Richmond American Homes...good Or Bad? (to buy, contractors, drywall)

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by gollygeewhiz

I now know why Richmond puts a contractual 12 month time frame to finish your house. It has been nearly 11 months since we signed the contract on our house. They are now 3 weeks out from completion. The house we are building is only 2200 square feet! The house sat for several weeks with OSB exposed to wet weather. It makes me wonder what kind of long term affects this will have on the house.

They are barely going to make the 12 month time frame, but if they missed it by 1 second, I would opt out of the deal.

The thing is in the beginning they have to get permits, that much I know. I'm not sure how long that takes though.

Ours went up pretty quick. They broke ground around 10/6/07 & it's pretty much finished from what I hear.

My issue is that we bought a house that was already spec'd, they allowed us to change the kitchen cabinet color. The last time we walked the house the cabinets were wrong, they were the color the original people picked. Apparently Richmond doesn't want to do anything about it

The thing that ticks me off the most is my hubby & I have sent a lot of people down there, I've posted what a great experience it's been and now feel like we're not being treated too well.

We'll see what's going to happen. I hope they do soemthing to make up for this screw up.

[caldwellfamly]

I have a Richmond home, but in Colorado. I would not purchase from them again if I had the chance to do it over again. Their windows are poorly sealed - the curtains move everytime we have a breeze and the windows are shut, the drywall they use is the thinest you can find, my children (7,5&3) and husband have falled and made holes in the walls trying to catch themselves. The doors are cheap...interior and exterior, you put your foot up to catch it and poof your foot is thru the door! After 5yrs of owning the home my concrete in my drive and walk have begun flaking and I've looked at my foundation - advice from others and you can see the wood posts as the concrete is off, from flaking, peeling, or cracking off. They are currently going thru trying to avoid a law suit and blame home owners for any problems that occur with the home. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM, YOU WILL ONLY HAVE FUTURE COSTS AND PROBLEMS

[UtahHome]

Originally Posted by caldwellfamly

I have a Richmond home, but in Colorado. I would not purchase from them again if I had the chance to do it over again. Their windows are poorly sealed - the curtains move everytime we have a breeze and the windows are shut, the drywall they use is the thinest you can find, my children (7,5&3) and husband have falled and made holes in the walls trying to catch themselves. The doors are cheap...interior and exterior, you put your foot up to catch it and poof your foot is thru the door! After 5yrs of owning the home my concrete in my drive and walk have begun flaking and I've looked at my foundation - advice from others and you can see the wood posts as the concrete is off, from flaking, peeling, or cracking off. They are currently going thru trying to avoid a law suit and blame home owners for any problems that occur with the home. DO NOT BUY FROM THEM, YOU WILL ONLY HAVE FUTURE COSTS AND PROBLEMS

I think it's unfortunate that all of us reporting in this forum hadn't discovered this web site prior to purchasing our Richmond American homes. Your issue with poor concrete is well known here in Utah. A year ago two of Richmond's tracts made the local tv news with driveways falling apart and now our tract is doing the same. Of course RAH has blamed the homeowner for the flaking concrete. They say it is because the homeowner parked a vehicle dripping with road salt in the driveway. Who doesn't? I, like my neighbors, have mentioned the flaking concrete to the warranty superintendant but I'm sure it will be my fault. In comparison, I had many concrete walks and patios with "salt" finishes and they were still there when I left after ten years of use. Good luck with resolution.

[shilo0854]

I'm just reading this and wonder why RAH is still in business???

[kwm03160]

I echo the posts about RAH here. In Utah, they are facing a lawsuit from an HOA because the homes are literally sinking! Made the TV news numerous times.

Also, as a warning, stay away from Holmes Homes - I noticed they are now building in Queen Creek. I bought a townhome from them (in Utah), and regret it. Our community has major concrete flaking/cracking, my drywall wasn't taped, paint is peeling off the walls. When the community was sold out, they promised to do numeous fixes, but have backed out from doing them. I could go on and on.

[colorado456]

I feel sorry for anyone who builds a Richmond American Home in Colorado. They are a VERY tuff company to work with. We build a home back in 2005 and has so many issues, I lost count.
My biggest conern is the AC unit. Why do builders lay out plans that call for AC units to be on the South or West sides of homes in Colorado. It makes them work harder as its in the sun all day long. And if I do not allow my AC unit to run all day it cant cool the house off at 6:00pm. I dont know if adding a larger blower on the unit would help or not. Richmond is not in the business to help.
I have heard people say they'd buy Richmond again but I'd like to see those houses because I surly would never.

Frustrated Richmond Home Buyer

[davin]

anyone have any knowledge of how ryland homes is to deal with and are they junk builders? thanks. also, how about meritage homes?

[Roselvr]

My best tip is to get yourself inspectors, you want people that know new construction & have an inspection before move in. Richmond makes it a little hard to do the inspection if you have a tight moving day, they are allowed in a few hours before closing & have to fax licenses and stuff. If you are closing on 2 houses in one day it's hard. Also get an attorney & keep money in escrow.

From what I hear, most of our neighbors had the same issues we are, stupid stuff, like bad prep on the walls before painting. You really have to look at every window, wall & ceiling. They also said it took a year before everything was fixed and they could start enjoying their houses. From what I got when I spoke to one Richmond construction guy was that there will be more nail pops & stuff you find from when you buy till a year so why go in twice? Yes it makes sense but I want to buy furniture and not have to worry about moving it later on.

[tswanson]

I closed on my new home June 1st 2008 with a list of unfinished construction items and/or defective construction items. It has been 6 months and only a handful of them have been completed and most of them are of sub par quality.

* There is a hardwood floor that is warping,
* There is a front door that is leaking air,
* There is paint touch ups that are not corrected,
* There are shelves that are not level even though I was supplied with a packet of felt spacers,
* There is a Fire Access Door that was never correctly installed, textured or painted in the master bedroom,
* There is landscape grading so steep that the gravel does not stay in place nor can you safely walk on it,
* There is a concrete patio that was not covered when they poured the concrete that was damaged by a rainstorm and never replaced,
* The rear door leaked water as a bottom plate was not installed which ruined the hardwood floor which has yet to be repaired. The leak was stopped but the door never trimmed or installed completely,
* And much more!

All of this was incomplete or defective before I closed on the house. The Superintendant has made promises as well as the Home Care representative which seem to gain momentum but never result in any results. To this day I am struggling to get Richmond American Homes to resolve these issues. Every month I contact them and get a bit of attention then things seem to fall by the wayside again. Now I am entertaining for the Holidays in a new home that is missing trim, paint, drywall texture, etc. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to have a home, but someone needs to keep Richmond American Homes accountable.
I would not recommend Richmond American Homes unless you are willing to put up with their empty promises.

If I get any actions I will be sure to update my post!

[davin]

real sorry to hear about your problems and the mess you are in.is there a consumer agency you can contact that will putsome pressure on richmond? wishing you the very best of luck in getting your home taken care of the way it should be.