Legacy Communities (Atlanta, Jefferson, Tiger: lawyer, to buy, construction)

[jtmony]

RH,

I live in the McDonough area. Actually, Hampton, GA. Legacy has Main Street Commons, South Hampton, and a new community going up that I can recall the name. I was under contract with Legacy, but pulled the contract in June 07. We actually had two homes. We switched lot after seeing pictures of the yard of the first home. The house we decided to close on was not ready when we arrived in June. We too tried to get our earnest money, but Legacy had a clause in the contract which basically stated that the closing date can change. There is no specified time so they can have your house ready 30 days or 30 months and they get to keep your money. From what I heard, the verbage of their contracts changed after someone suied and won. The rep at Main Street Commons kept telling me that it was due to the county also. I didn't buy it. We lost the house but gained our dream home. Out of pure curiosity, I drove through the neighborhood yesterday. Neither of the two houses we had built are being lived in. In fact, over 65% of the neighborhood is empty. I know this sounds amazingly untrue, but it is. This subdivision is empty. I think some of it has to do with a slow market, but most of it is due to quality. If you read through some of the earlier postings, I was an advocate for Legacy in Henry County. Once I arrived and inspected the neighborhood and quality of the house, I quickly ate my words and found a better home. My wife and I lost $1000 of earnest money, but it was the best money we would ever want to lose. Stay away from legacy. The best advice I can give you is to find a small builder who is apart of the building process. I did not understand this until I arrived. There are a number of builders in the McDonough area worth looking into. A few even I wish I had looked into. Another area you may want to consider is Heron Bay. The drive is a little farther south, but the homes are nice. Prices range from the low $200s to $900. My wife loves that neighborhood. It's off of GA155. If you're looking to stay away for traffic, STAY AWAY FROM 75 south of I675. The traffic is worst than bad. I love the area, but traffic is bad. One work around is to ride the Park & Ride. My company pays for. I don't know what I would do without it.

[nurse38]

I too will be purchasing a roswood in the panhandle valley community. after reading all the negative post by legacy homeowners, i feel it will be a good idea to hire an inspector. can you please e-mal me info on an inspector i can use. i will be closing nov, 07. dollcollect38@yahoo.com. thanks!

[rh_witt]

I am relocating to the Mcdonough area and WAS

[jtmony]

Nurse38,

If you read my earlier post to this thread, you will find that I was one of the biggest advocates for Legacy. I can not stress enough the mistake you're about to make. My wife & I were days away from going to closing w/Legacy (Main Street Commons: Rosewood Model) but are very happy we did not. Last week, my 16 year old daughter was told by one of her classmates that her parents were having severe problems with their Rosewood. Their house is across the street from the Rosewood we were going to purchase. This builder make crappy homes. You do get a large home. In fact, I have yet to find another builder who offers the square footage for the price. But at the same time, you pay for what you get. I really did not believe some of the negative things that was being said on this thread. I figured it was just too bad to be true. Well, it's not. Fortunately for us, we dropped out of our contract before we went to closing. (see previous posting) We found a home a little smaller than the Rosewood (2875 sq ft) but definately no problems. The biggest problem we've had is trying to figure out what to do with the size lot we have. (1 acre). We also had a great inspector, very detail. (see previous posting) He looked at both the Legacy and our current home. Someone on here suggested checking the county for complains. If you don't believe us, check the county. You'd be amazed.

[LahdeeDahdee]

I got lost yesterday and happened to drive by the Sommerset community in Paulding County. I decided to look at the Rosewood model home. Tell me why when I walked in, an owner who just closed two weeks ago and moved in Saturday, was complaining that the central air just went KAPLUNK?

I was standing right there listening and then the agent turned to me and said, "Gee, I don't know why the HVAC system would break down in a new house......"


Yeah, right.

[K'ledgeBldr]

As by my user-name, I hope all can figure my background.
It's a machine- not a well oiled machine. Building schedules are based on approx. 90 days (they'll tell you 138 days) all those other days are eaten up by corporate people who have to finger all the "paperwork". As for the field personnel- their "incentive" is in bonuses. In other words- "It doesn't matter if its right; just get it done in time for the closing".
Legacy uses their own sales contract- its not a G.A.R. or G.A.H.B.A. Needless to say but, it leans heavily to their side. And not just in the binding arbitration clause either.
Subcontractors are the life and blood of every builder- the difference is in the quality of their work(you get what you pay for). And what Legacy pays for is the lowest possible price they can manipulate out of a sub. Legacy creates budgets for each house, and where its being built (county requirements; etc.). Get a sub to agree to the price for his trade. Then come up with one excuse after another to not pay- get the sub into hock up to his eyeballs and he can't get away. Eventually they get paid, but by that point they (the subs) now control the subdivision. They come when they want too. All of which hog-ties the builder and delays the closing.
There are lots of builders/superintendents that take great pride in their work; however, they are only as good as the subs that are supplied to them. This is part of the reason why the company has a high turnover rate.
As for buying a Legacy Communities home- buyer beware! Yes, you do get alot of square footage for your buck. But the quality of workmanship and products is questionable. A certified home inspector is only a part of your defense- as others have noted, stay in constant communication with a representative (best advise- hire a buyer's agent, they will act in your behalf and get part of the comission that built into the price of the house- thats if you actually make it to closing). Although most buyers at Legacy are first time buyers- all buyers should look closely at the neighborhood they are considering- are lawns kept mowed, is the overall appearance of closed homes in good order. Excessive amount of vehicles at homes, Number of resale, rent signs (Legacy conducts alot of business with investors). Condition of grades- house from street- from house to house. Some field personnel have no idea how to set a house on a lot properly. And some don't care (remember- "whatever it takes to...").
I've rattled on enough- I can be more specific on subjects if anyone needs more info-

[K'ledgeBldr]

From a framing stand-point this house is somewhat straight forword. But again, I must warn it's only right if someone is there to check it. The engineered floor system usually gets screwed up because the framer didn't pay attention to the plan (nor did the superintendent). Some plans call for spacing of TJI's(truss joist i-beam) 24" on center(O/C) and others call for 19.2" O/C. Still others have a combination of both. Plenty of times I've seen the whole floor system done @ 24"O/C. Double TJI's get left out, LVL's(laminated veneer lumber) get left out, put in wrong place, only partially done(needed 3 but only 2 were put in).
This plan along with just about every other plan, have step-downs in them. The exterior walls of those step-down areas are framed with #3 grade lumber- not stud grade. Framing package doesn't have the longer studs needed for these areas. Therefore, these walls technically don't meet code requirements. Nine times outta ten these things are not going to be caught by the county/municipal inspector.
These inspectors, certified and generally from a construction background, have numerous inspections to conduct each day. Now, time becomes a factor- as a result they don't spend alot of time with each inspection. Here again is the reason to hire a private home inspector.
If you are a "contract to build" and you're not buying a standing inventory house- have a private inspector do a pre-drywall inspection. Be sure to let all parties know that you will have an inspector (this could be an out for you if the house were to go into drywall before the inspection is done). Some of the most common problems (other than those mentioned above)- inadequate roof bracing, over spanned ceiling joists, HVAC duct pinched down, and inadequate roof ventilation. The list can go on and on- hope you're getting the picture. If you're buying a standing inventory house- still hire a private inspector. Though he won't see what's between the walls- he can still give you a through inspection. This can only happen if all utilities are on and appliances are installed. Don't get trapped with "its our policy"- remember, just because the house passed all it's inspections with the county/municipal inspectors doesn't mean its right. Demand that the house is 100% finished/complete before closing. Don't fore-go the inspection to close on time. Legacy looks at the situation as- if we don't close the house with you- we'll sell it to someone else.
If you can't close on schedule (because the house isn't ready) and you're stuck between homes/leases and have to find living accommodations elsewhere- get them to pay for it- it's not your fault the house wasn't ready. Then again- they can turn around and terminate the contract- because you were a "difficult customer".

[Expertise]

Try Eric Chafin Homebuilders. I heard they build a QUALITY home with exceptional workmanship. Eric Chafin Home Builders Inc. Web Site Oh yeah Legacy will most likely give you your earnest money back.

Originally Posted by Amy-lynn

Someone please help!! My husband and I signed a contract with Legacy 5/07 with an "estimated" closing date of 10/07. We live about an hour away from so we can't just pop in on them. We have heard nothing but excuses from them as to why our home has not been started. Most used excuse is that the County is behind on their permits and inspections. I called the county today and was told they are not behind at all.
Needless to say I cannot reach ANYONE at Legacy!! Let me back up here....we left for vacation on July 1st and we had been to see what they had done to our house...NOTHING!!! We were told that they were waiting on the County, but our foundation should be poured and the house started framing while we were gone. We came back and went an hour to check it out and again NOTHING!! I went to the office and the gentleman there that I spoke to tried to convince me that my house was framed......I told him that it was not our lot and he argued with me until my husband stepped in.
Since then all they have done is half-way frame for the foundation to be poured. We drove an hour again this past Saturday to find that out...only to talk to the builder himself who said he was waiting on inspections and permits from the county! But that he was sure our house would be done within seventy days. Imagine that....more permit holdups!!
Since I called the county today and cannot get anyone from Legacy on the phone my husband has pulled the plug on my "dream' home. They have continued to give us excuses with no results. So I can't say I blame him!! Oh also when I was talking to the woman from Legacy on Saturday she made the comment " I have eight families due to close in two weeks and we don't even have their houses framed yet, and they are living in hotels" What kind of homes will those people live in. There is a part of me that wants to save this sale for some unknown reason. But reality says not going to happen.
Anyone out there know how hard it will be or what we should do to get our money back? And where do I go to find my next "dream home" that won't turn into the nightmare this one has?

[Amy-lynn]

Buyer BEWARE indeed!! Legacy has ruined my chances of ever building a new home.. Impossible to find the same square footage for the same price. Wow does anyone out there feel the same way....CHEATED! You walk into the beautiful model homes, talk to who you think is a capable sales agent...put down earnest money with thoughts of a beautiful new home... Wrong wake up it's NOT going to happen! First of all we picked out a lot that we took our time looking at and loved...signed the contract and put down the earnest money. That was in May and we then get a call that the "builder" poured the wrong foundation and are building the wrong house on our lot. That was just the start. September we got out of the contract and the only thing I can give this company credit for is returning our earnest money and upgrade money in full. Otherwise I have nine pages of notes on what screw ups they are!! I am thinking of taking all nine pages to all three levels State, City, and County and I'm am sure I will get someone to listen to me. The sales agents we dealt with put on a good front....but all we would hear were empty promises. The agent would tell us " they will tell you it takes 120 days to build your house, but it really only takes 45 days to build so we are right on track" then we would hear " they are pouring the foundation and framing this week" it still wasn't poured in September when we got out of our contract. It's my feeling that Legacy pre-sold too many homes and now they can't deliver what the sales agents are promising. They should have just been honest and we would have waited. But now I'm glad that I was a "difficult" customer after hearing what I may have purchased. I guess it taught us that more isn't always better. Really BUYER BEWARE!!

[evlicious]

I am so glad i just found this forum and really wish i had found it over a year ago before i bought with legacy..I bought in curtis farms the jefferson model. Which completely fell apart!!!! i relocated my family from florida and moved into this home telling my kids it will be a dream. This is the worst mistake i have ever made in my life!!! which has cost me everything i worked for in the last 10 years. They are lyers,cheats,and just illegal. I have owened previous homes in florida and just figured because our prices were so high here that i was getting a good deal. The deal i got winded up costed me..I had to sell all my furniture and anything i had to move back to florida just to get out of there it became dangerous for us to live in. My stairs disconnected and our feet got stuck in in between, my banisters fell off as i was walking up (thankgod my kids yelled and i caught myself) I had water pouring out of my ceilings,and thru my lights i had my ceilings falling down, i had no heat upstairs at all we couldnt even use our bathroom. My shower was so small you could only turn around not bend over. If you leaned on the door you fell out. all the fixtures fell out of the walls, the cabinet doors fell off our stainless steel sink kept rusting. our carpet shredded, or fake wood floors lifted, our ceilings cracked thru all the rooms, i had to life the carpet because i couldnt take the smell to find feces and urine inbedded in the cement..our fire place had a gas leak, the air vents blew out the pilot lights over the stoves, i can go on for days!!!!!I called everyone and anyone and got no where.I winded not working due to sitting home waiting for people to show up who never came. The workers were using my water from the side of my house and said legacy told them too.(which sounded like the pipes were bursting in the walls..I had sewer and garbage coming up from all toilets and sinks. Needless to say we all devolped these horrible rashes from the water, and we were always sick from the vents.PLEASE I ADVICE NO ONE TO PURCHASE A HOME FROM THEM!!!! I went to and pulled my inspection report my home failed 9 times, they were paid off to pass it and borrowed from other homes to pay it. You pay $50 and you can become a inspector in cherokee county no licenses are needed to build, they pick up people off the streets to build. I watched them put up a house across from me in 3 weeks no insulation nothing!!! and used our property lines we paid for..I financed thru there company again don't do it!! And anyone who knows the truth mysteriously disappears (workers) anyone who tried to help me was gone the next day. I contacted lawyers for 2 months for a class action, no one would touch it as legacy pays everyone off. My house is still sitting there empty since feb...why??? I had 7 contracts tried to do a short sale their mortgage company wouldnt return a phone call. I said let it forclose..they cant because part of their loan company is BANKRUPT!!!!!! (80/20 loan) no one to sign off they cant even auction it. my house shouuld of been almost 3900 sq ft, the inspection says 2400, the reports have fake address even for legacy, legacy used my address and lot number insted of canton they just changed it too woodstock!!! Trust pull the papers from city hall. Legacy is not a legite(spelling sorry) company. Here i am now renting for the first time in 10 years, and cant get back on my feet. ALL BECAUSE OF THIS HOME!!! PLease feel free to contact me as i would love to chat with anyone who has experienced this...another scary thing the NEW SCHOOLS are not safe!!! 3 overdoses in a month in the high school, and discrimination in the middle school..Please be safe do not buy from them..Sorry its so long, but this community brought me nothing but heartache,tears,and suffering that i feel everyday..trust the list goes on..