
Stacy of Middletown, DE on Nov. 29, 2007
August 2007 moved in
My main concern is the artillary fungus that continues to spread
on the outside of our house. I spoke with Scott Card,
the warranty manager, who gave me the
impression he hopes to defer to their contract terms
saying they aren't at all responsible for something
like that (ie, mold, fungus, biological entity). He's
apparently checking with his boss to see what they
will do. My problem is that the fungus was
pre-existing...it covered the house before we agreed
to buy it and cleaning the siding was noted on our initial walk through prior to settlement. When we asked about it, we were told it was
dirt and that they would wash it off before we moved
in. However, it was never cleaned. When they tried to
powerwash the siding after we moved in, they ruined
part of the siding trying to blast it off.
After that,
it took months of phone calls to finally get them to
figure out what it was and find a way to remove it.
When they did remove it, they only cleaned the siding.
Pest control said they weren't contracted to do
anything but the siding. However, the fungus remains
all over the garage floor, on our kids swingset,
inside the window and door frames, on our personal
items (such as baby strollers, golf clubs, outdoor
toys, tools, etc) our car, and the wood steps which
are virtually unfixable.
All of these items we
obviously brought when we moved in, having no idea
this airborne fungus was going to shoot itself all
over our belongings.
Since they cleaned the siding a few weeks ago, the
fungus has already returned appearing all over once
again. It is extremely frustrating and
unsettling...especially with small children and an
infant exposed to whatever it is. We hesitate to put
anything of value in the garage or in the yard for
fear it will be ruined. We would appreciate a
discussion about what our options are in this
situation.
In addition, I've heard so many complaints about this
particular neighborhood and the quality of work being
done, or not done. Apparently quite a few people have
retained lawyers. It worries me that we might be
missing something that will effect us down the road.
The drywall is a mess, two managers
have left since we moved in; contractors we've had in
have been quite negative about what's going on here.
I read some of the other complaints on this site and just find myself saying YES! YES! DR Horton is awful. The managers are unresponsive unless up against a wall, they pressure you to sign off on things, they do the bare minimum. Everything in the house is cheap. All of the wood surrounding our doors and windows is cheap particle board that is already full of imperfections that they just painted over. They left a sewer pipe to the kitchen uncapped and it was releasing toxic fumes into the home (we have three young kids including an infant). I agree with another woman that the kitchen cabinet stain will not last, nor will the door handles throughout. They wouldn'd permit personal home inspections, including radon, until after settlement, and even then I was told they wouldn't acknowledge one. Only the county report for occupancy. They left the yard full of weeds, we had to have sod put in just to get a lawn in late October.
We already had two plumbing leaks from the master bath to the garage and the laundry. We are disgusted with the quality of this home and are just trying to make it our own now with paint, grass, landscaping, etc. But it's all superficial. We have tons of mice in our attic too, not sure how long they've been there or how many there are. We know underneath it will be nothing but trouble. If we could return the house we would have and I would hate for anyone else to feel that way. Many of our neighbors express outrage as well.