Maronda Homes

There were numerous other flaws as well, including the shower glass enclosure being mounted opposite from the plans, which had the bathroom door interfering with the shower door, a sliding glass door with a bad rubber seal, exposed roof flashing, really bad finishing on the kitchen island base, cabinet doors that were all racked, HVAC return plenum opening which was way out of square, yet the plenum was forced to fit.... among many cosmetic flaws.

Met with the construction manager and were assured that all would be taken care of before the closing. They had to tear out all of the cabinets and take out all of the appliances to try and fix the wall. They failed, as after putting it all back together, it was still out of square and could be seen when looking at the tile floor. We never saw the shower glass put back in as there was so much wrong with this project that we finally decided to "fire" Maronda and go with another builder.

The list we have is long, so it is not all expressed here- just the major items. Overall, Maronda does not budge on anything and do not want show a buyer the home as it is constructed. We have the images and they are very visible and flagrant. We found out during one visit when we asked what the backsplash would look like, that "there would be no backsplash". We asked about the vent openings in the roof and the contractor could not tell us what one of them was for. The only good thing- we got our $5000 escrow deposit back in 3 weeks, which is being used to pay for 3 months of local room rental as we wait for our new home to be completed. I would stay away from Maronda, and find another builder. Their salespeople are not very transparent.

Being in the real estate business for over 15 years as brokers our expectations are high. Barbara took care of everything and we had stress free 10 months during the project, They did a fantastic job! We would highly recommend Maronda Homes and in fact we are thinking about building another house with them for rental income in Palm Coast FL. This was the best experience ever. 5 stars review is an understatement. Thank you so much Heather and Barbara for everything you did for us! Szymon and Steven

We are dealing with a severe leak in our front window that no amount of maintenance will resolve, clearly not a maintenance issue. Impossible to reach Maronda by phone; emails are answered with short, one-sentence replies that simply pass the buck. Maronda dealt with us in an unethical manner. Our next home will not be built by Maronda. Furthermore, we will be joining the class-action lawsuit that is being formed against them, after initially deciding against it. Bottom line: While problems can arise with any new construction, it is how the builder responds that makes all the difference. Do your research before choosing Maronda Homes.

Kidney or liver pain

We've also gone as far as to buy filters that neutralize the air in hopes that they can get rid of some of the VOC's in the air. Each filter costs $99 plus the scrubbers. We are installing an attic ventilation system to help Off-gas these chemicals through the roof that's another $300. We purchased the $600 shed to put any paints and detergents. We paid for an air-quality test that does five point test which cost $300, and it showed that 66% of the fumes were gasoline based, and that it was at a severe quantity. Not to mention paying out-of-pocket for both ER visits and doctor visits and lab work.

As a builder it should be their main responsibility to make sure that their clients are very satisfied with their new home purchase. Maronda Homes never showed any interest in helping us resolve the issue, and the only response we received was to fill out a form for a six-month inspection. **As a result of this experience we sold the home and left to a new town but the reason for writing this is so that no one every goes through what we went through. It has taken us 3 years to feel better after developing chemicals sensitivities to everything. Please do your research first.**

The only way to control the problem because there is no way to get rid of them is to treat the ponds correctly and Maronda does not want to do the right thing. I have lived in this area for 13 years and was surrounded by three ponds and never had a problem. Many people have given reviews that Maronda doesn't care and this is true!!!! I would have gone through and finished building even though was told very poor quality and many issues, I tried to tell my story to management and they did not care. Was told you are not getting deposit back that I defaulted. I tried to explain I want the home but not safe with swarms of these insects so they listed it for sale before the ink was dry to cancel and they are selling for much more money than I was paying. So believe the reviews. Run run or you will be sorry!

First everyone blamed the sinkhole we had for the water intrusion. Sinkhole is repaired. We have grated the Dirt away from the house on a slant away and have put rocks to try and keep the water from accumulating next to the slab. We have sealed the concrete slab and house with a water protectant sealant oh, all of these ideas to fix it were from professionals. New carpet was installed recently and we thought everything was fixed after the last contractor was here looking at the house. But today I have more water intrusion on both sides of my house. Furniture is getting ruined, carpet is getting ruined, drywall is getting moldy and people in my house are sick. I am tired of the shoddy Construction.

After convincing them to do the right thing, they finally agreed to replace the carpet. In the removal of the mold, these so-called professionals removed little to no drywall which is where the mold was growing. They sprayed something on the floors then they left fans in the bedrooms instead of dehumidifiers and air scrubbers. They told us not to go into the rooms. Two days later I went in the rooms and realized they never removed the mold 100%. I could VISIBLY SEE BLACK MOLD all along the wood where the trim should go, on the drywall, and under the AC closet. Second time around, EPS was ordered to come back to clean the rooms again and to remove more drywall.

At this time, I called other mold/water removal companies and they told me Maronda was supposed to have a company test the air quality and perform swabbing before and after cleaning the rooms. I tell Maronda this and they agree to have a company come to do the air quality/swabbing. This swabbing company told us even after treatment there was still visible mold and they would give Maronda a report explaining how to care for the situation. Third time around this EPS company who STILL HAS NO IDEA WHAT THEY'RE DOING comes in and “cleans” the rooms again, except they did not follow the report explaining what they should do. They did not sand down the mold that is still visibly there!!!

Our furniture has been cluttered in the entire house and this problem has been ongoing for 4 months now!!! They want to send this company back to clean the mold for a 4th time!!! This is just one problem with Maronda. The master bedroom does not cool down from the AC. AC guy came and said he “fixed it.” Lights keep going out in the kitchen, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Electrician hired by Maronda said the spotlights they installed are cheap so they keep shorting out. There are cracks in the foundation in the front patio. The sliding doors are leaking in the bathrooms. We scheduled an appointment with Maronda to have them fixed two times, each time no call no show!!! This house and company is a nightmare. They are very unprofessional, naive, have zero clue what they are doing. Customer service is unacceptable. Back and forth with this company trying to take care of an ongoing mold problem for 4 months!?! Everyone run!

1) We spent a small fortune in plants to add beauty to our spare landscaping here, and they are already dying because of too much water. Why? Because they scraped all the topsoil off the lot here when preparing to build the house, and left nothing but hard clay underneath, and it holds the water and won't drain properly, if at all. We never run our sprinklers in this HOT Florida climate, as the ground STAYS sopping wet and won't drain, therefore killing all landscape plants that don't need that much water!!!

2) Our lawn has been totally ruined by the landscapers who put it in. We paid extra money for sod (over $1500) because we had to sod it again, because the pool people who put in our swimming pool in the backyard ruined the lawn with their big trucks which couldn't be helped, because there was no other way to put in the pool except running over the new sod. The lawn was so soggy to begin with--you would sink into the grass, UP TO YOUR ANKLES anyways. Due to the poor grading in the soil to begin with. It is still this way due to the original landscaper scraping all the topsoil off and leaving us with hard clay!! The front yard is atrocious!

There is nothing but hills and valleys throughout the lawn, due to the poor grading. Also the side yards are full of water - again due to poor grading. We have asked Maronda to come out and look at this horrible situation, and they have refused to come out so far. Our neighbor two doors down is having the same exact problem as us. This is a BRAND NEW Subdivision and people here are very dissatisfied with Maronda HOMES here.

3) We paid $6,000 extra to have one of Maronda's custom bathrooms. They did NOT put a seat of building tile, like the floors, in the huge shower. It's just a BIG BOX. Other showers here have a seat - NOT US. There are cracked tiles throughout the house. There were two HUGE cracks on the floors from the rear outside lanai, which are cracking again. Also the garage floor was full of cracks which they covered up with Home Depot Paint, and are again showing thru the paint. Unsatisfactory again~

4) The only thing they 'fixed" here was a huge piece of 2x4 coming thru the drywall in the ceiling in the entryway and was grossly noticeable. They sent someone out and they had to cut the protruding wood out and re-drywalled and painted the hole in the ceiling. 5) Then the wood trim on the outside eaves of the house was lifting off the house and hanging there, ready to fall out. We are talking about a huge piece of trim work (actually 2 pieces of trim) and had to be replaced.

6) The painters did such a sloppy job on the outside of the house. We had to have them come back AND repaint some of the trim and the main color of the house due to poorly taped off, IF at all, taped off. 7) We have discovered that since we moved in there is problem with the granite in the kitchen and master baths. There is pit marks all over the granite. I have polished it, sealed it three time with granite sealer, and nothing helps. These pit marks are all over not just one place, which tells me the granite people didn't polish the granite enough. I insist that they come back out and do something about this. off. Or replace it.

It's been so discouraging trying to get the Supervisor out here that sees about getting stuff done here. I'll NEVER buy another Maronda home again. It's a case of buy this, and we'll see you...if you can catch us!!! We really request that someone help us here. We are too old to do the repairs ourselves, and why should we? We paid our hard-earned money for this house.

The painters did a ** job. I cannot even get Maronda to come in and fix the mess. I have had to fix the drywall where there were dents, the painter just painted over them. I cannot even get them to come back and finish painting the trim. I have had to finish that myself as well. They were to suppose to fix the trim between the cabinets and I have been waiting for them to fix that since I moved in. Cabinets doors were scratched. We had a garden tub put in. It laid on the curb for six weeks before it was put in. It is all scratched up. We were assured it would be fixed. We are still waiting for grass. NO NO. RUN. DON'T walk. Do not have these people build your home. We paid over $250,000 for this home and I am ready to sell it.

** Fast forward... I sent an email to Karen in June 2017 regarding the leak coming from the same hole in the wall and Kristinn ** replied advising someone from Coverall was going to be contacting me. 3 months later there were no contact from Coverall so I followed up with Kristinn and she passed me off to the "Warranty coordinator", Catherine ** in Sept 2017. Catherine then sent an email advising a co-called Skytec will be contacting me.

**Fast Forward- Someone from Skytec came out a total of 3 times running different tests ordered by Maronda. The last test took place January 9th 2018 and I confirmed with Skytec they provided the report to Catherine ** a few days later on Jan 12th 2018. Til this day there is still no resolution or repair work. I sent Catherine two emails, 1 on the 14th and again on the 16th of March and she had absolutely no intentions on doing the right thing to honor repairing this ongoing issue. I'm extremely disappointed that Maronda Homes warranty dept has -0 Integrity and Catherine is extremely poor with follow up. The picture attached is the wall above the Brown blind which is drooping down due to water leaking through.

The patio was holding a significant amount of water at the walkthrough. They fought us a little on fixing it, but we stood our ground and they did ultimately come out and refinish the porch for us. After closing, we have had a few minor things pop and they send someone out usually within a week of receiving the work order. Is the house perfect? No, but they put a house up in roughly 120 days (permitting takes the majority of the build time). Yes, some corners were cut. Some things were a little uneven (not that anyone would notice unless they were looking) but I challenge you to find me a house that doesn’t have some imperfections. They were honest in saying they won't change things once they’ve stared, they only allow customization up to a certain point, and don’t provide a custom build experience. Overall, we had a great experience. We expected a few things to come up, but they were handled quickly and efficiently.

Everyone we worked with was always very nice, one of the supervisors gave us his personal number and made himself available whenever we needed him. The house is gorgeous, everyone who walks in immediately asks who the builder is. If you’re looking for a custom home, this is not for you. We are relatively young, we don’t have disposable income, and we had the opportunity to build, and design a lot of aspects of a brand new home. Watching our vision come to life over the course of the past year was a really cool experience. I am not an employee nor affiliated with one, this was not incentivized. I did a lot one of research before building with them and didn’t get many positive reviews. I went with my gut, as I find most satisfied people don’t write reviews. I am so glad we went through with the process. We are loving our new home.

We have 3 young children and they had no Christmas this year. They lied, House quality is horrible. Floors level are uneven. All the cabinets are damaged. Floor has dip and squeaking. They gave us to do list for fixing. There are hundred of problems still need to be fix. but salesperson said House is ready to go, Go where??? I am totally afraid to move in and I am not sure how many years this house can be survive. Salesman never response emails or questions. They don’t know what they are doing. This company won’t be survive so long I bet millions. Stay away. There are much better builders everywhere. Don’t choose Maronda.

From Oct 31st they rescheduled the closing to Nov 31st after all this appraisal. We are so excited to move and was confident that this time they will follow the 2nd appraisal but Daisy one of the BS worker told us again (3 days before the CLOSING NOV 31ST) that they are not lowering the price to 265 that there is NO WAY they will give us the house in that price. We waited over two months for this house hoping we can get the house but nope. So the next day my husband and I decided to give up the house and move on. About 6pm Maronda called us telling us that they want us back that they lower the price to 272. Still not the appraisal price so we said NO and since we are not agreeing to the price we want our MONEY BACK. Then they started negotiating again giving us false hope.

The next day, they called us again and convince us to come back and buy the house that this time they lower the price to 268 because they want us to have the house before XMAS (really after all the BS they did to us, waited over 2 months for this house) so still we said NO that we just want out money back. Next day they called us and that person on the phone was one of the salesman. He was telling us that he is going to lower the price to 265 now if we will go to the office ASAP and close the deal.

Still we said NO, that we are done playing the games. But the guy insisted and started telling us that he is going to buy the fence, the fridge, the garage lock, the blind the mailbox etc. if we only come back to them and buy the house that day (NOV 31ST, remember few days before that day Daisy called us. They are not accepting 265 that they are not giving the house to us that the closing is cancelled) and now they are so desperate chasing us to come back. We wonder why?

So we found out from other source that the appraisal results is good for six months and that result will be in the record and since my husband is using FHA Maronda is cannot sell that house higher to the appraisal result within six month. See? Karma is really a big BITCH! After all the false hope, cancellations rudeness of the agents, karma is losing their money. There was first buyer also before us but same thing it did not happen. So whoever will be the next buyer or bidder for this house good luck, GOOD LUCK to MARONDA! Their workers are so unfriendly especially that DAISY!

Many items that were part of the final walk through, and were documented have never been done (e.g., a footprint in our front concrete walkway... left by one of the builders). Also, we paid $10K for a premium lot and the grading was so poor on it that the side and rear were standing water every time it rained and throughout the winter and spring (which is against code). When we requested it be fixed... service group committed to it, but never followed through and became unresponsive.

Finally after 6 months of chasing, we informed the service group that we would be getting a quote and submitting it to Maronda for reimbursement. They agreed with that and when we had the yard regraded and reseeded (a whole other can of worms) for $3500 total, they've refused to pay us. I escalated it to Bob **, who is the Director of the service group after 6 months of battling and then he continued the trend of poor customer service and they refused to resolve the issue. Everything that they documented - they are saying doesn't exist.

I work in an industry where service is provided to customers - and I'd never dream of treating a customer like this. We paid nearly $400,000 for a house and because of their ineptitude, we had to pay an additional $3500, which they refuse to reimburse. Clearly this organization does not have any concerns with customer loyalty. I would never recommend someone else builds with Maronda because the customer experience during, and after the build process was so frustrating.

However, the straw that has finally broken the camel's back is that we have learned that the air handler they installed was/is too small for the house. If you're unfamiliar with this, be glad. The air handler is located on the second floor in a little closet. This closet has been treated with UV lights, chemicals, etc, and yet, it is still a cesspool of mold, which is now blowing through every AC vent. If you want to bleach walls, AC vents, and even your light socket outlets, this is the company for you. They build cheaply. Settle for their work, and you will regret it. Basically, you're going to be buying a very poorly constructed home that will require at least another $50k-$100K to make livable. Please, consider a well-respected builder instead of this company.

Maronda refused to authorize a small change such as sinks. We called and spoke to the sales manager and his solution was to downgrade, get a credit at closing and replace it all once we moved in (are you kidding me). Who buys a brand new house and then rips up all the countertops to replace it with square sinks. Our option was for less than 50 dollars. Maronda could put in the square sinks and still make a 7000 dollar profit (Duh that isn't hard to see that our way was better). Oh did I mention the sales manager said the ** word to me. So I spoke with the Assistant District Manager and he was worse - he was arrogant and had a major power trip going on. So we wrote to the president after they cancelled our contract on us (mind you we have been packing up our house, our house was on the market, and we started ordering furniture for our new place).

Maronda lost a 300,000 dollar contract over 50 dollar sinks - not sure what kind of business they run. Money is money and if my customer wants square sinks and good quality work I am going to give that but instead they lost it all by stated they mutually cancelled our contract - there was nothing mutual about that cancellation. Now we are back to square one. Do not go with Maronda even if your life depended on it. So unhappy and sad awaiting for our check from Maronda to arrive in the mail so we can start all over again with a company that will treat us right and give us a good quality home.

The floor plan amazes me every day in its utility as well as beauty - part of it is due to my choice of floor plan and options, but Maronda deserves the credit for creating such a clever floor plan and options. After scouring home builders in the Cincinnati area for floor plans, Maronda is the only builder with the one plan that met my needs (no others do) - and this one goes beyond. It is genius, I could not imagine up a better one, and executed to near-perfection. This floor plan has everything I need, and nothing I don't e.g. no wasted spaces of multiple dining room/living room (although if that's your thing, you can have it. Other builders don't have the option to change it). Maronda is a better value than all other builders in the area, but since we signed the contract, they have raised the price of my floor plan by $25,000 (lucky us). For some reason they don't offer every floor plan in every neighborhood, and discontinue them after a while.

Some of the people we worked with were a pleasure, such as the personable and warm young construction manager who worked closely with us and provided prompt responses to inquiries whether by email or cell phone - he should be on HGTV!! Has the personality and looks. We felt taken care of with him, and give him 10 out of 10 satisfaction rating. Even if it wasn't in his purview, he would tell us who to contact. I'm guessing this is because he just started this position, and still full of excitement. The construction workers were swift and hard-working as well. The house appears to be constructed solidly. We were allowed to look at it every step of the way and can verify it was built well.

Others were average, e.g. the salesman needed extra nudging for communication, and assumed various options for us until prompted, which I presume came from seeing so many buyers over the years who want the same options (e.g. assuming we wanted a wood stair railing upgrade 1 instead of half wall non-upgrade, or iron upgrade 2). Still, not a bad guy.

We didn't get a buyer's agent. Experts recommend a buyer's agent, but I didn't want yet another middle man I had to track down to talk to Maronda. IMO the more links of people, the more delays in communication. Plus, with the great value Maronda delivered to us, I did not want to squeeze their bottom line even more by having to give a few thousand to a buyer's agent (who in new construction where I found the floor plan and picked options, and neighborhood, does little work).

Some other Maronda reps we didn't work with much, but showed up at the very end and were snippy when the closing was delayed. I suspect it is because their profit with us wasn't as big as if we signed the contract 6 months later - the price of this beautiful massive floor plan (3,000 sq feet) is now $25,000 higher. But we weren't the reason for the majority of the delay.

We signed the contract in June 2016, construction started Sept 2016 after our request for the mirror image floor plan did not go through. We were not communicated why, even though the mirror image makes more sense due to our corner lot (we wanted the driveway away from the corner, away from the fire hydrant) - at any rate it turns out, I'm happier with the configuration and it feels better from a feng shui perspective. The house was supposed to be completed January 2017, but it was not completed until April 2017. I expected a longer delay because houses are complex and there are always weather/inspection delays/unexpected issues. So I was not upset whatsoever in that regard, but just letting you know the closing date may be later than you initially think.

The closing date was scheduled for mid-April 2017, but we were not aware of this until the construction manager (favorite guy we worked with at Maronda) told us during the walk-thru. The closing specialist did not find it strange nor did not call the phone number listed, nor did she contact the sales rep when we did not respond for 2 months to an email sent to an erroneous email address (initially our fault - my husband misspelled my email address on one of the docs, I notified the salesman to fix, tried to get that email address but it was taken, even emailed the email address to forward any house stuff to me to no response, all to no avail). So the closing specialist seemed a bit lazy in not following up, try to contact us with alternate ways or contact the salesman or loan officer, who were both in contact with us via email.

Back to the floor plan I picked, which was designed by Maronda. Its plans are open and beautiful, simply outstanding. The floor plan fits my every need and beyond, with no wasted space. For example I detest multiple dining rooms - i.e. an eat-in kitchen or morning room, AND a dining room. I don't have thousands of extra dollars to be buying multiple dining room sets to be unused and a display case for never used dishes. I also dislike multiple living rooms on the same floor. Who is going to sit here for a bit, then sit there for a bit... and need to buy an extra sectional/sofa set? I also dislike staircases at the front door - seems squished and like you are gonna tumble out the front door, or it blocks the front door. I prefer 2nd floor master bedrooms because I prefer to be elevated and don't like to be on the same level as someone walking on the street.

We prefer a separate tub from shower because it's our first house and like showers for daily living, and a bath for relaxation ;). I also prefer a master bedroom far away from the staircase - tucked in the back for privacy - so not everyone has to walk past it to get to their room. It feels safe and secure. And on the other hand any kids don't get used to no one by their door i.e. if the master bedroom was right at the stairs and the kids room are in the back, they would get more privacy instead of the master bedroom.

I need an office because I work from home - but wanted it on the first floor so I can work when others are asleep. I didn't want to make a bedroom or dining room an office, because I want french doors and a large double window on the first floor, with walls for privacy but French doors for openness. Believe it or not, most floor plans have extra dining rooms, living rooms, or both, no walled office, and a staircase that crowds the entrance of the house.

My parents were all about feng shui and insisted the master bedroom was not situated over the garage (most Ryan homes do this). I also wanted an UNfinished basement because I need storage space over space I need to furnish. The Newbury by Maronda fits every last requirement, and more. It is the PERFECT design, and does not jack up the price needlessly by requiring hardwood floors or decorative beams. The house looks good enough as is.

In addition to all the above, the house has a super sunny sun room/dining room, huge island with seating for 4 and bar counter with seating for 3, walk in pantry, upstairs loft (like a living room, but has a closet for storage!) for video games, gigantic master bedroom (25 feet x 16 feet I think) with sitting area, huge closet, tiled shower which is separate from the tiled tub. A huge laundry room too on the 2nd floor (convenient!) with window.

For the basics, which also are above and beyond - Maronda's execution is immaculate. There is a great room on the first floor, a spacious upstairs laundry room, 3 additional upstairs bedrooms, one which we took the Loft option for a 2nd living room, but upstairs, for playing video games right before bed (can shut down 1st floor, no need to climb stairs right before bed).

There is an upstairs bath with 2 sinks (masterbath has 2 sinks also), and a garage entry closet. The 1300 square foot unfinished basement came with a surprise 16 foot x 9 foot cave area excavated due to sunroom, which is perfect to make a climbing wall with three sides. I prefer unfinished to finished basements for the storage options instead of requirement to furnish, and carpets in basements always collect a musty smell.

Further, I already have a ton of living space above ground, and need storage space and exercise space. Lastly, it bugs me when the MLS lists the basement space as part of the square footage because it gives an erroneous idea of how big the house is, when between a house with a finished basement, and a house with an unfinished basement (2 equal sized houses, 1 finished basement, 1 unfinished... people think the finished basement house is bigger/bigger house with unfinished basement may sound like the same size as a smaller house with finished basement, but zero storage space).

Now for the BEYOND my requirements part - great options, but not wasted space options (a living room/dining room would not be "beyond", it would be a drag). There was an option to make a 1st floor guest suite with adjoining full bath for older guests who don't want to climb stairs, and for separation from the guests (and opposite corner from office) - like a guest house in the same house! This created a large walk in pantry and hall closet. And the most amazing frivolous room... a secret hidden vaulted yoga room behind the master bathroom. It has windows on 3 sides, and can be used as a nursery. Maronda makes high ceilings and spacious hallways without additional fees. I can see over my neighbors' houses and see the gazebo from the master bedroom.

Don't be shy at the walk-thru to point out things to fix. They will do it, and quickly also! As for the financing, we went with the bank they work with, and they were pretty easy to work with, and got us the best deal including seller's incentives. Someone there made about 3-4 mistakes that either I caught, or someone in their office caught.

The sod, seed & straw, mulch, plants came in yesterday/today - Maronda kept their promise. The sub-contractors said Maronda is great to work with. You get a lot for the money. It is the perfect house with a ton of space, yet no wasted rooms to furnish. Truly a dream. My only fear is that I will never be able to move out of this house into another house, because this house is perfect. Outstanding!

4th house was after a divorce, Centex home, townhouse in Apopka. Construction was good, NO issues that I could not handle. It was new and I did some custom work to it and upgrades. Lennox AC unit quit out of house warranty but covered by Lennox warranty and a class action lawsuit that I have not yet been paid on, that's pending. No real complaints and loved the place for what it was. 5th house is the Maronda one and I love it.

I am familiar with Maronda, back in the day my now ex-wife worked there in the mortgage division. They were known for building low-cost starter homes which they still do today. That was over 20 years ago. Frankly I never thought I would live in one as they would not be something I would be interested in. Well fast forward and they had the perfect floorplan in the perfect neighborhood for me. We have half to full acre heavily wooded lots in a country setting. I got the smallest floorplan they offered as its just me and my dog. The build time was slow but that was disclosed up front. I inspected every build phase and frankly I was very surprised with the quality of the components and work done for a budget builder. Slab was reinforced with fiberglass that prevents cracking and so far NONE have shown up. Block work was very good. Windows were a very high grade, roof decking had foil backing for insulation.

I did not realize but the floor plan for this neighborhood included the bonus bathroom that made basically 2 master suites. (Got more than I thought I was getting.) During the time waiting for construction they upgraded the standard trim with price increases and upgraded my house as well. (They had no contractual obligation to do so but did it anyhow.) The tile work was excellent. Cabinets installed great and fit and finish excellent. They installed a Trane AC Unit instead of the standard Lennox. The install job was excellent and I know HVAC installation. Tech used tube bender and made nice smooth bends in tubes instead of the standard 90-degree elbows. This improves efficiency by cutting down on turbulence within the system.

My master shower had 1/2 frameless glass enclosure which is more than I thought I would get, was anticipating 1/4 aluminum frame junk. Exterior paint is an unknown manufacturer, Florida Paint. I can however say they applied it way heavier than I have seen in the past which will reduce moisture problems. Sprinkler system and water system and well are very good though.

The well should have a 1 horse pump instead of the half horse. Suspect this was for energy efficiency so can't knock them. Landscape was poor but not knocking that either. They used the worst Bahia grass with the worst install job I have ever seen. Well it's workable and with some work it's coming around. Bottom line is that all houses will have issues. All tract builders use the same subs and same materials for the most part. Some developments especially in FL are in fact built on wet areas or swamps as some may call them. So do your homework all builders will build on them.

The issue is we chose flexible buyers for our current house so we would not have to move, but now we are seeing the writing in the wall and we either will have to rent off of our buyers or move twice. The thing is we did not pull these dates out of the air. We made the mistake of believing the salesman. I am not sure what else we were supposed to do. This is our first home build and we talked to others that live in the plan. I have also not heard from the salesman in a while. I sent two emails and they are unanswered. He was great at communicating at the beginning of the process but now we hear nothing.

Updated on 01/10/2018: We were told July, but we ended up closing in late September. Now I want to write about other lies that we were told. When we were picking a lot we picked one right across from one of the ponds in the plan. When we chose it, the pond looked great and we were told it would only get better by having trees planted. Well not only were the trees a lie, but the pond no longer looks great.

Right after our house was started the pond was drained and digging began. We were told that a pipe was bent and they had to fix it. The pond would be fixed and would fill on its own. Now that we have been in our house for a few months I see that the pond water level is low all the time and I can hear it draining all the time. I asked the salesman and he said once the construction was done the pond would look better. During construction the pond has fences in it to filter the mud. My concern is the water level not the fences. I then reached out to the service department and they told me that this is a retention pond and at times could be empty. The level is kept low and will always be low. Would you buy a house looking into a big empty hole? No one would. I spoke to all our neighbors and they knew nothing about the water level being low or the pond could be empty they were told it would look like the pond at the front of plan which is always full.

I just don't understand the lies that don't really matter much. We would have bought in the plan, but just a different lot. I know that the salesman reads these reviews and I am sure he will see this one and think "not this guy again", but why lie? Also, there were three lots left in phase 4 which we wanted to buy in because it was cheaper than phase 5. The one lot was at the front of the plan and when I asked about it he said it was going to be the parking lot for the soon to be completed new model. Well guess what? There is a house being built on that lot now. It's a Presidential model, so all the neighbors are wondering if they were saving it for someone because they wanted a Presidential model at the front.

As far as the house... It has been pretty good. We have had issues with the dishwasher not installed correctly, the furnace didn't work, our locks didn't work on the outside doors, our kitchen cabinets doors were not hung correctly, we have a plumbing problem in our upstairs bathtub, and we have a brick missing on the front of our house. The service department has been pretty good except for the missing brink. They tried to just go over the hole with mortar instead of actually putting in a new brick, but they said they will fix it.

These experiences have lessened the overall experience of building a new home. It has left a bad taste in our mouth. People always ask if we would do it again and I say only time will tell on the quality of the house over the long term. With both my kids in the school district that we want to be in I don't see us moving unless there is some other unforeseen issue.

Unfortunately my wife and I are barely in our 20s and first time home buyers, so we gullibly took his words and trusted him. Even though her and I did do our research before even thinking about building there were still some things we hadn't learned yet. The questions and concerns we had, he would just write them off and tell us not to worry about them. Foolishly, we listened.

After we told him we had a realtor, he turned into a little jerk. He stopped answering phone calls, emails and texts. I get it, there goes a percentage of his commission, but too bad you are an employee and understand that it happens. Ever since then, he's been salty with us. The latest issue and the worst is that after we signed the contract, we hadn't realized that our model had an available under truss hip screened lanai. The option was not in our selection sheet when our five-star sales associate went over it with us, so we had no way of knowing. It wasn't until later, via the internet that we saw our same model with the lanai added on.

We went back to Maronda and told Eddie that we would like to add the lanai to our upgrades. We already knew that it would cost us and additional $500 dollars like it states in the contract when the buyers want to add an additional upgrade after the contract has been signed. We were fine with that and took responsibility for not knowing beforehand. "Too bad", is basically what they said. He told us that our contract is done and waiting to be looked over by our local city permitting department.

Here's the thing, our lot is in an eagle zone (one of the things he didn't explain to us when we bought the lot!) and after taking a trip to city permitting they told us since the eagle nesting season doesn't end until mid-May 2017, they aren't even going to look at our permitting until then. So there has been an entire three month span where nothing is being done! Why can't the contract be changed/re-done? I don't understand. We spoke to Eddie who said we shouldn't even bring it up to his manager. What? That made no sense to us. We honestly figured it was because he was too damn lazy to write up another contract with the added change. We had our realtor call in and speak to Eddie, again.

Finally, our realtor spoke to the supervisor and he said no also. So my realtor asked for the next person in line, who supposedly happens to be a regional supervisor/manager of some sort. He gave my realtor his number, and we are still waiting to hear a call back from him after almost an entire month. We were even told by the other sales associate, Lorena, to just start another contract. WHAT!? What a ridiculous solution. Yeah, let me give you another $5000 deposit so you can pocket it and scrap my current contract. Seriously, what in the world.

What I don't understand is that this new added lanai is a whole $10,000 that they pocket. It's not like we want to change doorknobs the day before closing! I understand that engineers have to re-do the blueprints, etc but how is it not cost effective to do so? There is no way that the added change could cost them more than what the lanai costs! I can't find anywhere in the contract where it states that changes cannot be done after the buyer signs. I mean, that's literally the purpose of charging the buyer an additional $500 to any change they want to make after the selections have been done. Which is directly stated on the front of their paperwork!

If anybody could please shed some light here on what I could do. Is it worth getting lawyers involved? It's just a lanai that I want added to my home, that won't even start construction until possibly June, I mean, come on. If this is just the beginning, without even having to worry about my home being constructed, what happens during that time? Help.

Not only was the interior of the home a disaster, the exterior was just as bad. My realtor with over 20 years in the industry stopped the process of putting green tape on all the items that needed attention after we noticed that a door was in need of complete tear down including an entire interior wall and brought the "supervisor" Henry (Hank) and myself to the middle of the home expressing her concerns and asking him why he wasn't writing any of what we found down or using a tablet. His response was that he'd remember. That was a complete joke and thankfully we had good notes along with pictures. Hank is not fit for his role. He speeds through the development driving with his door open, jumps out of the car that looks like it's been through a mafia war and leaves it running as he frantically tries to do his job. This experience by far has been the worst ever!

The yard: the sod is literally thrown in, no guidance on how to maintain it. We have twisted our ankles numerous times out in our yard and the VP Jim ** refuses to discuss and reverts back to "Hank's" notes that are a mess of chicken scratch. We have our landscaping noted on our walk through. We've had to spend over $500.00 so far trying to correct the poor install of our lawn. We still have a tree on our property that Hank sent someone over to straighten out but ** will not address and it is a tilting eye sore. The exterior front of our home had to be done three times! The incorrect mantel was put in after what we saw with pictures was what we expected. The team changed the mantel and after three times of me the home owner standing supervising a sublet contractor it was finally correct. The driveway was sinking and had to be redone.

The VP Jim ** is unfit for his role. It has trickled down to everyone that we had/have to deal with. The warranty person Karen ** doesn't return calls, respond to emails and all situations that fall within our warranty are just denied and then we must fight. They send this man Jorge out and all he does is debate the items that are in question of repair and is extremely combative. The CEO Ted Brock was contacted and refused to speak with me. Look at his linked in profile. Speaks volumes about his experience as well and his picture of him reading a book!

This is our dream home. We paid cash for this. Cash!!! These individuals have no skills, are unethical and create havoc every chance given. Do not buy a home from them. We also had a home inspection as recommended from our realtor. Most would think a brand new home would not need that but our inspector found that the entire electrical panel needed redo. Lights tripping and hollow tiles that ** refused to cover repairing. We have documented everything. We have neighbors documents as well.

There's a pond here that is not being appropriately addressed and we have midge flies in our homes as a result. There is garbage everywhere from careless builders and food wrappers from every fast food establishment in our country. They point the finger at the developer and the developer points back at Maronda and we still look at this mess. DO NOT BUY FROM MARONDA!

Because of the extremely long process they cause my clients to receive a higher interest rate and miss out on homestead exemption, which is a savings on taxes. It is impossible to talk with someone from their corporate office and even when I could get a hold of someone other than the sales rep, they always got very upset with me for calling and actually hung up on several occasions. In closing, you should know that this experience was so bad that I will refuse to ever accept another commission check related to a deal with this company. I honestly feel sick to my stomach just for being a part of the deal and I beg you to do whatever you can to choose another builder.

And finally the office manager of Maronda Homes Lisa in Palmetto Florida was very unprofessional. She is discussing my sale with other customers and she had no idea they were my friends. They came by looking at their models telling them I am a "Trip" when she was so drugged up on pain pills during the whole process of me purchasing my home. And I know this because she told me! Whole experience a total nightmare!

Need master bathroom door turned - as seniors no room to close door easily because it opens into small area instead of opening out as another builder has done on their homes. Also suppose to have door over ac unit that is located in laundry area - story from Matt was ordered door and it was broken then was going to make something... Can't understand how other builder here has no trouble getting their ac doors. Also big issue is my front walkway is sinking. Can't seem to get anything done. Don't know where to turn... Don't have much longer before year is up. This is not our first built home but it has been the worst... Never, never would I recommend Maronda Homes... Please don't do it!

Our sales rep also didn't know the specs for the specific neighborhood we were to build in and we were required to change our garage entrance a month after signing our contract. Maronda Homes wanted us to pay the difference for the change and I said absolutely not because that was their ignorant mistake. After fighting over the additional cost they decided to press on with the new plan even though my wife and I liked the first plan best. I was told my driveway would be wide enough for two cars to pass each other but after the plan change I was given a blueprint showing a single car driveway. Who would want a single car driveway that leads to a two car garage?

These issues were only the tip of the iceberg because after numerous phone calls and argument the house was still to be built. In June our sales rep told us he submitted the paperwork to the city for permits and when September rolled around and ground had still not been broken I called the city. They had no record of the permits ever being submitted. Lied to again! I spoke with the regional sales manager for Maronda Homes Greg ** and he was very rude and also dishonest about what was happening to my home. After speaking with this joker I had to pull the plug on building this house.

At this point we were 6 months into a contract and nothing had been accomplished or even started. I don't see how they can operate this way and stay in business. They would not refund our deposit and we will now be going to court over the whole ordeal. I beg others out there to really consider other builders because you are in for a horrible experience with this company. They have so many bad reviews and I wish that I would have listened to them before signing a contract with a dishonest company.

I know it is money for you. I was an employee of Port St Lucie Building Dept years ago and I never saw subs do what they do nowadays: very rude, garbage all over when there is a freedom bucket right there. My neighbors and I picked up most of the cans and papers. We have been here over 20 years - never seen anything like it. I am disabled and watching this house go up and rude subs you need to fix it. I can't wait to see the inside when my new neighbor moves in. I know you owners of Maronda Homes don't care but you need to.

We drove to the house daily to see how things were going. Every time we did we found mistakes. Walls not attached to the trusses, broken water pipes in the foundation, missing cable outlets that we paid extra for, etc. We told the supervisor about the issues and he tried to get them fixed (so he told us). Two days before our closing I asked the supervisor if we needed to push the closing back to give them more time to fix the issues. He said he couldn't. That Maronda would not allow us to.

The day of closing the house was still not cleaned, the paint on the outside of the house was peeling off, the drywall looks awful, the master shower floor needed to be redone, the master counter is too short, the cabinets were chipped up, the front and back porches looked like a construction zone still (tons of stains on the concrete), the outside stucco looks awful, the driveway has a 2 inch lip (feels like a speed bump), plus so many other things were not fixed.

After moving in a week after closing (gave them some time to fix things, but they didn't) we noticed that the French doors in our enclosed den were not closing correctly. We found more drywall issues, and the A/C does not cool one entire side of the house. We found that they laid the carpet over rocks or what feels like rocks when you walk on them. To top it all off don't look up when you are in the great room. You can see every tape line that was done on the drywall. In calling the supervisor he gave me the numbers for the trades who had done the jobs and told me that I could call them to get things fixed. I guess he was done with me. I have been in the house for 2 months now and still have a long list of things that need to be fixed. Each time I get a company in to fix an issue they cut corners and do a half ass job. Then they give the excuse "Well this is cheap material" or "These aren't the best doors and toilets."

I also am having to use my own money to have the A/C rerouted to get air into the master bedroom and closet. The temperature difference is 5+ degrees and the air company says "Well Maronda designed it, we just put it in." An extra $500.00 I should not have to spend to fix the issue. Guess I should have done more research before going with Maronda for my house. To tell you the truth I HATE my house, and it is a shame after spending the amount of money that I did to build it.

Maronda only cares about your money. If I had room I would go into detail on everything that has broken in the 9 months we have owned this crappy home. Huge carpenter ant infestation, doors, and windows don't close properly so constant insects in the house. Water contaminated, horrible poop stench in the back, bedroom damp smell - have to run dehumidifier 24/7. Horrible sound when we turn the faucets on. The list goes on and on. The stress has given me 2 heart attacks.

3: For God's sake, don't buy in the Hartman Pond neighborhood. The person who used to run the model home before they closed up shop said that the reason they were doing so is because "Maronda created a new ghetto." 4: They lie. Hartman Pond is in the Columbus City School District. They will tell you it's Hamilton Local. Not only is it CSD but it's one of the worst CSD schools in the city. Run. 5: The "pond" is just a sewer drainage basin. It's ugly.

6: Maronda fails to upkeep their lots. Ticks are everywhere in the summer. You have to get the city involved just to get them to mow. 7: They are some of the rudest people you will ever meet. Once they have your money they could care less. 8: Did I mention the horrible quality of the homes? Yeah, it needs mentioned twice. 9: They don't seal the foundation/walls. Bugs can just waltz in because there isn't a good barrier to prevent it. 10: The soil has 0 nutrients. OSU tested the soil quality. Maronda sold off all of the top soil to Jones Topsoil before they built. You will never grow a good lawn unless you use a ton of chemicals or have it professional maintained and regrown. ZERO NUTRIENTS. RUN AWAY FROM MARONDA.

On March 30th we finalized our upgrade options and again addressed that the upgrade that we selected was the island the salesman had in the model and again was informed that yes that was the deluxe island. On April 16th we had a printed copy that confirmed our selection that included the deluxe island. It was during this time that we also addressed the front porch of our home. We stressed the point that we wanted the home as the portrait on the internet and on the model brochure. The porch only has columns with no railing and is a walk off front porch.

On March 25th we signed a copy of the photo of the Harvard Model that we selected as a walk off porch with no railings and just columns. We even addressed this several times with the salesman to confirm that the home was going to be built as shown on the pictures of the model. We received an email from the salesman on March 31st that the porch was to be just the columns.

It was on Monday October 12th that upon a visit to the construction site that the island that was being built in the kitchen was in no way a replication of the island that my wife and I had been lead to believe we purchased. As I was leaving the construction site, I noticed porch railing kits lying in the garage. I ran into the salesman as I was leaving the plan. I addressed these matters with him as he informed me that they must be someone else's railing or a false delivery as he stated he confirmed that the porch would just have columns. I also addressed the island with him and he had no idea why it wasn't the island that we all thought. He stated that he would look into this matter.

Upon returning my call the salesman stated that it was due to code that the porch needed railings. This code only came into place because the porch was not built as shown on the brochure and/or internet photos that were signed. He went on to state that they changed sometime in March or April and that they also changed the type of islands that they were placing in the Harvard Model that we selected. The issue here was, we as the buying customer were never informed of this and given options.

The sales man stated on Monday October 12th that he would address my concerns with the Maronda Homes VP and that we would hear something the next day. On Tuesday October 13th, we heard nothing from the sales man or the Maronda Homes VP. On Wednesday October 14th, I contacted the salesman whom informed me that he had a meeting with his VP and I would be getting a call first thing the next day.

On Thursday October 15th, around 1 pm we heard nothing from the sales man or the Maronda Homes VP. I called the sales man and he stated that his VP would be calling us. We never received a call from the Maronda Homes VP that day. In fact, Friday October 16th came and by 12pm we had heard nothing from the VP. I called and finally was able to talk to the Maronda Homes secretary who informed me that the VP was out of the office and took a detailed message, she stated that he would contact me first thing Monday October 19th.

October 21st came and again about 12pm we had heard nothing from the Maronda Homes VP. I called at 12pm, 12:02pm, and again at 2pm. I finally called from a different number and was able to get the VP on the phone. We talked about my issues where he informed me that he stopped them from cutting the granite counters. He stated that they could build a different island and I informed him at this point that the island would now never fit in the kitchen. I let him know that I will run over to the construction site and measure the island. I let him know that I would call back within the hour. I went to measure and there was no way that the island that we selected would or could be placed into that home.

I called back several times before I was able to get a hold of the VP. I let him know that the island would not fit. I explained to him that this was the island that we believed was being placed in our home the entire time. He stated that it would not fit, the issue here I explained is had we known this, then we might have not upgraded the island or selected a different model home. I addressed the porch with the VP, as he asked me if I was crazy, how they would build a home with the porch on the brochure in Western PA.

As I explained how the sales man led us to believe that this was the island the entire time and that the porch was being built as displayed on the picture as a walk off, the Maronda Homes VP called me a liar. He stated that this was not what the sales man was telling him and could he go now to call the production team as I was holding back productivity, I requested that we have a meeting with the sales man Himself and his supervisor and he ignored my request. I asked for his supervisor's name and number and he informed me that I would receive a call from his supervisor the very next day and hung up. I immediately contacted the sales man who stated that he would call the VP and we should be getting some type of compensation.

Friday October 23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, and the 27th came and went with no call from the Maronda Homes VP or his supervisor. At this point my wife and I were thinking this is just another broken promise from Maronda. On October 28th we sent an email to the salesman with several questions to include that the VP never called us back or offered any type of compensations. On October 31st we went to the construction site and had to get the key from the salesman. I stressed to the sales man that again I received no call from the VP to compensate nor received a call from this supervisor, I again stated that we should have a meeting. I informed the salesman of my conversation again with the VP. The sales man was dancing around giving us a garage door opener for the issues.

Island that we thought were getting upgrade cost: $2,190.00, Upgraded island counter top: $1,200.00. Front porch that we added as we thought would be a walk off porch, $8,990.00. Somehow, Maronda Homes, that does not total your resolution: chain link garage door opener: $495.00.

Finally after 10 months, my husband went ape ** crazy on them and they gave him an email address to contact somebody about our shingles. They then sent us information about a pending class action suit regarding our shingles. So now we are supposed to wait even longer for that to go through! We should have known building with them was going to be a mistake when our original salesmen left the company during our building process and we never found out until we called their corporate office to figure out why he wasn't returning our calls. They never even bothered to assign someone else to us.

Updated on 07/19/2015: Finally got my answer on 7-16-2015 about the water drainage problem in my backyard. This answer came from the office in Westchester, Ohio. They said it was not their problem. Even one of their own management personnel said I got a raw deal and would help me anyway he could. It all started from that sales rep in Walton, at the Aosta site. I was told when I first looked at the lot the drainage issue would be handled by Maronda or I would not have even considered purchasing it. Just get everything down in writing before closing, Because after that you are at their mercy. It's always about the next house after they get their money.

So naturally I was shocked when I read these reviews. I ask anyone who has read a negative review to carefully examine what the complaint is and think about it in a rational manner.

NOW PLEASE READ: We had got our pick on one of the last lots. None of the remaining ones had a great backyard but that being said one would think they could have showed us the nicest lot based on where the house would sit. A few weeks after we signed the foundation was down on the wrong location according to the print the rep showed us. Now I have to look at the neighbor’s house every time I go outside and wonder - WTF didn't we take that lot.

I was angry and voiced my concerns throughout the whole process but there was really nothing anybody could. So with that being said, the reps sell you on the house, but if a yard is important to you then don't sign a thing until you have an updated copy of the print and you can get that from the municipality. Also I should not have had to pay and extra 3k for a side entry when a rear entry was not an option.

If your experiencing any flooring issues within your home call and request a service call. If your out of warranty it will take a month or longer to get someone out there to repair your home flooring issue because your super "Bryan **" will not pay for us to come to your home. He does sneaky business with RitRuge and RiteRug doesn't care. Bryan ** was quoted a flooring repair price on a homeowner's home of approximately $445.00 by a Senior Account Mgr at RiteRug. When a new hire gave him a lower incorrect price for the same repair of approximately $195.00 knowing that was the case he got upset at the new hire cause he was told he was operating under "shady dishonest business practices." RiteRug stood behind him cause even though they were losing money they would make more money in the long run with other contractual properties. Check you flooring with Maronda Homes.

The local company responded within an hour for an emergency service and charged me $700.00. Maronda's vendor eventually made the repairs to the roof by securing the roofing material that was not installed properly around the turtle vents at no charge to me. While I am grateful they stood behind their work, and they apparently fixed the problem, they refuse to reimburse me for the cost of the tarpaulin because it was not installed by their vendor. Had I waited for the vendor who finally returned my call (by e-mail) three days later before installing the tarpaulin, there would have been extensive water damage to the property.

They apparently had a top soil company come out before they started building the homes and sold them the rights to the top layers of soil. What is left has 0 nutrients (it was tested) and can barely grow grass...so if you don't like putting tons of chemicals all over your lawn then you'll just have brown patchy land with weeds throughout.

Maronda likes to give financing to anyone with a pulse, so you'll end up with foreclosures all over your neighborhood and the type of neighbors that drive your property values down. Good luck. Maronda lied to us about the school district. Our zip code is Lockbourne and it should be Hamilton Township Schools..nope..it's Columbus Schools. It should be considered borderline child abuse to send a child to Columbus City Schools..so either you want to have a stupid child or you need to be able to afford private school. The "community pond" that was promised is now a filled in waste water collection pit. I love that view of tires and trash from my upstairs. It's glorious. Don't make the same mistake thousands of others did. Run away from Maronda homes as fast as you can. It's nothing but a junk, quick construction house.

1. The floor in front of the rear sliding door is warped and is pushing the floor up. This section of flooring, including the sub floor, has to be replaced. In addition, as a result of the above, the bottom section of the entire door frame has been pushed up. An investigation showed that there is absolutely no seal or any kind of barrier installed underneath the door frame. This allowed water to enter through the underside of the door frame, in to the kitchen, rotting and destroying the sub floor. As an emergency resolve I have applied some expanding foam to the underside of the door to prevent further damage. At this time there is no firm evidence of other damage to the area below the sub floor. However, only removing and replacing the damaged floor area will reveal the whole picture.

2. During heavy rains water has come through the exterior front wall near the main front door and created quite a large crack in the wall. I suspected the water coming in either via the area around the front exterior door light or from above the door frame. I have tried and temporarily sealed the area with Silicon to prevent further damage. However, the crack is obviously there and needs to be repaired, and the true reason for the water ingress needs to be determined and fixed.

3. When trying to install new flooring in the foyer and kitchen the contractors, hired for quotations, all pointed out the large dip along the hall way floor. From the left side of the foyer to the bathroom wall the floor falls by more than 1 inch, a direct result of a wall installed over unsupported flooring. With floor beams on 24” center this is less than adequate support. The exterior door is also difficult to close because the door frame is no longer square. Most likely this is another result of the floor drooping but only a more detailed study will be able to determine this.

Maronda's exact response was :"Maronda gives you a one year warranty and you closed on March 17, 2006. This is homeowner maintenance issues". Maintenance issues? All of the above items are the direct result of inferior and shoddy workmanship. The contractors they hire are, of course, the cheapest of the cheap and the homeowners pay the price for as long as they own a Maronda home. I am prepared to hire an attorney and get my issues resolved.

BTW, one of the contractors I hired for the floor replacement used to work for Maronda and he told me about some of the shortcuts they were told to take. He stated that he would be more than happy to go to court with me. Does anyone know of pending lawsuits against Maronda?

Once the building process started, we noticed some issues. The foundation walls were poured, but the basement floor was not poured until 3 months later, we thought that was odd but continued the project. After the walls were built, we noticed the floor plan did match what we ordered. The entry room layout was missing a door, the kitchen layout for our double ovens was wrong, and the door from the garage into the house was put in the wrong place. We called out these items to Maronda, only to get more promises that they would fix the issues.

Once the drywall was complete, we noticed there were over 57 major issues that were on the list. We met with Maronda and they assured us they would fix the issues. On several occasions, the foreman was very nasty and told us that he wasn't making anymore fixes and that he would sell the house to someone else. The staff on site were cheap laborers who looked like they were hand picked from the local jail. The poor quality was evident throughout the house.

About a week before closing, the next door neighbor noticed that when they press their garage door opener, it opened our garage door. We had ordered special garage doors with the house; instead of installing new garage doors, Maronda brought the garage doors over from the 2 year old model and installed them on our home.

After pressing the issue that the yard needed to be in before closing, Maronda finally agreed to put the yard in and we started watering the grass. Water began to seep into the basement on 3 of the floor major walls including the electrical panel. The insulation on all 4 walls was dripping wet and began to pull away from the walls. This was identified as a major issue that would need to be resolved before the home inspection. We delayed the closing and Maronda assured us they would fix it. Well unfortunately, they did not fix the leaking house.

We would like to put a warning out to anyone who is considering the home in Meadow Breeze in Liberty Township, it has major issues and Maronda did not fix them. We were forced to end the contract due to Maronda's inability to fix all of the problems with the house. We will never work with this builder again. They are unprofessional, use the poorest quality products and they treat their customers like dirt.

We have plenty of pictures to prove the poor quality and terrible experience we had with Maronda and am attaching a few. Our home inspector advised us getting out of the contract and not purchasing the home was the best decision we ever made. We hope this writeup helps anyone who is considering ever building a Maronda home, our advice is do not ever use this builder. All of the negative reviews are true. Fortunately we could walk away after 9 months and find a new quality home in the same area. We would have been stuck with a poor quality home and a builder who does not support their product.

Stone Center Inc. is a stone fabrication facility located in Lakeland Florida specializing in the fabrication and installation of various natural stone products such as counter tops, vanities, fireplaces for residential use as well as commercial projects. We have been in this business for the past 28 years. I personally am the Project Manager for the company with responsibility of overseeing all operations of the fabrication portion of our business. I have been in the stone business since 1988 and a member of the Marble Institute of America.

Natural stone (granite, marble, travertine etc...) can have different interpretations of proper methods of fabrication and installation. The MIA's objective is to offer industry standard's to protect both consumers and contractors. Typically, after a kitchen is measured, a slab layout is done to ensure proper fit, locate seams if necessary, and exclude any natural characteristics that, although are quite normal in a slab of granite, may not be within the original sample shown to a customer. This is the opportunity for the fabricator to communicate any issues with the homeowner or builder. The main area of concern of this particular kitchen is the "L" shaped corner counter top. The overall dimensions of the "L" shape is 61" x 96". With an average granite slab dimension of 72" x 117" in our industry, there was no need for a seam in this counter top.

1. Standard slab thicknesses in our industry are 3/4" or 1 1/4". The granite installed in 1" thickness, beyond the standard slab tolerances of +/- 1/16". My assumption is that the slabs were heavily discounted to the fabricator as they are not the standard thickness or the thickness the customers had anticipated receiving. 2. Pattern discoloration on the island that could have been avoided if two slabs were utilized. 3. The inside of the sink cutouts in the bathroom vanities are dull and not polished to the highest grit.

Our price to template, fabricate and install 1 1/4" Santa Cecelia granite counter tops with a 1/2 bull nose edge detail, back splashes and center island with an under mount sink cutout amounts to $3,420.00 and includes removal of the existing granite. To exclude the island from above, the price would be $2,935.00. The issue with this option would be to find an exact "lot" match of the Santa Cecelia slabs. We currently have 14 variations of this material at our facility. It will be the responsibility of the homeowner to select the slab to be used. Even from an experienced fabricator this endeavor will be very challenging as the two counter tops are very close to each other and any difference will be most noticeable in a home. If a matching slab can be located, purchased and delivered to Stone Center (at no cost to Stone Center), we will submit a revised proposal upon request.

Working there I was able to control the build. I went in and screwed down the sub-flooring before my floors were put down. I bought the BEST grade of carpet and the ceramic tile. When I moved in I changed the fixtures and threw away the plastic ones they provided. Overall I got a 2400 sq ft home at the price of a 1500 sq ft home from any other builder. Problems do occur and depending on who you deal with will depend on if they get fixed. The people working there are most of the time working in a hornet's nest. Doing 2 and 3 people's jobs with no support from upper management, I was involved in a class action suit in 2007.

I sold out an entire subdivision of homes that the basements filled up with water every time it rained. That's when I left to work for someone else. The people won after 2 years and got their basements fixed. The problem was a decision to not use gravel in the back fill to save a few hundred dollars a home. The guy that made the decision was stupid and eventually fired. If you want to buy a new home you are stupid. It's like buying a car. Buy one a few years old. Buying new you will lose 10% as soon as you move in. You know nothing about what is going to happen in a new subdivision because it's just that new.

Salesmen ALL lie. That is the most important thing to remember. If you think that smiling guy/girl in front of you has your best interest in mind just remember they only get paid if you buy. That is the bottom line. For you 100 or more people that have had a horrible experience I can only tell you I use to sit in my model while grown men and women broke down and cried. It was sad. Many times I almost lost my mind and many times I gave up my commission to pay for upgrades and to fix things. Did I ever lie? Let's just say I didn't tell the whole truth.

The Wolf family are good people and have thousands of employees that they have no control over. The company turns people like a revolving door. I would recommend Maronda to anyone who is willing to do one simple thing. Don't build new and get an inspection before you close. Buy a spec and make them an offer. They will discount another 10% at least and with an inspection you will know what you are walking into. Remember if you build 20,000 homes a year you will have homes that are built great and some that are **. Protect yourself no matter who the builder is. Last run a credit check on any builder you are building with or buying from. Many of these companies are ten feet from bankruptcy. Good Luck.

Sufficient number of small issues were found on inspection. However, what was the biggest issue for us was the water covered basement walls. I am unhappy because I believe that Maronda Homes knew about the problem but decided to cover the water problem with lot of insulation. Ran water for about an hour in the new home and the water started to leak into the basement.

THESE PEOPLE USE CHEAP INSTALLERS WHEN CRAFTSMAN ARE REQUIRED.. WANNA BUY A MARONDA HOME?.. Please BUY MINE.. IT IS TOTAL CRAP.. I AM SUING NOW AND HOPE THEY ARE REQUIRED BY THE COURT TO BUY THIS POS BACK FROM ME... CRAP CRAP CRAP STAY AWAY--FAR AWAY! Cabinets are falling apart, no room for appliances REALLY!!! They must come out and bastardize their own structure in order to fit washer/dryers refrigerators. The simplest of design issues and they can't even get that right.. Missing electrical switches in places required by code.. Fireplace outlet not even powered!!

They are not worth the paper to wipe with.. Please RUN AWAY from these people. I have not had a week where I could relax in my new Maronda POS without having another failure of some kind that demanded my attention.. You will never relax. The home will NOT get you through ANY phase of your life. The countertops need immediate replacement, the floors are total cheap junk, carpets I can't find any cheaper anywhere.. shower and tub enclosures are damaged upon installation and you will have to live with days on end waiting for repairs that never fix the problem.

When the warranty is up, YOU WILL SPEND 2 MORE DAYS WAITING FOR A NEW COMPANY TO INSTALL A NEW ENCLOSURE AT YOUR EXPENSE. The air returns are far too small. NOISY REPEAT NOISY YOU MUST TURN THE TV UP ALMOST DOUBLE SO YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT IS SAID WHILE THE BLOWER IS RUNNING....THERE IS ONLY ONE RETURN AIR GRILL WHICH CHEAPLY ENOUGH IS BACK TO BACK TO THE UNIT SO THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS COLD ALL WINTER AND HOT ALL SUMMER AS AIR IS ONLY PULLED FROM THE ROOM WHERE THE RETURN IS LOCATED - No REPUTABLE BUILDER OR CONTRACTOR WOULD DO SUCH A SHODDY JOB-THIS IS SOMETHING THEY DID BACK IN the 50's!!

Your a/c and/or burner WILL self destruct due to this cheap install - call an A/c company and have them evaluate the system.. Junk CHEAP LIES AND DO NOT BUY-- it is pure junk! It is delivered on a flatbed with each pre assembled wall marked "left master bedroom wall" etc. It's crappy erector set RUN AWAY as fast as you can. YOU'VE BEEN WARNED - IF YOU BUY YOU HAVE ONLY YOU TO BLAME!!

Doors just started falling off the hinges. Our carpet has pockets in it, like the carpet is separating from the floor. There are a million cracks in the wall. One of my neighbors mentioned that when she flushes the toilet upstairs, a ring forms in her wall downstairs. Fortunately we're not a part of the group of neighbors whose foundations are severely cracked. A lot of our neighbors have complained about the quality of the houses and some even suggested doing a class action lawsuit. Then we have some neighbors who don't want to do anything, because they know that they got the house dirt cheap and you get what you pay for.

This house is only seven years old but it feels like this thing has taken years of beatings. I wonder if all Maronda Homes are like this. For some reason, the Better Business Bureau gave them an "A+" but when I Google Maronda, they have hundreds of complaints from angry home buyers. My parents invested a lot of money in repairing things that Maronda didn't build correctly. I remember Florida took a bad storm and the houses were flooded because of something Maronda did. I was too young to remember what it was, but a representative for Maronda came to our home and said he would make sure it got fixed because we were so nice to him. He explained that the majority of our neighbors were rude and cursed at him and that he wasn't going to fix anything for them.

I'm thinking to myself, "You all messed up everybody's houses and you're upset because they have attitudes?" I was grateful that my parents had been kind to him and they weren't yelling but I still felt bad for our other neighbors. He wrote a report saying that the damage to the other homes was no fault of Maronda. In hindsight we should have told our neighbors why their houses didn't get fixed.

The construction department has never contacted us nor has the service department. Basically, our six month old home has buckled flooring from not being adhered, buckled facade outside, pipes sticking out of our yard, broken railings (they fixed once, but didn't replace the broken railing rather they just nailed it in a different place), broken mailbox, etc.... The list goes on and on! Again, don't believe that they've cleaned up their act. Feel free to speak with any neighbor in any Maronda community - we all have laundry lists of complaints that have gone unanswered!

All of our windows have mold on the caulking because moisture gets in every morning and the window sills are so wet that sometimes the water drips to the floor. Our home was poorly made. The water intrusion in our living rooms and dining room has created a moldy smell after the rains have gone. We're not happy with our home at all. We will not use Maronda again for our next home. We wish Maronda would pay homeowners some money for things that need to be replaced and fixed in the homes that they built. Maronda does not want to take ownership of any of the problems in the workmanship and will basically do nothing to fix it. The most they will do is put some caulk or putty in the exposed nail holes and paint over them.

Luckily, during one of our personal walkthroughs a couple weeks before we closed, we met one of our new neighbors. As we were talking, when he mentioned, "Yeah, it seems like they are putting a community walkway back to the open green space next to your house," red flags immediately were raised. My wife and I saw a 15 foot wide (from the road down the length of our house) path of gravel that we hadn't noticed before. I immediately got on the phone to try and contact our salesman, but couldn't reach him. The blueprint we signed off on had no mention of a walkway. Our salesman called me back the next day to assure me that it was not a walkway, rather it was an emergency access easement for trucks to use if they would need to access the utilities buried behind our home. And that is supposed to make things better?

So basically, there was a road being marked off for on our property that we were not privy to and Maronda expected us to just accept this. We have two young children and two dogs, so how could this not be a safety issue? We approached Maronda about moving the easement. They said no. We said we were never told about the easement (sadly, the neighbors that are also affected by the easement did not find out about it until the day before their closing and could not back out of the deal) and were pretty much told tough luck. Maronda offered us two solutions - either back out of the deal and get our money back or sign the closing papers with the easement as is. Of course, my wife and I chose the former option (I still contend that the fact they offered to give us back our hand money without us even asking for it is an admission of some guilt).

The worst part about it is that we sold our current home and expected to be moving into the new home two weeks ago, but now with our two kids and dogs, we are relegated to a small apartment while we begin our house search again. I will never ever consider a Maronda home again. Even with our search of resale homes, if the home has every single thing we want and I know it is a Maronda, I would not even consider it. I feel like the company only cares about money and couldn't care less about peoples' lives as I'm sure they will sell our brand new house to some other unsuspecting buyer (and wouldn't be surprised at all if they leave out the part about the easement) and still get their money out of the deal. It's a real shame that something couldn't be worked out, but I feel it was definitely the right decision in the long run.

I called Maronda again and was reminded the unit is out of warranty. New A/C repairman looked at the unit and told us it was installed upside down. Unit had a lot of water and rust inside. Downstairs kitchen now has three leak marks in ceiling about 3-4 ft. each. I called Maronda and was again reminded that it’s not covered by warranty. Sympathetic Maronda employee sent another person out to look at the unit. The unit was filled with water. Drip pan has no cracks. Coils and interior rusted. New A/C repairman replaced coils. Leak spots in kitchen opened to check for mold then unsuccessfully patched. Leaks stop for about 6 months.

Leaks started again. 5-year warranty is now over. I’m severely disgusted with Maronda. I called new local A/C company (Maronda's came from Orlando area). Now TXV valve is sticking; unit is still filled with rust and water. PVC pipes for down flow system were not properly sealed, and when touched, air escaping can be felt, and it is also loose (it moved when touched). It was suggested that the ducts were not properly sealed as well, because of leak pattern in ceiling downstairs. They also suggested that the unit was not meant to be upside down and that is a major reason for leakage. A unit with an "A" frame should have been installed.

New A/C company suggested installing a new unit in a home that is less than 6 years old; they installed ducts in ceiling like it should have been from the beginning and properly insulate attic. This is going to cost only $9,000.00 for a job that should have been done when the home was built. Also, they want to open the ceiling downstairs to properly seal the joints of the ductwork. This is an additional cost to the price given to replace sheet rock. I am frustrated beyond frustrated. This home cannot be sold with three leak marks in the ceiling. The A/C issue is ongoing and this Tempstar (made by Carrier) is not functioning well. It was also suggested that a leak pump be installed to stop future leaks ($600). We are now checking different A/C companies because we spoke with the chief maintenance officer with the city of Jax, and he stated that this price was a little high. He checked his records, and to our amazement, there were no complaints filed against Maronda or the A/C company.

I did find out that over nine people signed off on inspections for this unit, and that all inspections were passed, and that the unit did not have to run to pass inspection? I am totally confused by that. I would like to know what we can do with this issue. I don't have available cash to pay for this job and this overpriced house that I owe more than what it is worth. We considered contacting our homeowner's insurance, but it must meet the deductible and be an item worth filing a claim on. Help! Please advise what can be done with this sinking endless money pit. I have images of the interior of the unit, but they are saved to a different computer. I will give to anyone who responds to this complaint. I also have receipts from A/C companies.

Improper installation #2, the 36"x48" island. On each end (36" side), a 12" piece of 2x4 screwed to the floor with 2" screws and (1) 3/4" screw through the side of the cabinet into the 2x4 to hold the island in place. Wow! Anyway, the was flooring replaced and looks nice. 6 months later, it cracks! Not from improper installation either, I guarantee that! I have never seen tiles crack the way this did down the center of the tiles, not in the grout lines. No signs of the house shifting anywhere. Next improper installation #3, I went to redo our powder room. I took down the ugly 3-bulb light installed by the contractor and what did I see? A box that's not even centered over the sink and there's a 2" hole beside it that could have been patched, but was just covered with the light!

#4 Front porch railing. Held together with silicone and numerous drywall screws. Thank God no one leaned on it. #5 Front hallway coat closets. Looking down the hallway from the formal dining room, the walls aren't even lined up square! #6 Every closet door I have had to add a piece of drywall to the header just so the doors fit properly because they framed the opening too big. Each door was maxed out on adjustment. On one door I have to bring the header down 1-1/2". No wonder the previous owner said the door didn't fit. #7 Overuse of spray foam and caulking everywhere! There's a difference between filling a gap to weatherize it and filling a gap because you screwed up! #8 Cheap joists cause too much spring and noise in the floors. #9 Improper R-value in insulation. #10 Second bathroom vent wasn't vented to exterior.

#11 Settling in driveway and it was never finished from initial build. I spoke with Maronda and they basically told me I was ** of of luck because I was not the original owner. #12 Ground fill around the house. I built my own fence and in doing the holes for the posts, I got the auger stuck in several holes because of the amount of debris in the ground from lumber, bricks, metal strapping, tarps, rope, you name it. It's in it! #13 Using MDF lumber on the exterior for trim! Acceptable if properly painted. #14 Siding cut short of the corners. Soffit vent shoved into place, not nailed.

And the biggest complaint I have. Our furnace went out this past February. It was going to cost $1,500 to repair or $2,400 to replace so we opted to replace. The HVAC tech showed me the factory spec plate on the old furnace and the manufacture date was January 1999! The house was built in 2005. So, they just threw in whatever furnaces they had sitting in their warehouses. Heat exchangers have a 10-year warranty. I was pissed Maronda had no answer for it. I could go on but that's enough for now. I am continuously fixing what they failed to install properly the first time.