Richmond American

We purchased our home in the Meridian Ranch subdivision in Falcon, CO and closed escrow on April 1st, 2009 and have been plagued with major issues that have gone on un-resolved. The people in charge at the time were 2 guys by the name of Larry and Mike, both of whom are no longer employed by Richmond. I have been dealing with a very obnoxious and rude Wes, no return phone calls, and frustrating emails. I feel I have exhausted all regular paths and am going to retain an attorney and need to know if class action is a reality. My driveway now has a 3/4 inch crack across the whole width and has seen the exact concern with other Richmond homes.

The electrical in the kitchen was unsafe and determined was not done as per code and I had to have it rewired due to safety concerns of fire. The grout in the kitchen and main master bath has crumbled out and has been an issue since day 1. They sent the grout people out 3 times to redo it but they told us that it will keep coming up due to the incorrect sub floor used in my home. Now, the latest is the mud/tape job done on the ceiling in 3 areas is now peeling off and I have huge fissures in them. Please help.

We have been requesting warranty service for years with Richmond, Wes, and the warranty department. The roof is leaking still through electrical fixture and through drywall which is falling apart. The concrete driveway was constructed on compacted frozen soil, so it sunk immediately. They mud jacked it and it failed again. They have avoided my complaints and requested for 3-4 years now to fix it. Now it has sunk so much that the driveway has sunk and buckled. The front step is so low that it is unusable. Every once in a while they will waste a few days of your time by saying we'll get on it. They have you take time to go home and meet with people and then never call you back with status. 3-4 months later after many calls and emails, we started over and they blame the previous person in position for all the delays. Richmond is the problem. The home construction is the problem.

We purchased a new Richmond Spruce model in 2003. Approx. 2 yrs. ago after a strong rain storm, we noticed a serious leak in the ceiling of our garage which was causing the sheet rock to crumble. We assumed wrongly that the problem was the roof. After being informed that the problem could be faulty installation of the second floor windows, we made several attempts to have it fixed at our own expense to no avail. After recent replacement of the roof the leak remained.

Several other Richmond homeowners on this block have the same problem. We contacted a Richmond rep. named Wes at **. Wes admitted that this was a common problem in Richmond homes caused by the windows not being properly insulated and flashed. Wes has been blowing smoke at us for weeks. Yesterday, 11/01/2011, I contacted him by phone again. I simply asked when something would be done since winter would soon be upon us. To my surprise Wes went into a tirade, shouting at me about "putting this on him." To date, no action has been taken by Richmond. Are there enough Richmond homeowners with unresolved problems to warrant a class action lawsuit?

My wife and I purchased a new Richmond American home in Meridian Village, Parker, CO in October 2010. During the pre-purchase tour of the house, we pointed out to the quality rep and the broker that there were issues (cracks, gaps, splinters broken off, etc.) in the pre-finished floor on about 2/3rds of the first level. The quality rep wrote up the issues in the report and agreed it needed to be fixed. For the next almost 9 months, we made repeated calls to the rep to get the floor fixed which as we said to him from the outset meant replacement. He kept promising to get action, but never did!

In frustration, I contacted the customer relations manager with my concerns. He came by the house, looked at the floor and quickly said the cause was a lack of humidity in the house -- a homeowner responsibility. The builder is now only willing to "replace a couple of boards in the floor". It's totally unacceptable. We are pursuing legal avenues for correction, given the house is under warranty, and the problems existed before we bought the house and their own people at walk through indicated the problems needed fixing. It's sad.

Based on similar complaints about Richmond American, it appears they take short cuts, don't honor warranties and basically "kiss off" the buyer as soon as the transaction is complete. If you plan to buy from Richmond, be sure everything is to your satisfaction before you close on the house. Otherwise, you could be in for an unpleasant experience.

There are countless issues with our home and lot. But the latest is horrible and needs to be fixed as soon as possible. There were multiple windows replaced in our home due to leakage, gapping, and faulty installation. Some of the issues, however, were not externally visible and have resulted in severe water damage and insect infestation.

I am not aware, as of yet, as to the total extent of the damage, as we have not had the walls completely torn out yet. We removed a small area of dry wall to find millions of ants and saturated OSB that flakes away like mulch when running a finger across it. The Tivek is visible from inside our home once the OSB is smudged away. We are in severe need of assistance as this is an awful situation. We have gotten nowhere in dealing with the Home Warranty division of Richmond American.

I purchase a home in Queen Creek, AZ. When the walk through was completed, it was discovered that the water line for the RO system running in the concrete was plugged and no water would come through that line to the refrigerator. Richmond American (RA) came in and pulled a new line through the roof to the rig refrigerator, the line never did work properly supplying a small amount of water to the refrigerator but not working properly. Now the water was not coming from the RO at all and Richmond American is not returning my calls to date.

This issue is one that should be resolved by RA Homes. Another issue is when I had the inside of the home painted, the master bath medicine cabinet was removed, and behind the cabinet in the wall was garbage and wall board, used silicone tubes and soda cans. Rather than the garbage be hauled to the dumpster, the garbage was left in the home behind the walls. I sent a picture to RA Homes and asked for this to be resolved, and there was no response at all for this. The damage is no RO water to the refrigerator and no response from RA Homes to resolve this issue.

My wife and I brought a newly built home in March 2008. From day one, we have incurred nothing but a litany of problems caused by unskilled contractors/sub-contractors whom did a low level type job building our expensive new home. In the beginning, this company was very nice, then, all of a sudden, over a fifteen month period, all the homeowners received was a bunch of lies and broken promises from five different managers.

From day one, we experienced major problems with the heating and air conditioning. That horrible company (Horizon HVAC) was, by far, the worst contractors we've ever seen. We had major problems with wavy walls in family room and upstairs in the second floor areas. Eight months after we moved in, a pipe burst in the basement closet area "caused by plumber error." Guess what?

The pipe broke again in the same area on July 3, 2009. RAH had to replace my entire carpeting in the basement. That experience coupled with RAH having to send out that lousy drywall company to do major framing/drywall work inside my home. This experience was a total nightmare. My wide wall exit we paid $8,000 for looked a hot mess. We contacted RAH countless times only for them to come out and botched-up patched it. "You would have thought jacklegs built it."

Now, I have consistently complained to Richmond American Homes about my front steps cracking since four months after we moved in to this day--cracks all around the bottom of my home. In February 2010, I found a foundation crack (water leaking inside basement) about six feet long inside my basement utility closet area. RAH did come out to address the problem. This has indeed caused recurring foundation cracks along my beautiful brick front that's only twenty-seven month old. This is indeed a major structural problem caused by a bad footing problem during the construction phrase.

At the present time, I have water constantly coming out my curbside inexplicably. It's now starting to turn into this thick mold and stinky smell. I notified MUA/RAH on several occasions, but can't seem to get a final resolution on this problem. By the way MUA has been "fantastic." I have wrote emails, letters and did phone calls regarding Richmond American Homes coming out to address these homeowner issues/problems and they have really been ignoring us lately. So if any attorney is reading this homeowner's complaint, your assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Lastly, we have notified National Customer Relations/Director of Homecare and Residential Warranty company and all they have done is reject our claims like we brought a house down in Cadmen, NJ. Shame on these thieves. If you buy a home from these people, "beware of signing on the dotted line." Once they get your money, you are forgotten.

The outside wall was coming apart, the doors were hard too open. The house was painted with cheap flat paint (non-washable), outside walls are falling down, the brick fence was falling down, toilets never flush right, fill dirt is washing away, leaving the foundation exposed, the sling glass door frame was warping and the paint was fading.

I am disabled and can't keep up with or know how to fix existing problems, the house is only 2 years old and all the homes already have 20 year old problems and I' m gonna check to see if they used the toxic, Chinese drywall, which I fear they did.

I bought a new home in 3/30/09 built by Richmond. I had 4 basement flooding since, two of them major. I come to find out both extraction company worker and several neighbors say there's been a history of problems with water infiltration. The sales office never disclosed this to me or to my realtor. The company is now responding to my complaints, but it really ticks me off that Chris ** and the others did not tell the truth. I've started up a website to document the devastation to my basement.

We've contacted Breeden plumbing, the company who did the work, and they say it is not there problem as the warranty was only for 2 years. We've contacted Richmond American and they will not return our calls.

Beyond this problem we have had problems with our air conditioning and the drain in our shower was installed improperly which caused water to pour through the ceiling into our kitchen. Both repairs we have had to pay for on our own even though technicians told us the installs were done incorrectly.

In 2005 my husband and I built our 2nd Richmond American Home in Parker, Colorado. Within the first 2 years interior cracks formed around windows, doors, ceilings, etc all throughout the home some of which were 2-3 feet long. After contacting the warranty department we were given a very similar plan to the previous poster on this site. They took out 3 very large windows to shave them down and shim them back in place due to warping. A drywall repair contractor patched and re-textured the cracks throughout the home. Then Richmond wanted us to wait a considerable amount of time before re-inspecting the homes foundation. Time went by and new/old cracks appeared. A couple walls are literally pulling apart, carpet is separating from one wall and you can see light coming through in the basement under that same spot. One of the I-beams in our basement in our major problem area bows out to one side. The basement and garage slab/foundation has cracks and gaps in it to the point you can see the dirt below the house. The exterior siding of the house is warped in some areas, pulling away from corners and one piece cracked in half under one of the windows. We have concrete roof tiles that appear to be buckling. There are cracks around the brick that surrounds the garage along with concrete cracks and gaps that again allow you to see dirt under the slab. It now appears that our wood floors may be moving with little gaps popping up here and there.

1 year ago this month (May 2008) Richmond sent the warranty rep, customer service rep, engineers, and an insurance rep to our home and walked the home for a couple hours. Twice they drilled for soil tests around the home and also took measurements of the movement. At least twice we requested copies of the engineering reports and were told by the warranty rep that they would get us copies. The last time we asked we were told that they owned the reports and would not give us a copy. They also told us they wanted to fix the home and they proposed tearing out a portion of the basement, jacking up the home and then installing helical piers in one corner to support the home. All the while they proposed we would live inside the home, they would place a lock on the hollow door leading from the main level to the basement and for however many months have to put up with noise, construction and the inability for our dog to use the backyard or basement as he currently does. Once they did the foundation work they would want us to wait several months to see how the foundation would settle prior to fixing anything cosmetic inside the home. We told the warranty rep that we wanted them to buy back our home to which he was doubtful of that outcome.

At this point we had become aware that our home was not an isolated foundation issue within our neighborhood. One home in our neighborhood had such severe problems that they hired an attorney and after some time were able to get a salvage company along with Richmond to split the cost of the home and buy it back from the homeowner. We were concerned that Richmond was trying to hide something from us by not giving us copies of the engineering reports so we hired the same attorney and all personal contact ceased with Richmond. We also had our own engineer come out to the house and on the same day miraculously received copies from Richmond of their engineering reports. Upon our engineers inspection of the Richmond reports, our home was built on top of approximately 20-30 feet of fill soil and we have had approximately 3-4 of movement and settling from the west to east corners of the home. Weve been told that if a house has foundation problems ideally you want to under pin the entire home. Richmond only proposed underpinning one corner. Our engineer recommended fixing a broader section to which Richmond then added a section that was never discussed in their original reports or our engineers reports.

This weekend we talked to another couple in our neighborhood that had similar problems and dealt entirely with RWC (Richmonds Warranty Company). They mostly bypassed Richmond and ended up getting a check for over $200,000 to fix their foundation by selecting their own contractors. Two homes over from them their neighbors also had foundation problems within their first year or two in their new home. We suspect that many other homes in this neighborhood have had or are having foundation problems. We are now asking that the entire home be underpinned since we are seeing cracks everywhere inside and out along with fixing all the other smaller problems that have come up as a result of the movement. We were told by a former Richmond employee (who has family that built within our neighborhood) that they counted on 1 in 4 homes in our neighborhood having foundation problems. Needless to say it is now my mission to spread the word about this builder.

I purchased a new Richmond American Home in June 2007. Richmond American failed to inform me that a home in the neighborhood was being used as a substance abuse rehabilitation facility, in violation of city ordinance. They claimed the residents were protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act, and therefor would not refund my deposit. I later found that this claim was false.

On closing day, I discovered an insect infestation in the home. This took several visits by a pest control specialist to mitigate.

The first rain revealed a window leak and a roof leak. The first snow of any consequence (after warranty period) caused all 3 dormers to leak. Cracked tile, brought to RA's attention during the warranty period but never repaired, led to a bathroom leak that damaged my kitchen ceiling. Richmond American has done nothing since the original window and roof leak.

I bought a Richmond American home around 3 1/2 years ago. I started getting cracks in the drywall less than month after moving in. As a one time licensed Home Inspector I ahve had training in the cause of such cracks and thought nothing more of them than normal settlement crack as the house was just built. I waited less than year and then called them to repair them as they will "only fix cosmetic drywall cracks once within the first year." Once again less than a month after they were repaired teh started to re-appear. I let them go for a while longer to see if they were indeed cosmetic or not. I have had many people look at them including a drywall professional and a general contractor. Both say they are more than cosmetic.

Since then I have many doors that door not such very well and if you get them closed, you nearly have to break them down to get them open. The ceiling (lid) is separated from the walls in many areas, some of teh windows do not open, the walkway in the front is sparating from the driveway, which had been repaired once, the back patio is holding water and is very slick which I have fell down more than once on. I recently contacted RAH and they sent out a guy to investigate. He told me that it was not covered any longer and that I need to call their warranty resolution department. It is automated and a joke. My house creeps and cracks all day and night. It does wake my childaren, wife, dogs, dogs and myself frequently. I do have a post-tension slab, so I truly hope it is not settling. I have seen videos of post-tension slabs cracking and it is like a bomb going off.

The guy that came out to test for my back patio holding water laid a quater down on the patio and then poured weater on it. He said that because the water didn't cover the quarter that is was fine. I can assure you that the bruise on my back side was not fine. I have to worry about my kids falling on it too. A neighbor or visitor could trip on the walkway out front. They told me that it was all due to me not having rain gutters on my house. I live in AZ. Hello, not much rain here. Besides, if the lack of rain gutters were the issue then why were they not installed on any house in my subdivision? If they say that the lack of rain gutters is the problem because it is allowong water under the foundation then they are saying that the foundation is moving. It is a post-tension slab. I really hope it is not moving. I know many people in my development that are having the same issues as well.

We purchased a brand new Richmond American Home in Oct. 2006. We first noticed damage in Dec. 2006 and contacted our warranty representative with Richmond. Since Dec. 2006, our home has continued to fall apart around us. In the mean time, Richmond has strung us along with minimum help. They have sent out structural engineers which have done elevation surveys, soil engineers which have taken months of soil tests.

Many of the windows in the home do not open; they have had to reset the front door twice just so we can use it. The stair rail has completely come off the wall and is no longer safe for my family. Richmond has sent out contractors three times to patch the rail with nails and glue. Both of which have not worked as the dowels are continuing to pull apart from the rail itself. There is not a door or window in the home without massive cracks, some of which are over a 1/4 in wide. We can see the frame work behind them. In the last few months, we have been awoken 4-5 nights a week by very, very loud booms in the walls and floors. So loud that my 3 year old and 5 year old sons are waking up crying scared of the loud noises, asking me if our house is going to fall down on their rooms. All of this information has been given to Richmond and they insist that they need to find out what is causing the house to shift before they worry about fixing anything. They have had 19 months since our first contact to them that there were problems with the home.

They just contacted me on July 7, 2008 and said that they want to do a few more months of soil testing, that all the other testing was not conclusive enough. 19 months and they still have no idea why the house is falling apart. I have asked that they purchase the home back from me for what I paid for it, the money I have put into the home and moving and closing cost for a new property. They have refused, stating that it take time for them to figure out what the problem with the current property is.

19 months my family has been dealing with this nightmare. Any other product you buy in this country that is a defect, you get your money back, much less the most important purchase of your life. My wife and I worked very hard for many years to prepare to purchase our first home and within three months of moving in the house began falling apart. Every contractor, repair man, neighbor, friend that has seen our house has said that they have never seen a home with as many problems as ours.

I have given Richmond 19 months to correct the problem or to come to an agreement on the property, and they have nothing. The law in Colorado states that I have 2 years to file suit from the first time I contacted Richmond. They have almost pushed it that far. This whole ordeal has been a nightmare for my family and Richmond could care less that my family is suffering and that they sold me a lemon home. That to me is unacceptable and is why I am filling this complaint.

The home is worth $0.00.

My company was hired by richmond american homes to build several new home constuctions, we built appox. 150 new homes for richmond homes. We recieved progress payments as we went along, until every thing STOPPED! we were told to stop working and DO NOT frame another home. We did, and were told final payment would be soon coming, 19 months later, and many courts procedings later, Veemac is still waiting for $1.3 Million Dollars final payment. I have all of my pre liens in place, and richmond american has bonded arounded the liens. 18 other sub contractors have filed for bankrupcy since this began. Veemac has NOT. HELP, PLEASE.

My company has paid all of there suppliers, and all of it's labor force, and has stopped working.I have had 1 heart attack, 3 bleeding ulcers(BLEEDING) and have spent many months in the hospital, and still have not recieved 1 dollar. every month like clock work i recieve something new from the courts, asking for more time, and paper work. I no longer have legal representation, because i can't afford any thing or a new lawyer at the moment. I still have an open civil case open with the courts. i've sued for $1.3 million and 10 million for damages.

My company was hired by richmond american homes to build several new home constuctions, we built appox. 150 new homes for richmond homes. We recieved progress payments as we went along, until every thing STOPED! we were told to stop working and DO NOT frame another home. We did, and were told final payment would be soon coming, 19 months later, and many courts later, Veemac is still waiting for $1.3 Million Dollars final payment. i have all of my pre liens in place, and richmond american has bonded arounded the liens. 18 other sub contractors have filed for bankbupcy since this begain. Veemac has NOT. HELP, PLEASE.

They came to fix the AC several times. They cant get it to work properly so I get ignored. I'm thinking litigation or just take it and buy a new system. I'm a disabled vet so money is tight but what can you do.

AC does not work. I'll be buying one shortly I guess, somehow or just continue to wear wet clothes around the house, kinda like my unit did in Iraq. God bless america.

Monday, May 5th, I purchased a Richmond water heater from Menards for our mobile home. This was the only water heater in stock for mobile homes. Tuesday, May 6th, We installed the water heater. By Tuesday night, it was completely installed, but the pilot light would not stay lit.

Wednesday, May 7th, I read the paperwork that came with the water heater concerning troubleshooting and the 6 year warranty. The troubleshooting section began "Save time and money! Review the charts". The solution under every subheading for the problem we had stated to "call a qualified service technician." I read the warranty and it stated that labor for a repairman was not covered. Now, I must wonder how calling a technician, particularly when it is not covered by the warranty will save us money. Also, the first page of the manual says "Any questions--should be directed to the seller." So, this is where we began.

I called Menards and spoke with Mike. He gave me the number 1-877- to call concerning warranties for Richmond products. I called and spoke with Monesha. I explained that I have had this water heater since Monday (not even a full 48 hours yet) and that the pilot light is not working. She wanted me to trouble-shoot it. Not feeling comfortable in doing so, I told her I would wait until my husband got home.

When he got home I had him call. He also spoke with Monesha and she told him that they cannot pay for a serviceman to come out and repair the water heater because our warranty does not cover labor and Menards should have explained the terms of the warranty to us. She then told us that if we wanted labor to be covered, we should have purchased a labor warranty or the 9 or 12 year warranty water heater and that Menards should have suggested these options to us.

I called Menards back to look into purchasing a 9 or 12 year water heater and Mike told me that Richmond did not make such a product and that they sold us the only mobile home water heater they had in stock. I called Richmond back and spoke with Nicole. I asked why Monesha had told us to purchase an item that they don't even make. She explained to me that even though I had given them the model and serial number as they had asked, they believed that we had purchased a water heater for a home, not for a mobile home (when a company make mistakes like this, I often wonder what is the purpose of giving them the model and serial number in the first place). When I explained to her that this was the only water heater Menards had for a mobile home, she told me that she couldn't help where I live.

Nicole then told me that she would like to fix our problem. I thought "Wonderful! She will finally send someone out to fix this broken heater." when I pursued the issue of her sending someone out, she told me that she could not do that because I would be receiving a service that I did not pay for. In my opinion, I am not receiving the service that I paid for, because I paid $330 for a working water heater, and it is not working. I tried to explain to her that I have paid for a product that was defective and she was very adamant that the water heater was not defective and was working properly. I guess she believes that the Richmond water heater was not supposed to work, and was doing exactly what it was supposed to do. This conversation was obviously becoming unproductive, so I ended it.

Exasperated, we called a plumber. They told my husband that they get calls for Richmond water heaters at least twice a week to replace the regulators, and suggested that to my husband before he pay the cost of having him come out. My husband then called Mike back at Menards and they decided that the regulator was bad. So he removed the regulator and several other parts, and made a trip into town to get new ones (I feel I should mention that town is over 20 miles away one way). He brings it home and replaces it and still has the same problem with the pilot light being lit. After messing with it, he realizes that when he closes the burner access door and tightens the screws, it suffocates the pilot light and it goes out.

I feel at this point that I should mention a few things. First, I am sure that I do not need to go into the inconvenience of not having water (especially hot water). I am sure you can imagine that, but I feel compelled to tell you that I also have two small children, one 2 years old, and one 1 year old. Also, although my husband may be off of work while he is installing the water heater, I am still working as a high school substitute teacher. I mention that because I am sure you can imagine how critical high school students can be (particularly if you are a sub) and how judgmental they can be if I do not have a bath for days.

I should also state that Nicole at Richmond assured me that the water heater was not defective. Which leads me to believe that you are supposed to remove the burner access door and manually light the pilot light (which then I wonder what was the purpose of the automatic igniter), it is supposed to burn and orange flame instead of blue, and that you are supposed to leave the burner access door loose in order for oxygen to get to the flame. All of which I believe are unsafe, but Nicole said that it was not defective, and this was the only way we could get it to work, which implies that this is the way it is supposed? to work.

I do believe that having someone come out to fix the not 48 hour old heater was not too much to ask. My husband already had the heater installed, and although the warranty stated it would not cover labor (something we did not know until after we had the water heater home, opened the box, and read the warranty), having someone come out and fix an item that was not even 2 days old was not an unreasonable request. If we already had it installed and working for a few years, I can see how my request would be denied, but it was a brand new item (which I assumed would work initially) and never did.

Thursday, May 7th, My husband, getting tired of this messing with this substandard water heater, and obviously since we are not getting any help from Richmond, takes the water heater out. We return this defective water heater, and planned on purchasing another brand of water heater from Menards. Unfortunately, the only brand that Menards carries is Richmond, and after this severely disappointing experience we no longer want to deal with this company and their so-called "claim" of a 6 year warranty.

With no luck at Menards, we decide we will have to look elsewhere for another water heater. All day, he drives all around the Marinette/Menominee area and can find no water heaters. That afternoon, when I get home from work, we then decide to go to Home Depot in Green Bay. So, he calls his job and takes 4 hours of personal leave in order to complete the project which he started three days ago. Home Depot carries GE water heaters made by Rheem (which makes me very happy because when I did an internet search on the top 10 name brands of washers, Rheem was #1 on the list). So, we drive all the way to Green Bay and for only $10 more than the one we purchased at Menards, we get a similar GE water heater. We get home at 9:30 in the evening and he begins installing this new heater.

Friday, May 8th - He finishes installing the GE water heater. By noon he has it up and running with no problem. Anyone who deals with propane products knows the risks that come along with a product that is not working properly. Richmond insisted that this problem worked correctly. Nicole specifically told me that it was not defective. Yet, the pilot light would not stay lit with the burner door closed, and when the door was open, it was an orange flame, not blue. Now, I know the color of the flame has to do with the temperature, but I do not know the consequences of having an orange flame rather than a blue one.

I bought my home in Ashburn, Virginia in the Ashbrook community in May of 2005. I recently had a problem with my home that was not discovered during the warrenty period. My guest bathroom which my wife and I use very infrequently leaked through the ceiling below it into the dinning room. I had a plumber come to my home and repair the damage. When the plumber removed the toilet he informed me that the leak was because the toilet was installed improperly. The toilet was completely missing a seal that was supposed to be there (the wax seal) and another cone shaped seal was put in upside down causing water to run around the seal and not into the drainage pipe.

I contacted Richmond American Homes customer service and was told I needed to speak with David Dovian who is the head of customer service. I left several messages for him to no avail. I finally got in contact with the president of Richmond American Homes and he had Mr. Dovian call me that same day. Mr Dovian asked if I could fax him the invoice after the work was completed so he could review it and speak with the contractor. I faxed Mr. Dovian the invoice after the work was completed liked he had asked. I got no call back after it was faxed. I had to call him back the next day since I received no phone call from him. Mr. Dovian then informed me that my warranty period was up (this I already knew) and they would not pay for the repair. He did not call the contractor like he told me he would. He had absolutely no concern that the toilet was installed improperly and stated that since I did not catch their mistake during the period that Richmond American Homes is not responsible for the damage they caused.

I then called the president of Richmond American to see what his stance was on the issue. He informed me that had I given them a chance to do the repair they would of taken care of it. I then told him that I did give them plenty of time to come out to my home and review the damage and faulty installation. It took 5 days to finally get a call back. Then there was 3 days after talking to Mr. Dovian before the work was done. How long does Richmond American Homes think I should have sewege leaking in my home.

The president of Richmond American Homes had no comment about that and stated that they would do nothing about their faulty workmanship. Anyone who is considering buying from Richmond American Homes should think of buying from a different builder as I would never buy a home from them again. Not to mention all the problems I had when I first moved I would list them all, but it would become a novel.

The repair cost was $500.

Below is a letter that I sent to numerous people at Richmond that explains the situation.

My wife and I recently closed on a Richmond Home on July 31, 2007. I would like to start by saying thanks for the great job that was done on our home. My wife and I have been treated with the utmost respect and high quality of service. We have been pleased with the majority of the contents of our home. Unfortunately, we have been experiencing some extreme problems with our floor. The first problem was actually documented on the walk-through prior to closing back in July.

Since then, the floor has continued to wear at an abnormal rate. When we selected the floor at the Richmond Design Center, we asked that we only be shown floor samples that can withstand dog traffic. We reiterated to the design consultant that we have a puppy and we want to make sure the floor will hold up. We were reassured time and time again that this floor was a great product that they have had a lot of success with in homes that have dogs. Seeing as how this is our first home and we have no reason not to believe the design consultant, we followed her advice.

My wife and I are not flooring professionals. Neither was the design consultant. However, the design consultant does act as an advisor to those who dont have experience in this industry. As our records show, the total cost of our floor was $8,293.00. That is a lot of money to pay for a floor that only has a life of 3 months.

We are not disputing what caused the damage to the floor. It is very clear to anyone that sees the floor what caused the scratches. When the representative from Guys flooring saw the floor he was surprised we were sold that product, especially since we made it very clear that we had a dog. He also stated, had he been asked what product to recommend while having a dog, he would have recommended a sealed tile. While we are not flooring professionals, we are not ignorant. Had we been told in the beginning that a pre-finished hardwood floor is not recommended for use in a home with a dog, we would have chosen a different product. According to the flooring professional? the price of tile and the price of pre-finished hardwood are comparable. Just like any homeowner we want the value of our home to appreciate in value. This floor will do nothing but decrease that value.

I live by my word of honor every day. I sell a service to people that have no knowledge about what I am selling. It is up to me to educate my clients as to what to expect out of that service. If I make a promise to a client, in writing or verbal, I am expected to live up to that promise. If I dont, my reputation will be jeopardized and they will take their business elsewhere. What I am asking is that Richmond American Homes honor the promise that was given by a representative of your company and provide my wife and me with a product that provides the durability that we asked for.

The cost of a new a/c unit is $1200 plus the repair cost of the heating unit. I have damage to walls, etc that insurance should pay minus my $1000 deductible.

The following is a letter sent to Mr. Shipley, vp of sales, regarding our grievance with Richmond American Homes. To date we have received no reply nor acknowlegment of our complaint.

In December 2006, we commissioned Richmond American Homes to build the Picasso model on lot 16 of Signature @ Surprise Farms. As an out of state buyer intending to relocate to Arizona, we were relying on estimates and updates to inform of us when the house would be completed. During our initial meeting with Michelle Williams, she informed us the house would take 10-12 months to complete. Ms. Williams reiterated the 10-12 month completion time when we completed the sales agreement via fax and telephone. With construction beginning in January 2007, this would place our move-in date between November and December 2007. We later received updates weekly from Kerry Sacher, informing us of the construction status of the home (foundation, drywall etc.) At no time, however, did Mr. Sacher indicate that the completion date for our home had changed.

As neither my husband nor I am educated in the construction business, Mr. Sacher status updates did not translate into real time completion for either of us. Additionally, when we asked Mr. Sacher when he projected the home would be completed, he replied, it is too far out to tell.? We therefore had no reason to expect the completion date to occur prior to the original estimated time of 10- 12 months.

On May 11, 2007, when we again asked Mr. Sacher for an estimated date of completion, we were shocked when he returned with a completion date of June 27, 2007. This placed our completion time 4-6 months ahead of schedule. As stated earlier, neither Ms. Williams, nor Mr. Sacher, had informed us that our home would be built in half the time originally quoted.

The following Monday, we expressed our concerns with Ms. Williams who in turn replied that we are contractually obligated? to take possession of the home once it is completed. She further stated that we were never given a 10-12 month time frame; she said we were told it would be 8-10 months. This is not true. Furthermore, even if the completion was only? 2-4 months early as Ms. Williams stated, we were never given any hint that this was likely to occur. Ms. Williams further stated that we were receiving weekly time-frame updates from Mr. Sacher, which again is not true.

We relied on Ms. Williamss representation to our detriment. As an out of state buyer, we depended on our Richmond Homes representative and contractor to provide us with real time estimates. As current homeowners, we placed our home on the market in what we thought was well in advance (May 2007), which of course is not reasonable for a relocation date of June 27. Neither my husband nor myself had secured employment yet in Arizona, as we had planned to begin at least 2 months prior to moving. As a registered nurse, I also needed to obtain an Arizona license in order to practice, a process which often takes 6 months. Although I had already begun this process, I had been working it around our expected fall relocation date.

The termination agreement we signed 6/6/2007 was in response to our belief that we had no other choice. As presented by Ms. Williams, our options were to walk away from the dream-home we made many sacrifices to buy, or move out of state with two small children and take responsibility for an addition mortgage without having secured employment. We did not terminate the agreement because we no longer wanted the home or because we simply changed our minds?. In fact, we asked if Ms. Williams if there was a way to extend the time we had to take possession of our house after it was finished. Since the house was finished months ahead of the estimates we were given, we thought the company might be flexible; we were told there was zero flexibility concerning this matter.

If we had simply been better informed of an early completion date, or even told that an earlier completion date was a strong possibility, we would have had the opportunity to make arrangements accordingly. While we are aware that the original contract states the property can be completed anytime within a year, we were relying on our Richmond American Homes representative to assist us by giving us real time estimates, especially when it was well known that we were relocating from California.

After seeking legal counsel, we respectfully request that Richmond American Homes refund us for the damages your companys misinformation has caused us. Specifically, we request that Richmond American Homes refund us our deposit money, which totals $12,000. Of this amount $2,000 was for the initial deposit and $10,000 for the second deposit. We are also seeking $895.12, the amount spent on airfare, car rental, and housing during our necessary trip to Phoenix in order to customize our home. This incidental cost is reflected in the enclosed Expedia.com itinerary.

Repairs, if they are done, take months. We've stepped on nails left sticking out of the floor that wasn't finnished, our dog had to be put down after falling into the sink hole in the back yard, we can't use our half acre yard, the dogs deficate in the garage and have accidents in the house, reuining the family room carpet that now needs to be replaced. We've only had the house for 9 months. The flies from the garage look like amityville horror. The smell is nausiating. The stress is getting to my family and our quality of life. Wecan't have company over because of the smell and flies. We are embarrassed.

The outside of our home has water damage. We have not had a working oven for a month.

I purchased my new house in May of 2003 from Richmond American. To my surprise, the cabinets started to come off the wall in November 2006. When I called the builder to ask why they are falling off the wall they advised that it was due to the weight of the dishes. THE WEIGHT OF THE DISHES!!!???? As a childless couple with one set of good dishes (6pc) and a set of plastic daily dishes, we were shocked and disgusted at the response that we received from Richmond American.

It's my understanding that cabinets are meant to hold dishes, right? Then why would they say that the cabinets are falling because of the dishes? My cabinets were by no means overloaded, or even loaded for that matter. In fact I would consider them UNDER-LOADED.

To top it off, when they sent their technician over, he also looked at another problem in the house, a faulty water heater (big surprise). He, in all his knowledge and expertise left our water heater valve open, and we didn't realize it. The HOT WATER was leaking for the next 12 hours while we were at work, ran up our electric bill, water bill, and flooded the street. I won't even mention that he showed up 45 minutes late for our appointment, then claimed to not have touched our water heater, and accused my husband of having opened the valve, which he didn't, because he was told to go into the house to turn on the shower.

Our warranty contacts at Richmond American were extremely apologetic (at first), and agreed to fix the cabinets and windows, (not the water heater), through a third party at THEIR expense. We tried to contact them to arrange repairs in December, January and February, and received either no response, or responses like I dont know who you are or what you're talking about, please resubmit this claim with the main office.

I resubmitted the claim, and they contacted me today to let me know that they are not making any repairs, and have no recollection of making any promises to fix anything at their expense. That the only thing they could do is recommend someone to come out and look at them, at my expense of course.

I find this totally unacceptable for so many reasons. The main one being that if I buy a new house, I shouldn't expect the cabinets to:
A) stay on the wall beyond 1 year
B) hold dishes

C) trust that the builder would adhere to an agreement to do the right thing and make the repairs at their expense

I have now been living with my dishes stacked on my counter for four months now.

I purchased a new home and the bricks on the home have efflorescence. Within the one year warranty I constantly asked for the brick to be treated and sealed. They decided to clean the bricks. The first time, it did not work. The second time, most of the efflorescence came out. I asked for the brick to be sealed and they said no. I told them that two manufacturer (Aldon chemical and Sure Klean Vana Trol) of the treatment product suggest sealing the bricks. Their answer was these companies are just trying to sell me their product. I asked, if the efflorescence comes back 3 years from now, will they clean the bricks. They said no, I'll be out of warranty. Some of the efflorescence already came back on the front porch. This is one or 2 major issues.

I have repeatedly had to miss time from work to arrange for plumbers, heating and air conditioning repairmen, et al. Not to mention cleaning up floods three times in the last two weeks. These systems should have been checked out thoroughly before we went to settlement.

I am at this point an emotional wreck. I can not even get excited about the fact that I just purchased my first home since it has done nothing but disappoint me. My neighbors on each side moved in around the same time and are at least equally unhappy with Richmond American. They got our money, but now are not being responsive to the repair requests that were made prior to settlement.