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Enjoy a new home uniquely built just for you. With KB, customers have the ability to personalize their new home with design options that fit their lifestyle and budget. Homebuyers also have a partner every step of the way.
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Reviewed Sept. 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 a lot of broken glass, build trash and car parts. I did call in a complaint and the building project manager, Ryan, said, “We don’t clean yards,” but he will have the landscaper comeback to clean up. They returned 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’ll give you free gutters.” What kind of half ** builder does this?
The other thing is I can’t 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 a day that there is no grass. Now people would just put sod down like the guy across the street from me. He has a pond in his yard and Ryan, the KB rep came out and told him, "Too bad, we are not covering this under warranty,” because he did put sod in. And that HOA, there are three people on the board and guess what, they are all KB employees.
I have many problems in my home: toilets leaking water under my floors, cracked sidewalks, porch, garage, and driveway. Their comment, "Well concrete cracks, that’s what it does.” I am no way a picky guy but after I had to take 8 inches of the yard out and refill it and grade it, my two and one-year-old still bring me glass and rusty nails. I have owned Ryland Homes before and never had a problem. Now after living here for six months in a community with 2400-3500 square foot homes, they started filling in the area with some cheap trailer looking homes, you know 1100-1500 square feet. My only advice is stay away from KB Home.
Reviewed Sept. 3, 2009
We have a problem with our air conditioning unit. The A-frame, along with coils, needs 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 headaches. The rep would not listen but stated that the warranty expired. We let her know of the situation but she would not listen. She stated that it was in our hands and it was our problem. Also, on the ceiling of the two-bed room, the nails popped out… What can I do? We did report and they only fixed the restroom since. It’s a long story and we got nothing but problems with KB homes. We’re tired of being kind and patient… no more...
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2009
Part one of my problem is with the house or property and the other is the way the sale and financing was handled. When I did the walk-through, I mentioned the missing peep-hole, chunks of concrete in the grass, a big cut or slit on the kitchen counter and one of the walls was darker than the others and some door frames were not cut right (corners of door frame missing so patched up with left over pieces). I was told the peep-hole would be fixed same day, grass would be re-sodded, the slit/cut on kitchen counter was a seam and the doors would be fixed. So being a bit naïve, I initialed and took him at his word. The only thing that was fixed in timely manner was the wall being painted. The peep-hole took about a month after moving, in which about 3 months later the door came apart and the funny thing is there was chewing gum inside the door! The grass being resodded - nope, it never happened. I have invested hundreds of dollars and in my opinion I still have 10 different kinds of grass, the door frames still look the same to this day and so does the kitchen counter.
The sales guy told me that they did resod, but someone must have thrown old rocks in the grass! Okay, all this to me is kind of minor when it comes to the rest of my experience with KB Home. Okay, so I have been in the home for 2 weeks and I get a water bill for $300. So, I have the water company recheck. They did and it’s right. I called KB and the sales guy says maybe I take too many showers. Seriously, I’m thinking, “Did he really just say that?!” So it turns out that there was a leak in the sprinkler system which I didn’t even know I had much less turned on! Did KB offer to do anything about that? Nope, but they did mention some clause about me not being able to complain. A few months later, my living room windows start leaking during a bad storm. So, the guy in charge of warranty issues comes by and says it’s because the water was blowing sideways. Right, I say. It happens again and again. I complain and complain. Now, this guy Derrick is very nice, very polite and always responded in a timely manner and would always make a call while walking outside. I heard him say, “I’m telling you this could be bad. Let’s just fix it.”
I don’t know what he was told, but he comes in and says, “Have you sealed your windows?” I had. I did it after he explained how to do it, even though I was still under warranty. It happened at least 10 more times so I contacted KB corporate and told them I was sending a letter from my lawyer with legal action if not fixed a few hours later. Derrick was at the door knocking and told me sometimes the brick sweats and if it did it again, I should call him and he would come ASAP to see where it was coming from. So, one night I wake up during a storm and there is water everywhere. My kitchen is covered all over the counters. My grout was oozing water and the living room windows had water coming in.
Derrick came, checked and said it’s a minor leak, pressed or kind of leaned on a window ledge and off came part of the wall. He gets on the phone and says, “This has to be fixed now.” The thing about that upset me the most is that KB said, “Well, you’re well out of your warranty now, so we are doing this out of courtesy.” They ended up having to take down the whole back of my house where the living room is at and the side where the kitchen is at. All this only after part of a wall falls down and I threaten to sue because some kind of moldy stuff was on my wall and sometimes it still shows up. In my opinion, KB Home builds cheap houses thrown together. I was shown a paper stating that the house was inspected by an independent. When I asked for the form to see who did it 6 months later, the lady laughed and said KB does not do that. Recently, I was up in the attic and discovered holes and gaps where you can stick your whole hand or head through to the outside. I don’t think you should be able to that. I am no expert, but the wood used in the attic appears to be 2 x 4 and a lot of it rotted looking. There are lots of other minor things.
It cut outs to the attics and doesn’t fit right. The caulking in the bathroom came apart after 3 months. It was sold with a fire place, but has none. The kitchen grout and some tiles were never replaced after replacing the wall. Not enough insulation was used in the attic and I’m sure there is more. I am having a home inspector come out so I can know everything. Best advice for any first time home buyer: use a realtor, have the home inspected and never ever buy from KB Home. I feel like I was taken advantage of. I bought a house that was thrown together, over-priced and even the sales method used should be illegal! Almost every home on my street and neighborhood has been foreclosed on and these are very nice homes. Now, my home has lost over $25k in value in less than 3 years! I wish I could find the sales guy. I was told he quit and the warranty guy told me he would never buy KB. When I asked him why, he said, “Honestly, I see how they are built and it ain’t good.” Overall, I think he was the only reason I did not lose my patience, but KB, yeah it sucks!
About 3 years ago I bought my first home using KB Home. The sales agent showed me a home that was $170,000, which I liked and signed on. Being a first time buyer, I should have known better when he said he could fix it to where I would be financed for that amount. My father told me to see what the local taxes were, which I later found out were not accurate at all. The sales agent also told me that I had to go through KB's mortgage company, which is Countrywide. For some reason I was given two mortgages with Countrywide and understood that all my taxes and insurance, etc. (escrow) were tied into the larger of the 2 mortgages with a higher than usual interest rate which I was told could be refinanced after 2 years with no penalties. After about a year, one of the loans was sold to another company, Litton Loans, which in my opinion has some of the worst customer service imaginable.
Now, please understand that I was a first time buyer and, yes, a little "dumb" for getting into this in the first place. So 2 years later, interest goes through the roof and no company will refinance, even though I had never paid late even at the time because it’s 2 mortgages (not even Countrywide even though it was there’s to begin with). I get a letter stating I am behind on my taxes, so I pay. Thankfully my home is currently under the Soldier and Sailors Civil Relief Act, so I haven’t lost my home yet! Although since I have been put on S&S act, the escrow is now included in my mortgage payment but payments must be paid over the phone. So when I call, customer service tells me the amount for the escrow and mortgage and I pay it. My statements say that I am current and one day after inquiring about bad mortgage loan restructuring, I get a statement stating that I am behind by almost $5000! Still, I have not gotten any kind of solution at all! As for the S&S act, I also discovered they only had me on it for this past year, but should have been on it the entire time, which is about 3 years. Hopefully, now that Bank of America owns it, now I can get some kind of solution. I know one thing: I am much wiser and leery about buying a home!
Reviewed July 22, 2009
On June 26, 2008, we bought the model home. We had a walk through before we moved to this home. We noticed that the toilet set are low, the ceiling fans in the patio are different, the garage door was not the same, and 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. KB Home sent 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 of this wallpaper issue. I was mandated to get this done, so I started getting estimate and sent three estimates to them.
This time, they asked me for an appointment to see Rhett **. He came and made another appointment for his supervisor to came. He begged me so I did allow another appointment. When Rhett ** and his supervisor came, I was presented with three choices:
1) Remove the wallpaper and repaint the master bathroom;
2) Get me $350.00 and do what I want, which is very low cost to repair the damage; and
3) Re-patch the damage by getting it from the back of picture frame.
I also mentioned to both of them my issues above. Both of them responded that they were not there at that time. I told them that this is KB Home issue and they are all employees of KB Home. They should be aware of all my complaints. I think that from the very start, I was abused and cheated by KB Home employees.My reasons are 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 **, the sales agent, told me to offer $350,000.00. I know I should not have followed this advice.
2) KB Home has their own escrow company and it is mandatory to go to that company. I also have issues with their escrow company because after we closed the escrow (and 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.
Reviewed July 22, 2009
We bought our KB home about 3 years ago and all was well but 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 furnace. The thing is, we found out a year ago that they did not properly fix the valve and they came in "out of courtesy" to cap it, but that was not the problem.
The leak got worse and the thing is, we could not tell until this year due to the leak not being visible until excessive 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 responsible. Well, the leak has been going on since the day we moved in and 2 professional plumbers have already reported that it was due to poor workmanship. It has been going on since day one. We called KB and got hung up on. They said it's not their problem. This is really bad. We will be out thousands of dollars for this if they do not take care of it. We need help, or should we need to contact a lawyer? We are not seeking a lawsuit. We just want it fixed!
Reviewed July 10, 2009
We started having recurring 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.
Reviewed July 8, 2009
My husband and I are senior citizens and moved from Colorado to Southeast Missouri to retire, where the living is slower and less expensive. In the last 2 years, we have been missing our friends and family and have decided to move back to Colorado.
Since we are retired and on a fixed income and the home values in Southeast Missouri are quite different, it is not as easy to find an affordable home in Colorado. We were searching the internet 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 **, very pleasant and very informative. After discussing the options and upgrades, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to return to Colorado. We 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. We 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 **, with a brochure with a very different price. All homes were increased by $5000. 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 was 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.
We 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 upgrades 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 upgrades. 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. She 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 **, 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 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 upgrades on Friday, 3/27/09, at 10:00. The Sales Office would be closed on 3/25/09 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.
The storm moved in and dropped about 18" of snow. Our appointment was canceled and were told Udie would work us in Friday afternoon. As soon as we could get out of the hotel parking lot about 10:30, we made our way through the deep snow to find our Credit Union, which had moved since we moved to Southeast Missouri. We got the $10,000 and started the journey to Greenwood Village. The snow was still slushy in places, so it took longer than 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 upgrades 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 what seemed like forever, since we were very tired and when Amy arrived with the paper work, it still took another half hour for her to get the paperwork 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), 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 paperwork 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 instead of $10,000. The paperwork 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 paperwork 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 added on and a lot premium of $4000. 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 inflate the appraisal. When we asked Amy why so much paperwork 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 ** to try to get the information we needed. He did not return the call. We 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 an 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 weekend. When we got on the phone for the meeting, they sent the picture of the layout 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 be 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 to 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 weekend 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 we asked him to send us a quick letter to KB Home. After the weekend was over and FedEx 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. We told Michael ** 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 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. We don't know what to do. Please help!
Reviewed June 23, 2009
We purchased our house in Feb of 2006, from KB Home, directly (the same year it was built). After only three years of KB building the house, we had a huge leak coming from the back porch of the house.
Pre-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 leak. 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 where 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. I had to hire someone to seal the window, seal all the stucco cracks, and lower the grading to below the finished level (there is no basement in the house, it is a two story house with the first floor being the finished level). The house is currently being rented to a tenant. I had to also compensate the tenant for the inconvenience and their cost in renting a water sucking machine to dry the carpeted floors.
Reviewed April 21, 2009
I purchased a house built by KB Home in Lochbuie, CO in May 2008. This individual, **, 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 backyard has all the easements for 3 houses; plus, our backyard looks like a river in the rain time. We can’t use the backyard. We kept complaining to the builder since October 2008, but they keep telling us that we can’t do anything to fix the yard because even so it’s ours, for them it’s not ours; it belongs to the whole community, but we paid for it.
The builder did not allow us to do anything which is weird, and the backyard started to look more like a river, water from rain coming from the houses around us directly to our or not ours backyard. Now, we have in the middle of backyard erosion, and the water keeps digging. We went to the builder, hired an inspector which recommended to the builder to do all the adjustments, but the builder refuses. We are going crazy we don’t know what to do. Any idea? Thank you. I have high blood pressure, and I am sick and nervous because I can’t put them to understand that the backyard belongs to us. We paid for it, but KB is using us and the backyard for their needs.
Reviewed April 7, 2009
My husband and I decided we were going to buy a KB Home because of the great price they advertised and the beautiful model home we looked at. We went into the office, chose our lot, signed some papers and were told we needed to do our design appointment before anything could be started and if we cancelled before this time, we would receive our earnest money back ($2000)! We went to the design center and realized everything was an upgrade, down to the brick! We hadn't even finished with standard upgrades and we were already up $35,000! Obviously, we knew we were getting screwed and we couldn't afford the house anymore so we cancelled. Now, they won't give my money back!
Reviewed March 24, 2009
I purchased the first home sold in Silver Springs II in Mentone, CA this past July (2008). I specifically requested the smallest home, was shown the plots display in the sales office, and was told the smallest home built would be 2263 SQ. FT. I recently found out they are splitting my community in two (Silver Springs III) and selling houses that are 1400 SQ. FT. According to San Bernardino County Permits and Planning, they have always had this ability, but never disclosed this change.
Reviewed March 21, 2009
This letter will serve as notice that the home I purchased from KB Kracker Box Home on September 30, 2003, has numerous construction defects, some of which may be major that have not been corrected under the terms of the contract or the requirements of the FTC Consent Order. I am a 100% Disabled Veteran that served my country 3 years in the United States Army and 12 years in the Army Reserve. I have been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I used my VA Benefits along with the Texas Veterans Land Board (TVLB) to purchase a new KB Home on September 30, 2003. Also, I am on a fixed income.
Bruce Karatz, the past CEO/President of KB Home resigned in disgrace and shame for back dating stock security. Recently, Karatz agreed to a settlement with the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) that included a relatively small inconsequential fine of $6.7 million in compensation and interest to KB Home and a $480,000.00 penalty to the U.S. Treasury which is a slap in the face of all KB Home shareholders and KB Home owners left with broken down defective homes.
Also, to add insult to injury, prior to Karatz's resignation he was awarded $245 million golden parachute and since he was fined to repay $6.7 million, therefore, KB Home has more than enough funds available for me to enter into a Buy Back Agreement within the next 30 days. Enough is enough, my mother and I have been deprived of the full enjoyment of my home, which has left us both emotionally and financially drained. We will no longer be subjected to further discomfort or paying for mistakes that were not of our making but that of KB Home.
On May 29, 2008, I filed a Notice of Protest with the Tarrant Appraisal Review Board. My original market value of my home was $172,200.00, my market value has been reduced by $72,200.00 and my current market value is $100,000.00. Nevertheless, my pay off amount on my home is $158,877.32 and this leaves me hanging upside down in my mortgage payments.
Since our economy has eroded we as home owners and consumers are going to hold all CEO's and President's of the big Corporations accountable for their deceitful actions. It is my desire to testify before our United States Congress in Washington, DC in reference to the substandard building of all KB Homes and third party inspectors allowing home owners to move into homes that can not stand for 1 year without the seams coming apart.
Association of Veteran Women, Inc. (AOVW, Inc.) believes that women understand women and are better at assisting one another, therefore, we are dedicated to providing healing, hope and support for tomorrow to active duty women, veteran women and disabled veteran women. AOVW, Inc. will provide an opportunity for women who have not been given a chance to speak up, speak out and speak on various issues for women who has served and are serving in the United States armed forces in defense of our beautiful country.
AOVW, Inc. will organize speaking engagements and round table discussions with local, state and federal government which we will discuss VA Home Buying Benefits, Home Owners, Home Builders, binding arbitration, Texas Residential Construction Commission (TRCC) and any other home buying topics via Internet, newspaper, radio and television to make sure our issues are publicly known.
In reference to articles on the internet, former KB Home CEO Bruce Karatz indicted on fraud charges linked to stock option backdating Karatz, 63, faces up to 415 years in prison if convicted on all charges. These reckless actions are a combination of arrogance, ignorance and greed (AIG) and he has been caught like the cat that swallowed the canary and deer caught in head lights. If you are a active military women, veteran women or disabled veteran women, please visit my website aovwinc.org or you may call me to discuss more issues about KB Kracker Box Homes.
Reviewed March 20, 2009
We purchase the new home with KB on December 2008. The house is not ready to move in until July 2009. My husband just lost a job. We notify KB. KB division manager contact us after I sent a lot email out to all KB department to ask for help. He said my husband have 21 days to look for job or else we lose the deposit. It on the contract, I should know about it. I don't think KB treat us fair. Maybe I don't speak English well that why he doesn't care because I can't do anything. I can't do anything further. I need some help from attorneys to advise what can I do next. Please help us. I can't get any help from KB at all. I try to call the vice president, the president of the company. No one care. No one want to answer or return my call.
Reviewed March 8, 2009
We purchased our home in San Antonio. We were told this was an upscale community. It all started when we decided to use KB referred Countrywide Loan. The person there let our paperwork sit on her desk for weeks (this delay cost us a higher mortgage rate). Got that done, the day after we closed our water pipe came apart between floors. Flooding out the downstairs. Called KB, told them I wanted them to gut the areas that got wet. Not knowing there is a home lemon law. They could have bought back my home at that time.
When I showed up to see how much work was done, I came into my house to find large blowers on the sheetrock. It doesn't take a scientist to know you don't dry sheetrock if you are going to pull it down. I went to the construction trailer and insisted they pull the sheetrock down. At that time I started taking pictures. This also delayed our being able to move in. We lived here for about 5 months when it was brought to our attention, that the green belt behind us is a flood plan. KB takes pride in that dry creek. They have a model of it and is selling it as a nature trail. KB, don't you know you're supposed to stay away from dry creeks in case there is flooding upstream?
A few months later KB started to build new model homes. They look nothing like our community. They changed our name (again not informing us). They waited a few weeks then put a sign out starting in the low $90's. This is a joke. We paid over $200,000.00 for our home. We called a meeting and one of KB advisors was asked when did they know that they were going to change the community? His response was about 6 months ago. Isn't that illegal? Don't they have to disclose when they are going to change the make-up of the community? K.B. just keeps lying.
Through the months and getting to know our neighbors, many of us have construction defects. I took a corner of my foundation off with my hands. Nail pops, cracks going up the bricks and the foundation. We have lots of cracks throughout the house.There is even a home that was built about 2 years ago. They found out (because mud and other stuff) came out of the sinks and toilets. They never installed a sewer pipe from the home to the road. Pure neglect hiring labor that really has no experience. KB has a pattern of doing this. Building the larger nicer homes, then bringing in much smaller homes and riding on our equity. We already lost $40,000.00 because of KB bringing in the smaller cheaper homes. You would think our home value has gone down because of the economy. Not true, our area has had a 2 1/2% growth. For more information please go to our web-site Kbhomebuilt2fail.com
Reviewed March 6, 2009
My complaint letter to Mr. Bruce Karatz, Chairman and CEO RE: KB Home Buy Back Request.
"This letter will serve as notice that the home I purchased from KB Home on September 30, 2003, has numerous construction defects, some of which may be major that have not been corrected under the terms of the contract, the requirements of the FTC Consent Order. This letter is in no way intended to be a formal demand under the Residential Construction Liability Act (RCLA) but to give KB Home the opportunity to enter into a Buy Back Agreement with me within the next 30 days.
Immediately after KB got my earnest money, a senior KB consultant told me that I needed to buy gutters as an upgrade to protect my investment if I wanted my foundation to last? That should have been a warning that buying a KB Home was not the right thing to do, and that the intent of KB was to deliberately design and build a substandard foundation for my new home.
From the time I moved in, the following problems have been ongoing. Wind and sand come through windows. The brass metal bar that holds the carpet in place sticks into our feet and the carpet sheds. Doors close when opened, baseboards are cracked in bathroom hallway, bedroom and living room and the shelf is falling in the master bedroom closet. The marble floors have cracks in the mortar joints, countertops and kitchen cabinets are uneven, and the walls bow, are lopsided and have nail pops. The fireplace mantle is coming apart from the wall, and birds are nesting in the fireplace. The hardy plank is splitting apart at the seams, and the garage floor is cracked and chipped. The exterior trim around doors and windows are cracked and splitting, brick work is lopsided and there are cracks in the brick.
The driveway is split and chipped, trash is mixed in the soil, cement has been dumped throughout the grass particularly along the left (east) side of my home near the foundation. The land also slopes drastically away from the foundation creating a slope that is excessive over short distance without an adequate retaining wall. As a result, when watering the grass, the water runs down the street and sidewalk creating extremely high water bills. The foundation is in need of at least 9 piers on the right (west) side of my home. My computer monitor loses power, the washer is not receiving proper water pressure and/or electric, light switches pop when lights are turned on and light bulbs corrode and explode. Whenever the AC or Heat unit comes on, lights flutter. The AC and Heating unit has never worked correctly (extremely high electric bills) and is not working on the first floor at this time. The zone control panel was replaced 3 times and the AC and Heating unit is noticeably not adequate for our 2-story home. Finally, since September 30, 2003, it was confirmed that the damper motors was installed crossed (?) on the AC and Heat unit.
My family has been deprived of the full enjoyment of my home, which has left us both emotionally and financially drained. We will no longer be subjected to further discomfort or paying for mistakes that were not of our making but that of KB Home."
Reviewed Feb. 27, 2009
We move from California to San Antonio, Texas. Bought new KB Home in 2007. Community was supposed to be an Upscale community. It is not. We paid over 200 thousand for our home. Now they discontinued our home models, and are building 90 thousand dollar homes! Not to mention the house has several construction defects. KB should not be able to do this kind of business, non ethical! Whole community has same issues. We want KB to buy our homes back. They lied, mislead us! Please Help! Our property values are going down and our foundation is falling apart! Our community name was changed w/o informing us! We have been on the news and also we have gone to our Commissioners court! Our home went down in value. We were lied to, Mislead into buying into an upscale community. We are exhausted and very concerned. Several construction defects including several cracks in our driveway and inside garage. We have been robbed at enjoying our new home! This should of been a wonderful experience, but it has been horrible!
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2009
When we first looked at KB Home, everything seemed great. Staff was nice, builder was nice. But then when our house was almost complete, our builder was fired, our sales girl was fired, both incredibly nice. Since then, it's been hell. We have been through three different builders, 3 different sales girls, two different painters and we have only been living here 4 months. The second builder tried to change our closing date two days before we were supposed to close because he had a dentist appointment! Are you kidding me!!!! He was the rudest, incompetent person I ever encountered. Since we have been living here, now keep in mind it's only been four months. We have a ceiling leak, a river runs through our backyard because of a poor drainage system, a water leak in our front yard, which we have left about 15 messages and still has not been fixed. Neither has our ceiling leak. I've left messages with their home office, still nothing. I guess I'll be swimming in my house soon!!!
Reviewed Feb. 6, 2009
My KB Home is 30+ years old. My complaint is I bought it in 2000. And now several years later, I have found out that these houses are so poorly constructed that I'm stuck with a liability rather than an asset. It's a money pit. The problem is it is not structurally sound. The roof trusses keep breaking causing the sheetrock throughout my ceiling to crack and dip all over the place. I have already fixed a truss but now have to come up with the money to patch my ceiling all over. I'm not talking about a little hairline crack. I'm talking about separation, in some places an inch apart, and sagging sheetrock. Pieces just fall from the ceiling. It's quite embarrassing for people to come over and comment they don't feel safe because they are worried about the ceiling falling on their heads. And my nice tile floor has cracked. because the foundation cracked. I have a portion of an external wall which has cracked and looks like it's just going to fall down.
Apparently there are many houses in my subdivision that were involved in a class action suit back within the first 10 years they were built. The lawsuit went on for 7 years and most homeowners got next to nothing for these lemon houses. Those houses have to be sold as-is from now on. The part that makes me angry is, this was a known defect with these houses. Lawsuit or no lawsuit, there should have been something in the county records noting these houses have this condition. That would have saved me a lot of time and expense in researching county records, hiring a structural engineer, a soil engineer, a foundation expert to come and tell me basically I bought a house that has severe structural problems due to the cheap construction methods. One structural engineer said if they have just spent $60 more to give me a thicker foundation that may have been enough to prevent all the problems at my broken down palace.
Who is out there who can regulate KB and keep them from continuing this practice? I checked with all my neighbors and we are all in the same boat. One has their ceilings repatched repeatedly. They made the mistake of putting solar panels on their roof to help save money..ha ha and made the ceilings all re-crack. It's pathetic. I'm ashamed of my home. I don't have the money to rebuild this house.
Reviewed Feb. 1, 2009
Not all the experiences has been negative. Many of the service and studio folks were great. The price point was even better. However, my fundamental problem stems from the complete lack of oversight of my home during construction. The gentleman that handled this resigned 6 weeks prior to the completion of my house. This was given to someone already tasked to the limit. It's a phased out community and they were leaving in a hurry. This impacted my construction. A hole was left in my roof. This is after I pointed it out to the new KB manager that an area of the roof did not look right. He said he will have someone look at it, but that it was probably nothing.
So when after I moved in, I did not feel comfortable and checked the roof, only to find this hole were a vent cover should be. Pre-paid cable wiring not done! In many areas, patches of grass were laid 2 to 4 inches apart! And now the Leaks have begun. It appeared that a defective pipe was used. However, the testing should have discovered this problem. So it was repaired and all the headache that this entailed. Today, another area of the pipe burst. Now I need carpet and certain walls replaced. KB has attempted to handle these issues...considering I bought only 2.5 months ago. But these experiences really have put a damper on the excitement of owning a new home :(
Reviewed Jan. 27, 2009
We rented a 3-bedroom 2250 sq. ft. from a homeowner sight unseen, who had the home built by KB HOMES in Leander, TX. We had to move into the Austin area quickly and we relied on the internet. Thankfully, we insisted on a 6-month lease before we made the trip. The home looked very nice from the front. Once inside is when realization set in, cheap, cheap, cheap. Upgrades, you say? I am sure that someone had a decision to make at the time. However, I would be embarrassed to even build a home like this one, amazing that someone purchased it even more.
The bathroom doors (2) are only 24 inches wide. I literally have to walk into those rooms sideways. They aren't even paneled, just cheap. The bathrooms are bigger at a Motel 6. One must close the bathroom door to reach the tub. One must lean on the wall to see themselves in the mirror over the sink. The baseboards throughout the home are only 2 inches high with the quarter round inch? Are you kidding me? I haven't seen that since the 60s. The floor plan doesn't make any sense since it seems apparent they didn't know what to do with the extra square footage and just built one giant room. Guess it's the living room I think, an extra one, lmao. Want hot water? Turn the water on and wait. Must be a community hot water heater somewhere on this block because it takes forever. The fixtures are cheap and have corroded. The home was built after the turn of the century people.
I could go on, but you get the idea. It's like buying a new car, stripped beyond base model. No wheel covers, just looks like you have 4 spare tires on the thing. Someone had the opportunity for upgrades at the time, I understand that but damn. KB builds them, just like this one. I would have opted for a FEMA trailer.
Reviewed Jan. 13, 2009
I've been waiting for KB to repair water damage in both bathrooms for over a month and a half. The warranty service is terrible. Do not buy from KB until you meet the superintendent of the neighborhood which usually changes every six months due to turnover...
Reviewed Jan. 11, 2009
We purchased our KB home in August of 2006. They sold us on the "10" customer satisfaction rating that the salesperson, Laura **, proclaimed was KB's commitment to outstanding service. Once you sign the papers with KB/Countrywide, except to get a piece of junk for a home. We've been in our home for less than 3 years. I took a bath in my master bedroom and noticed that the water level kept decreasing. Then I tried to use the Jacuzzi jets, that stopped working. My husband yelled and told me to immediately get out the tub. I ran downstairs and we realized that the water was leaking from the bathtub. KB stance "Out of warranty". How nice of them. Right on track with the "10" customer satisfaction.
Our heating bills are typically $500-600 in the winter due to lack of installation. Our A/C went out last summer, the tile has buckled, and the toilet runs constantly in the upstairs get bathroom. I could go on and on. I will NEVER BUY A KB HOME AGAIN AND WILL NEVER RECOMMEND ANYONE PURCHASING A HOME FROM THEM. We were promised all these "follow-up" visits that never happened. This was our first home and it's just really depressing to know that we are paying all this money for a 2600 square foot piece of crap. Way to go KB. Keep up the severe lack of customer service.
Reviewed Jan. 8, 2009
I'm back again. We have been in the house now for just about 8 months. We couldn't seem to get KB to put in the grass that had been promised us nor would they take care of the downed trees, etc. they left in our backyard. Of course there are still remaining items on the list the independent inspector had found that were done incorrectly and needed repairs. We hired a landscaper. Seems that the retaining walls that KB put in on both sides of our home were not done properly. When my husband called KB to tell them that the drainage systems behind the walls were not installed properly, they promptly sent someone out who took a pipe and stuck it into the ground and said, "There, now there is an extension on it". My husband has learned from experience with these individuals not to take their word for anything. The landscapers we hired were told to "check" to see if the problem was fixed before they did the job we had hired them for.
This would be an added cost of thousands however we felt it was necessary. The landscapers dug in the ground up to their shoulders only to find that the pipe has just been stuck in the ground, not connected to anything as there was no drainage system installed at all. We contacted the BBB of Charlotte only to do a back and forth for months with KB stating (sending the same letter over and over to them each time) that ALL REPAIRS HAVE BEEN DONE. BBB has sent me a notice this morning that they have written it off as a closed item. They feel that KB did everything that they could to correct the problems. Now I ask you, do you really think KB did all they could do to satisfy the customer and give the buyer a fair deal? Hard to believe that the BBB would write this off knowing full well there are items they never addressed and more that we keep finding. We are currently looking for a lawyer to take this to court for us.
Reviewed Jan. 6, 2009
Feb. 1, 2008 - I signed a contract to purchase a new townhouse to be built by KB Homes called the Vineyards at Palmdale. I chose phase 3 to be completed in July 2008 the month that I was to retire after working 43 years. The Agent was informed of this as was Brent **, the lending officer for KBH/Countrywide Home Loans in Lancaster. I placed a deposit of $3,000.00 on that date with a lock-in at 4.875% interest. I supplied all necessary paperwork and documents that they requested (KBH/Countrywide home loans). I kept them informed as to my retirement status and in April 2008 I supplied them with Retirement award letters from The Railroad Retirement Board and my company pension from UP Railroad.
From November 27th, 2007 and up until the date I retired, July 1, 2008, I was on sick leave. I had to supply KBH/Countrywide Home Loans on a monthly basis copies of my pay stubs with my sick benefits. At NO time did I ever try to keep my retirement date from these people. I did the KB Homes store thing and had all the options built for my retirement home. I paid an additional $1806.00 as a deposit with KB Homes when I made my selections. I visited the place on numerous occasions while it was being built. On March 17th, 2008, I had to have a heart procedure performed to take care of several congested arteries and had anagrams, angioplasty and stent done. I was cleared for a Gastric Bypass in April 2008 and had it done June 30, 2008.
I then retired on July 1st 2008. When I returned from the hospital on July 3rd, I had a voicemail message from one of the assistant loan officers from KBH/Countrywide requesting that I again supply them with copies of my retirement awards from RRB and UP RR. I sent them via fax > talked to the assistant loan office on July 7th, 2008 to make sure they had received the faxed copies. She said yes, she did receive them. I asked if everything was going smoothly and if there were any problems. She replied that everything looked real good.
My final walk-through was scheduled for July 9th. On July 8th, the agent from the Vineyards (KB Homes) called me to tell me that the inspection was cancelled because the appliances had not yet been installed. I had been to the townhouse 1 week before my surgery and the appliances had been installed when I was there. I called my Realtor. He lived in Lancaster, and he went to the Vineyards to see what was going on. He later called me and told me that the sales agent at the Vineyards had told him that Brent ** and KBH/Countrywide home loans had cancelled the loan because I had retired from work.
I tried several times to reach Brent with no success. I left several messages requesting that he call me as soon as possible. He did not return my calls on that date (7-8-08). On the morning of July 9th, I called the Vineyards and the sales agent confirmed that he had been told the loan had been cancelled. I again tried to Contact Brent with no success. I did finally get a hold of one of the assistant loan officers and she told me the loan had been cancelled. This was one week prior to Escrow closing date. I requested that all papers and all forms that I had signed with personal information be returned to me immediately. A couple of hours later, Brent did call me. He did inform me that the loan was cancelled by KBH/Countrywide home loans. I asked why and his reply was that the numbers did not crunch. I asked for a letter stating why the loan was cancelled. He said I would receive one from KBH/Countrywide with 4 weeks.
It is now January 2009 and still NO LETTER and Nothing in writing to tell me why the loan was cancelled. I had my Realtor contact KB Homes to request a refund of my deposits totaling $4806.00. He sent a letter to a Wendy ** at the Vineyard. She was one of the sales reps, and received the letter back 2 days later from the mailman with a statement on the envelope that there was no Wendy ** working at that address. My Realtor then took the letter over to the Vineyards, asked for Wendy **. She came from her office and the Realtor asked her if she was Wendy **. She said yes. He showed her the envelope with her name on it and the reply stating that there was no one working there at that address by that name. He hand delivered the letter to her and marked the envelope with the time and date.
About 2 weeks later, I received a call from KB Homes, the Vineyard telling me that the final walk-through could now be performed. I informed them that the loan had been cancelled by KBH/Countrywide home loans and that I was waiting for a refund.2 weeks later I received a letter from KB Homes declining to refund my deposits stating that I had caused liquidated damages and they were going to keep the money. I threatened a lawsuit and then received a letter telling me that I could not file a lawsuit because in the original contract to purchase I had agreed to settle any disputes through Arbitration. I filed with the American Arbitration Association, hired a lawyer and have had 1 conference call with my lawyer, a KB Homes representative and an arbitrator.
It has cost me $750.00 to file with the Arbitration Board, $550.00 for my half of the Arbitrators fees, $1000.00 for legal representation, $400.00 in extra rent at the apartment that I lived in when the loan was cancelled, $150.00 in airfare to go to Los Angeles for the conference call, $45.00 in FedEx and UPS services sending back forms to my Lawyer. I have lost the interest I would have been earning on the $4806.00 at 3.06 % with my E-trade savings account. It will cost me an additional $150.00 to $200.00 for airfare when the arbitration hearing finally comes about.
It has cost me an additional 3070 dollars to fight this company along with the $4806.00 that they will not give me back. I WILL WIN and they will pay. Just how long it takes will be up to the arbitration hearing. This company has a reputation of doing this on a continuing basis. They do not believe that the little people, US, will spend the money and time to fight them just for a measly $4800.00. It will cost them more by the time this is over.
It is beyond me. I cannot understand how this CORPORATION, KBH/Countrywide Home loans and KB Homes can have the gall to cancel a loan, then tell and individual that it was the individuals fault that they had to cancel the loan. Especially when they call you back 5 to 8 days later, and tell you they can arrange financing at 6 1/4% since the 4.875% loan was cancelled. If I could not qualify at 4.875, how can I qualify at 6.25%? Makes you wonder if it was the 4.875% financing that they wanted to get rid of so they cancelled the loan?? DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS GROUP OF PEOPLE, KBH/Countrywide homes loans and KB Homes.
Reviewed Jan. 2, 2009
We purchased our house in 2000. We live in Heritage Park Pointe in Friendswood, TX. Most of the problems that we have had with our house, we have repaired ourselves. Recently during Hurricane IKE we sustained significant roof damage. I asked the roofer about placing ridge vents in the roof because the attic is hot and it is impossible to keep the upstairs cool. The roofer said we did not need ridge vents because we have two power vents. When the roof was repaired, new power vents were placed. However they can not be connected because KB Homes never connected the power vents to any electrical supply.
There is no power supply to hook them to. We did not climb into the attic and crawl around the duct work and insulation to see if the vents were connected. I have emailed KB Homes to see if they will correct this error. I am sure they will not cover our high power bills that I think is partially due to lack of ventilation in the attic. I just want an electrician to come and run some power to the vents. Live and learn. We had so many problems with our house that I can not even list them all. We will know better next time.
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2008
I have been the owner of my KB home since May 29, 2006. I am writing today regarding very serious concerns I have with some water damage to my back door that has been an ongoing issue since I moved in the home. Reports were made to Keith ** (former customer service representative) on several different occasions. He would send contractors who never came with much more than caulking materials to fix water damage (bubbling paint, soft baseboards and water markings) on and around my back door of the home that leads to the back yard.
The last time a service call was made, a new customer service rep named Nelson came out with the contractors. He was helpful, but his main concern was to let me know that my warranty had expired for the type of work that needed to be done. I explained that this had been an ongoing issue and my concern is that the problem was never resolved which led to the damage worsening over time. I made a call to the customer service office because I now have a wall, baseboards and a back door that has a considerable amount of dry rot as a result of my service request never being handled properly.
While I realize I am not within warranty for your contractors to come and fix the problem, my MAJOR concern is if I get the work done to repair the damage and it continues to happen, then I am spinning my wheels and throwing away money that I do not have. The problem is from the outside in because there is never water visible INSIDE my home, so the moisture is stemming from the outside and is being trapped in the walls and doorway which is rotting and possibly creating mold. In my opinion it has not been long enough for the type of damages to surface that I have in just two years. I would appreciate someone calling me to discuss a resolution to this issue.
The contractor who I have hired to come do the work cannot determine where the water is coming from or how it is getting in the wall outside some spaces between the siding and the building material around the back door. I feel this issue should be the responsibility of the builder since it has happened from the beginning and no one wanted to fix it properly when it was initially reported. I know for a fact I am not the only resident in the subdivision who has had these problems and we all get the same response about the warranty being out. It would seem that since this has happened to several owners in the neighborhood that there's a problem in the building of the homes especially around the back doors.
I am still waiting for a phone call from someone in customer service from a call that I initiated Friday, December 5, 2008. I have complaints about the young lady who answered the phone when I call but that is not the most important issue here. I would appreciate it if someone would contact me regarding this matter as soon as possible. Again, I am in the process of starting to fix the damage but I need to know that it is not going to be an ongoing issue for me. I can be reached any time of day at **. I look forward to settling this matter.
Reviewed Dec. 9, 2008
There is severe structural damage to our the home we bought. The home was built by KB Home and it is now splitting. Our story is here **. Hopefully, some of you will listen and stay away from this corrupt and inept company.
Reviewed Nov. 26, 2008
We bought our home about 2 years ago now for 255,000 here in the SW Las Vegas area. Beautiful community away from the busy city. The sales agent was very helpful and showed us all that we needed. We signed the papers, put the money down and then our nightmares began. During construction we visited our home to see the progress. We noted that boards were being placed in the home that we warped, cracked and no good for anything. They would just put more nails in it or put another board on it to hope that it stayed in tact. We demanded that they remove them, which they did. Then the drywall inspection had even more problems. Again cracked boards, 15-20 nails in one board to hold it in place and so we demanded the repairs be made. Again they did so.
When the final inspection came the paint was very very poorly done. Over-paint existed on the doors, walls etc.. It was dripping from over-paint and a pretty poor job all together. Again they fixed it...but we are still unhappy with the poor paint jobs done by KB Home. I understand that they have sub-contractors but hire someone with that reputable, not just to save a buck.
A month living in the house and our tree in the front yard died. We demanded that they replaced it because we were getting nasty letters from HOA demanding that we replace it, to which KB home replied you are out of warranty 30 DAYS AFTER MOVING, ARE YOU KIDDING!! So we bit the bullet, replaced the dead tree for a total cost of 23.00 and have been fine with the HOA, but I still can't believe KB would make such a big fuss about 23.00....
Since then...Carpet has shrunk and need to be stretch, tile is not all level and has been replaced (both by KB home) but now grout in tile doesn't match the rest, the driveway has sunk a matter of 1-2 inches so it is not level with the sidewalks etc. We have another appointment Monday to try and get this all fixed but what a mess!
I would not recommend anyone to buy a KB unless they want to put up with this trash of cracked or warped boards. (which by the way they left in other houses because homeowners didn't tell them to remove them) And all the other many problems that KB home is. We bought at 255,000 and now our home is worth 165,000 a matter of almost 100,000 dollars in a matter of 2 years...and they wouldn't let us refi. the 1st year! HORRIBLE! Stay away from Countrywide/KB!
Reviewed Nov. 16, 2008
We were told the price of our house would lower as the home prices dropped. Brady (our sales rep) lied. The home appraisal came in at the selling price of $243,000 even though the homes are now selling for $185,900. This is just wrong. KB and Countrywide are still as crooked as they have always been. I would love to see their stock prices drop. I can't get even by god, so keep on telling those lies. We will just wait for the market to give you what you have coming...
As for their construction, the floor in the house has a crack that goes from the living room windows all the way across the house into the master bath. It caused the grout in the bathroom to crack... Their construction super didn't even know block joints are to be no more than 3/8 of an inch. He thought they could be 3/4. So beware any buyer looking in Arbor Ridge in Apopka...If you have bought there and paid for Radiant Barrier, look into the installation. It is not the way the company rep told me it was to be installed.
The house I was supposed to buy was at ** ... but I will not be ripped off by being forced to buy a house for $30,000 over what they are selling for now. So buyer beware. Look at the houses they are building in Apopka, FL. Don't think the inspectors will find the problems. They like what Andy builds out there. The inspector told me that sometimes they don't even come out because they know it's right. The concrete work was so bad that they put a knockdown texture to try to hide the shoddy work on the floor of the front porch.
Reviewed Nov. 11, 2008
I put $5,000.00 deposit to separate a Construction Lot. They request some documents which I submitted. Later, they ask for a Letter for the down payment assistance for THA, which I told them I won't have until the closing of the transaction, so they said if and don't submit all they have ask after past 30 days I will lose my money so I Ms ** and told her I will cancelled the deal because they never mentioned to me at the time we made the deal about that policy; they sent a form and I signed and faxed right away. The sales rep confirmed as received and told me I will get the money in two weeks maximum.
Already have passed 4 weeks since I submit the form and this is the time they don't even answer my calls. My money have been stuck while they earning interest, plus I have some emergency and at this time I even have been overdraft to my bank account. I believe the minimum I deserve from this company is a call back and explain what is going on. My Real estate agent have also called them and the company accountant and no one has return her calls either.
Reviewed Nov. 11, 2008
I purchased a brand new from KB Homes in August 2007. At about the 10th month I received a letter from KB informing me of an inspection I could receive because they know a new home shifts. I was offered to have the inspection prior to the 12th month. I sent email after email asking for the inspection. My request was never acknowledged. Now, the garden tub has shifted from the wall and my kitchen ceiling has leaked water.
Reviewed Oct. 1, 2008
A Milgard door was installed incorrectly. KB had Milgard come out to inspect the door. Milgard comments were that the door is fine, but the door was installed incorrectly. Milgard went on to explain that to fix the problem would be costly, about $5,000; since they need to rip the entire door out etc. A few weeks later, KB had a private contractor come out and look. Their consensus was that it was just a cosmetic problem and that they would make the door look flush and level. We are concerned that this improperly installed door will give us problems in the future. Another problem we are having with KB Homes are with some of the options purchased through KB. The water softener system. Trying to get service is almost impossible. KB has hired outside contractors who basically are not familiar with the products.
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2008
I bought a KB home in 2005 and i am having mold, water intrusion, leaking windows, I called kb homes and they said that my warrant is over. My house is less than 4 yerasn old i should not be experiencing these problems. Also I need to file another complaint we gave a deposit of $10,000 to KB homes for a pre-construction house, which we then found out we did not qualify for the financing, and KB homes in Orlando refused to give us back our deposit.
We have had financial struggle because of this.We never hired a lawyer because we could not afford it. Finally i found your website and i hope i get help. I have had health related issues. Also i had to pay out of pocket over $2,000 for repairs
Reviewed Sept. 27, 2008
I am buying a new house from kb homes. They have lied to me and my wife several times. They have held up construction only to tell us that the contract we signed had the wrong price so we would have to agree to pay more than the contracted price or settle for a small back porch. we were also tell and have it in writing wherethere would be ceramic tile in all the wet areas but were told later that when away.
added 2000.00 dollars to the back porch price. no tile going in kichen. And we were told our interst would be 6.25%. Now we are told it will be 7 to 7.75% And if we back out we will lose our good faith money. Is this kind of dealings legal? Can some one help us?
Reviewed Sept. 11, 2008
KB came by last week and dug up the dead grass and threw out a few handfuls of seed and walked away. We have errosion issues in the yard. We can see daylight through the door area. One of the walls is buckling in the stairway. Floors have areas that creak and groan. KB doesn't want to stand by their product once they get you to sign that paperwork to buy the home. When the interior of the home disintergrates it is obvious to me that their products are not the best. When a repair is done by anyone of the individuals that they hire (contractors) it seems they are only spanish speaking and they harm items in the home rather than fix them! We have holes in the wall to prove it.
Reviewed Aug. 26, 2008
This is my first home and there comes a point when you just give up on asking for help on the same issues or additional ones. KB Homes require you to be at the residence every time they need to do work; I can't miss work to be there over and over again.
1. The subdivision was built near the airport; which is okay but I know KB Homes knew there was going to be a runway that allowed flights to cross over the neighborhood.
2. I had a leak from the master bedroom bath leaking from the upstairs floor going downstairs. If it had not been for my wife liking to take those long deep soaking baths and me so happen to be downstairs watching television I would have never knew until it was to late. Poor craftsmanship- the contractor tighten the bolts to tight and cracks the tub under the drain release cap. Mistakes are made but this is one they knew about because it was cracked before the plate was snapped on.
3. My stairs creaked; they fixed it by replacing and re-enforcing the whole stairwell. (Now it creeks every now and then.
4. My bedroom floor and entry creeks; they came out to fix it twice nailing testing and etc and it still creeks and pops. My standing chest wobbles when you walk in front of it.
5. I have a bedroom I use as a guess room (4 bedroom house with me and my wife and my 2yr old son) this bedroom I thought the light were going out due to the construction and surge in the neighborhoods while they are building (4 phases). No there is a problem with the electrical. I smell something burning now when the breaker trips. I just found that out!
6. My boys room- one spot squeaks I did not know that until after he was born and I decide to put in baby furniture in his room (builder worker told me they don't use the proper screws).
7. I was finally getting around to decoration the game room so I was going to nail a aluminum jazz player on the wall, but when I tapped the wall to find a stud I can hear a piece of lumber dangling in the wall.
8. I painted and stained my backyard fence. It is completely coming apart; I mentioned it they came fix a panel or two. It is separating by the panels.
9. I personally believe the piping is undersize because I have the inside and outside valves wide-open and the water is the slowest I ever seen water run.
10. Sliding pieces are falling after 4 yrs.
11. I find shingles in my yard.
12. My attic door was cut improperly, they fixed it, but when I went in the attic one day the rail came off.
13. Master bath closet and linen closet door hit each other (poor construction to me).
14. The backyard fence has a green box (electrical) in the corner of the yard the builder could have or should have place the box inside the fence or outside the fence but no they placed it half way. Cutting the fence panels out around the box. Dont mention the yard is continuously sinking by the green box.
15. During repairs I found out that the builder did not even properly sheetrock the ceilings, they are patched together. Poor craftsmanship!!!! You live you learn. A 150,000 house feels like it should be 80,000.
Physical damage: The house has uneven wall and ceiling design/spackle. (Aesthetic)
Economic Damage: Fixing any of these items. House values during resale. The economy is so bad I can't sell it. Houses in the area are just vacant.
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2008
We purchased this home in 2005 romthe very start things started going wrong. Water Heater died, counterr were seperating from the walls in Kitchen and bathroom, toilets were lopsided, toilet broke, floor in bathroom peeling up, dishwasher blade was not spinning because it did not fit the dishwasher, windows were leaking, walls were leaking, windos did not open smoothly, driveway was oozing water and rust. Shower faucet would not go to hot.
They redid the driveway, fixed the water heater, tried to fix kitchen counters, reset the toilet. Leaks were worked on but not repaired, we have serious leaks around the foundation into the house when it rains, the soil they put the house on does not drain because they dug it from the lake and it is clay. Windows leak still.
We called them and they said it was not a structure issue and we needed to call our insurance, it was not their problem. I have shared this with neighbors that have had their homes built by KB as well and they have had the exact same problems and then some. Fake sewage hookups, drainage issues, leaks, Oh I almost forgot my sprinkler system went out twice as well. They fixed that.
I will NEVER buy another KB home and will share that with everyone I know. It is very sad they have gotten such a reputation and are not willing to clean up their act. Our entire neighborhood has had problems with KB
We have wall that are starting to show moisture damage. Carpet had been pulled up and dried. Base board is warping. Mold and mildew is beginning to grow.
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2008
We purchased this home in 2005 romthe very start things started going wrong. Water Heater died, counterr were seperating from the walls in Kitchen and bathroom, toilets were lopsided, toilet broke, floor in bathroom peeling up, dishwasher blade was not spinning because it did not fit the dishwasher, windows were leaking, walls were leaking, windos did not open smoothly, driveway was oozing water and rust. Shower faucet would not go to hot. They redid the driveway, fixed the water heater, tried to fix kitchen counters, reset the toilet.
Leaks were worked on but not repaired, we have serious leaks around the foundation into the house when it rains, the soil they put the house on does not drain because they dug it from the lake and it is clay. Windows leak still. We called them and they said it was not a structure issue and we needed to call our insurance, it was not their problem. I have shared this with neighbors that have had their homes built by KB as well and they have had the exact same problems and then some. Fake sewage hookups, drainage issues, leaks,
Oh I almost forgot my sprinkler system went out twice as well. They fixed that. I will NEVER buy another KB home and will share that with everyone I know. It is very sad they have gotten such a reputation and are not willing to clean up their act. Our entire neighborhood has had problems with KB
Reviewed Aug. 20, 2008
We were building a quality home with KB builders and noticed 1 week before closing that there were cracks in the sidewalk and garage floors. These were told to us that they were cosmetic but instead of buying their lies we opted out of the deal. We lost some money but gained peace of mind about our choice after speaking to people in the area about the company.
Reviewed Aug. 13, 2008
Does anyone of you have the same problem? I have two products that I used for my floor; the iRobot and Hoover Hardwood Floor cleaner. Hoover hardwood has being used one time a month when the floor gets really dirty and Mr iRobot runs weekly as it needed.
Reviewed Aug. 7, 2008
I just bought our house from KB Home, after we move in no even 1 month, there is a palm tree infront of my house was fall down, then I called the service guy, left message for him, he didn't return my phone call. Then I called KB home customer service, they told me that palm tree is not include worranty, but I just moed in only two weeks, I don't want pay for that. Then I pulled up by myself and two of my friends, but after two more weeks tree down again, I pulled up again, untill now already 4 times.
And inside kitch counter was broken, screen door is broken, and garage door is broken too....More and more, I don't know how they did so bad job, I can tell they use all the cheap stuff, they just want sell house, they don't care anything else
Reviewed July 29, 2008
When we bought our home in an upscale gated San Diego neighborhood last year the homes were all large with unique exteriors. I specifically asked the sales office if this was going to be a Master Planned community because I did not want to live in one and if I did I would have moved to a different one.
Now KB wants to build small box tract homes that are half the size and 1/3 the cost of the exisiting homes and have no definition at all and on the most desirable view lots. According to KB this is now a Master Planned community and they want to change the look and feel of our neighborhood. They also claim that they cannot sell any of the bigger homes but they have locked the models to the biggest homes and do not even have some of the other models at all. It is amazing to me how they claim they can't sell them when they are setting it up so they can't.
In addition, KB calls meetings with the exisitng residents to inform them and have an open dialogue with them because they care about customer service. The only service they care about is their bottom line. Their staff has lied to us all from the beginning and when we call them on it they get defensive and huffy. The city has even told them to change their plans because the new homes would be horrible next to ours and we will see if KB comes back with new plans. It was also mentioned that our homes were mistakes from the begininng and never should have been built so large and unique. How does that make us feel after we have sunk all our money into what we thought would be a certain type of community?
If the proposed changes go through our home values will drop significantly and it will change the whole look and feel of the type of community we bought into.
Reviewed July 27, 2008
On July 16, 2008 a neighbor left a note on my door explaining that there was a water leak on the side of my new KB HOME. I called KB HOME'S emergency number and the person stated that someone would be in contact with me shortly. I never heard back from anyone on July 16, 2008. I contacted the Pittsburg Water Department emergency line and explained the situation and they immediately dispatched a worker who inspected the problem and explained that the plastic cap that was used for the water was cracked which caused water to run down the street. I was informed that the water had to be shut off or fixed because it could not run down the streets.
I called Roto Rooter who send a person out who explained that the problem was caused by KB HOMES using a cheap plastic cap that was put on and tightened too tightly by KB HOMES and it was cracked at that time and over time more cracks developed which led to the WATER LEAK disaster. Roto Rooter explained that they had been out to this development for several problems all the fault of KB from water leaks to plumbing and piping problems.
On Thursday July 17, 2008 I finally received a call from Dan Auten who left me a message stating I just received your message and will send a man out to check on the water leak Dan left a 2nd message explaining A man went out but did not see any water leak I returned Dan's call and informed him that because KB failed to contact me the Pittsburg Water Company was going to turn off the water unless the leak could be fixed and Roto Rooter came out and fixed the problem. I informed Dan that both Roto Rooter and the Pittsburg Water Company confirmed the cause of the leak was KB HOMES using a cheap plastic cap that was screwed on too tightly.
Dan stated that it was KB Home fault that they did not call me back on July 16, 2008. He asked me how much was the Roto Rooter cost, gave me the address and informed me that I would be reimbursed as KB dropped the ball by not contacting me on July 16, 2008. I sent the bill and now KB Homes Dan Austen refuses to reimburse me for the costs incurred.
Roto - Rooter costs close to $200.00 plus water costs running down streets for 2 days.
Reviewed July 26, 2008
I purchased this house 18 months ago and have had many problems. The air conditioning unit has a leak that is still under warranty. KB homes wont repair the problem at all. The yard has the lanscape work ever. When it rains water forms a small lake that takes days to drain. The paint is so thin that if you bruch up against the wall you leave oil from your body. The floors do squick and the counter tops in the bathrooms and kitchen are seperating from the wall.
I sent letters, emails and called. Many, many, many repsresentatives came by or called and told me why they did not honor the repairs. none of the subcontractors would return your calls and like houdini the companies all either changed their numbers or went out of business?
I have spent 2100.00 for airconditioning repairs. Painting the inside of my 2166 sqaure foot home 1400.00 and yard repairs so far at 800.00 and a long way to go. We cannot grow grass in the rear of the house.
Reviewed July 25, 2008
Two days ago here in South Texas a hurricane passed through South Padre Island it became a tropical storm. Our home and eight others in our block had the exact same type of damage done due to rain . Every homeowner in our side of the street had garage celings damage caused by induaded with water. Ours had a piece of sheetrock fall off due to excessive water coming in through the roof also in an upstair window water flooded through the window and the celing.
When we called KB homes we were told that KB warrenty does not cover HUrricanes and the customer service man hung up on us. Because every single person we spoke to in the neighborhood had the same type of damage we believe it is a structural damage that was caused by a negelectful KB builders. I personally spoke to at least twenty other homeowners that had roof damage and water coming in through windows and KB refuse to honor their warranty.
Some homeowners even stated thqat they had prior to this massive rainfall had problems with water leaking through windows and roofs and KB had honored the warrenty and tried to fix the problem. One homeowner the problem was fixed the other they had come to their house four times and the water still seeks in their roof.If Kb refuses to honor thier warrenties what can we do as a unit a spoke to many homeowners that are willing to sign to hire and pay a lawyer to stand for our right we feel cheated . Our new homes are literally falling apart.
Our garage sheetrock has fallen off and our childrens bedroom is very wet and it starting to give out a very ugly smell.
Reviewed July 16, 2008
First, the sales representative from KB homes said to us that we were denied for the loan and sent us to speak with another loan officer at Country Wide---- But we have very good credit, I was working in credit financing in a big bank and knew about credit regulation procedures and none of the regulation procedure were followed with us.
When I called Country Wide as per KB home sales representative suggested that when some one get denied for a loan then KB automatically send the information to another bank.(but since our credit history was good we opted to only deal with KB homes in our application) The rep from Country Wide did not have any of our information, and he was saying that he did not had our information on his desk band he needed to ask a few questions and he started with asking our names, the social security number which we did not give it to him, our home address, etc, you could tell this loan officer was new in the business, he felt uneasy as soon as I mentioned that I work in a big bank in town and Regulation Z was clearly not followed here. The country wide rep mentioned that he will have the sales rep giving us a call.
We called KB homes again to speak to a loan officer, and she mentioned that we have never been denied for a loan.
We bought a KB Home and since we moved in there have been many problems with the house. Just the first day or the closing day KB home had worker/contractor in the house trying to finish and repairing things from painting to landry room fans. We ask the contractor/worker why they were still working since we were supposed to move in today after closing and he said that they were looking at minorthing. We asked the contractor to show us what areas or to specify what he was working on so he went around and showed us the lanudry fan, paint, the stove fasn had a noise, and some other stuff around the house.
later on we left for closing on thehouse, get the keys, and come to our very first home. We visit the areas the contractor mentioned that he was supposedly working on and none of them were fixed. we had to call them several times to come and fixed, still after coming several time to the house they had done an horrible job, WOW what a dissapointment! this house had never been a home.
We called the customer service department and they were very nice butthe people they send here to the house were very rude. A female walked in here and we were trying to explain the situation and in several times she just interrupted us not letting us tell her what was going on.
Now the foundation is cracking around the corner. They were supposed to send some one to check on our foundation around 11 months of staying in the house to check on the plaster and no one ever came, a year later we found about it because another representative (male) from KB Home walked in here asking how was the 11 months visit, so we said no one came here to check on the foundation- That guy never came back--- Kb home send another one after we call to check on the foundation and they representative said oh nothing is happening this is normal as the house seat on its own and we immediatly replied that this does not seems normal you can see that the corner is cracking completely and a big piece of concrete will fall and the representative said rudely there is nothing we could do about since there are no problems with the foundation.
recently I call because the other corner was cracking and the doors some don't close, some don't open and you have to force them to either close or open. the windows can not be open> They told us to put WD40 for the windows to open. WOW!!!!!!!!! I did put the WD40 and no help at all with the windows, they still don't open.
Yesterday some one came hammer drilled the corners put ribars into and put concrete and plaster so they look as if they problem is fixed. I also mentioned to the representative at KB homes that the garage has a crack going from side to side. he still said that it had to do with how the house seat in it place. now yesterday again the Ac unit ouside stopped working around 3PM, we called KB to go over the warrant and no one have called us back.
This have been 4 yrs of horror, and kb home going around and around not fixing our home problems and the problems getting worse and worse. I will never buy a KB home again due to the way they had handled our services and warranty. The representative are rude, they act as if they do not care at all. We have been calling about the AC unit since the 1st day we moved in because one room would get extremely cold and the other extremely hot. also the upstairs would be very cold but the downstair would be hot. they have come and said that nothing is wrong with the AC unit. now the AC unit ouside stopped working and the house is hot and we have been seating here for abut a day waiting for KB homes to call back at least to see what needs to be done.
in the past 4 yrs we had lot of stress, our information had been pass around, lot of misleading information. we had to pay we our own money many of the repairs to the house. we have to slept with the windows open several times 3 lovely kids had been constantly bited by mosquitoes since we have to sleep with the windows open. The electrical bill is outrageous since house is always hot, and we have to put the thermostat at around 68*F to 70*F degrees. This house had never felt as if it was home it had so many problems. I want to move out of this house and nver buy again a KB Home.
Reviewed June 27, 2008
The homeowner's association appointed by KB was a nightmare, but luckily we were able to fire them after they were unable to show what had happened to all the money they were paid, and are now self-managing.
With regards to the house, right away we started having problems with the cheap cement on the front walk. They redid it once before we closed, and then came out and put a slip over it during the warranty. 4 years later the sidewalk is cracking and flaking and they claim that it is my fault for not properly getting rid of water and ice. Interestingly, I live in a place where it rarely rains or snows: near Albuquerue, New Mexico. In February 2008 we had to replace the motor in the furnace, which burnt out. Recently, we've noticed that roof tiles have started falling off. I called the roof people listed in my homeowner's guide since the salesman had told me there was a 30 years warranty on my roof. I was told that such a warrenty did not exist for falling titles, only "defects in materials, and you'd have to take that up with the manufacturer" Lots of promises, but in the end, they wiggle out of everything they can and absolve themselves of any and all responsibility as a builder.
Reviewed June 13, 2008
After watching shows on TV about constructors not doing their job correctly, I believe that KB never installed the correct amount of insulation in between the walls. The master bedroom on the other side of the house gets really warm. So as the playroom adjacent to our boys' room. Only the boys' bedroom gets super cold on winter nights. Now, we have to make a decision on tearing up the walls making sure there is enough insulation, & if there is not enough insulation, taking days off from work for KB to fix this problem that they created. You pay this people God knows how much, for a piece of junk? They don't care. They never did & never will. KB suck!
Reviewed June 12, 2008
We have had several issue since we moved to our house. I call it house because it has never felt like home. Things around the house still havent been complete. We had two major water leaks (pipe busted in the heat recovery box). And also the exterior of the house is cracking everywhere. Several people have come out here numerous of time. And all they want to do is add mastic numeric paint to the exterior. I really think they are in the wrong. By the way its a 5211sq ft house!
Also in Jan. 08 I slipped off the 4th stair and broke by calvical. It was sharred in 9 pieces. I had to have surgery. And I carry around a 4 plate on my left colar. I have 6 screws and at that time 13 stiches. All KB home could say to that was I'm sorry but that is code for stairs. I dont believe any one in there right mind would use a pop out wall at the end of stairs.
During the water leak, they did take care of us. But as we go through this episode of living in a KB home it has been mind wreaking.
Reviewed June 10, 2008
I moved into my "new" KB Home in 1999. I submitted my warranty repair list within the prescribed time frame. More time went by and no one from KB contacted me or would return my calls. Some how KB claimed the warranty repair list I submitted had been marked as "complete" even though nothing had been done and that is why they didn't return my calls It took years of fighting to get KB to even address some of the issues. Even then, KB acted as if they had no responsibility to address my repairs and represented that they were doing me a favor since the time for repairs had passed.
Well, whose fault was that...theirs! My windows have leaked since the day I moved in and they continue to leak despite KB's ineffective attempts to fix them. They did come out and tried to "fix" the leaks by resealing, but KB wouldn't replace the windows. My vents were never cleaned prior to move in (they were full of construction dust and debris) and the home had not been cleaned prior to my taking possession of the house. The KB rep that showed up for my walk through didn't write anything down and because of this, KB further claimed that they had no responsibility for warranty repairs.
The select repairs KB finally chose to do were done by "handymen", done as cheaply as possible and look terrible. Flat paint was painted on my doors and, despite a promise to come out and repaint them, no one has ever finished the warranty list. My home is a mess, my roof leaks and my drywall is moldy and ruined. How can a builder get away with this kind of nonsense. They essentially breached their contract to perform warranty repairs and somehow want to place the blame on the owner.
Reviewed June 10, 2008
So far I have spoken to Jack H, Beth G, and Carmen S all to no avail. We want this check re-issued and sent to my father, Jose C, in New York so that we can put an end to this horrible ordeal.
Reviewed June 9, 2008
We started with KB Homes June 2007. The lot we bought had one of their service centers on it in Dunns Creek Plantation. We had to wait MONTHS for it to be moved due to a company who bought it didn't have the money to move it. So we suffered.
Once the home was started we were never asked to come out and look at the progress of the home like we were told we could do. We went and picked out the stuff for the house and they lead us to believe that what they sold was cheaper than any other place on earth. Total lie!!! Sears had everything we MUST Have much much cheaper than KB Homes.
We were told that 60 days out from the house being done we were to sign papers and get everything together. They gave us less than 30 days.We are military we need at least 45 days so we can get our BAH in order. When we went to sign papers, the payment we wanted for the house (1500) was brought up to 1800.00. We took out any kind of little up grades we could and even told them that we did not want the stove, frig and so forth put in that we would do that ourself. They got upset and the very next day put everything we did not want in by them in.
When we told them that there was NO way we could afford 1800.00 a month for a 3 bedroom 2100 sq foot home they told us to bad and also refused to give us back our 3000.00 and told us there was nothing we could do that we were in the wrong for not taking the home at the price they took it up to. We were promised 1500.00 house payment and they changed everything so we look like the dummy's.
Reviewed June 4, 2008
We purchased our home in the last part of Dec 2005. When we first move in we always had people in here working on on our home The carpet had to be replaced because of burn mark then Kitchen Floor had to be replaced. alot of creeking from the upstairs wich some has been out here to try to repair buy cutting the carpet around 6 times. Bath tub in master and upstairs hallway had to be replaced they were not installed properly. bathroom upstairs the toliet was not installed properly so water leaked and damaged the wall and floor as well as the trimming. the trimming had to be done over 4times due to contractor poor worksmanship. My kitchen had no back splash or 3 inch trim wich was paid for so water ran behind my sink.
Finally after a year long investigation going through many employees of KB I was finally given my backsplash. The air has never worked right and this day I have 2 brand new AC units that some how has leaks in both of them my floor still squeaks and my upstairs is sinking my husband has taken off several of times to try to get these cituation's fixed and they always turn out to be a no show so here we are living the worst night mere of the poorly constructed home. I am so sad to hav paid this kind of money for a house that has so many problems and to top it off we do belive that our air units are to small for our house.
We have no air in the upstairs portion of our house we were told the unit in the attic would need to be replaced for the downstairs to function properly . We were told that the unit for the upstairs has a leak out side and and it needs to be relpaced also costing us a total of 3000.00. our floor still creeks and half of our upstairs is sinking and we can not seem to get any one to stand behind there work. We have made do with alot of the poor workmanship but these three are really to much to handle.
Reviewed June 1, 2008
I had a wonderful experience with KB Home and everyone I worked with from my sale person to my customer service rep to the team that built my home. When building a new home of course you are going to find things that are not perfect. This is a man made product and unless this is something new man is not perfect. But anytime I had any issues with the home I just call the customer service line and with in hrs they are calling me back to fix the issue. I have built homes in the past and never had such a kind, helpful and committed team working for me.
Reviewed April 27, 2008
PMG is the Home owners Association for the KB homes Amber Trails division Ft worth. Recently They raised our dues an additional $90 a year without any vote due to a few home owner not paying their dues. They increased the rate to cover the hand over in 8 years and to maintain community areas. That is where the problem arises, there is no community area except for a poorly maintained strip of flowers entering into the area.No parks, no pools, nothing. THe HOA is receiving approximately 25,000 a year in dues. When contacted by me in ref to the increase I requested a detailed print out of expeditures and a date for the next HOA meeting and was refused both.We can't vote on dues or HOA issues.
We continue to get nasty gram letters, harrassing us for unmowed grass, weeds, unapporved mailboxes that were built by the builder that incorrectly identify the the violating house. The hoa refuses to respond and continues to send harrasssing letters.THey use a secret residident as their eyes and will not come to location to verify violation incidents
Reviewed April 7, 2008
I Purchased a new home about 7 months ago and noticed at time of purchase the carpet had hard spots in it and also the carpet has huge seem lines all over. i contacted KB at time of the buy they told me dont worry they will take care of it. all they have said is this is normal. they had there carpet people lenards carpet look at it and told me if you look at the carpet from other angles it is ok. that is ridiculous i will do everything in my power to let everyone looking to buy a kb home how bad they are and will be filing suit and the same for lenards carpet.
Reviewed March 16, 2008
We were actually contacted by a KB representative to ask us what it would take to get us in a KB home. It felt good to tell them how satisfied we are with the home we did purchase through Centex Homes at Sterling Meadows. The Nerve of them! KB HOMES STINK! We put a deposit on a town home last year with the intent of purchasing. We hit a wall during the purchasing process when we encountered a situation that we felt was handled poorly on the KB side. The error would have cost us several thousand dollars toward our options for our home. We were told to list our reason for withdrawing our intent to purchase because of buyers remorse. This is far from the truth. We were just afraid of losing our deposit or having the return of it tied up so that we couldn't purchase a home.
We were also told buy our sales person, KB doesn't want unhappy customers. I haven't had many opportunities to discuss my displeasure with KB homes, the sales practice and the lack of concern for our well-being or our personal satisfaction with our first home purchase. I will say to people that we are happy with our new home now with Centex. In fact, we would most likely buy from this builder again. Good luck with the current market.
Reviewed March 4, 2008
Water and leaks seem to be a common theme among KB homeowners. We bought our home in Buford, GA, in 2006. We thought we were buying a quality home with all the modern upgrades, etc. Our first holiday our home was shut down due to major water leak in our foundation. We had mold growing in our walls and warped hardwoods, etc. The second issue which we are still dealing with is our shower. It leaks right out into our drywall and baseboards. KB has come to my home to fix the problem 10 times. The last time was this past December. Two months later the shower is leaking again.
We have been repeatedly put out by the constant repair work that has been created by the lack of skill and supervision that was put in the building of our home. I have sent an email to KB corporate, at this point for some resolve, advising them I would retain a real estate attorney. My advice to everyone, especially in this GA market: If you can afford a nice home drive past the KB sign! It is waste of you hard-earned money!
Reviewed Feb. 21, 2008
We have huge cracks in the foundation of our home. The counter tops in my kitchen are detaching from the wall. We have had the moisture pressure taken to see damage we are at 9.6 which could cause mold.
We have been called KB to make them aware of the problem. We will not be able to put down tile or wood due to the moisture pressure so high. My counter tops could have mold behind them due to the moisture. Kb has told me this a cosmetic problem.
Reviewed Jan. 20, 2008
In August 2007 we looked at the KB Home we wished to purchase. We were told by the sales man Rick that the house was a custom built home. The original buyers were moving here from Iowa or Michigan for a new job.The job fell through so they did not move here.
When we did the walk through before closing with the builder Ryanwe noticed the ceiling (right side of the house) looked odd. There were what looked like 4 foot patches all along the ceiling in differnt sections. We were told by Ryan that the person that came into do the spackling in the ceiling did a poor job making everything even. For the most part, this was the only room in the house the man decided to do a lousey job...they promised to fix this.
The day after closing and we had started to move in. Neighbors came over to introduce themselves. They told us that they were surprised that we bought the house because of the flood. Then a woman came to our door and introduced herself. She told us that it was her friend who had been the original builder of the home. Her friend was moving from Tampa, Florida (not up state!) and came down one weekend to see how the house was coming along. She brought her viedo camera so she could get some film of her house to take back. What she found was an inch of standing water upstairs, flooding down into the down stairs walls. We were told this flooded down into the right front bedroom. This is directly above where we first noticed these patches in the ceiling. Water was flooding down into the left side of the house as well into the kitchen, laundry room and bathroom.
KB Homes went in and claimed to have replaced everything. The buyer was not satisfied with KB Homes and opted to back out of the purcahse and had a house built in another neighborhood about 6 blocks from us (not still up state!).They went with a differnt builder. These people have viedo and photos of the water damage and of the walls flooding.
We contacted the builder Ryan. He blew it off and said it was nothing. Some painters came in adnd left their brushes in the sink with the water on. They replaced the areas that got wet and brought in Dry Rite to remove all the moisture. Ryan showed us the photos and one deplicted a closet. Ryan told us that this was the Master Bedroom closet.The report indicated the house was free of moisture.
We walked around looking at this report and found the closet was not our master bed room closet but the closet down stairs UNDER the stairs. Thats half way accross the house and almost into the room where the ceiling looks like it has patches....we were lied to again...
This past Friday we bought in someone to check for mold and moisture. He found in the laundry room a significant amount of moisture. Then he found there is a leak in the ceiling.This is directly under the master bathroom. There is an inch of water in the glass bowl that encompasses the light bulb! I have two children that could have been electrocuted!
We contacted Dana immediatly early Friday morning.We did not get a phone call from her. (Its now Sunday).
After reading eveyone else problems, I feel like my complaints will also fall on deaf ears to KB Homes.
We feel like we were lied continuouly about the condition and structure of the home. Had we known about this flood, we WOULD NOT HAVE purchased this home!
Reviewed Jan. 7, 2008
I purchased a brand new KB Home in 2006. They subcontracted an unlicensed, unregistered roofer to put up my roof. The roofer used very thin three-tab shingles attached with only four nails. This is a hurricane area, and the code calls for six nails per shingle. It does not specify the type of shingle, but anybody knows that architectural shingles are a must. The valleys are not done properly; they did not follow the instruction manual. KB Home denies a problem and thinks I am just a troublemaker. ALL of the homes on my street are out of code! They keep lying to try to get out of this situation. Jeff Meyer, the SC Pres. of KB, says that he doesn't want to replace all of these roofs. It is critical that they be replaced so that we are better protected from storms. We live in a 120-130 mph wind zone. My roof is only warranted up to 60 mph winds. Consequently, I cannot expect my homeowner insurance to cover any claims from higher winds.
Desired resolution: I want either $8000 to cover the cost of a new roof, or I want KB Home to contract a licensed, certified roofer to replace it.
Reviewed Dec. 6, 2007
We bought our KB home brand new in May 2006. We recently moved out of the home and back into an apartment, November 1, 2007. We had continuous problems with the home from the day we moved in. The floors in the kitchen were uneven as well as the stairs and master bedroom. The back door was replaced and worked on three times and still leaked every time it would rain. The front door was the same. It would not close properly. Right after the one year anniversary was up, the master closet door would not shut properly and cracks started showing in the walls. Even though complaints were filed, no one was interested in fixing the house even before the 1 year anniversary was up. Our dream of owning a new home for us is gone. We were first time buyers. Thank you for your time.
Reviewed Nov. 5, 2007
I have has several issues with KB Homes since before closing on my home in 2002. Prior to closing, the construction crew would use my water and electricity to help with building of other houses. They would hook up water hoses and extension cords at my house and extend them to the others. This was after the utilities had been switched to my name.
After moving in, the shower in the master bath leaked into my master closet and flooded it out. They had to knock a huge hole in my kitchen wall to repair the problem. Due to poor construction on my back door (located in the kitchen) when ever it would rain, my kitchen would flood..the rain would come right through the door and not slowly.
They came and did minor repairs to the door to help close the crack, but did not replace the wood, which I requested.
Due to the negligence of KB Homes, the wood is not completely rotten and has a hold in it..both inside and out. My house is now infested with ants due to this problem and also due to the still existing crack in the door that daylight can plainly be seen through.There are ants crawling up my kitchen walls, in my pantry, both bathrooms, laundry room, and bedrooms...even in bed with my youngest child.
My air does not flow properly in the bedrooms. They don't cool like the other parts of the house and these are smaller rooms. I've had the air conditioner checked and it does not seem as though anything was done.
Also, when the house was being built, I questioned whether the bath tub in the guest bathroom was new because it was dingy. I have never been able to get that tub completely clean. They've never replaced it. I want to either transfer my loan to another house, or be let out of it completely.
I have been a victim of KB Homes since March 2002 when the building process began. I was taken advantage of as a single female and I have reached my breaking point.
The consequenses are that I have to live with an ant infested home. I have paid for pest control, both professionally and personally. I have had to deal with water damage to my home which can and may have already set up mold in my walls. I have an asthmatic child that could suffer worse than anyone if this is the case. My son has awakened with ant bites to his legs on several occasions. It is very stressful to come home from being at work all day and have to fight ants that are crawling from the floor to the ceiling. It is embarrassing to have gatherings with friends and have ants to greet them before I am able to.
Reviewed May 2, 2007
I purchased my home on March 31, 2006. Since I purchased the home I have had nothing but problems. KB has been to my house every month or two to address problems with my home. I have had four leaks inthe past year. Two were from the master bathroom which have leaked all the way through to my dining room ceiling. They have had to replace my dining room celing one and have repaired it at least three other times. The latest leak is still not fixed and my dining room has half the ceiling cut out just waiting on someone to come and check for mold. They tried to replace everything without checking for mold and I asked them to stop and have an environmental specialist come to check for mold before anything is replaced.
I had sewage leaking from my master bathroom upstairs through the outside wall and onto my concrete slab/porch. This was repaired after approximately one week of once again haveing my home torn apart. I have had foundation cracks and problems that are still not addresd. I spoke with John H who is the Regional Service Manager during the first leak incident in November 2006. He was very rude and did not agree with me that someone should check for mold. He seemed very agitated when I pursued the mold issue. He basically said he felt as if I were overreacting. This is the feeling I also am getting from Gary G who is the Director of Operations. They just keep saying that mold id not that big of a deal and that the whole mold issue is really not for the Fort Worth area but for places where the environment has more moisture and people keep their houses dirty.
Reviewed April 6, 2007
I purchased my home for 246,786.00 (assuming the HUD is correct - we had to sign 3 diffrent times before I assume KBCTWD got the loan amounts correct). On July 7, I got an e-mail from the processor stating that the appraisal had come in at only 215,000.00. On July 17th, a new appraisal arrived from another appraisal at 248,000.00.
In February, I was going to refinance the loans and roll them into one loan, or sell the house if necessary to protect my credit...in October, I was diagnosed with Rheumatiod Arthritis, and my medical bills have skyrocketed. I am so mad I could bust...when I got the new appraisal, it came in at 208,000.00. I have worked in the mortgage industry for many years, and have never even heard of a property losing 40,000.00 in value in a matter of 6-7 months!
I contacted the appraiser to make sure that she was going to stand behind her appraisal, and she told me that she has been having a lot of problems with KB home values, and that they simply sold the homes for way over the value of the properties at least here in Tucson.
I first and foremost need to do something about this...I really need to sell the home (but can't without being stuck with a 50,000.00 + deficit that I can't even close to afford, and move back to Alaska where my medical expenses are covered. This has also caused me so much stress, which has worsened my condition, and with the high interest rate that we are pretty much stuck with my back up resources are pretty much exhausted.
Reviewed Dec. 6, 2006
Major structural deficiencies in home construction, joists cut in half, no support for 2nd story loft, 2 nails where there should be 10.
Reviewed Oct. 13, 2006
We purchased a home 6 months ago, it's new construction, but when it is completed, the house is built below the curb. It is at risk of flooding. When we brought this to the sales rep. she told me that the sales manager agree to let us choose another new home and apply the deposit toward to the new purchase. Few days later, the sales rep. contacted me again and said the verbal agreement is no longer valid.
I have 3 choices, 1, proceed the presnet home 2, cancel the contract and lose the deposit 3, find an arbitrator.
Reviewed Aug. 14, 2006
We purchased this house on June 27, 2004. We purchased the 2319 square foot house in the Plum Tree Subdivision. Since we acquired the house, we have had a nightmare of problems that have not been fixed or they were fixed 2 yrs after we moved in. There are many problems that were found prior to signing for the house. These issues, prior to signing, were addressed with Pete and John B. on the final walk thru. There are still problems that were not addressed back then that are still present. There are also numerous problems that we have found along the way that are still not correct.
I'm going to list the problems that we have found with the house since we moved in. All of these problems have been documented with the Customer Service Representatives that were assigned to the Plum Tree Subdivision at the time. These list of problems, are coming from the copies of the Homeowners Warranty Request Form that were provided to us by the Customer Service Representative for the area, plus additional forms that we have from KB.
1. Move plug in the laundry room.
2. Dining room light, add support.
3. Shingling on front (per conversation with John)4. Flashing on side of garage
Form "Questions about our home" lists the following items:
1. Please replace 2x4 at end of short wall on hallway side as wood is damaged
2. #2 bedroom has water damage to floor near door. Please replace boards on floor.
3. Roof leaking from vent in bedroom #2
4. Shingles under the master bedroom closet window still not fixed5. Please take down sheetrock in bed #2 ceiling until roof fixed. Water dripping onto from up top
Form "Questions about our home" lists the following items:
1. Wrong color towel bar, soap holder and toilet paper holder. Bone color is supposed to be inside shower. And we paid for nickel colored towel bars and toilet paper holders in all 3 bathrooms
2. Why is railing on left side and not the right side
3. Roof has now been seen by John B and Chad. Leak in #2 bedroom. Ceiling also needs to be fixed
Reviewed Feb. 8, 2006
I invested most of my life savings for my home.I was led to believe I was buying a well built house,much to my surprise,it has turned out to be a nightmare (a house from hell)not only for me but 192 other home buyers. I had many complaints about shabby flaws I found after moving in,they were fixed. The sign coming into the site read,you live here we cut the grass. They failed to tell us they wouldn't cut the common ground, my property has been surveyed and staked out and the hill behind me is my property not common ground. Other areas here have erosions and we were led to believe that these hills including mine would have ground cover to prevent the washing away of my property.
Behind my property was the KB office and had a parking lot big enough to be common use for the residents. Greed entered into the picture and they built three homes.
Another misrepresentation by KB home reps. when I first moved here as every other tenant our assn. fees was 83.00 a month for the grass cutting and a sewer systems. ( Overated septic tank) At the present we are paying 110.00 a month and only get our grass cut and no pinestraw , no tree trimming. Greed entered into the picture again by KB Homes and instead of buying an easement to run our septic system on they leased private property for 5 yrs. Said property has been sold and the complete sewer system has been turned over to HOA. If the owners of this property so chooses to shut down entry to our septic system I guess we will have to build outside johns.
Reviewed Sept. 14, 2005
In November 2002 we purchased a home from kb homes. It was called an affordable home through kb and our city. We were told there were restrictions they told us we could not sell the home for over the median income we could not rent it out and it was a 15 year restriction. we recentlr received a letter from the cit stating we were out of compliance we should not havr refinanced and were not allowed to have a swimming pool. There are 28 out of 45 homeowners in our same situation. The city wants us to rapid pay our mortgages down so that we are in compliance.
We feel we were misled by Kb homes and now we will all suffer financially if we are forced to pay our mortgages down faster. Kb also financed most of the homes.
KB Home Company Information
- Company Name:
- KB Home
- Company Type:
- Public
- Ticker Symbol:
- KBH
- Year Founded:
- 1957
- Address:
- 10990 Wilshire Blvd.
- City:
- Los Angeles
- State/Province:
- CA
- Postal Code:
- 90024
- Country:
- United States
- Website:
- www.kbhome.com
