Richmond American Homes Reviews

Original Review: July 12, 2015

Do not purchase a Richmond Home. They are slow in responding to building concerns. Not little concerns but huge ones such as cement cracking and poor grading of their lots. We have gone through 4 Home Care Technicians who quit because the complaints are overwhelming. We are still waiting to have issues we have identified resolved and it has been two years. With our neighbors we are considering filing a class action against them.

I immediately emailed RICHMOND AMERICAN HOMES pictures of my destroyed sunroom because of their improper flashing of my windows when they built my home. They had me have an expert write them a letter explaining that they improperly installed the windows and that the windows were leaking because of the above and they still will take no responsibility.

They are THE WORST BUILDERS IN AMERICA. My house is 8 years old. **, the home representative from RICHMOND agreed that this should not have happened to an 8 year old home but still will take no responsibility for their poor workmanship. STAY AWAY FROM ANY RICHMOND AMERICAN HOME!!! I plan on suing. I will plaster pictures of my sun room for all to see!!!

1. Expect sales tactics that are both deceitful and coercive. Expect to hear and see wonderful things before you deposit, only to be told later that "we're really sorry but what you were promised isn't going to work out after all".

2. Expect to make a large, non-refundable deposit, only to be told multiple times after your check has been cashed that Richmond American has no intention of honoring its own commitments, even written ones.

3. Expect a lot of bait-and-switch and teaser rates. This should go without saying, but if you're new at home buying, I'm just saying it to try to help -- what you see in the model homes is NOT in price you're being quoted. Be sure you understand this BEFORE you put money on the table. Don't let them tell you: "Oh, don't worry, that'll be figured out later".

4. Expect delays, a lot of delays, and expect them to *always* be blamed on someone else (the city/county, the lender, a subcontractor, etc.) Richmond American has never, as far as I can tell, ever been at fault for anything that's gone wrong on one of their construction projects.

5. Expect to be lied to. Do not accept anything you're told or verbally promised. If you really want something a person representing Richmond American tells you, get it in writing or walk away.

6. Expect to incur attorney's fees, sleepless nights, high blood pressure, and tears.

BUYER BEWARE! You have other options for builders in your area. For your own good, pick one of those. Please.

During the actual construction phase of our project I was on the project site daily and recorded Richmond's and or Pro Build's progress and documented with dated images of the project site. Change orders or 'negative' change orders that I executed were either never addressed or addressed months later after I continually sent e-mails to Richmond. It was quite apparent there was a 'disconnect' between the field office, sales and their design center. It was also apparent Richmond does not have the software to track change orders and will not provide justification breakdowns of change orders. Example: Material cost, sub contractors markup and more importantly Richmond's markup cost.

As the home buyer funding this project I repeatedly requested a change order breakdown summary. Another example: Via my change order request I deleted an exterior door. During the month of August 2014 one of Richmond's estimator provided a change order amount of $250.00 - no summary breakdown. Two weeks later (same month) another Richmond estimator provided an estimate of $380.00 for the same change order. Of course no summary breakdown.

December 2014 the estimator that provided the initial change order amount of $250.00 submitted another change order in the amount of $ 580.00. January 2015 I requested a 'close out' change order meeting that did not occur until February 2015. Delays were due to Richmond? When I confronted Richmond's upper management as to the above mentioned change order 'fiasco' we received the 'deer in the headlight' response. Caution be aware of how Richmond systematically monitors their change orders. The field superintendent failed to perform as I documented and it took Richmond months before they transferred him to a 'cookie cutter' home building project.

Unfortunately we lost close to seventy one construction days due to the fields superintendents failure to perform. Lost of construction days are actual weather permitting days. I also would like to add this is also the project managers failure of accountability. November 2014 two new field superintendents were assigned to this project site. Their main challenge was 'damage control' caused by the previous field superintendent and attempting to get all of the build out of semi custom homes back on schedule. Punch list items and home warranty are minor items that must be addressed and we are in the process of doing so. Unfortunately it is a long and tedious process with Richmond. Due to concerns or complaints of our neighbors the prior Richmond warranty rep. has been relocated to another Richmond job site.

Fortunately with my experience I have been able to challenge Richmond and their engineers and on occasion stop their sub contractors from performing scope of work as noted in a executed change order that was never noted by Richmond and or engineers on a 'addendum' to the project site plans. In general we are very satisfied with our home, community and neighbors. Hopefully Richmond will continue to make 'positive' changes and they should have their engineers visit the job sites to improve their engineering. It just takes too long!

My company falls in the latter group. I take pride in my business, and want to have the end result shown to the customers. However, from a business standpoint, this is extremely difficult to do with this company. We are required to have a 1 year warranty (contrary to what you are told) which means damned near anything flies, not just with my company, but obviously all trade partners. We are always operating under a "fire drill" type mentality, which means that we are told by the people paying us (not necessarily directly however) that time is the only factor that matters.

I have said from the beginning of my work with Richmond that they are masters of making very ** houses (and I mean very **, coming from someone who builds them) look pretty. My company does more than one trade with them and I can see how regardless of whether an issue is truly our fault or not, it is often our responsibility to fix it, or pay for it (this goes for all of the contractors). We must provide cheap labor, yet at the same time are expected to cover large often over-inflated cost for repairs.

As a homeowner paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for your home, you are entitled to high workmanship. However, staggeringly low amounts of your money, actually goes to the people that build it. Your homes are built for lower cost than many of you may even think possible. As a trade partner working on the margins we are, there is only one way that we can make money (large or small companies) and that is to do the work as fast as we possibly can.

There are 3 factors in the sale of any goods or services. Speed, Price, and Quality. You can pick only two. Since our price is so low to begin with, we can either do good work and not make deadlines (therefore ceasing our relationship with the builder) or do quick work with little regard to quality. As much as it may pain some of you to hear this, my main concern is not the quality of your home, but rather the ability for my company, my employees, and my subcontractors to be paid and to be paid on time.

The system is flawed because the people who make the most difference (not the salesman or the warranty people you talk with, or any employee of Richmond for that matter) but the contractors themselves, really have no incentive to provide good work. I assure you, no CEO or high level employee of this company actually lives in any of these homes, and I as a contractor would very simply never buy one. The overall quality is a joke, and the concern for the employees and contractors is basically non-existent.

I had two crack tiles in kitchen. When contractor was fixing the those tiles, he cracked other tiles in the process. According to him, it will be ongoing problem. Basically saying if he were to fix the tiles he just fixed and crack more in the process. I told home care and she stated the same things as him. I hired a contractor to add to more insulation in attic because the front of two bedrooms were uncomfortably warm in the summer. The contractor told me that two bedrooms had only 2 inches insulation. They supposed to minimum insulation that was 6 inches.

The Superintendent stated that the reason they did NOT replace the tile was due to the fact that the toilet would have had to come out in order to replace the tiles. So basically Richmond American Homes in order to make their life easier thought that would be a professional manner in which to repair the cracked tiles in the two bathrooms. Furthermore, the cabinetry for the center island where the dishwasher lives, was apparently NOT repaired and the dishwasher was moved forward (does not at all fit flush with the cabinet) in order to again hide the damage that was caused by the contractor that had installed the dishwasher in the first place.

Our main issue with why we want out of this contract with Richmond American Homes came when we went outside to the exterior wall on the garage side of the house and saw that part of the exterior wall AND FOUNDATION had been CUT OUT and then patched and repainted. Not only is it blatantly obvious that someone CUT A HOLE IN THE WALL but again, Richmond American Homes thought that the patch job was acceptable and left it alone. We were NOT informed AT ANY POINT that they were going to CUT A HOLE IN THE WALL because there was a pipe in the wall that had been ruptured by a nail during construction.

THEY AGAIN HID THE FACT that anything was wrong with the house. The Superintendent that was helping us also did NOT know anything about this as he was gone due to a family emergency. However, he did disclose that he had left someone else in charge of having the items that needed to be addressed completed for the final walk through on 2/25/2015. When the Superintendent contacted his boss, that individual apparently knew everything about the hole in the wall. WE WERE NEVER INFORMED OF WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE HOUSE as well as neither was the Superintendent, our Real Estate Agent or our Richmond American Homes sales representative.

This was again another ploy to pull the wool over our eyes as Richmond American Homes hid this from us in an effort to have us close on the transaction. Needless to say that we are not going to stand for such deceptive business practices by Richmond American Homes. I personally contacted the Superintendent's boss and left him a voicemail on 2/25/2015 at approximately 10:44 a.m. and he has up to this point NOT returned my phone call for an explanation. Very telling of the sort of individuals that are employed by Richmond American Homes.

In a speaker phone conversation that took place at the sales office of Glen St. Johns development between Richmond American Homes representative, my wife and myself and our Real Estate Agent there were references made by the representative that noted that this type of business practice was common place. Stating that apparently there are issues with the quality of work with the contractors that Richmond American Homes uses to build their houses.

This individual (who knew everything about the hole in the wall) went on to state that the reason they cut a hole in the exterior wall rather than remove the bathroom vanity was due to the fact that it was easier for them to do that. What?? So rather than repair the house correctly, they arbitrarily CUT A HOLE IN THE EXTERIOR WALL because it was easier for them. UNACCEPTABLE! The representative was very rude and indignant that we were not just going to blindly proceed with the contract signing. His only concern being the keeping of the initial down payment of $6000 rather than trying to make things ultimately right and letting us out of the contract and returning our $6000.

**************** DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS COMPANY BY ANY MEANS *****************

Original Review: Dec. 30, 2014

I signed a contract with Richmond Homes in Denver, Colorado on February 7, 2104. The house is marred with delays and still not complete. Now they are going to give me a house in March with no set closing date. The manager and the superintendent at the site have no engineering knowledge. They both keep on blaming the change in building codes by the city but it is all lies. I checked with the city inspectors and there have been no changes in codes since 2012. All the building code requirements are on the city website. Even a layperson can read the codes and build a house.

The problem is that the Manager and his superintendent both do not know how to read the blue prints and implement the code in the structure. They have failed four inspections so far. Even the city inspector is fed up with these two bozos. I do not know why the upper management at Richmond does not see the inabilities of the manager and take some actions.

I tried to bring the inefficiency of the superintendent to the manager. Instead of taking an action, he cancelled my contract with Richmond citing that Richmond cannot make me happy. Of course Richmond could not make me happy because the superintendent just sat on his ** for six months and did nothing. He could not even pass one city inspection. Later on Sales department had to intervene and reinstate my contract. In short, Richmond is a lousy builder. Do not buy a house from this builder. I am stuck with them so I have no choice but to go with them.

I have bought this house being aware of its multiple issues and I was ready to address them. This does not change the fact that vast majority of them should never happen in a home that is merely 8 years old. Let's start from the top.

1. Roof - Very poor quality material used on vent pipe boots decomposed which caused water intrusion into the house resulting in serious, numerous leaks and gyp wall damage. 2. Brick facade - Multiple cracks on the brick surface, potentially leading to exposure of wood construction to elements, creating potential for leaks. 3. Windows - Beside being not operable and sashes falling off every time you try to operate them (vast majority of windows throughout the house), those windows were very poorly installed. The caulking was either improperly applied, or not applied at all, causing potential for water intrusion and significant drop in energy efficiency. Additionally, multiple windows in the living space are installed 6" from the floor. These windows are not protected, nor are provided with a tempered/impact resistant glass, causing potentially a huge life safety issue (God forbid you have kids messing with that and a piece of glass coming down and slashing him).

4. Roof flashing - Poorly installed and secured, caused major leaks into the house causing vast damage to the building elements. Blows my mind that people who actually do this on a daily basis could pull this up. 5. Interior Walls - Throughout the house, the gyp wall job was done very poorly. The joint compound was applied very unevenly. When repainting the house I also noticed that multiple gyp wall joists were "starved", which caused bulging and peeling off the tape along the entire length of a joist. 6. Sump pump - Discharging right onto your pavement and making stains, puddles, and ice rink in the winter had to make the original owner very happy. These are some of the things I have spotted due date. I'm sure that as the construction continues I will find more and more of this type of surprises.

My 2nd biggest issue is a cabinet side in the island. We noticed it was cracked all the way through before closing and I was told it would be replaced. What that has meant to THREE different service reps was to try and put a band aid (skin) on the crack. Which ultimately means that the structure is still weakened and the outer edges of both sides will be different. Despite my reminders that I was told it would be REPLACED on that walkthrough they only want to repair. Today was the third time, same result. Another guy left without the issue being resolved and in his words, he did not hold out much hope that Richmond would do as they indicated before they got my morning. Great.

Worse than that though? In this Master Planned Community (yes I say that with sarcasm) someone really messed up. I bought my home when it was a basement foundation. One house on the side with kitchen and bedrooms but none on the side of my master bedroom.They started construction after I moved in and new owners moved into the home in spring. Despite the house being MUCH closer than the salesperson had indicated (she lied about so much I've lost track) I was happy to have neighbors. Until the first night, they ran their air conditioner which Richmond had installed right outside my bedroom window. In the 'Master Planned Community', the decibel level of noise is 72; akin to having a lawn mower outside the bedroom all night long...and it runs almost continuously all night long.

Their response to my complaint and request that something be done? Basically 'too bad.' They have made it clear that my inability to sleep in my bedroom is not important enough to even warrant consideration. Yep...it's a big deal and might cost them to rectify it but it's a BIGGER deal that I cannot sleep in my own bedroom 6 months out of the year! I'm worn out and my only recourse now appears legal; the attorney I've contacted finds it 'interesting' that their own HOA guidelines address noise issues yet they feel they can ignore one they've created. They actions are more of a landlord than a home building; picking and choosing what they feel like addressing and as we all know mostly picking what they can fix cheaply. I'm lucky my home was finished well on the inside but fighting to have some 3 of these bigger issues rectified is exhausting. I know that's what they want but that's OK; I have a lot of coffee and I'm willing to drink it.

Where do I start? First off the layout plan of the home is horrible, nothing seems thought out: odd room dimensions, tiny bathrooms. No thought was given to natural lighting in the upper common area, it looks like a cave if all the doors are closed. The lighting can in the shower seems like an electrical hazard with all the moisture from the shower making its way in there. The toilets are small and it’s impossible to install a larger toilet in one of the upper bathrooms because the door will hit it as it opens. There is no ventilation in the part of the bathroom where the sinks are located. Some walls had to be torn out and replaced because they were aligned incorrectly. The attic where the AC unit is kept is a mess of wires and ventilation tubing. Proper airflow is non-existent with most tubing having collapsed due to being held up with wires and straps from the frame. The corner room in the second story overheats in the summer and freezes in the winter.

This builder did not understand the concept of measure twice, cut once. No decent show/jacket closet is provided. The one we have is tiny, has no lighting, and is under the stairs so it slopes downward with nowhere to hang jackets, coats, etc... Kitchen lighting is inadequate and we had to install more. Every pipe with running water can be heard from outside the walls, most of all the pipe coming from the master bedroom and through the kitchen/dining room are walls. The showers creak and crack as you move around in it. The AC condenser outside is too small for the home and the ventilation is too large. The heating/air control box for the upstairs is inside the master bedroom, should be on the outside in a common area. Multiple roofing tiles are missing/cracked, although the cracking may be due to weathering. Very shoddy stucco work on the outside of the home, looks like it was thrown together as quick as possible with no pride of workmanship.

Now the yard and landscaping. The front yard irrigation is a mess of piping, some that goes nowhere. As we were landscaping, we uncovered many nails, construction wood, metal, pieces of various piping, wires, and broken roof tiles. It’s as though the builder simply threw the construction leftovers into the dirt and covered it with grass. Digging through this stuff in the front yard and back was a huge pain. I don't want to imagine the building code violations with my home. There are probably hundreds of other items I have missed or haven't uncovered yet, but my advice to any potential Richmond American Home buyer would be to turn around and run. This company is horrible at building homes and should not receive another dollar until they fix their past mistakes, seriously rethink their construction methods, and retrain their workers to show some pride in their work.

We were told by engineers that the grading on the property was terrible and that drainage issues were not addressed at the time of building. Richmond responded that the soil issues were an act of Mother Nature. We have been left to deal with a home that needs major cosmetic repairs inside and outside. We have the foundation underpinned but still have grading and drainage issues. Richmond made a ridiculous offer that will not even begin to help make repairs. They will not take responsibility for not building this home correctly and we are left to live in this awful disaster. We are heartbroken. If we had the option of walking away from this home we would run!!!

I had to write the Better Business Bureau in order to start to see some movement on my inquiries. Issue related to the walk out drain, ceiling and many other issues were only resolved after many complaints. With regards to the ceiling it took 3 attempts to get it looking halfway decent. Additionally, in one instance RAH scheduled repairs to the ceiling, and meanwhile they fired to contractor, and did not have the decency to let me know the repairs would be cancelled.

Two terms constantly come from RAH, "The work meets industry standards or the work is to code" that is the excuse for everything that they don't want to fix. My home was purchase with a VA loan, and I hope to have the VA flag RAH as not a trusted builder. To be fair, I can't cast RAH as a horrible builder, I can only comment on my experience, but buyers must be aware just in case this issue is systematic. It is my intent to expend all resource to hold RAH accountable for their poor quality work and bad customer service. Pictures tells a thousand words. Still, after 7 months I am still trying to resolve a floor issue and something as simple as a microwave adjustment. My curiosity is also peaked as to the status of their contractors.

Concrete walkway was already replaced, not once - but twice. Driveway is cracked from the bottom to the top (AFTER ONLY 4 WEEKS). The entire pad is sinking and pulling away from the home. Rear patio cracked in half after 1 month. Other issues: Ceiling Lights not centered in room. Squeak in floors. Paint on wood floors. Pantry finished not according to plan. Bathroom floor & toilet rock from side to side. ALL toilet water supply lines are not remotely close to the back of toilet. Stucco came off in spots after only 1 month. Paid a lot of $$ to upgrade the master bathroom. They forgot the bench in the shower. Excessive building material/trash left in yard. Sliding Glass Door does not slide smoothly. They do a really poor job of compacting the soil around the house. Stain on Stair Banisters have drips. Window in loft was not centered in room as shown on plan.

I expected a few issues when building a new home as this was my second NEW home. I can say that RICHMOND AMERICAN HOMES is an awful builder with horrible customer service.

We later found out it most definitely is an option. There were issues with Lisa not properly outlining the HOA dues, which led to a blindside on our closing day. Obviously when she got a poor review at closing day that stressed the "relationship" with her even more. She has since been quasi-unreachable and refuses to return any phone calls in relation to warranty issues, which brings me to my next issue. We have had several issues with the physicality of the home, some small, some large. We contacted Tracy ** to get our warranty issues resolved and have the walkthroughs completed. Our thirty day walk-through was not completed on time (Closing day on home: 04/18/14 30-Day walkthrough: 05/24/14 6 days late).

When the walkthrough issues were addressed, there were even more bumps in the road. The first issue was the caulking around our sink that was not completed during original construction. Tracy assigned this to a plumber, who said that should have been given to the counter top subcontractor (Strike 1). The above mentioned plumber was able to tighten a loose faucet, only after asking to borrow my tools because he didn't come with any! The next issue was with the water heater. There is an extreme amount of water coming from the condensation line and the HVAC subcontractor said there is definitely something wrong with it, but he wasn't informed by Tracy about the issue, so he did not have the proper equipment to repair the problem (Strike 2). Continuing on, we have a damaged tile in the master bathroom.

Tracy sent a tile subcontractor out to repair, but upon his arrival, he did not have any tile to repair with and expected it to be at the house! (Strike 3) The next issue we had that was brought to Tracy's attention was some mismatched paint throughout the home. Tracy said she scheduled the painters to come touch it up, but they never even showed up! (Strike 4) The next issue is nearly all of our interior doors had damage to the finish on them. Tracy scheduled a door repairman to come out and fix the issues. Upon arrival, the door repairman said he was going to sand the bad spots, repair them and make sure they were fixed properly. He then went around, sanded a few doors here and there and then left without finishing the job. Or even checking with us if we were satisfied or not (Strike 5). I don't know if you guys play baseball, but it seems to me that Richmond struck out long ago. We now have two more issues that just came up, the first being our main garage door opener has started malfunctioning and tripping the breaker.

This reflects an electrical issue which could be a SERIOUS SAFETY RISK. This needs to be corrected ASAP. Another issue we recently noticed is the grout along our granite backsplash is beginning to crack, not a huge deal, but something that needs to be addressed. Finally we have been trying to contact Tracy over these issues for the last couple weeks and not a single return phone call. As I was writing this email, my wife contacted Susan, the other sales associate and she said Tracy no longer works for Richmond. When asked who we need to speak to regarding warranty issues, Susan simply said, "I don't know who is the warranty contact." I have tried and tried to work with Richmond American and their associates. The people I have been treated to work with have done nothing but let me down and fail to keep up Richmond's end of the bargain. I am tired of getting the run around.

The issues do not stop there. We didn't get the lights we paid for for nearly 3 months. Our water pipes make banging noises whenever we turn on the water and it is so loud our daughter gets scared and sometimes cries. Our floors squeak in virtually every room, despite them coming out twice already to try to get the squeaks to go away. We had many truckloads of trash piled in our backyard for almost 3 months and despite weekly communication and promises, I had to collect the trash for them and they still took months to pick it up.

We had multiple instances of vandalism which our superintendent admitted came from a Richmond subcontractor. This included profanity written on our concrete foundation in permanent marker, someone taking a hammer to the inside of our refrigerator, and holes punched in the drywall throughout the house. And that is only what we can see. Who knows what else they did and we never knew about. All of our bushes in the yard are dead except for 3, and the sprinkler clock was never set up properly. We have faulty electrical outlets, scratched cabinet doors, and more. The issues go on and on, and keep showing up every day. The quality of our Richmond home is sub-par.

I would HIGHLY recommend skipping Richmond American and looking instead at a Lennar or Ryland home. We know people who have bought these other homes and have heard only good things about the quality and customer service. It is the complete opposite for Richmond. They are the talk of our street. Only one person on the street has had a decent experience with them. The other 8 agree they would never buy Richmond again. Please do yourself a favor and stay away from Richmond. It is not worth the headache and you will never get the result you deserve and pay for. Once you sign, and in some cases even before you sign, they begin treating you like an inconvenience, and never follow through, even when they make promises in writing.

Richmond got them in to make repairs, but at the cost of me taking off at least 3-days from work without compensating me. I closed in March, with landscaping to be completed in early May. It's June 10th and still have no grass. Many items should have been found by the builder before the owner. They appear to be in a rush to move on to the next house and not checking their own work first and finishing the existing homes properly.

We had found that the prices listed on their website for quick sale houses had been accurate up to this point. Had he been upfront about the price from the get go we would have just walked out and not wasted our time. To save anyone looking be sure to double check the price before wasting our time like we did. Also the sales guy has a very extensive background (not in a good way) and would suggest googling him, his name is David **. He was Sheriff Joe's right hand man.

We told our next door neighbor, and she told us about her friend down the street in the same Richmond development had their house catch on fire. Richmond denied responsibility to repair their home. The same neighbor had an electrician come out to look at their breaker box & was able to tighten their bolts as well. Please have an electrician check your breaker box for the same problem. A fire was more than likely just about to happen. We are having an electrician replace the breaker just to be safe.

I spoke with someone at Richmond after posting on Facebook. She told me that they would replace the wood with our choice but that I should be aware that this would delay the closing and that I would have to pay the penalty for delay in closing. We felt we really did not have a choice but to keep it the same. After closing and our issues that needed to be fixed. Well good luck... sometimes they contact you and send someone out but do not fix the issue, they just tell you when they will be back but never show up or fix it but do it wrong. The concrete work done in this neighbor is horrible! Our concrete is moving, popping up sinking, soon it will be in the street. The porch step is pulling away from the porch. Richmond's executives came out and looked at our neighbors, ours and not sure if they looked at other homes concrete work.

Since then, nobody has addressed this issue. I am sure they will say they cannot do anything in the fall or winter, but not to say anything. They have no intentions of ever fixing this or anything else. We had two leaks in the basement - one was fixed after a called several times and chased down Jon the foreman and the other still has not been addressed. We are having electrical problems issues and no one has come out. The drains run slow and they told us that this is normal. I could go on and I know that I am not the only one. Richmond needs to be held responsible for their product. We have spent a lot of money for this house and I want it perfect. Is that too much to ask? Please help us and our neighbors and the people that left BBB complaints.

Here are the email addresses of the executives, directors, CEOs, vice presidents for the company. If you shoot them an email, I'm pretty positive you will get a phone call or response of some sort. We sure did and someone got ripped so they are slowly trying to address things. However, it's still being done in an half-** manner: larry.mizel@richmondamericanhomes.com, david.mandarich@richmondamericanhomes.com

The workmanship is TERRIBLE, they throw everything together and ruin other finishes in the process. It was so bad that one of our basement steps was not longer enough, it was about 6' too short, a safety hazard and they refused to fix it. They installed a round towel rack right next to the medicine cabinet so that the medicine cabinet would not open. The tile work was so bad that the quarter round would not cover the gaps so they just filled it in with caulking. Our backsplash got scratched during the installation and they tried to cover it up and told us that's the way it comes. Also all the cost that they told us about up front was not accurate, HOA was about $15 more a month, we were told taxes were 1% when they turned out to be 2%.

When it came to picking a final walk-thru and closing date Richmond picked the day before Christmas Eve, and we had no say if we were available or not, we were told if we did not show then they would charge us a fee everyday until we closed. Since the workmanship was so bad the house we were going to buy came in $16k under the contract price. Richmond refused to lower the price, which is a blessing in disguise. Our salesperson Brian **, was so mad about his commission being lost that he wrote us a terrible text message, saying we need to bring $16k to the table to close, and that "our people" the appraiser was incompetent and ruined the deal. Terrible builder, terrible customer service, do not purchase from them!

The completion/close date was pushed out by a month (very late in the game) and they were un-apologetic and un-willing to do anything to mitigate the situation. I am aware that schedules change, trades are un-reliable and promises made that are at times 'un-achievable'. So we bit the proverbial bullet and adjusted. I wish that was the only thing that went wrong, but after being in the home for two months, we are still awaiting items identified in our first walk through to be completed.

We have yet to be contacted directly by the warranty rep and we are 30 days past the warranty work completion date that they set! The quality of workmanship is very poor. Everything from gaps in walls, unsafe stairs, gaps between trim and floor, gaps in fireplace hearth and mantel, poorly installed hardwood floor, several sections of cabinetry that requires replacing, walls and corners that are not square, light fixtures and switches in awkward and quite frankly weird places, and many other issues. All of which were to be fixed the week before we moved in... It is now two months later.

The home was not cleaned for the first walk-through, the second walk-through and when we moved in... We had to clean it ourselves. Getting any kind of response from sales or warranty at this point is an exercise in patience. My honest suggestion to anyone considering Richmond American as their home builder is 'don't'! There are other companies out there that are much, much better! The home we built before this one was with Highland Homes and although very few home building experiences are pleasant they did their best to make it that way as much as possible.

However, at the 2nd walk thru (one week) prior to close the quality of the interior detail work (cabinetry, granite, appliances, trim, concrete, etc.) was very poor. It was at this time when the grade on the left side was first noted. We were told by the Richmond American employee doing our walk thru not to worry because when the inspector came out for final approval the next week. He would require a pony wall to fix our concern. The concern specifically being the left side grade: When we looked at the lot previously there was a 10 side yard - after landscaping was finished we had approx. 2-3 ft of usable space and this was the side for our back yard access.

At time of closing one week later we had not been informed of a resolution. We signed our documents with the title company in good faith but requested closing be withheld pending grade resolution. At the final walk thru we explained we would not be closing escrow until Richmond America fixed the grade to give us back usable space. We were told the inspector was due that afternoon and they would meet and get back with us. We were later told the inspector did not cite a specific issue on the grade therefore Richmond American mgmt. would only agree to placing tiered landscape stones 3 ft. high vs. a footed pony wall because they did not want to have to pull permits and delay sell of house. We said we would not delay close if Richmond American would agree to a permanent fix within a reasonable period of time. Richmond American said NO.

We therefore did not purchase the home and Richmond American kept our entire escrow amount of $10,353 and re-listed the home for sale at approximately $30,000 less than we were being asked to pay. The overall experience left me feeling taken advantage of... It seems the level of service with real estate services demonstrated by Richmond American has changed following the boom/bust period. We honestly felt rushed in the process because inventory is currently low and prices are increasing. We visited 18 mos ago and builders were offering to do anything for your business and prices were 25% cheaper.

I believe Richmond American is trying to cut corners and unfairly keep buyers earnest money to make up for losses incurred over the previous years. Very disappointed. I caution consumers DO NOT USE RICHMOND AMERICAN HOMES P.S. We went with another in Las Vegas DR HORTON and they were excellent to work with and we have a beautiful new home... with tons of upgrades and no hassles in the process.

Really, my home is beautiful and I have invested more money than I have to make it a home. I really am very upset because I commute from New York to Maryland every other week and never walk into my home without any issue. We worked hard to buy this property to have so many problems with a home that was built from the ground up. I can't believe the problems I am having in a home that is lived in part time. I understand wear and tear in everything we purchase, but nothing like these problem. It's truly been a mental and emotional stress factor in my life because the money we paid for this home which is not even ten years old.

I would truly appreciate someone contacting to discuss these issue because I know for a fact that I am not the only one in the Saddle View development who is experiencing these same problems. So very unhappy with my home and I really don't have any more money to invest in this property, especially since these problems have to be due to the workers that Richmond America are not holding responsible for doing such a bad job on the homes that they are building and continuing to build with such crafty workmanship. I would never ever purchase another home from any development that they are a part of. I don't care what name they use if they are involved, do yourself a favor find another company who will be there for you anytime you have a problem. A reputable builder would stand behind all of your issues just so they would know that you are happy with your home that you have invested your life savings into not unhappy.

It is well documented with multiple news reports that Richmond does lousy concrete work (Google "Richmond crumbling driveways"). Every driveway in our neighborhood has crumbled. After a large class action suit was filed, they came back and repaired some of them but those that were not included in the suit were left with crumbling concrete. We have had cabinets fall off the wall just missing my son's head, leaky basement walls, crumbling walkways and driveways, carpet that didn't last a year, electrical issues, furnace and AC problems, leaky bathtubs and showers, unpainted walls in the master bath and cracked tiles. Bottom line, no matter what your sales guy tells you, it's not worth it. These are not starter homes. They are expensive and should be a place where you can raise a family without worrying about your basement filling up with water.

It was only at the pre-construction meeting in May that we found out that a dry creek/ditch exists beyond the barbwire and dead trees which prevents us from even crossing over to the rest of our land, and actually poses a danger zone for our kids as the creek/ditch is about 20 feet wide and about 4-6 feet deep. Frankly, I do not think anyone else knew about this creek/ditch. An estimated $6,000 - $10,000 will have to be invested by us to landscape, elevate and find a safe solution to avoid any possible accidents as per your pre-construction engineer if we want to use at least 50% of our land that we paid a high premium for.

Note that the creek/ditch was also not reflected on the provided site map that we looked at before choosing Lot **. When we pointed this out to our sales representative, she understood our concern and passed it on to the regional VP of Sales. On May 15th, we received a call from our sales rep that she would be able to offer us another LOT (Lot 60) which had come back into the market due to an unqualified application. The offer was that we would pay the higher premium but would be able to continue paying the same price for the same Jackson model and that we would have to wait for another 9 months as the permit had to be applied for and the construction would take until at least February 2014.

We walked the lot the same day and agreed to the conditions, completed all paperwork in an expedited manner within 48 hours as per our sales person's request and were waiting for the final signatures from Richmond American Homes. It took over 2 weeks until May 29th, the day of our move from our townhouse to a temporary apartment (that we signed an 8-month lease for based on the new LOT and estimated construction time), to find out that Richmond American Homes HQ rejected the contract but we could buy Lot 60 IF we paid $66,000 more for the house as per the current market price of the Jackson model.

It did not matter that our sales rep already had another buyer willing to buy Lot ** for the current home price of $66,000+ more. It did not matter that the offer had been given to us (we did not ask for it). It did not matter that we had made instant decisions and changed everything to await a home on lot 60. Richmond American Homes decided from their table in HQs that there was no issue with LOT **, and simply offered the following:

1) Pay $66,000 more on Lot 60 (in which case lot ** was going to be sold for $66,000 more as well); 2) We could continue with LOT ** and get a partial amount towards closing cost assistance ONLY if we choose Richmond American's mortgage loan partner or we could have our deposit back (again a loss for us as prices have gone up everywhere and we would lose 6 months’ worth of research starting off from scratch). The offered closing assistance does not even make up for the expenses we will incur for breaking our lease twice DUE TO RICHMOND AMERICAN HOME's poor decision making; 3) Take our deposit back (which will allow them to sell our current lot for a NICE profit of at least $66,000 more than what we paid in January).

As of last Monday, we were notified that LOT 60 was sold, that Richmond American Homes never received our Pre-Approval qualification letter (because their Loan Partner was waiting on transferring our filled application to Lot 60 but never heard back, hence never sent it) and that we will be subject to lose Lot ** if we do not submit our Pre-Approval information within 7 days. Upon IMMEDIATE follow-up with their Lender, we were told that he does not have time to do the pre-approval at this point but may be able to assist us mid-week. When we asked for their legal dept. contact information, they kept quiet (do not have it available).

When asked for their HQ contact information, they did not have it "available" and stayed quiet. Looks to me like they are doing this on purpose to pass the 7 days which would mean that we lose LOT ** as well as our deposit (we paid more than asked for). We have a very high CC score, have done everything as we were asked to and yet, we seem to be losing out BIG time. We are stunned by what seems to be simply business and I am writing this to find out whether other people had a similar experience. To me, it seems like they play games and can't wait to disqualify original owners to then sell their properties at a much higher price later...

Even if we take our deposit back, the home prices have gone up everywhere in our area considerably since January 2013. No matter which option we choose/would have chosen, we are losing money! Unfortunately, we are stuck in the middle. We will continue with LOT ** with that bitter pinch of salt and take the financial loss as we love the community, just got approval for my son to join the elementary school and the neighborhood seems very friendly.

After approximately 30 minutes of learning about the upgrades and amenities that the house offered, Lisa received a phone call and disappeared into another room. Lisa came out of the other room having completed her phone call and explained that a realtor that looked at the house yesterday was going to make a contract on the house "this afternoon" and she would not accept a contract from us now. I became displeased with this immediately. Lisa then stated that she may be able to do something else for us. She left the room on her cell phone again. Around 20 minutes later, she came back and stated that she would be able to have lot number ** in Crystal Valley Ranch released and we could proceed with the Frost model from a dirt up build.

I spent nearly 4 hours in the office going through floor plans, and building options, and had my hopes set high. Finally today, 5 full days after my office visit, I am being told that Richmond corporate will not release the lot. There are no more lots available to build the Frost floor plan, and I am basically screwed. This is very poor business practice, and judging by the consumer reports, I am not alone with the agreement that Richmond American homes is the Wal-mart of tacky, crap homes with poor business practice with absolutely zero consideration of the customer, focusing on that bottom dollar. You people should change your motto to "Screw the customer, we can make more!"

We had a heating specialist come out to service the furnace. He said the ducting used for the heating system was too narrow and very cheap. The electrician we had come out said the electrical panel that was installed was inadequate for the size of the house (it began to arc and buzz when we used the electronics inside, which cost us $2K to upgrade). The hot water heater that was installed was cheap. It broke and flooded my living room. The upstairs toilet tank rusted inside and broke in the middle of the night, allowing water to run all over my house for several hours before I woke up and heard the water running.

The house has been one cheaply done installation with bad workmanship after another. The house looks great at first glance. Richmond does a great job of hiding all the defects. We now have a functioning house with all the problems, we know of, repaired. All I know is I will never purchase another Richmond home. Nothing but poor quality all the way around.

Richmond initially denied and delayed repairs until complaint was filed with BBB. After the complaint, Richmond agreed to make repairs. However, Richmond has asked to delay repair on hardwood floor until they received manufacturer’s test result. So, we agreed to discuss and settle repair issue of hardwood floor to later date and closed the BBB complaint. Richmond withheld the report till 12 Nov 2012, after the BBB complaint was closed. The report was dated 4 September 2012 and I received the result in an email on 12 November 2012. Richmond stated, “It looks like [the manufacturer] didn't find anything in which they would consider a defect in the flooring material. Give me a couple of days to discuss this around the office and see if there is a way to get a second opinion for you on this. If not, there are a few boards that I will replace for you, although not as many as you want.”

After not hearing back from Richmond, I've emailed them asking for resolution and the response was "Did you not see the response to your BBB complaint?" This shows that Richmond will do anything to deny legitimate warranty claims to save few dollars. The hardwood floor has never been repaired after closing. Richmond American Homes had done nothing. If you want to go through the headaches that most homeowners who purchased Richmond American Homes are going through, it is your choice, but not recommended. This is a substandard builder.

List of some of the things that needed repairs: improper toilet connection; cabinet/oven range installation not same as model - no notification of changes; shelves, entertainment center not as ordered; garage door opener installation - wiring (placed outside where all wiring visible), wrong switch placement, and missing light bulb; they created 12 x 12 hole on the ceiling to repair and left the hole for 3 months before repairing; cracking/splitting hardwood floor; light cover missing, mix matched; broken PVC and open wiring on the front lawn; door stopper in wrong place; touch-up paint on railing and doors promised but not done; separating roof shingles; laundry room water connection (housing) not installed properly; covered with tube of silicone, above cabinet lighting wires not in the wall (exposed); key does not work; dented door knob; door knob missing screw; sink and faucet (3rd repair); pendent light and switch (3rd repair); alarm system not connected; damage window replaced twice (installed with used damage window); exposed wiring in pantry; holes on siding.

I accept some of the responsibility for our poor builder choice as I was "warned" about Richmond. I choose to see the good rather than listen to a direct warning from a realtor friend who said, "I don't mean to burst your bubble, I know you’re excited, but do your research, they have a terrible reputation." Everything I have read about them came true. However, we did get an extra special treat while trying to solve a closing issue. The VP of Operations who was supposed to solve the problem, instead he yelled at my realtor who was trying to explain the situation, then spoke to me in a tone, which you would have expected him to say "go stick it." He said "take or don't close." We were trying to resolve a major construction error on the part of Richmond. We were misled and lied to on our final walk-though and shocked when we got to closing - the "terms" changed.

The quality of work is awful. As soon as I have a moment, I will include images in my review. You will see we are not picky people, just folks who want to get what they paid for. Richmond was not ready, the quality of work was poor and they refused to admit it or fix it. They peeled off the stickers from the initial walk though and pretended they fixed it. Work was incomplete, badly executed and haphazard. We warned for weeks that we did not feel the timeline was going well. Every time I stepped in, no one was there, including the day before closing. Mind you, I live close and stopped several times a day toward the end. The home was filthy, floors scratched, and repairs were poorly executed. They really could care less about you, your situation and have no integrity about the product they build.

What was intended to be an amazing wonderful experience was taken from us from Richmond. If you are looking to work with a "used car" dealership type of environment, go with Richmond.

In the summer of 2011, only six months after moving into our new home, a leak emerged in the roof of our extended sunroom and in the master bedroom and master bathroom. Richmond sent workers to fix the problem. Recently we realized that the problem was not fixed, and that over the last year and a half, undoubtedly, water continued to drip into our home.

Many of the problems in our home were recently discovered due to the wave of storms in the area. In the end of October 2012, water from the rain seeped from the roof in the master bedroom closet, the master bathroom, the sunroom, closets in the basement and throughout the basement. Indeed, the Richmond roof fix from 2011 did nothing to protect our home. Water, originating from the same place as before, entered the home as if there were no roof protecting us from the elements. The water resulted in a flooded kitchen and flooded basement. In the basement, under the sunroom, we collected buckets of water seeping from the walls, water that entered through the roof. Still today, water continues to enter the house and spread through the walls and floods each of these rooms every time it rains.

In addition to water entering due to the faulty roof, after we called in a flood specialist and the dry walls were removed to prevent more mold growth, we were stunned. In the basement, in the concrete walls behind the dry wall, we found 8 ft tall, quarter inch thick cracks in the structural areas of the foundation in two different places. We are not sure how long these cracks have existed as they were covered by dry wall and were only visible once the walls were removed. When it rained heavily on January 30, 2013, both my wife and me could not sleep the entire night, because the water was pouring through one of the cracks in the basement. Every 10-15 minutes, we had to empty the “Water Vacuum” large bucket.

In addition, there is a leak (water dropping) on the exhaust vent going through the wall. According to the technician, when the vent pipe was installed, it was not correctly done, and the joint was loose. Of course, we believed that this must be something covered by Richmond's warranty as the very structure of the house is so greatly flawed. Alas, when supervisor (Richmond Homes) came to see the damage, his flippant demeanor disregarded our concerns and said that the cracks were not covered. Although we can understand why a small crack may not warrant relief, the greatness of these structural and large cracks signals not "growing splints," but rather act as evidence of negligence and improper construction on the part of Richmond Homes. The casual, "not our fault" attitude of Richmond Homes on this matter signals that Richmond does not care about us, and that once a house is sold, Richmond refuses to back its work.

It is now February 2013. After filing a complaint with Richmond soon after the kitchen/master bedroom/basement floods, Poli ** sent a letter on 1-2-2013 saying that they will repair the roof. After many scheduling followed by Richmond cancellations, no work has been done on our home. We live in constant stress and fear of water and mold. We cannot use the rooms in the house, which are now susceptible to chilling drafts. My wife and I are both senior citizens, and we are in constant fear for our health. We are unable to host guests due to the embarrassing state of disrepair across the house. The walls are peeling. The ceilings are falling. Due to Richmond's inaction and deliberate unresponsiveness, our beloved home has become a broken house. We are totally embarrassed at the condition of Richmond Homes’ newly built house. We don’t want anyone to see it.

I plead with you to fix our home as soon as possible. I am tired of dealing with Richmond representatives who make promises and then break them. I am tired of dealing with Richmond representatives that claim that they do not have the power to do anything. I am tired of placing my trust into a company that prides itself on its integrity and dedication to customer satisfaction. Please help us.

Not only is this a blatant building code violation, it is also the direct cause of the fire since bare hot wires were in direct contact with, and subsequently burned through the outlet cover plate. This could have caused a devastating fire! One other home in our development lost most of the second floor of their home to an electrical fire. This makes us suspect that there might be potential problems in many of the homes in the development. Unfortunately, all these homes are out of warranty.

Now with a 30-year mortgage, these crappy ** floors are worth 10 bucks at best. The sprinkler system was never set up correctly and we have had nothing but leaks and issues with it. The control box is not large enough to accept any new zones so we had to remove the new one, which came with the house with a newer one just to put grass in the backyard. Electrical breakers tripping, balusters loose on stairways, and the list goes on. Am I furious? Yes! Under warranty obviously means absolutely nothing to these people and neither does word of mouth. My advice is don't buy new. These people build nothing but junk anymore. It's in, out and onto the next one. Who cares what the customer expects as long as they get their huge chunk of change in their pockets, right?

I don't understand how this passed Richmond American Homes' supposed inspection (which I have since determined is just hogwash) and how it passed county inspection. I am very disappointed with Richmond American Homes. Not only have I had to deal with high energy bills because of poor house insulation, but now this as well.

It's not a very good customer service. What if I was ready to relocate and wanted another new house? I wouldn't be buying American Richmond again. That's for sure! I'm actually surprised, because this probably isn't that big a deal to a big company like that and they just refuse to even consider checking it out. After all, I didn't hire the sub-contractor; they did. They should stand behind certain things longer than 10 years. I mean, if the house just collapsed, would they walk away from that because it was man-made?

In 2009, 2010, 2011, and now 2012, the migration of the birds has become worse. In May and June, several homeowners spray gallons of water every night to get the nests off of the stucco houses. Some homeowners have resorted to buying guards that are costly and not something we can afford. The guards work and what I would like to propose is that Richmond reimburses us and our neighbors and adopt a policy for any new stucco construction to make the guards standard at Greyhawk at Northgate.

A retaining pond is the source of the mud by the way. In April, the pond was drained but was not covered. Run-off has made it even muddier. This should be leveled out and covered with either rocks or cement to prevent a mud source. Please do something about this terrible problem for your customers. We love the house, but not the consequences, the high water bills and the medical bills.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The home is worth $0.00.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The repair cost was $500.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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