Richmond American Homes Reviews

During my 2 years these are some of things that I noticed, my lot is on an elevation change, the lot partition walls are off by two feet from front to back with fence drop of 1 foot at the back fence, the stucco of the home was thin on one side showing hundreds of stress cracks, the back slider on the inside of the home has a cracked drywall because of the quality of the lumber that used that was twisted and bowed, this was throughout of the home, the home warranty quality control inspector that they used followed up on all request except for the AC which I had to replace at my expense and when I confronted the with the problem, the second time, they said it was past the warranty date. That I had to fix it on my own after I repeatedly told them it needed to be replaced, I was also never told about the electricity company, which has a problem with black outs regularly!

So these are some of the issues that I found after 2.5 years of purchase of My new Richmond American Home! My experience has me questioning the business practices that home builders have today and the questions about the quality of the product that they offer! So instead of having a 2 year warranty on new home purchase it should be 3 years. This gives the homeowner the time to get all the problems out and really feel better about owning A New Richmond American Home, Value, Quality and Trustworthy product that we deserve!

The second big thing is that apparently my home is missing some AC connectors and returns in a few rooms making one room that my daughter lives in very warm. We’re waiting for the parts for that and hopefully there will not be damage. So those two major things that will require literal cutting into the home are very unfortunate and disappointing to say the least. It would be appreciated if at least Richmond could not just dismiss my request to fix my paint after the drywall gets cut into. At this point, I’m on the fence about whether I would recommend Richmond. I suppose it depends on how these two huge items are handled.

We fought them on the windows but ultimately they ignored the bowing window and to fix window sashes they brought a heat gun and file to fix them, during the last hurricane that bowing window had water damage because that missing outside light they installed was not sealed and water was able to come in which ruined drywall and green water was actually coming in my home. They only fixed the drywall and boards and window around the frame of window and sealed the light. The cable hookups not a single one in the house had wiring connected, I filed over 25 reports for AC issues as one of the AC guys said the fan has to be turned up to high in order to feel it through the vents. I've had to have repairs done on a AC from 2023 because it keeps freezing up. With the last one safety switch failed! It flooded my upstairs into my garage!

The warranty department kept closing my tickets saying it's the right size for the home yet put bigger units in other homes my size. Now our home is having electrical issues. Our outside outlets are connected to my mom's room downstairs and she can't utilize her outlets if we run Christmas blow ups outside because circuits blow, my garage lights and porch light is so dim you can't see and it's not the bulb. I've checked. I let them know this issue and was told there's no warranty. I am fighting this as that light getting water in might have caused electrician damage as well. I have photos of homes being built with workers drinking on the job. Just be careful of what you buy. If I knew this would be our fate we'd never have bought with them.

Come two days before closing Nicole doesn’t even have the decency to call us and instead she sends a message with the excuse of having an emergency to let us know that the things that we asked for would not be covered by the company, and that she hopes we can find some way to pay for those expenses. I responded back to her and she did not even have the decency to open the message. I contacted management, corporate and the vice president of sales. My agent spoke to Nicole's manager, Geraldine ** and instead of helping the situation all she did was covered for her employee and call us the liars and say that her employee never gave us that verbal agreement as if she was there in person when she was not. I personally called Geraldine five times and sent her a message and her too, no communication at all neither phone call or message was answered.

Later we were able to get hold of the vice president of sales from Richmond and same thing, he also proceeded to argue with my agent that his employee never said that when she sat there in her office on August 1 and said it to our face a.k.a. me, my husband and our agent that they would provide all those things and it would be no problem. needless to say everyone in this company that is in management is incompetent and useless at doing their job and this is not the first time they do this because Nicole knew exactly what she was doing and it is why she kept saying that we did not need an addendum for all this because she already played this game before. They knew that we couldn’t cancel because if not, we would lose our deposit of $8000, And is why they waited till two days before closing. As a first buyer, this is a very disappointing and discouraging experience. Do your research on builders before you sign on anything!

Guest bathroom:

6) Toilet handle - It was beige plastic on a white toilet, with the other in the house having a metal one.

8) Tile - 6 were replaced due to cracks and/or defective finish.

12) Honorable mention - No towel rack or toilet paper holder, as are included with the home. And cement on the drywall.

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Master bathroom:

6) 2 sinks - The porcelain was scratched.

12) Light fixtures - 2 different color decorative screws on same fixture.

15) Honorable mention - No towel rack or toilet paper holder, as are included with the home. And cement on the drywall.

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Office:

1) Window screen - Holes.

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Guest room:

2) Window screen - Tears.

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Laundry room:

4) Tile - 3 had defective finish.

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Main hallway:

2) A/C - No filter was installed and it was filled with dirt, bugs, debris, and paint.

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Front entry:

4) Weather strip - Replaced 3 times.

8) Stucco - Damaged all around the door.

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Garage:

5) Honorable mention - Concrete and paint splatter everywhere.

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Dining:

1) Lights - Both sealed and full of bugs.

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Living room:

2) Windows - 3 were bent & scratched. They tried swapping them to other parts of the house instead of replacing them.

5) Tile - 19 cracked.

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Kitchen:

5) Pantry - The light was never installed.

9) Tile - 4 cracked.

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Exterior:

4) Driveway expansion joints split & stuck up in the air every time they were driven over.

8) The exterior microwave vent was installed incorrectly and is allowing air to blow through it into the microwave. I was told the only way to fix that would be to move my A/C condenser that was placed incorrectly underneath it causing the problem.

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Everywhere:

2) So much drywall is installed incorrectly to where there is not one level wall or window sill in the house. Which has likely contributed to the issues with windows, doors, framing, etc. That wasn't noticeable until I started hanging blinds and things on the walls.

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Events:

2) On move-in day, the grass was over 2 feet tall full of weeds in the front, and dead on the sides and back yard. The interior and exterior were both still filthy, and there was still blue tape on the exterior windows where the Construction Manager said they had been cleaned. He obviously didn't even look. The only thing remotely clean was the streaks of window cleaner that only went half way up the inside of the sliding glass doors due to whoever was doing it being too short and/or not caring.

3) There was an ungodly amount of bugs left in the house. Spider webs & egg sacs in the pantry, and webs in almost every corner. Tiny roaches and other bugs inside the microwave, oven, all sinks, tubs and toilets. Ant infestation, flying bugs, alive and dead everywhere. My father had a Black Widow crawl on him while we were moving in.

4) I had family down from Michigan to see the new house & to celebrate Father's Day. During that time, the house reeked of sewage because the master bathroom cabinets, counter, and sinks were sitting on my bedroom carpet upside down. The smell was coming from the pipes, and was later told that the wrong ones were used so they covered them with duct tape to help with the smell until the next week. Which it did not do. I had to sleep in the room in the front of the house to get away from it.

8) During the walk through, there was a razor blade and beer cans on the kitchen counter.

9) Over 40 different visits to the house for warranty work. A lot as a result of poor repairs the first time, lies, and my persistence to get things fixed when they tried to deny everything. Only when I threatened legal action did they start fixing things. I am told people in the neighborhood can't even get warranty to do touchup paint.

Aside from the obvious inconvenience of having to wait around all day for the contractors, if they even showed up, I was missing a ton of work. I am on-call for a living and when I can't leave my house, I am losing valuable income. If I didn't have kind co-workers to cover for me over and over again due to this damn house, I would be unemployed as well.

This has been mentally and physically draining the past year and I don't know how I did it with my problems with anxiety & other health issues. Since I was able to build a good rapport with my Warranty Rep., and she seemed to help address everything she could, I was going to let this be the end of this hell for the past year. But, a week ago, a new line of cracked tiles went wall-to-wall in the living room. I called about that and was told it was normal settling.

The house was completed in 2023, normal? 49 tiles? They said the warranty expired a month or so ago, and they would not cover it. Given the insanity that has been this house, they said to submit a request and maybe it will get approved as an exception. At this point, I don't want Richmond American or anybody they are associated with near my home. I paid for new construction to avoid the issues with buying an older home and it was exponentially worse than I could have ever imagined. Buyer beware.

Our grading in our yard is absolutely the worse and swale in the back yard is like a pond when it rains, we can't go in our yard for days! Our sliding glass door shattered for no reason, today we were told for the 2nd time the door would be ordered.... We will hold our breath! Our front steps are cracked, our siding has bubbles.... It never ends!

Richmond American states that pest control is the responsibility of the owner. Then we started having electrical problems. A LOUD crackling/buzzing sound started coming from multiple can-lights throughout the house. I would submit a warranty request every time and they would send someone to replace the can-lights. 8 months later we still have an infestation of beetles and just today the electrician came to address the crackling noise for the 4th time and this time he removed dead fried beetles from the can-lights. I have no idea if the beetles and electrical problems are related but in case you are wondering Richmond American does not accept responsibility for infestations of bugs- even when it occurs on day one in your brand new home.

We have a 10ft crack in our concrete (outside the concrete joint) and they will not replace it because it has to be greater than 1/4 inch- I'm sure I signed off on that but don't assume the crack needs to be in the joint like I did. Either a vendor or the electricity company spray painted our sidewalk to mark something during the building process and Richmond American will not request that to be removed. I do not recommend Richmond American Homes to anyone. The quality is poor. Customer service is poor. They do not want to take responsibility for anything. Buyer beware.

We put a claim in and we were told they needed to put a hardener over the top of our garage floor, seems to be doing ok, a band aid fix for sure. Makes me wonder about our foundation, if the garage floor was bad, what about the foundation. We had a home inspection before the 1 year was up. Inspector found our outside A/C unit was not level, we did get that fixed. Inspector also noted our driveway and flickering lights both need to be fixed. We did submit in June 2024, 2 big issues: #1- our lights flicker on and off when A/C or heat turns on. At night when the house is dark it wakes me up, electricians and A/C people have both been out numerous times to the house this past year, and say we need a soft start. Evan the rep, said no, we did that to one house and it did not work and kept saying it was our light bulbs. Not all the houses in our neighborhood have this issue, process of elimination not the light bulbs, electricians agree.

When the electricians came back out in May 2025, once again going through everything they shorted out our A/C and it basically got rebuilt. Last email from Evan dated June 11, 2025, said they are trying to figure this out. Seems to me the electricians did and even though electricians told us a soft start should fix the issue, Evan says no. Not all houses in our phase 2 have this issue, just a hand full of us.

#2- this is huge, our driveway is disintegrating. Evan came out along the “concrete guy”, that refused to look at videos or even acknowledge issues (concrete guy came out before and said our driveway looks just like his that he just redid). Every time my hubby washes the cars we have a pile of cement dust, new holes appear, seems after each big rain and edges of driveway are breaking away. Hubby power washed plastic shelving, not the driveway just the shelving on low, the power washer left indents from the vibration on the driveway, once from washing plastic shelving and another time he power washed the house. If someone turns around in our driveway, they leave tire marks and divots depending on the type and weight of vehicle.

Our cars are in the garage, but our driveway looks like it is very old, stained, chipping with a TON of divots and edges breaking away. Driveway is only 1 years old. Richmond American has replaced in phase 1 a few driveways that did not look as bad as ours. Evan response per email dated June 11, 2025, when I have been asking for a year now when will our driveway get replaced, he said "The driveway is not being replaced. After meeting with the trade, we didn't notice any deterioration. However, we did notice that the surface was caulky but still solid. My contractor suggested that we pour a hardener onto the surface which will eliminate residue. Please keep in mind that any damage caused by a pressure washer is not covered under warranty." So, Evan is telling us we can't use a power washer on our driveway, to wash the house, cars or anything?

This tells me they know the cement is not up to code. This is a huge problem! A new driveway should not be "caulky". We did add gutters right after we moved in and keep them free of debris, so water runoff is not an issue either. Site won't let me upload all the photos that show damage from the vibration of our power washer used on shelving while sitting on the driveway. Until ALL issues are fixed this stays a 1 star. I feel our foundation also needs to be looked at since the garage floor, poured at the same time had HUGE issues with breaking up.

Service requests are submitted, and while they respond initially, actual repairs take weeks or longer — if they get done at all. Even basic issues remain open with little to no communication. Be prepared for ongoing maintenance problems and very slow warranty service if you choose this builder. I cannot recommend them based on what we’ve experienced.

I have emails to show that I contacted them and sent them photos and not a word. One of those nails could have pierced our foot and caused injury. Richmond American Homes never called us after we left several messages and emails. Had I known the type of builder they are I would have never bought this house. Who knows what other atrocities exist behind these walls and in the flooring. Richmond American Homes does not care. I am more than happy to speak with a member of the executive team should they contact me directly but I will not be reaching out as I am always met with silence.

From my experience with this company I would recommend you if you planning to buy with them check everything very carefully and DO NOT close until everything is fixed because after you close they break their promise of coming back to fix.. their workers don't take pride of their job.. it sucks!

Perhaps you've thought to yourself, "I would love to find a company that strings me along for several months - promising to complete those post-sale checklist items - only to be told 2.5 years post-sale that the checklist items are too hard, and you, the buyer, need to become responsible for them." If this sounds like you, Richmond American is your team! You might have even caught yourself wondering, "Is there any way I can find a builder to take 17 months to build my home after they soft-promised it in 10?" I have excellent news for you - Richmond American is your team!

As a first-time homebuyer, I feel completely deceived and disgusted by Richmond American Homes. They market their communities as ‘resort-style living,’ but that couldn’t be further from the truth. For a neighborhood with over 500 homes, there’s only one small pool and a single park, which are grossly inadequate for the number of residents. On top of that, the HOA fees are ridiculously high and were promised to decrease as construction was completed. Instead, they just keep increasing with no explanation or improvements.

The entire experience feels like a scam. This company preys on first-time buyers with flashy advertisements and empty promises, but the reality is a poorly planned community with minimal amenities and zero accountability with a shady HOA to top it off, they make decisions without consulting the community. I regret choosing Richmond American Homes and strongly urge others to look elsewhere. Do NOT trust this company with your hard-earned money!