Legacy Communities (Atlanta, Snellville, Cumming: hoa, landscaping, lease)

[jtmony]

Originally Posted by quilamal

I have steped into the model and it is huge. All of the rooms are on the 2nd floor and there is a sitting room in the owners suite. There is also a little area once you go upstairs for you to decorate a play area. The home is very big. That is my second choice home my first choice is the Legacy II because it is a ranch home with a bonus room upstairs. They have the rosewood model home at the Villages of Hampton if you are close by and want to see it.

You pulled this from a post when I was considering purchasing a Rosewood. Oh how times have changed. My best friend lives in Villages of Hampton and he hates it. That community will be one of the last communities in Atlanta to recover from the current crisis. I live in Henry county, and there are about 5 standing communities, with another one being built near GA20. Actually, there are about 5 other sub-divisions in the area that were built by legacy between 2000-2005. Of the 5 new standing communities, South Hampton is by far the better of the others in terms of spacing, lot size, and overall cleanliness of the community. Main Street Commons comes in a close second, but the homes are spaced very close together on very small lots. Pembrooke rounds out the top three, with The Villages of Hampton at the bottom. Although I believe legacy has made some improvements, the improvements are not significant enough to for 2nd & 3rd time home owners to seriously consider buying a legacy home, especially when there are so many better options.

Those of you out there who have Legacy Homes, count the number of 1) vacant homes in your area, 2) count the number of "for sale" signs placed by owners. More than a year ago, I too was in the process of purchasing a Rosewood (see earlier post) and was determined not to let the negative post deter me from purchasing this BIG house. My eyes were BIG. I even had an independent inspector who did a great job of finding construction errors. What changed my mind? I visited the site, saw how close the homes were, how small the lots were; I visited other communities where Legacy had previously built. Their older communities are SLUMS, and the cheap sod they lay (old and new communities) is filled with weeds. I'm not talking 1 or 2 lawns, most lawns. Why would you purchase a home in a community filled with mud holes (or what ever you call them: mud pits enclosed by chain link fences) is beyond me. These small lots are nothing more than "Single Family Town Homes." I had more land in my last town house than most legacy homes. I also asked myself how hard would it be to sell my Legacy Home compared to other communities. 80% of legacy homes look identical: 2 car garage, 1 or 2 bay windows down stairs, living room/dining room separated by two pillars, stairs close to the door entry, master suite with a boxed in sitting room, plastic showers without doors, and the similarities continue. Doesn't take a rocket science to know when you've entered a legacy community.

Finally, we are currently in a buyer's market and people are still settling for Legacy. Amazing! Do your research people.........do your research. Your $200k+ can go so much further than a large box sitting on .25 acres. Don't let legacy sells managers on this forum, disguised as home owners, mask poor construction quality. I am not saying that all homes are bad. I am saying that the majority are. The Rosewood I was purchasing was one of the descent homes. But in my occupation, I move every 3-5 years. Having the best home in the community is like having the worst home if everything around you is bringing the value of your home down. How can you sell in a community like that. For those of you who decide to purchase a legacy home, good luck to you.

[scgraham]

Many of the problems that you mention seem to be homeowner neglect.

[cmills]

I pulled out of Hopewell Manor. It's now been five months since I signed a contact with them, and the framing is just NOW getting started. I was supposed to move in next month. It ain't gonna happen.

I suggest checking out the land records if anyone is considering the neighborhood. Legacy accused me of 'bad mouthing' them, I just said I was repeating what is part of public record. When I linked to some liens months ago, it didn't give me pause because MLs on construction are a normal part of business these days. Six-figure judgments are not. The judgment I found is against Hopewell Manor LLC, not Legacy anyway. Where's the bad-mouthing? I just don't want to live in a neighborhood where stuff like that is going on. Not that I could anyway, since they haven't built my house.

I'm not going to say anything about the employee's attitudes. Not a dang thing.

[nibseysgirl]

Originally Posted by cmills

I pulled out of Hopewell Manor. It's now been five months since I signed a contact with them, and the framing is just NOW getting started. I was supposed to move in next month. It ain't gonna happen.

I suggest checking out the land records if anyone is considering the neighborhood. Legacy accused me of 'bad mouthing' them, I just said I was repeating what is part of public record. When I linked to some liens months ago, it didn't give me pause because MLs on construction are a normal part of business these days. Six-figure judgments are not. The judgment I found is against Hopewell Manor LLC, not Legacy anyway. Where's the bad-mouthing? I just don't want to live in a neighborhood where stuff like that is going on. Not that I could anyway, since they haven't built my house.

I'm not going to say anything about the employee's attitudes. Not a dang thing.

Hi there,
I dont think you can bad mouth a person or company when it is TRUE. I have looked into Legacy many times and have not seen or heard ONE thing that is good. I am local to Snellville and they have a new development going in there and they have gone up so fast that I would be scared to live in a home that was put up so fast...Just my humble opinion ...Good luck with your situation...and hopefully your home will be built to your spefications and you and yours will be happy and have a nice life in it...Nothing like owning a new home...as long as that new home is a blessing instead of a curse...Take Care...

[GoodScout]

Originally Posted by si7steve

Keep on them and don't be afraid to put on the pressure. Unless you just absolutely have to move in, I would threaten to walk and I bet you will see things get moving faster.

Also sincerely check them on everything. They can and sometimes do cut corners but if you just keep with them on things, they will see you are concerned and will make everything right for you. It's the people who wait until after the deal is done to complain and they are the ones who are left out in the cold.

Be persistent, and if you haven't already done this, also get a real estate agent on your side. We didn't and we worked much harder than we had to. A real estate agent will take their cut from Legacy but work for you. And the agent should be watching the build details with you and help with many of the purchase questions.

Screw that. Take your money and go to Bridgetowne just down the street on Brown's Mill. They've got houses already up and a pool and playground built. The same company that built my subdivision is building there. Or check another builder's subdivision that's already building. But don't wait. That's just crazy.

[scgraham]

Originally Posted by nibseysgirl

Hi there,
I dont think you can bad mouth a person or company when it is TRUE. I have looked into Legacy many times and have not seen or heard ONE thing that is good. I am local to Snellville and they have a new development going in there and they have gone up so fast that I would be scared to live in a home that was put up so fast...Just my humble opinion ...Good luck with your situation...and hopefully your home will be built to your spefications and you and yours will be happy and have a nice life in it...Nothing like owning a new home...as long as that new home is a blessing instead of a curse...Take Care...

I know exactly the community that you are referencing. While I in no way defend any builder, I would, however, suggest that building a home expeditiously doesn’t necessarily mean anything -- so long as there is oversight.

[cynthybugs]

Please do not buy a Legacy home in Atlanta. The contractors that Legacy uses are terrible. Although the company will honor their warranty, the contractors will only give you the run around or worse. I closed in December and did not have any heat. It is July and my upstairs air conditioning unit is not working. It is 80 degrees as I am typing. When I moved in the air conditioning units were not installed. When Deerman did install them they gave me used units with leaves and debris in them. They had 2005 serial numbers. After filing a police report with on them, they brought over new ones. One of them is not working. I have called Deerman approximately 10 times to repair or replace the unit.
I have also discovered that they bury the construction debris in the yards. I have had the hardest time planting this year. I have dug up water bottles, food wrappers, bricks, siding, and have numerous boulders that the builders dug up in my yard. I watched them dig a hole in the yard across from me and push all of the construction debris into it.
Please don't trust them I don't care how big the home is!

[ansbygirl]

I stumbled on to this forum after I had some issues with our new build at Legacy at Lakewood Estates.I'm wondering if there is anyone in that subdivision that can provide some insight. We bought on the less expensive side as there is a I #II because my husband and I are older and we just want something small. We went to visit the site last Tuesday and I couldn't believe that there were holes in the outer drywall for no apparent reason, the shutters I chose were the wrong ones, there was debris inbetween the studs and I don't care what my husband says compared to the model we looked at another location the square footage in our is less. They have made changes inside (moving the powder room,pantry and coat closet completely different from the original floor plan)we were not notified even as a courtesy and I am not happy w/ the changes. They said it had to do with the county and this was after waiting 4 weeks for them to obtain the permit. I have been reading the threads about Legacy on this website and I am really sorry I didn't stumble on this site earlier. The horror stories are just unbelievable and we are already experiencing some of those problems. I contacted the sales Rep. to inform her they have the wrong shutters on the house and she has yet to respond. I wanted and affordable home but not at the cost of shoddy workmanship. I tried going on the Legacy.net website but I noticed that it is not operational. I have a bad feeling about this although my husband says not to give in to paranoia. But a woman's intuition is nothing to joke about. If there is someone in the Lakewood Estates out in Newton county I would really appreciate knowing about your experience. My husband and I are going out there on sunday to see what's going on as it has been 4 days and the Sale Agent has yet to respond to my concerns. We close in mid September and I want o make sure I have as much information as possible before we sign that contract. Where I come from (Canada) the magnitude of some of the problem I have read are unheard of and I am honestly paranoid because we decided to go with a new build because we thought we would have less if not no problems to deal with, but not accoring to what I have been reading. Any advise will be most welcomed. Also can anyone tell me who Legacy will suggest we pick our appliances from? I have not been able to obtain an answer from the Agent. Thanks

[brownmusic]

Please help. I put a contract on a house in a Legacy Community recently and tonight I ran across this thread. There are so many negative comments here I am considering not going through with the purchase. I can't find any posts as recent as this year. Can anyone give me some feedback (positive or negative) about your experience with Legacy Communities. I am hoping to buy in Henry County, GA. Thanks for your help.

[scgraham]

Originally Posted by brownmusic

Please help. I put a contract on a house in a Legacy Community recently and tonight I ran across this thread. There are so many negative comments here I am considering not going through with the purchase. I can't find any posts as recent as this year. Can anyone give me some feedback (positive or negative) about your experience with Legacy Communities. I am hoping to buy in Henry County, GA. Thanks for your help.

While there are many negative posts here, keep in mind that satisfied consumers don't usually post about their positive experiences; it is usually those with a complaint that will vent.

With that said, I am neutral on certain home builders; some offer compelling value while others offer more quality at a higher price. It all depends on what the consumer wants -- realistically speaking.