Homelife Communities (Atlanta: houses, buying, construction)

[jonjon01]

I am looking to purchase a Homelife Communities Home in Atlanta. Does anyone have any helpful information about this builder. They are everywhere.

[kayrob]

Bump.

I'd be interested in any feedback on this also as I see their properties abound in the area and seem quite reasonably priced.

[GoodScout]

They're a great homebuilder in the metro Atlanta area. They build homes from around $140,000 all the way up to $300,000. Their rep is you get a lot of home for you money -- I my community I bought a 3500 square foot two story house for $202,000. I also saw they did an Extreme Home Makeover for a family in Raleigh, so I guess they're up there too.

[jonjon01]

Well thanks Good Scout. I have done some research now and they are not doing to well in the better business bureau. A lot of complaints. An agent also pointed out to me that they take alot of short cuts. No gutters on the rear of the house, and the quality of the flooring system. The gutters can cause a future foundation problem.

[taurus32]

hey jon jon im in the process of looking at one of these homes where did you find your info id hate to make a bad investment...is it just the better business bureau?

Originally Posted by jonjon01

Well thanks Good Scout. I have done some research now and they are not doing to well in the better business bureau. A lot of complaints. An agent also pointed out to me that they take alot of short cuts. No gutters on the rear of the house, and the quality of the flooring system. The gutters can cause a future foundation problem.

[jonjon01]

I talked to an agent at Keller Williams who got me started looking at the quality as opposed to the size. She used to work for a couple of builders so she was very knowledgable. I found the better business information by chance. I googled gutters and foundation problems, and that really started me to looking a little deeper.

[mbak26]

I live in a homelife community and there are warranty problems as well as builder issues. Some of the main issues that i hear about repeatedly are leaking windows and doors. Problems with the stairs and the upstairs walkways (they move, they aren't level, you can feel the difference when walking the walkways in terms of the floor being different heights, etc.). The basements have puddles in them when it rains or plumbing problems. The backyards that sit on top of hills have issues with erosion, which affects the house.
Lots of problems with water. No gutters on the backs of the houses, the ground isn't graded properly in many MANY instances.

Not to mention that if you do not have the issues addressed before you move in, you will have a horrible time trying to get them to come out to fix them.

One of the things that my neighbors and I have had problems with is construction debris buried in the house and yard. I have had all manner of old food wrappers pulled from inside of my house (plastic drink containers, foil wrappings, bags of snack food), as well as bricks, large pieces of concrete, rocks, construction wrapping/bags, GLASS BOTTLES, cans, snack foods, chicken bones, etc that i've dug up in my yard. Oh it should be noted that i do not have bricks on my house.

If you choose to buy a house from them be prepared to do a lot of work. The "team leaders" and the people that work for them often can't communicate because the leaders don't speak spanish.

I can go on and on. You can have your house inspected by an independent inspector, but they are looking for code issues and a lot of the issues aren't code, it's just very bad workmanship. HORRIBLE workmanship.

Oh yeah, when they make a mistake and have to come back and fix it, the team leaders have to pay for it out of their pocket, so they will tell you that there is nothing wrong with it or will just try and put it back together so that they don't have to pay for it.

Ugh, just ugh.

[jonjon01]

wow mbak, I am sorry to hear about all of those problems. I have heard some things about them but that is a small book. So many people are rushing out buying these houses. The communitiy I looked at had almost every lot under contract. People were comming in an out like they were giving the houses away.

[wjschade]

I am posting this to provide a warning to anyone who might be contemplating purchasing a home from Homelife Communities. While my only experience is associated with the Prestwick subdivision in Union County near Matthews/Charlotte North Carolina, I am sure that Homelife Communities building practices are the same everywhere and that is “they suck”. Homelife Communities is a very large builder with 85 communities across the US, 15 around Charlotte and 40 in Georgia. Homelife communities hire only the lowest priced, unknowledgeable and unskilled people to build their homes. I contracted for Homelife to build a specific home, with a specific floor plan and with specific features and spent the whole experience fighting with them to get the house built correctly. They changed the floor plan, hired carpenters who could not speak english nor read blue prints, substituted bad products for the good ones promised. Homelife installed shower, cabinets (both kitchen & bath), half bath sink, staircase, ceramic and wood flooring incorrectly. After purchase, the warrantee department saga begins, with improper, unskilled and poorly done repairs. After 6 months I am still fighting with Homelife Communities to get my house repaired. My advice to anyone who is considering purchasing a Homelife Communities home, is DON’T.

[jonjon01]

I feel your pain wjschade. Sounds like you have been involved in some drama. I was told last week that Homelife owner and the owner of Legacy are brothers. That would explain why the floor plans and the construction seem similar. The owner of Legacy has been in quite a few court cases about his construction and from what I hear they have changed the name of the company on a few occasions. Has anyone else heard of this >>???