[twoplanekid]

Almost all items on the list of things that need to be addressed before our 1 year warranty expires on the new house in Lake Deaton have been completed to our satisfaction. For some reason, the builder will not replace a small window above the Lanai doors that is scratched. Our Home warranty inspection person had this item on his list as we didn’t notice it. The builder says that too much time has passed. Ok, we will let this pass.

Our drainage between houses is still not correct. However, I am more concerned about the water running off the roof in a particular location causing erosion and a trench to form. The Holly with an enlarged garage has a location with a valley formed by two large roof sections that gushes water at that area. When we first took delivery of the house, the builder stated that gutters were only installed in the front as they were not needed elsewhere. Now he says that gutters should be installed at our expense to correct this erosion issue at this location. Who built the house?

Maybe I should have stated that the builders can be difficult to work with and not home warranty?

[Mikeod]

DId you let the Warranty Department know you're having trouble with the builder addressing these problems? Sometimes they can help with this.

[justjim]

OP, we have purchased three new homes (two designers) in The Villages and have been pleased with the warranty Department. We installed complete gutters on all three at our expense. We knew up front that gutters were only installed at certain places on the houses. Sounds like you did too. I know most of our neighbors did the same.

I hope this helps.

[twoplanekid]

It’s the idea of a run around. Home warranty says that you must contact the builder for help. The builder seems to have an excuse.

I believe that the builder was originally correct in telling me that gutters are usually not required or needed on a Florida house. As this one location causes a tremendous amount of runoff during heavy rains, I am not sure that gutters can contain the flow even though he now says I need gutters. Some type of ground cover or cement pad needs to be constructed to prevent erosion at ground level from this stream of water. Poor design/planning or it’s raining too hard?

Don’t tell me gutters aren’t needed only to say later they are when an issue occurs.
I will give Home warranty a 9 and the builder a 2!

[golfing eagles]

Drainage seems to be a widespread issue, I had the same problem with the contractor and home warranty. After core aerating and top dressing twice since April, there has been considerable improvement. When you get down her take a walk up the block and see. I didn't buy into the no gutters needed argument---rain ran right off the roof and onto my grilling patio. There is also some type of oil in the roofing shingles that stains concrete. Had gutter placed whole house at my expense, but very reasonable cost. See you next month?

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

Almost all items on the list of things that need to be addressed before our 1 year warranty expires on the new house in Lake Deaton have been completed to our satisfaction. For some reason, the builder will not replace a small window above the Lanai doors that is scratched. Our Home warranty inspection person had this item on his list as we didn’t notice it. The builder says that too much time has passed. Ok, we will let this pass.

Our drainage between houses is still not correct. However, I am more concerned about the water running off the roof in a particular location causing erosion and a trench to form. The Holly with an enlarged garage has a location with a valley formed by two large roof sections that gushes water at that area. When we first took delivery of the house, the builder stated that gutters were only installed in the front as they were not needed elsewhere. Now he says that gutters should be installed at our expense to correct this erosion issue at this location. Who built the house?

Maybe I should have stated that the builders can be difficult to work with and not home warranty?

Gutters are only installed in the front on every house in The Villages. Many of us have had them installed the rest of the way around. It is not a warranty issue. It is just how they build ALL houses.


M and M did ours. Very reasonable.

[JoMar]

We had the same issue with a scratched window, the inspector found it and we were told the same you were.....which we were ok with since we missed it when we gave the first punch list within 60 days of moving in. We also had a draining problem between the neighbors and our house. It took a lot of calls, basically being a pita, but they finally re landscaped that area and the problem was resolved. Others in our area had similar issues and didn't give up and the developer finally fixed the issues, in some cases installing french drains. I do believe that if you have proper run off, gutters might not be needed but most of us went ahead and had them installed. In the scheme of things the cost is very reasonable.

[Steve9930]

If your looking for quality builders in Florida then you have to get away from the cookie cutter houses or pay extra for what you know needs to be there. Just like when we first got here. Single pane windows were the normal. When you asked why, they said you didn't need them since you did not have the cold like up North. Well what's the difference between keeping the hot out or the hot in? You get what you pay for down here, nothing more. Florida is a rainy area you need gutters and a good drainage system to carry the water away. Don't look for the builder to put anything in except enough to pass the local codes. If I could do it all over again I would try to have the builder only do what is necessary and then do the rest of the contracting myself where I had control. The concrete work here is abysmal. Having built several homes with custom builders over my lifetime I learned to ask the right questions. However the answer you get will probably not be what is done in the field. I asked how long they waited after pouring the slab before doing anything else? The answer I got was correct unfortunately 3 days later they dropped the block off at the home site right on the slab. Many of these crews consist of one tradesman and a bunch of helpers. There answer to fixing many things in the interior finishing is use white caulk! Now there are some builders that do a halve way decent job but not many down here and the one you get is the pick of draw or can meet the developers criteria. Here's another thing they do down here that I don't understand. They pipe the condensate water from the AC to the outside usually near the air conditioner. Don't understand why they don't put it to the house drain. One of the things that attracts Termites is moisture. Now we have this nice moist area next to the house saying, here Termite, here Termite. I just shake my head, get out my tools or hire a contractor to redo it! My advise down here is take the cheapest standard they offer and when you move in, put in what you want at the quality you want. Remember many of these house are built on a flat fee, the more they build the more they make. Just remember the only reason you have the house here is a place to sleep and get out of the rain. No snow, little cold, and lots of sunshine. Florida is about being outside and healthy.

[CraigC]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

Almost all items on the list of things that need to be addressed before our 1 year warranty expires on the new house in Lake Deaton have been completed to our satisfaction. For some reason, the builder will not replace a small window above the Lanai doors that is scratched. Our Home warranty inspection person had this item on his list as we didn’t notice it. The builder says that too much time has passed. Ok, we will let this pass.

Our drainage between houses is still not correct. However, I am more concerned about the water running off the roof in a particular location causing erosion and a trench to form. The Holly with an enlarged garage has a location with a valley formed by two large roof sections that gushes water at that area. When we first took delivery of the house, the builder stated that gutters were only installed in the front as they were not needed elsewhere. Now he says that gutters should be installed at our expense to correct this erosion issue at this location. Who built the house?

Maybe I should have stated that the builders can be difficult to work with and not home warranty?

I do think that some builders are more difficult to work with (or perhaps less competent than others), but you had it right, home warranty is the real problem. I had a very serious drainage problem(basically a river) on one side of my home and a standing water problem in the back.

The builder didn't stand there and lie to me or make absolutely stupid arguments, he just said he wouldn't fix it. The idiot from warranty was infuriating to deal with. He told me the reason the side yard continuously stayed sopping wet was from my neighbor's sprinklers. When I said the water must be flowing uphill if it was from the neighbor's sprinklers, he said, no, they were spraying over onto my property. I told him that I had seen them on a number of times, and that they certainly were not spraying over my yard. (In order to keep the ground soaked in the area we were examining, the sprinklers would have to be spraying 14 feet over the property line for a length of at least 35 feet). I told him that the neighbor (who had previously contacted warranty about the river) would be more than happy to turn on his sprinklers so that he could see that they were not spraying my property, but of course, he did not want to see that, and would not stay to see the sprinklers turned on. Of course, although he couldn't take two minutes to see the sprinklers turned on, he did stay and argue for the next 15 minutes that I should contact all my neighbors and tell them to stop watering so much. I told him if he thought the neighbors' watering was the problem that he should take the responsibility to tell them to reduce the watering. Again, I was told this was my problem not his, and that he was not going to tell them how much to water.

As he left, I asked who was his manager, so that I could escalate my complaint. He told me that he had no manager, and that there was no one above him to contact.

I would estimate that a minimum of 40% of the homes in my neighborhood had a serious water problem. After considerable begging, threatening, and nagging by the homeowners, warranty has fixed about half of the problems. The cost at two of the homes on my block was over $4000 each so this is a serious problem. NOT a problem that will be fixed for $100 or $1000.

My message is this - If you are buying on the south end of The Villages (where the soil has a high clay content) be very, very certain that the lot drains well, because if it doesn't, you will be in for a lots of grief trying to get it fixed.

Warranty is great about sending plumbers, electricians, tilers, etc. out to fix problems since the workmen absorb the cost themselves, but not so good when the cost is high and must be absorbed by The Villages.

[Spark]

Originally Posted by twoplanekid

Almost all items on the list of things that need to be addressed before our 1 year warranty expires on the new house in Lake Deaton have been completed to our satisfaction. For some reason, the builder will not replace a small window above the Lanai doors that is scratched. Our Home warranty inspection person had this item on his list as we didn’t notice it. The builder says that too much time has passed. Ok, we will let this pass.

Our drainage between houses is still not correct. However, I am more concerned about the water running off the roof in a particular location causing erosion and a trench to form. The Holly with an enlarged garage has a location with a valley formed by two large roof sections that gushes water at that area. When we first took delivery of the house, the builder stated that gutters were only installed in the front as they were not needed elsewhere. Now he says that gutters should be installed at our expense to correct this erosion issue at this location. Who built the house?

Maybe I should have stated that the builders can be difficult to work with and not home warranty?

Drainage I purchased my home with a premium lot three years ago. They were still sodding the lawn prior to closing and I pointed out the lawn appeared not to have been graded flat and to drain. I was assured it would be. I brought it to the attention of the builder during the walk around and again was assured and told it takes about a year and it will look nice, flat and even. I made a series of communications thereafter and told you're our of warranty. Puddles are extensive and the back and side lawn is ruined. No lawn company has said they could fix it and that The Villages should take responsibility. to fix it will take removal of sod and have it graded appropriately as it should have been. I am very disappointed and hope to reach out for others experiencing the same problem or for advisement. Thank you

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Drainage seems to be a widespread issue, I had the same problem with the contractor and home warranty. After core aerating and top dressing twice since April, there has been considerable improvement. When you get down her take a walk up the block and see. I didn't buy into the no gutters needed argument---rain ran right off the roof and onto my grilling patio. There is also some type of oil in the roofing shingles that stains concrete. Had gutter placed whole house at my expense, but very reasonable cost. See you next month?

We did too, and it was the least expensive add-on we did. You are right that rain running off the roof causes staining on the driveway. Also, it was bouncing off the grass and into the lanai during hard rains. Both problems solved.

To the OP, we had an ongoing problem with roof vent collecting rain. Roofer and plumber kept passing the buck back and forth. After a year we finally begged warranty to intervene, as nothing was being done. They did, and problem solved.

Hang in there with Warranty.

[Barefoot]

I've always found the Home Warranty Department to be very helpful in providing detailed information on resale homes.
They have records of all original paint colors, carpets, roofing, records re cabinets, counter tops, etc., you name it.

[JoMar]

Originally Posted by CraigC

I do think that some builders are more difficult to work with (or perhaps less competent than others), but you had it right, home warranty is the real problem. I had a very serious drainage problem(basically a river) on one side of my home and a standing water problem in the back.

The builder didn't stand there and lie to me or make absolutely stupid arguments, he just said he wouldn't fix it. The idiot from warranty was infuriating to deal with. He told me the reason the side yard continuously stayed sopping wet was from my neighbor's sprinklers. When I said the water must be flowing uphill if it was from the neighbor's sprinklers, he said, no, they were spraying over onto my property. I told him that I had seen them on a number of times, and that they certainly were not spraying over my yard. (In order to keep the ground soaked in the area we were examining, the sprinklers would have to be spraying 14 feet over the property line for a length of at least 35 feet). I told him that the neighbor (who had previously contacted warranty about the river) would be more than happy to turn on his sprinklers so that he could see that they were not spraying my property, but of course, he did not want to see that, and would not stay to see the sprinklers turned on. Of course, although he couldn't take two minutes to see the sprinklers turned on, he did stay and argue for the next 15 minutes that I should contact all my neighbors and tell them to stop watering so much. I told him if he thought the neighbors' watering was the problem that he should take the responsibility to tell them to reduce the watering. Again, I was told this was my problem not his, and that he was not going to tell them how much to water.

As he left, I asked who was his manager, so that I could escalate my complaint. He told me that he had no manager, and that there was no one above him to contact.

I would estimate that a minimum of 40% of the homes in my neighborhood had a serious water problem. After considerable begging, threatening, and nagging by the homeowners, warranty has fixed about half of the problems. The cost at two of the homes on my block was over $4000 each so this is a serious problem. NOT a problem that will be fixed for $100 or $1000.

My message is this - If you are buying on the south end of The Villages (where the soil has a high clay content) be very, very certain that the lot drains well, because if it doesn't, you will be in for a lots of grief trying to get it fixed.

Warranty is great about sending plumbers, electricians, tilers, etc. out to fix problems since the workmen absorb the cost themselves, but not so good when the cost is high and must be absorbed by The Villages.

If you are down here, take a ride to the District Office or call and get an appointment with Janet Tutt, the District Manager. Ask her for the vertical of the guy you talked to, I assume it is a person on the developer side. As I said in an earlier post, we have had a bunch of drainage issues that were addressed including installation of french drains. Time to get annoying.

[firebiker]

I beg to differ, Gracie. When we purchased our home (Cottage), it had NO gutters. We had them installed on front and back.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by firebiker

I beg to differ, Gracie. When we purchased our home (Cottage), it had NO gutters. We had them installed on front and back.

Our 2011 designer had none as well; nor did our friend's premier built last spring. It might have been one of the cost-cutting things they've done down through the years. But not very expensive at all to add yourself.

Also, when we did landscaping, we had the downspouts put underground and draining out away from the house.