people would just put sod down, like the guy across the street from me, and he has a pond in is yard and ryan, the kb rep came out and told him "to bad we are not covering this under warranty be cause he did put sod in. and that HOA, there are 3 people on the board and guess what the are all kb employees.

I have many problems in my home, toliets leaking water under my floors, cracked side walks, poarch, garage and driveway, their comment "well concreate cracks, thats what it does". i am no way a pick guy but after i had to take 8 inches of yard out and refill it and grade it...my 2 and 1 year old still bring me glass and rusty nails. i have owned ryland homes before and never a problem.

Now after living here for 6 months in a community with 2400-3500 square foot homes, they started filling in the area with some cheap trailer looking homes. my only advice is ...STAY AWAY FROM KB HOME.

DOLORES of SAN ANTONIO, TX September 3, 2009

We have a problem with our air conditioning unit. The A frame along with coils need to be replaced. When coils were cleaned by a professional a lot of saw dust came out. The coils were cracked due to freezing - and freon leaked which caused nausea and heachaches. The rep would not listen but stated that the warrantly expired. Let her know of the situation but would not listen. STated that it was in our hands and our problem and also the ceiling the two bedroom the nails popped out. What can I do. Were did report and they only fixed the restroom since long story. nothing but problems with KB homes. And tired of being kind and patient. No more.

Violeta of Las Vegas, NV July 22, 2009

On June 26,2008, we bought the model home.We had a walk thru before we moved to this home.We noticed that the toilet set are low,ceiling fans in the patio are different,garage door was not the same,big pots decor were missing.My husband noticed that there was a gap about half inch gap from the wall to shower solid surface.all the above issues were presented to kb home customer service.kbhome send someone to fix the shower gap but he damaged my wallpaper by ripping off my wallpaper.I was told to get an estimate for the wallpaper.I told them that I have no time to do it. I wanted them to take care this wallpaper issue.I was mandated to get this done ,so I started getting estimate and sent three estimate to them.This time they asked me for an appointment to see Rhett Butler. He came and made another appointment for his supervisor to came.He begged me so I did allow another appointment.When Rhett Butler and his supervisor came I was presented with 3 choices

1)Removed the wallpaper and repaint the masterbath room. 2)Get me 350.00 and do what I want.THIS IS VERY LOW COST TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE. 3)Repatch the damaged by getting it from the back of picture frame.

also I mentioned to both of them regarding my issue above.BOTH OF THEM RESPONDED THAT THEY WERE NOT THERE AT THAT TIME.I TOLD THEM THAT THIS IS KBHOME ISSUE AND THEY ARE ALL EMPLOYEES OF KBHOME.THEY SHOULD BE AWARE WITH ALL MY COMPLAINTS. I think from very start I was abused and cheated by kbhome employees. My reasons as follows:

1)The upgrade or option included in this model home was 165,144.00 and the total price was 578,134.00. Mr Brandon Jones who is sale agent, told me to offer 350,000.00.I know I should not follow this advice. 2)KB HOME HAS THEIR ESCROW COMPANY AND ITS MANDATORY TO GO TO THAT COMPANY.I HAVE ALSO ISSUE WITH THEIR ESCROW COMPANY(FIRST AMERICAN TITLE COMPANY) AFTER WE CLOSED THE ESCROW AMD WE ARE THE LEGAL OWNER OF THE PROPERTY, THE FIRST AMERICAN TITLE COMPANY CHANGED THE DOCUMENTS.I THINK THEY ARE HIDING SOMETHING FOR THEIR OWN BENEFITS

Robert of Rio Rancho, NM July 22, 2009

We bought our KB home about 3 years ago and all was well a few minor things that were not to be concerned and would be fixed on the spot, the big problem we had or should i say have is a leak! it is in the kitchen coming down from the furnance, the thing is, we found out a year ago that they did not properly fix the valve and they came in "out of curtesy" to cap it, but that was not the problem, the leak got worse and the thing is we could not tell till this year due to the leak not be visable until exsesive damage has already been done, we were forced to call our insurance and get the thing taken care of but our insurance will not cover this, and they said KB homes is responsilbe,

well the leak has been going on since the day we moved in and 2 professinal plumbers have already reported that it was due to poor workmanship and it has been going on since day one, we called kb and got hung up on and theysaid its not their problem, this is really bad we are in the thousands of dollars of paying for this if they do not take care of it, we need help, or will we need to contact a lawyer? we are not seeking a lawsuit we just want it fixed!

Mitchell of Spring, TX July 10, 2009

We started having reoccurring A/C problems 3 weeks ago. After our 3rd repairman came out he determined that we have a leak in the line somewhere from where the A/C lines enter the exterior wall of the house to where the lines connect to the unit in the attic. His determination was a nail from the hardiplank installation pierced a line. There is also a large manhole in my front yard that never was disclosed or indicated on my plot map.

Werner of Dexter, MO July 8, 2009

We were searching the inter-net and found a KB Home community in Lochbuie, Co., where the homes seemed to be affordable and it is away from the hustle of the city. We called for brochures and were sent the brochures and called the Sales Office and spoke with Sales Rep. Lisa L., very pleasant and very informative. After discussing the options and up-grades, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to return to Colorado. Told Lisa we would be coming to Lochbuie soon.

We were very excited and were celebrating my husband, Werner's 85th birthday and decided this would be a fitting gift for an 85th Birthday. Drove the 1000 miles to the Sales Office in the building site at Lochbuie, Colorado on 3/24/09. Were met at the door by Amy B., with a brochure with a very different price. All homes were increased by 5000.00. When we tried to show her our brochure that had just been sent to us, which brought us the 1000 miles. She said "we have the right to change our prices anytime". We told her this is bordering on illegal and was surely unethical.

Very disappointed, we drove around for a while and cried and got sick to my stomach. We settled down from the shock of this, talked it over and decided that if we went back, surely they would be reasonable. Went back to the office and the price was back down and Amy even decided not to charge us the lot premium. We had originally chosen the "Conifer" but after discussing the up-grades and prices, we thought it was a little much for our budget and Amy showed us the "Conifer" and said the "Aspen", which was the next one on the brochure, price wise was almost exactly the same. Amy said that the only difference was the "Aspen" would not have the long hall way, high ceiling and a few of the interior up-grades. We decided we could live with that and then were told that no picture nor plan existed for the "Aspen". When we came out of the back office, the front office where the informational literature had been kept, was disassembled and all the literature was gone.

Amy took the financial information for CountryWide for loan pre-approval. We told Amy we were anxious to get this taken care of before we had to return to Missouri on 3/28/09. She said that would be fine we could do everything by phone and e-mail. She would call us every week and Matt, the builder, would call for a pre-construction meeting and explain everything to us and call us for approval for every phase of the build. Told us to go have lunch and look over the neighborhood. We did that and came back to look at the lots. Told Amy we would like to stay away from the cul de sac, would like to have our home set back from the street and would like to have a privacy fence.

The lot we chose was as far from the cul de sac as we could get, with the choices we were given. The lot was marked only on three sides. When we asked if the property line went straight back Amy said yes. The lot looked nice and square and sloped slightly to the street. When we asked for something that would show what this house would look like, Amy said nothing existed on that particular home at this time. When we pressed her she finally gave us a copy of a portion of a blue print.

We were told by our Sales Rep. Amy B., that we would have all the information as soon as she could get it. When asked if we wanted to sign the Purchase Agreement now we decided to wait until we could get the earnest money. Amy had asked for 10,000.00 earnest money and when we questioned why so much, she told us we were high risk because we owned a home. That did not seem right since neither of us had ever had a label like that. We were told Amy would set us an appointment for the Studio to choose our interior up-grades on Friday 3/27/09 at 10:00. The Sales Office would be closed on 2/25/09 and a blizzard was predicted to move in on 3/26/09. It was a little disturbing to know we would not get a chance to look the place over again or share it with friends and family. The hardest thing was not having access to the informational literature, which would have given us enough information to know which questions to ask.

We got the 10,000.00 and started the journey to Greenwood Village. The snow was still slushy in places so it took longer that it should have. Once we arrived at the Studio, about 1:30. Udie was able to get to us in a short time but It took a lot of time to choose the up-grades to fit our tight budget.Udie was very patient and nice to us. When we finished about 5:00 we were told Amy was on her way with the Sales Agreement. We waited like what seemed like for ever, since we were very tired and when Amy arrived with the paper work it still took another half hour for her to get the paper work like they wanted it.

It was so late when Amy was ready for us she said since it was so late and we were so tired, we need not take time to read the paper work-it was just standard and she worked with mostly first time buyers and she would take care of us-she would just thumb through and show us where to sign and where to initial and would send us all the information we needed in Missouri.

It did not seem wrong to put all our trust in Amy but when she got our signatures on everything and our earnest money (10,000.00), she said that she only represented KB Home and not us but that she would help us through the entire transaction. She said that we weren't entitled to representation since we had not brought a Realtor with us when we came to the Sales Office and that KB Home would not pay for us to have representation. Amy assured us that it was okay and she would take care of us.

After taking two days to return home to Missouri, we began to look at the contracts and the first page had errors. That distracted us from reading on. We began to call to try to straighten out the errors. Wrong lot number. #7 instead of #9 and the wrong filing. After we thought that was taken care of with an Addendum, the paper work kept coming with the errors still remaining and as we read more we found where one of the financial documents said we had only put earnest money of 1000.00 instead of 10,000.00. The paper work tug of war began and as we read we found things that we would never have agreed to. It was anything but standard.

We continued to beg for more information on our property and the volumes of paper work continued to arrive and much of it didn't make sense or we didn't understand. Even though Amy told us we would get the original price quoted us before we went to Lochbuie, on the Sales Agreement it had the inflated price with the 5000.00 added on and a lot premium of 4000.00. Then that was taken off as a discount. They were not very happy when we called their attention to that. What would prompt them to do that? Unless they were trying to inflat the appraisal. When we asked Amy why so much paper work to purchase one house she just laughed and said that is to keep the lawyers busy. They would send bits of information but would not send us a picture of the home or the layout of the home on the lot. She finally sent a layout of the inside but no layout of the house on the lot.

Then we received an Addendum, which Amy referred to as a "Sales Summary" and we didn't like the wording on it and refused to sign it. It said that they were adding to our total and that any oral representations and promises were not valid. Most of the representation was oral. The description of the home and lot. Even the pre-construction meeting was going to be by phone. Amy continued to call and coerce us to sign the Addendum and said they couldn't get the permits to build the house if we did not sign that document. Amy went on vacation and we called Michael Veliz to try to get the information we needed. He did not return the call.

Called the office and spoke with Lisa and she sent a picture of the house and it was just a blob of black ink with no detail except on outline of trees. You could not tell it was a house. I called back and asked Lisa to edit the picture and resend and she said she would send it by snail mail and Lisa said they had the permits and set the pre-construction meeting for 12:00 on Friday May 22, 2009. We thought it was very strange since Amy had told us that they couldn't get the permits without our signature on that Addendum.

Amy returned from vacation and set the appointment back for the pre-construction meeting until the end of the business day going into the Memorial Day Week-End. When we got on the phone for the meeting they sent the picture of the lay out of the house on the lot and it did not resemble the house we ordered and the lot tapered to the back and the house could not set back as we ordered. The biggest surprise was the drainage ditch going along the property line. The entire transaction was misrepresented and unrecognizable. Again Amy told us we must sign that Addendum that she called a Sales Summary.

This time she said they couldn't get an appraisal without that document signed. She said if we refused to sign that document we would have to sign another document that would be drawn up by their Legal team. We did not wish agree to sign a document that we had not seen. Since we trusted Amy enough to let her talk us into signing the Sales Agreement without reading it that we would agree to sign anything. It did not make sense to us and we began to mistrust them and told them to stop, that we did not wish to move forward with this transaction.

Now it was the end of the business day and going into a three day week-end so we were afraid that we were missing some deadline. So we began to search for someone with a fax machine. The only one we could find in an office was a young Attorney in Bloomfield and asked him to send us a quick letter to KB Home. After the week-end was over and Fed-Ex was opened we sent a back up letter. We did not retain an Attorney and was not charged for the letter that was written for us.

Told Michael V. when he finally returned the call that we did not retain an Attorney and he said Amy would not be talking to us. Then we received a call from KB Home's Attorney saying that we would have to retain an Attorney and they refuse to communicate with us. Now they have our 10,000.00 and won't talk to us. We feel like we have been robbed. We have no idea what is taking place there and have no one to talk to. Don't know what to do. Please help!

Janet of Daytona Beach, FL June 23, 2009

We purchases our house in Feb 2006 from KB Home Directly (the same year it was built). After only three years of KB building the house, we had a huge leake coming from the back porch of the house.

Per inspection there were several cracks found in the stucco on the rear wall of the house facing the back porch. Also the water was coming from a window on the same side of the house. It was also noticed that the Grading (the landscaping) is in the same level with the finished floor which was a factor in the leake. When I contacted KB Home Customer Care, they sent a person named Drew to inspect. After the inspection, I was told by Drew that the house is three years old and needed maintenance. He said that the stucco cracks are not covered under warranty because they are not wider than 1/8".

He also said the house is a concrete block and all houses in the area are built the same way wher the end of the stucco is below the dirt level. I explained to Drew that this is a 395,000 three year old house and it should not have leakage problems that soon. It certainly appears to be a problem of cheap building material and a poor workmanship used in building the house.

Genoveva of Lochbuie, CO April 21, 2009

Genoveva of Lochbuie CO (04/21/09)
i purchased a house built by KB home in Lochbuie Co in may 2008. This individul Jon K was the broker who sold us the house. He was lying to us all the time,then when we came to move to this house,the back yard has all the easemants for 3 houses,plus our back yard looks like a river in the rain time. We cant use the back yard,we kept complaining to the builder since 2008 oct. but they keep teling us that we cant do anything to fix the yard,because even so is ours,for them is not ours,belongs to the whole community,but we paid for it.

The builder did not aloud us to do anything,which is weird,and the back yard started to look more like a river,water from rain coming from the houses around us directly to our or not ours back yard,now we have in the midle of back yard erosion and the water keps diging . We went to the builder,hired an inspector which recomanded to the builder to do all the adjustments,but the builder refuses. We are going crazy dont know what to do? Any idea??? Thank you

I have high blood presure and i am sick,nervous because i cant put them to understand that the back yard belongs to us,we paid for it,but KB is using us and the back yard for their needs.

Mandi of Houston, TX April 7, 2009

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