Consumer complaints flood Colorado’s largest homebuilder (Denver: real estate, 2015)

[SQL]

Weak foundations and shoddy construction work are two of the big complaints from dozens of new homeowners throughout the Denver area.

Denver is one of the fastest growing home building markets in the country, but that growth is spreading contractors too thin and bringing down the quality of new homes, according to scores of new homeowners.

Consumer complaints flood Colorado’s largest homebuilder | FOX31 Denver

[Timmyy]

There goes the neighborhood.

[abcdefg567]

I'm not surprised. We looked at several of there models in Green Valley Ranch a few years ago - and decided against it when my husband slipped at the top of the stairs and the metal railing they had installed bent all the way forwards as he tried to catch himself. They tried to assure us that the, "real," homes wouldn't have that problem, but that was enough to scare us away.

As for the siding they mentioned in the article - they tried to sell it like it was the best thing ever for the house. Interesting to read that it is falling off.

Hopefully everyone gets their issues taken care of. It reads like they are addressing the problem, or at least trying to.

[vegaspilgrim]

Where do you get that Oakwood is the largest homebuilder in Colorado? This list is 2 years out of date, and it's Denver area only, not the whole state, but Oakwood doesn't even make it into the top 5:
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/su...ebuilders.html

[SQL]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Where do you get that Oakwood is the largest homebuilder in Colorado? This list is 2 years out of date, and it's Denver area only, not the whole state, but Oakwood doesn't even make it into the top 5:
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/su...ebuilders.html

I guess you have to take that up with Fox 31. Also, like you said, the list is almost two years old. A lot could have changed since then.

[eatsDEN]

I almost bought a new build in Solterra with Cardel Homes, but the builder was trying to ignore the soils report requirements for a structural foundation.


When I pressed the issue in the report, also pointing out that their builder's contract required the builder to provide said structural foundation (at their expense because the Structural Engineers' soils report mandated the specification), the builder refunded our lot deposit in full.


They refused to provide a comfort letter or arrange a meeting with their engineers or lawyers to obtain clarity on the actual requirements set forth in the soils reports for the lot in the development....

[rushhournewb]

Years ago I had a buddy who was a full-time real estate broker. He had his opinions about builders. He'd had "problems" with a house he bought to use for a rental and wanted to go after the builder bigtime for some minor stuff. I was a home builder at the time and didn't comment on his righteous attitude.

A few years later he bought a lot and built a home ("Hey, I'm gonna be a builder, I mean, how hard can it be!?!" he asked me.) I didn't comment some more.

After having innumerable issues with his buyer that went on and on and on...and on, he later said to me "I never knew". I know what he meant but your interpretation may vary (YIMV).

[sholomar]

This is why government regulations exist... they keep people from cutting corners to save money... how hard is it for example to wire a circuit in each bedroom instead of having a single circuit taking care of 2 bedrooms and a hallway? Wiring a house entirely using 12 gauge wire would be a sign of a quality builder versus using 14 gauge, things of that sort (though I would argue you don't need 12 gauge if you have enough 14 gauge circuits, though certain appliances, namely space heaters, can saturate a 15 amp connection easily)

The way things are done today is build in quantity and cut costs wherever possible, saving a dollar here, 50 cents there, which adds up over time. I can see it in my Toyota Camry XLE where they cut corners to save costs. You can see it everywhere if you look closely. Well you could spend an extra $5000 on a $200,000 home and get significantly better quality if you supervise the building process and know what you're looking to do, but few people have this level of knowledge.

[Vision67]

Many people think that a new house will be perfect. It's not.

If I ever built a new house again, I'd hire my own building inspector to independently appraise the quality of the build as it was being built. If the builder would not allow that, no deal.

It's disconcerting to realize that the most expensive thing that you will ever buy has the lowest quality.

I went through this back in 1992, I visited the site 3 times a day, and I had to throw out the subs twice. Although I did get a quality build, it damn near killed me.

For now I'm staying put primarily because I never want to go through that experience again.

[BenCG]

My friend bought a condo and has been dealing with some similar issues. Luckily the builder has stood behind it and made fixes. I personally like older homes because if something hasn't fallen down after 50+ years or more then it's probably going to be around for a while longer.