Features in Model Home
Is this a case of Buyer Beware?Did the Model shown to you have features that are not ordinarilly provided as "standard"?
Did you see the Model on a Rainy Day, or on a Sunny Day?
Was that a cold or a hot day?
...To name a few...
Gutters or downspouts?
Diverters above walkways?
Painted Garage?
We know they "pretty up" the Model so it will show better, but how many of us know to ask if the "pretty" we are shown is standard?
It's a good idea to take a camera when looking at new homes direct from builders, because what you are shown may not be what you get.
posted by escrobud @ 10:33 AM
30 Comments:
That's a very appropriate lead in...
I did just happen to view a Centex Model in Murrieta CA on a rainy (pouring) day. Now it doesn't rain in California, we know this. This model, however, had a huge gusher coming off the roof, so much that it had eroded the surface of the sidewalk exposing the gravel inside the concrete. I asked if that was normal and the rep told me that would cost about $100. Home Depot has the deflectors for less than $20 and souuld be installed at the time of the roofing.
Then in the garage, it was painted white all around, all walls and ceiling. I asked who selected the paint and color and she told me the garage painting is not standard, it's extra. When I said that's pretty classic bait and switch and that went right over her head, although it pissed her off that I would say such a thing.
Did I consider buying a Centex home? Nope. I figure that was only surface stuff, what's it look like beneath the surface? They will tell me or show me anything just to close a deal, then it's my problem (certainly not theirs) because of the contract.
Model homes by most reputable builders will have tags or signs on items that are not included in the price. Beware the fine print, especially for painting, type of paint (enamel, latex, etc.), number of colors, and what exactly is painted in the contract price.
re: Diegodude
When the agent told us the pricing included one paint color, I pointed out the garage was a single color, and the agent still said that garage walls were not included in the painting package, they were extra.
I agree that if something will not really be as it is shown, and not included in the "price package" that it should be disclosed at the time of showing.
The agent that showed us the house said, "I've never seen a garage painted and most people already know that garages aren't painted, so that's why we don't point that out."
A lot of he said - she said stuff here, but, the builder will try to get away with whatever they can, and the hell of it is, the builder has the most room to fudge. They set the price based a little on cost, and entirely upon what the market will bear. Beware.
Have been in the Centex home for about 5 weeks now. Just to follow up on a few of the comments posted in this blog....
My garage is completely finished and painted. I think that rep mentioned in the first post was just plain misinformed, what does that say about a rep?
The garage is actually finished better than the rest of the house.
The interior paint just plain sucks. It is chalky and if you rub against it with your clothing, it will leave a mark that you can't easily repair or erase. Seriously, just rubbing into the wall will make a mess.
There is a natural gas line in the rear for the patio, I suppose for a gas grill or some sort of appliance, but, it's hidden by the air conditioner unit. Makes no sense, as if some kind of a great feature, but then installed by idiots that had no idea what all this stuff is for.
The light switches all seem to disassociate with the light or appliance they control. Example, outdoor patio light vs dining room light switches, the inner-most switch controls the patio, outer most switch does the interior dining room.
Garbage disposal is controlled by the light switch farthest from the sink, light controlled by the switch nearest the sink.
Again, things installed by idiots that have never seen a home of this magnitude.
Since the work was obviously done by apprentices and not checked by any supervisor, I am scared of what I may find behind the walls, or later down the road.
This is just not what I had in mind for little details of a $400K home.
This is a follow up to the comment I made about the interior paint. I learned from one of the painters only yesterday that the paint is chalky (as mine) because of the way the painting contractor watered down the paint before application. I didn't realize it was a water - powder mix that left the final quality entirely up to human error (or judgement?).
This is really a mess, and mine will need repainting way sooner than should be expected for such a house.
REALLY -BUYER BEWARE OF CENTEX
building code requires that garbage disposer switch to be at a distance. very typical for light switch to be near sink, disposer switch about three feet away.
and they're not making paint from powder. they're thinning liquid paint to make it flow thru their spray rig better and to make it go farther. thinning too much screws up the polymers that make the surface finish. they shouldn't thin at all, but doing so is extremely common in developer-built homes. usually it is as much the subcontractor screwing the builder as anyone screwing the buyer.
Thanks Jack for the clarifications.
The disposal switch and other lamp switches I am comparing are within same box, behind same switch plate. It's just mere chance as to which switch does what - until you get used to it, or until I swap the switches to where they should be by convention.
As for paint, I am sure that Centex gets screwed often by their subs. From what I've seen, they get what they bargain for.
But the paint really is powder, they left me a bag of powder for the touch up, and said just add water. I asked then, how much water? They just said, add until it looks right.
This is horrifying from a mega-dollar builder.
I am in the Process of building a home with Centex right now. Please be very careful in each and every step of the Process. This people are not trust worthy and they will say or do anything to have you sign the purchase order.
I am in the process of taking these guys to the court and will be writing the entire story shortly.
Buyer Beware - This phrase must have been coined from CTX customers. CTX, and its subsidiary, Wayne Homes, are about as incompetent as a builder can be when building homes. The utilize the cheapest subcontractors (experience is not a requirement) and the cheapest materials when building homes. I travel for a living and was not able to be onsite during the construction phase very often. However, my wife did take several pictures of the house during construction. To my disbelief, rather than using plywood when siding the house they used foam boarding. Since it was too late by the time I came back into town for anything to be done I questioned the site manager about this. It took him three times to answer my question honestly. First, he said that CTX had an agreement with the EPA to use less wood for environmental reasons. The second time I asked this question he said it was in accordance with county code (guess we had the only house in North Georgia that was being built in accordance with such codes). The last time I asked, he stated that with the recent rise in plywood prices it was cheaper to use foam boarding. In other words, it took two lies before the truth finally came out. We closed on our house in October 2004 and it is unbelievable at the things we are still finding that CTX did when building our house. CTX should be completely avoided when selecting a builder for your house. I have made several complaints to CTX since we closed, and not once have they responded to my complaints or even acknowledged my concerns. Overall, CTX is a company that operates on operating margins only with no regard to construction quality. I would really like to know who would have another home built by CTX?
To Michael M -
Please note that we are building a Wayne Home (Pittsburgh Division) in PA. Please be aware that the vinyl siding being nailed into foam board is customary in the home building industry. Please note that Wayne Homes have the foam board nailed directly to the studs and wood planks, and as such, any builder will tell you that if the foam board is properly secured to the planks and studs, then the vinyl siding is perfectly fine to be secured to the foam board. The foam board is merely an added insulation device in addition to the many other energy efficient qualities of our Wayne Home. I am sorry to hear that you did not have a good experience with Wayne as our neighbors continue to comment on the exceptional size, appearance and craftsmanship of our Wayne Home. My wife and I could not be more pleased with the house and we have even hired an independent home inspector throughout the entire process and he is very pleased with the work to date. Please feel free to reply to this blog.
I am dealing with Lennar who is also assoc. with Centex, it is not just what you can see it is what you cannot. My son-in-law was ELECTRICUTED in a new Lennar built home in Clermont Fl. Talk about pointing fingers and blame. I am so sorry to hear all the stories I have read, but if it were not my son-in-law it would have been the new owner's as the entire home was energized with 110 volts even be conducted through the screw of a medicine cabinet, you can check out my story at http://www.local6.com/problemsolvers/7302637/detail.html I wish you all luck with all of these inhumane people and only the best results for all your efforts
I need to correct the link I posted it is http://www.local6.com/video/7302637/detail.html?taf=orl, this is the coverage on the ELECTRICUTION of my son-in-law.
Thanks
Donna
Here is a link for Donna's post:
http://www.local6.com/video/7302637/detail.html?taf=orl
Rather shocking!
Al buyers should beware of Centex's contract. It is very one side. I too am persuing a refund. I will write more about this at a latter date.
We signed our contract exactly 13 years ago this month, in the first development by Centex in the Tidewater VA area. We came by every weekend to check out the work, thus we discovered our siding being put on the house next door. Our Construction Supervisor didn't have a clue. The subs were awful, we too have the switch/outlet confusion, the roofing was nailed on with too short overlays, we refused to close til they got the kitchen cabinets plumb. Same thing...after you close, contact CENTEX, you don't exist. The Ten Year Warranty is worthless, don't fall for it as a sign Centex cares about quality. We are still in the house, we deal with whatever comes up. We will never buy another Centex house, we have never recommended them, we never will. SOmeday we will build our retirement home...it won't be CENTEX. You are just a number. They go in to a community, put out RFQs to various subcontractors, select the absolute cheapest and then pay no attention to quality of work or products placed in the houses. If you are in a CENTEX neighborhood for more than a couple of years, you will never see those subs (ie heating/cooling people) driving around anymore, cuz everyone has figured out they are dishonest and/or incompetent. Ours wanted us to sign an annual contract for heating/cooling/electric/plumbing(yes, all one company did this)maintenance! Uh, you couldn't get my light switches right, dudes. My down stairs toilet overflows on occasion for no discernable reason. We just had to have our AC replaced b/c the evaporator coil was too small for the unit size, leading to failure. The evaporator coil had NO MARKINGS on it. Surprise, surprise. Another quality job from CENTEX. Even in the same models, every single house is a little different. Light switches in different places, stair hand rails on left in my house, right in my neigbors. Those aren't the "placement" choices, that's inconsistency that is allowed due to lax oversight by Construction Supervisors. Can't speak for all, but ours was a recent college grad who was naive, at best. They actually called us and told us to stop coming by to check on the house. That would be after the whole siding incident, of course. We were curious and excited, we had no real idea what we were looking at when it was being built, we weren't being pains. But our next builder? Oh, woe to that outfit!
Hotmail... could you please email me... I am in Plum and considering having Wayne Homes build our house... I would love to talk to you to learn about your experiences with them.
MLN2603@aol.com
Thanks so much!!
Sounds like Hotmail works for Wayne Homes, as I saw a similar statement on another blog/forum site. Seems like they are trying to post positive comments to hide the real truth.
Anonymous from Hotmail -
We do not work for Wayne Homes. Thankfully, we built a house in the Pittsburgh, PA region that we moved into several weeks ago. We are sorry to hear of your negative experiences with Centex. Our experience was a true pleasure - we did take steps to hire an independent inspector throughout the entire process which, for some odd reason, homebuyers rarely do. Feel free to provide your email address and I will email you some of our pictures!
The paint on the out side is worse. Look for all the stucco cracks they say it's Home owner's has to fix it. Great warranty there. Also the HVAC unit they install are junk break all the time. Windows leak I could keep going but, my fingers will wear out.
If I was looking for a new home I would not buy one from Centex....JUNK...
Crappy subs and even worse Field Manager's they are the reason why Centex sucks... The FM are butt kissers, they will tell you what you want to hear and don't follow up on what they promise you....
if you want to waste your money go ahead by a Centex house you will regret it.
Florida
CENTEX IS HORRIBLE. i AM IN ARIZONA, THEY DID NOT PAINT OVER THE PRIMER IN OUR NEW BUILD, FOUNDATIONS ARE SINKING, THE REALTOR WAS A TOTAL JACKASS WORKING FOR THEM OBVIOUSLY TWO OUT OF 3 TOILETS HAVE BACKED UP FROM WORKMEN FLUDHING STUFF, I CANT EVEN COUNT THE TIMES, CAULKING ALL COMING OFF,WATER DAMAGE UNDER THE SINK, HOLES IN WALLS AND SCORPIONS COMING THROUGH, SHODDY CONCRETE WORK...DONT BUY FROM CENTEX!
We have beeen a centex home for 11 months, and its been pure hell, we have had over 45 problems, one which was a major gas leak, that the city came out to shut off our gas, and they said it was normal to smell gas, We have had our floors ripped up and shower pan ripped up, you name it, it was built wrong. Its bee a nightmare, we are miserable, and every day it is something new. We have over 9 major cracks in our basement, that they say are normal, it is so bad, I just want to move out. This was to be our dream home... that turned into a nightmare.
Since our Centex home was built in 1997 it's been a real adventure. First, the dryer vent in the roof was never opened so the heat caused the walls to sweat. After 2 visits from Centex they finally realized what the problem was and fixed it. Next, all the tile in the living areas and hall had to be replaced due to improper installation. Centex gave us 50% of the cost of a new floor and we ate the rest. The latest fiasco - needed a few small tiles in the MB shower recaulked. Too bad the entire shower tile floor was put on over SAND. No concrete so the tile was just "floating" there. All had to be removed and replaced. Centex has very good floor plans but their workmanship and guarantees are just about non-existent.
San Luis Obispo California...
DON'T BUY A CENTEX HOME!!!!!
Here are a few of my horror stories..... stove cook top blew up, light ballast caught on fire in pantry, elect system going on and off by itself, septic tank sank, drawers falling off cabinets, doors not locking, floors uneven where furniture rocks, sparks coming out of light sockets, veener rocks fell off facing of the house, there are cracks everywhere! I can be reached by email at dgandme@verizon.net
thank you
I purchased a Centex home a year ago...after 10 months of warranty hell, 9 foundation excavations, and a lot of sleepless nights...I think I'm almost at the end of this nightmare. I would never purchase nor recommend a Centex home to anyone especially in the Richmond area where the quality is grossly lacking.
MY FASCIA HAS FALLEN OFF AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fascia issues again, and again. This is completely Ridiculous. Every time we get a gust of wind my house is falling apart. This fascia issue has to get resolved. Parts are flying off, and other pieces are barely hanging on which cause a loud bang when the wind picks it up and slams it against my house. I have talked to Butch about this in the past. Please get it right this time and fix my house. If this fascia fly off and hits a adult, child or cause damage to a house or vehicle, it will not be the homeowners fault, it will be Centex fault because this is an on going issue and there is plenty of documentation to back it up.
I purchased a house last year in WA, thankfully not from CTX. I'm actually a civil engineer and was raised by two general contractors (so I know all the questions to ask, the things to look for, how people take shortcuts, etc). As I dug deeper and deeper into how the houses were built, I wound up at the heater. I looked at the input/output BTUs and noticed that something just didn't look right, so I pulled out some codebooks and ran a few calculations. Turns out that the heaters, which were the same model throughout the neighborhood, only met specs for houses that were at most 2000sf, a serious flaw and huge long term cost to the customer when your house is at least 2800sf. When I asked the realtor about this, he was actually smart enough to bring in the construction manager rather than try to answer the question himself. The manager mearly stated that it meets design requirements, even when I pushed the code to him and walked him through my calculations. This was a big tipoff to me that these guys don't know what they're doing. I kept digging further, and found more flaws with what he was saying. I then persuaded them to let me take a huge look through the house, I saw that the roof vents were improperly installed, nailed in place whereas not to allow for shifting, meaning that over time, the roof would begin to leak...badly in WA, and you would have to replace the ceiling, insulation, and possibly more. After seeing this, combined with my experience with the construction manager, I decided to walk away, teaching my realtor a few things in the process (something she didn't expect from a 27 year old).
Do not buy from wayne homes my foundation is settling, cracks in floor, cracks in the blocks. They say it is the soil then they should have taken a soil test which they did not do. They will not back their warrenty. Said it is my problem. Get you another builder. Also their warrenty you have to go to arbritration which is against you..Stay away from wayne or centex. bad builders and bad comnpany!!!
experiencecentex.blogspot.com is very informative. The article is very professionally written. I enjoy reading experiencecentex.blogspot.com every day.
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I purchased my house from Centex in Oct 2009 in Park Medow, Shakopee, MN. I was impressive on professional skills of a sales person and a field manager. However, their faces turn to a opposite direction once I took my house.
During the process, I and my husband went to check my house under a heavy rain. Oh, my god! Water came down the floor from the ceiling.
When I just moved in, the shower door was leaking, which made dry wall and wood trim damage. My husband called them, then contacted the subcontract to schedule, a lady hung up the phone impolitely.
Now when the winter is coming, we found that thick ices on my windows, water drop on the floor and went through the dry wall. We are complainting. I don't have when they will fix it.
Since my husband built townhouses for sales in the past and he has been living in at least 7 houses, he knew these stuffs.
The whirlpool drains very slow. My husband talked with a field manager. He said it is normal. How can it be normal when it take half an hour to drain a little water?????
There were many other poor qualities I have not pointed out here such as broken concrete in the garage, broken lights, cabinet installed wrong direction, ceiling, etc....
Avoid buying Centex home so you will not be their victims!!!!!
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