KB Homes in Tampa area? (renters, lawyer, neighborhood)

[Camisis]

That sounds terrible! Is that common with your neighbors? How on earth does stuff just fall off? And a dishwasher falling out? That's nuts!

We definitely won't be using their lender, so that won't be an issue.

Did you have a private inspector? Would hiring one prevent most of these problems or would he not be able to know if this kind of work was shoddy until something actually falls apart?
Thanks!

Originally Posted by wiltznucs

I bought a KB home in Apollo Beach in September. As far as value was concerned my home appraised for nearly $80,000 more than I paid so I cant complain about that. So far as quality goes, thats a little different story. I've had tiles splitting, hardwood floor pulling up, windows cracking, baseboards and molding pulling away, water heater not working, backflow leaking to the tune of a $250 water bill, door locks falling off, faucet handles falling off, tile and masonry in the shower falling off, dishwasher falling out, and I'm sure I may have forgot others. In KB's defense, they've been pretty good about getting my issues resolved quickly. Despite all that, the worst experience was with Countrywide who finances for KB. Avoid them at all costs.... On another note, KB is really big into bragging about their JD Power surveys. Dont complete your survey until all outstanding issues have been resolved. Its comes as no surprise that after your survey is completed KB doesnt seem to respond as quickly.

[Camisis]

Ok, so now I know what you meant by Watergrass, sorry about that! I'm still confused about the reference to the mortgage though.
Thanks

Originally Posted by Camisis

bentlebee, what do you mean, "the mortgage part?"

What's Watergrass? Where is your area?

[Camisis]

The thing that makes me wonder is ... all of this stuff is old. The earliest link is from June of 2006. Isn't it possible that it was a different builder in those other places? Or that all of the negative attention and costly fines and buybacks have made KB turn their game around? Or am I just being too optimistic?

Originally Posted by SLCPUNK

kb-home-problems.com - Home

HomeOwners for Better Building - KBHomeSucks is not forgotten

[wiltznucs]

Originally Posted by Camisis

That sounds terrible! Is that common with your neighbors? How on earth does stuff just fall off? And a dishwasher falling out? That's nuts!

We definitely won't be using their lender, so that won't be an issue.

Did you have a private inspector? Would hiring one prevent most of these problems or would he not be able to know if this kind of work was shoddy until something actually falls apart?
Thanks!

My neighbors homes which were built around the same time have experienced similar problems. Flooring issues and water heater problems seem to be a common trend. I did use a private inspector but he didnt find any problems outside of some issues with my sprinkler heads. Like any other builder, KB subcontracts out most of their work. The good news is they stand by it, even though some of it is very shoddy.

[Camisis]

It sounds like I'm hearing some mixed feelings. You're happy about the appraisal and the company fixing the problems, but not happy about the problems themselves (understandably!) So do you wish you had chosen a different builder altogether?

Originally Posted by wiltznucs

My neighbors homes which were built around the same time have experienced similar problems. Flooring issues and water heater problems seem to be a common trend. I did use a private inspector but he didnt find any problems outside of some issues with my sprinkler heads. Like any other builder, KB subcontracts out most of their work. The good news is they stand by it, even though some of it is very shoddy.

[wiltznucs]

Originally Posted by Camisis

It sounds like I'm hearing some mixed feelings. You're happy about the appraisal and the company fixing the problems, but not happy about the problems themselves (understandably!) So do you wish you had chosen a different builder altogether?

I'm convinced that in the price range KB sells homes for you cant expect a lot more. I had similar problems with another well known builder with my last home. My father was fond of saying your cant expect caviar on a chop steak budget. I'll simply be glad when the parade of problems finally comes to an end, and I'm convinced KB will get me there eventually. I love my neighborhood and my home and for the price I paid, I'm really pretty happy.

[bentlebee]

Watergrass is a community in Wesley Chapel off Curley Road. The mortgage part is the part I spoke and also others, about the affiliated (to KB Homes)mortgage people who gave very bad advise and for that reason a lot of people went fast into foreclosure. You can read about it on a lot of websites and someone has previuous put up a link to these website.

[bentlebee]

We hardly had any problems with our KB home neither had any one in our community just some minor things that will happen with any builder.
I know that the manager for the whole Tampa Bay area (I won't mention his name here) was fired for given his friends who had construction companies, all the work and the work was done very poor. After he was fired other companies had to do damage control. Unfortunately he is now working as a construction manager.
I dealed with home inspectors in the past and the same with these people. You have the great ones who love their job and know they are there to help the buyers buy a good home, others are just walking around to get their money a.s.a.p. So if you can get a trustful home inspector he probable will find the trouble spots.
Most things on the websites about KB homes is about the mortgage part and some lemon homes, which is sad, but I had a kind of lemon home with another builder who has a great name, but probable the construction manager had some "off" weeks, which resulted in him being fired and a lot of homes being build poorly. I guess it is like buying a car, you have to be lucky and smart and keep your eyes open. If you are unexperienced about mortgages, try to get someone who is there for you, remember the builder and their company are there to sell and close a home and get their commision.

[Camisis]

Originally Posted by bentlebee

We hardly had any problems with our KB home neither had any one in our community just some minor things that will happen with any builder.
I know that the manager for the whole Tampa Bay area (I won't mention his name here) was fired for given his friends who had construction companies, all the work and the work was done very poor. After he was fired other companies had to do damage control. Unfortunately he is now working as a construction manager.
I dealed with home inspectors in the past and the same with these people. You have the great ones who love their job and know they are there to help the buyers buy a good home, others are just walking around to get their money a.s.a.p. So if you can get a trustful home inspector he probable will find the trouble spots.
Most things on the websites about KB homes is about the mortgage part and some lemon homes, which is sad, but I had a kind of lemon home with another builder who has a great name, but probable the construction manager had some "off" weeks, which resulted in him being fired and a lot of homes being build poorly. I guess it is like buying a car, you have to be lucky and smart and keep your eyes open. If you are unexperienced about mortgages, try to get someone who is there for you, remember the builder and their company are there to sell and close a home and get their commision.

The funny thing is this will be our second purchase of a new construction home. The first one also happened to be our first home purchase ever, so we were COMPLETELY unexperienced in everything. We bought that home about two months before it was completed, so we didn't start from the very beginning but we didn't have any problems with it either, other than a few glitches here and there. The builder was a small company in south GA/ north FL and there were some minor issues that needed to be addressed at the walkthrough. They said they would take care of it but then when I called a few times to get them to come out, they wouldn't do it. I threatened to call the BBB and the construction manager laughed at me. So I wrote the letter to the BBB and a week later the guy was sweet as pie. I couldn't believe it. I guess he thought I was bluffing? And after that it was pretty easy. Yet KB has very damaging websites out there and class action lawsuits that don't seem to be doing the trick? That's what scares me. It's like there's no way to win with them, if things go wrong?

But hopefully that's just in Texas.

I'm sure people reading this are thinking, "Just use another builder!" But aside from the fact that I've read a lot of bad things about all builders, KB's homes are the only ones out here in the 300K price range that look DIFFERENT. I've looked at Engle, Centex, M/I, Lennar, Standard Pacific, etc and they all look the same and the floorplans are just ok. Argh.

I'm sorry, I'm very frustrated with this. It's good to know that some people have had good experiences and love their KB homes. It gives me hope. Thank you for your responses!

[Camisis]

Originally Posted by wiltznucs

I'm convinced that in the price range KB sells homes for you cant expect a lot more. I had similar problems with another well known builder with my last home. My father was fond of saying your cant expect caviar on a chop steak budget. I'll simply be glad when the parade of problems finally comes to an end, and I'm convinced KB will get me there eventually. I love my neighborhood and my home and for the price I paid, I'm really pretty happy.

It still seems like your chop liver should at least be prepared properly, even if it's not as tasty or fancy as caviar, right? That's what I would think. I read somewhere else on this board how someone said that if you buy a $100K home, then you have to expect it will be built with cheaper materials and not hold up as well. I guess I was naive to think that I was paying for style, size and location, not craftmanship. Even if I can't afford pork tenderloin and end up getting a pork chop, I still want it to be cooked enough so I don't get sick, ya know? It just doesn't seem right. (I love all of the food analogies, LOL.) The home that I want is $296K, but it's completely stripped down at that price and it's not in South Tampa, it's in Riverview. Is that chopped liver? (I'm really asking because I don't know.)
Thanks for all of your help. I'm glad that you like your home still!