[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

If you talk to the people who are building your house, which we did, every day, they will tell you the same story. They have been with the builder (and there are many builder teams) for a long time. In our case with both the house in Hadley and the one we live in now, both builders had been with the Morses for many years. When we had the walk through on Hadley, I gave the builder our list, some caulking that was missing. Pole lamp not working, slider not moving easily and other things and in MINUTES there were teams there repairing things. We had an issue in the garage of a sagging platform under the water tank and it was fixed after seven years.

I doubt your assessment about "piecemeal payments". It is huge organization with very comfortable funding and it runs like a well oiled machine. On the day you commit to build, you are given a closing date, and if you don't come up with financing you will be fined. The reason is that each team is scheduled. The concrete, the framers, the electrical, the sprayers of the wood for termites, the inspectors, the drywall...etc. The materials are delivered the night before and the team is on duty next day early. We had sixteen men on the roof on one of the hottest days in July, from seven to seven... when they were roofing our home. They are built fast, but not sloppily. We are not new to building homes and we are more than satisfied.

I agree Gracie. Most of the comments about how homes are built are just guesses, heresay and not backed up by facts. I too live in a quality built home and my ounchlist of smaller items was taken care of in days.

[billethkid]

Originally Posted by Brucernelson

We thought at one point that we may like to upgrade to a larger house and garage. But we really don’t want to go through this again so we may just stay where we are.

You would be in error to conclude that what happened in your new home happens in all new homes, which it does not.

Hence needlessly cheating yourself out of doing something you might like to do.

It is all about statistics and luck of the draw.
Once upon a time in the major appliance industry the goal was to get the complaint rate DOWN TO one per 125 units.....
This from 2014:
Repair experts: Modern appliances aren't lasting as long as previous models - Lifestyle - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by Brucernelson

I just want to vent a bit with this thread. First it was a bad heat pump that resulted in a high electric bill when we weren’t there. Then it was a water leak (outside the house) that resulted in a high water bill when we weren’t there. Then it was the dryer vent that was erroneously fitted with a screen and was 100% blocked. Then it was loose electrical connections on the stove that resulted in burned wire casings and a non-operable stove. Then it was the foggy glass on the microwave that I finally managed to get replaced after being denied twice. Today we received a call from the water company about high water useage, again while we were in RI. The plumber (Mike Scott Plumbing) came out and the repair was in the exact same place as the last time it was repaired. There will be another high water bill. So much for buying a new house to avoid problems in buying an older one. I guess I should consider myself lucky that my house didn’t burn as a result of a couple of these mistakes.

I guess what is missing from this OP,,,is all problems were corrected.

[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by Nucky

Concrete sets in 24 to 48 hours. It cures in 28 days. After 48 hours and most likely less because of the heat the builders are correct to start framing and are doing no harm whatsoever to the slab.

The speed of a house being constructed has zero to do with the quality of the finished product. Constant supervision of the workers is the key to keeping the work from being shoddy. Just like any other employee, some builders will take shortcuts because time is money. Old world craftsmanship is finished or at least very rare.

Imagine this at the sales office. Sir, we can build your Patio Villa the way we normally do and it will cost $180,000 plus the bond or we can build it slower for $200,000. What would be the choice of most people? Habitat For Humanity has the world record....In December of 2002, the Shelby County, Alabama chapter of Habitat for Humanity shattered the world record for the fastest home construction when volunteers helped construct a three bedroom home in Montevallo in an astonishing time of three hours, 26 minutes, and 34 seconds.

Thank you for a well thought out post with facts. Having financed hundreds of builders during my career, I am very satisfied with the end product I purchased and the fact that The Villages and their builders stand behind their product, even in many cases beyond the Warranty period.

[villagerjack]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

I guess what is missing from this OP,,,is all problems were corrected.

Yes, every single one was taken care of which would have made this thread a lot shorter had that fact been noted in the original submission. But the post did provide an opportunity for non expert experts to to criticize the The Villages, a favorite pastime for some. So we have that.

[villagetinker]

We had our house built (2013, we bought the lot and built). We were up North, and TV sent photos of the construction weekly. House was completed in 80 days! We were very happy with the overall construction. About 11 months after the house was built, we had a home inspection (Frank DeAngelo) who found a few items that needed correction. He contacted home warranty and all repairs completed in 2 weeks. All of these were minor with the exception of some missing insulation in a vertical wall at the lanai. The problems that we had with the house in the following years have all been low voltage wiring (alarm system, built in speakers, and garage door sensors) and in all cases the wiring connections were not done correctly. (I am a retired professional electrical engineer with a lot of experience in low voltage wiring.) I had some of this 'repaired' under warranty, the rest I did myself.
On the bright side, we had NO damage during IRMA only 2 bottle brush trees fell over and I was able to re-stake these, so bottom line, very happy with the construction.

[vintageogauge]

16 months and just a few minor fixes found by DeAngelo boys, same with all of the neighbors on our street. I'm happy with the quality of our home and would not hesitate in buying another one. Our builder was actually an employee of TV, many of them are private companies that are building who I'm sure want to make a decent profit on each home and might try to take a few shortcuts, TV employed builders are most likely salary and incentives, just my guess.

[krash]

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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[rustyp]

Those resales are looking better after every negative post. Another added benefit to a resale is with a little homework you may be able to find out if there are any of those problem children or convicted felons living in the neighborhood. Doesn't guarantee who moves in on the next sale but at least you start out in the right direction.

[ColdNoMore]

Originally Posted by vintageogauge

16 months and just a few minor fixes found by DeAngelo boys, same with all of the neighbors on our street. I'm happy with the quality of our home and would not hesitate in buying another one. Our builder was actually an employee of TV, many of them are private companies that are building who I'm sure want to make a decent profit on each home and might try to take a few shortcuts, TV employed builders are most likely salary and incentives, just my guess.

My "guess" is that the vast majority of actual construction workers...are paid hourly.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by ColdNoMore

My "guess" is that the vast majority of actual construction workers...are paid hourly.

Could be. And they are employed and seem to stay in their jobs. Sumter County enjoys their presence. We appreciate their efforts. It is hot, hard work for most of the year and I applaud them.

[Bogie Shooter]

Originally Posted by krash

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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was...…….your story is 11 years old.

[New Englander]

Originally Posted by krash

Our new home that we bought back in 2007 also had problems of leaking pipes behind walls, leaking window sills, and a box of shingles left on the roof that were not discovered until we wanted to enclose our lanai. The guest bathroom tub did not drain, and we found chunks of garbage and construction debris in the pipe.
We tore out the cheap carpet to install tile, and found under the carpet were a dozen cigarette butts and some food greasy wrappers. It finally dawned on us why stains were appearing although we never spilled anything. When we took out the formica counters, we found more cigarette butts, soda cans, chicken bones, food wrappers, and lots of dead cockroaches on the floor behind the cabinets.
Quality control is definitely lacking.


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Holy Moly

[krash]

Originally Posted by Bogie Shooter

was...…….your story is 11 years old.

Granted, it did take place 11 years ago, BUT, it WAS a newly built house. Don't you think these things are still going on?

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[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by graciegirl

If you talk to the people who are building your house, which we did, every day, they will tell you the same story. They have been with the builder (and there are many builder teams) for a long time. In our case with both the house in Hadley and the one we live in now, both builders had been with the Morses for many years. When we had the walk through on Hadley, I gave the builder our list, some caulking that was missing. Pole lamp not working, slider not moving easily and other things and in MINUTES there were teams there repairing things. We had an issue in the garage of a sagging platform under the water tank and it was fixed after seven years.

I doubt your assessment about "piecemeal payments". It is huge organization with very comfortable funding and it runs like a well oiled machine. On the day you commit to build, you are given a closing date, and if you don't come up with financing you will be fined. The reason is that each team is scheduled. The concrete, the framers, the electrical, the sprayers of the wood for termites, the inspectors, the drywall...etc. The materials are delivered the night before and the team is on duty next day early. We had sixteen men on the roof on one of the hottest days in July, from seven to seven... when they were roofing our home. They are built fast, but not sloppily. We are not new to building homes and we are more than satisfied.

My comment about piecemeal work came from an ECI electrician who came to my house during warranty to fix several crooked and loose outlets, switches and fixtures. I told him that, when I install something, it is straight and tight. He told me that the people who install the electrical devices are paid for each device they install, not hourly.