Parker & Orleans Homebuilders, Inc.

House not complete@ closing. Took 2 months to repair issues. New problems happening not completing at promised time. Poor quality workmanship. We built a home with Orleans in High Grove neighborhood in Fuquay Varina, NC. At closing on June 30, 2014 there were several things not complete (no sod, screened porch screens not in and woodwork in poor quality, no shelves in pantry, tile work in bathrooms not complete, etc). We closed with the promise that everything would be complete within a week. 2 weeks later we nothing had been done. We had to threaten to call a lawyer to get the sod installed. The people who installed the sod damaged a gutter and collapsed the ground around our septic tank. It took 2 months to have the other repairs completed and with every repair they had to come out two or three times because things weren't done properly the first time. A month ago I noticed water pooling on the front porch and water stains on the baseboards inside. I have 3 children under 4 so I was concerned about mold someone came out that day to look at it but it took two more weeks before they sent someone out to look at the damage. When they nailed in the trim, they hit a pipe so I've had water leaking into my house for 2.5 months. Friday a drywall person came out to repair the wall. I had to stop him because he hadn't put insulation back yet. He told me that's not his job and he left. He also left behind nails on my floor that my 2 & 3 year old could have stepped on. I emailed yesterday morning to find out when wall and floor repairs were being scheduled. I was told insulation would be there at 1- they never showed up. I was then told they would be here today no later than 930- they never showed up. I have no floors and destroyed walls in my front foyer that we don't know when will be fixed because they don't keep their word. I have been in touch with the corporate office and was told the Raleigh office was instructed to contact me. No one has called or emailed. The only communication I have received has been in response to my emails. We are living in a never ending construction nightmare. The quality of work and customer service of this company is terrible and no one should have to deal with this especially when buying a half million dollar home.Desired SettlementWe've requested they build us a fence as an apology for all we've been through since starting the build process. The corporate office told the Raleigh office to contact us but there's been no communication. At this point we'd also like sod in the rest of our yard. Business Response /[redacted]/Contact Name and Title: [redacted], Corporate COOContact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX x2114Contact Email: [redacted]@orleanshomes.comIt is Orleans Homes' belief that all warranty work has been completed at this point and the homeowner has acknowledged this completion.As to the specific sod and leak issues:The house was delivered without sod. At the time, there was, and still is, a sod shortage in the Raleigh area. At Orlean's significant expense, we delivered a different type of sod in good faith.Every item on the list, as well as the full and final repair of the leak that was caused by a nail during construction, has, as of today, been fixed. The homeowners were frustrated at the amount of time the proper repair took, but, as we explained multiple times and during several site visits, doing this repair correctly and allowing the flooring underlay to dry properly, took time. We do not rush repairs caused by leaks- they are just too sensitive to allow a rush job. In fact, the homeowner asked us to take the proper amount of time to complete the job- but also asked us to rush the job for a special event she had in the home. We worked hard to accomplish both.The drywall vendor not installing insulation (which the homeowner properly stopped) was Orleans' fault. The insulation contractor did not complete his work prior to the drywall contractor showing up, and the homeowner had to ask the drywaller to stop. All work was properly completed the next day.As to communication, the homeowner's Realtor has stated to us that our warranty manager has been a pleasure to work with and that they know the house was properly built. There have been instances where contractors were delayed or rescheduled, but in all cases, our warranty manager communicated via phone with the homeowner. In fact, Orleans Homes has a digital record of every individual phone call and online warranty submission made throughout the process, and division management has confirmed that a lack of communication, while being the homeowner perspective, is not a fair assessment of our efforts on their behalf. Consumer Response /[redacted]/Please be clear- this complaint was not filed because of one incident, but after almost a year of dealing with Orleans. It took 4 months to get the permit to build the house- the permit was only submitted after we inquired multiple times as to what was going on (during that time we lost our original sales rep and building superintendent and no one was working with us on the house. We were never contacted by anyone to let us know what was happening), being rushed to close despite the fact that the house was not finished and I was having a baby at the same time, and the delay in completing the work that was promised within the first week after closing. We lost our building superintendent 2 weeks prior to closing- we were not told that no one was supervising the final stages of the house until we arrived at the walk through 4 days before closing. I've gone through emails to look at a timeline of events. June 30th-closed, no sod and multiple projects to complete. The response stating that there was a sod shortage and how they were so kind to get sod for us is not a valid excused to me. During this time and in the 3 months since at least 5 or 6 houses in this neighborhood have been built by another builder- all got sod before closing. Orleans' supplier must have been the only one with a shortage. Multiple emails were sent asking when things would be completed, response would be we're working on it or I'll let so and so know.July 21- Still begin told we're working on itJuly 28th- sod has been installed at this point, but only because my realtor talked to head of construction and demanded it be done. They wanted to wait until August because supposedly thats when they could get cheaper sod. I'm sorry that they had a significant expense; however, we only wanted what was promised to us. We were given two options- get a different sod now or wait for the normal sod- we wanted it ASAP. Emailed again to find out what was happening with the repairs to the house (no communication between July 21 & July 28). July 30th- in response to our inquest- was told all repairs (screened porch- painting and screens rehung, tile floors, pantry shelves installed, cabinets, tile work in bathroom, repair to yard after sod installation caused a collapse in the ground around the septic tank and the stones at the end of the driveway collapsed) would be completed Aug 8. Aug 8- only painting on porch completedAfter emailing was told, that they weren't seen on the schedule. (I have the emails showing all the scheduled work). August 21- All work scheduled to be completed. August 22- Still no pantry shelves, tile work at bathroom was incomplete, screened porch screens not rehung correctly, and stones at end of driveway not fixed.I'm not sure the exact date when these things were fixed but it was the end of August, beginning of September I believe (2 months after closing).August 25- water leaking issues were reported. I made it clear I was worried about mold. I have 3 kids age 3 and under. I was told this was a priority. I mentioned two potential causes the roof or pipes because my daughter's bathroom is above the area the water issues were noted. Also mentioned that our HVAC had moisture and was sagging. September 4- Trim guy came out to replace discolored baseboard (in between August 25 and Sept 4 a roof person supposedly came out, but no one ever saw him and nothing was left to show that someone came). Water still leaking Sept 10- a mold and water damage expert finally came out. Discovered within 5 minutes that it was a pipe that had a nail in it causing the problems not the roof- easily seen by going under house and seeing that there was no damage to seeing or upper walls which would indicate a roof leak.I absolutely told them to take their time and do things right. I was given a week to week and a half time line. At that point I did mention that I was giving a bridal shower on Sept 27 so if the repairs could be made by then that would be great. Fans were placed in my house and under the house to dry the floors (this led to a $75 increase in my power bill). At no point did I try to rush them I simply stated that I had a bridal shower and if the floors were dry I'd like the repair work to be completed asap. At this point my realtor did request a fence be provided as a mea culpa for all of the issues we've been through.Sept 26- Drywall person came out; however, I had to stop them because the insulation had not been installed. He left behind quite a few nails on the floor for me to find. I informed [redacted] about the issue and was told I would be contacted ASAP but they were in a meeting.Sept 29- no word from [redacted] and had initially been told my floors would be installed that day. I emailed to find out what was going on so that I could know when people would be in my house. (during the drying period I contacted [redacted] at corporate headquarters. I was told twice that they were going to make it right and she told [redacted] and [redacted] to contact me- they never did)Sept 29 & 30- insulation guys were scheduled twice and never showed up, the third time I was told they were coming they were an hour late. I do not complain often however I feel like [redacted] took our money and held our house hostage, both during the building process and after we closed. We are at their mercy when they want to send people out. Also, the quality of the workmanship of the people they send is substandard. Every repair job had to be redone at least once if not twice. No one takes initiative unless they receive and email or phone call asking where a project stands. When contractors were delayed or rescheduled, communication only occurred with [redacted] because I initiated. They do build a nice home- it is structurally sound; however, the finishing work and follow through leaves something to be desired.[redacted] can say that they've communicated well; however, emails from [redacted] and verbal acknowledgement from various employees state otherwise.I just want anyone who works with [redacted] in the future be warned that they need to make sure everything is perfect before closing otherwise you'll be waiting months. Final Business Response /[redacted]/As of today, the home is complete and all items have been repaired. We agree that the process did not go as smoothly as we desire. A 4-month permit process and a customer feeling pushed to close are not, by any means, the norm for our operation. When our new construction director was hired in June, he replaced this superintendent and the entire warranty team. They were replaced precisely because of isolated experiences like this homeowner's. Our new warranty manager's efforts since that time have been completely focused on getting this homeowner's home completed, the flood repaired, and making the changes we needed to make to insure these issues don't come up again. Orleans Homes maintains a 98% "Would Recommend" rating from our buyers (every buyer surveyed at the time of closing) and our Raleigh division is consistently getting "10s" from our customers when we close their homes. We sincerely wish that had been this buyers experience... the people that precluded that from happening are no longer with the company. We are evaluating what happened with this home and training our new team members to deliver what our remaining team members have always endeavored to deliver- a completed home, delivered on time. And... communication that keeps buyers informed when the sometimes inevitable delays in construction come up.Final Consumer Response /[redacted]/(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)There has been no formal proposed resolution. I was told verbally that they are extending our warranty, but do not have anything in writing. I do not trust anything coming from Orleans Homes unless it is in writing. I honestly feel that an extended warranty is not enough. That requires no effort on their part. We have been inconvenienced over and over again- beginning in February when we first started having issues with the permit delay. Each new person we've talked to has promised that we will not have a repeat of the last person's lack of communication, but inevitably it happens again. It is very telling how a business is run when upper management demonstrates poor customer service. I was told twice by [redacted] at their corporate office that either the head of construction or the Raleigh office President would call me to discuss our issues. That never happened, which is part of the reason this complaint was filed. A simple apology goes a long way. I appreciate that [redacted] seems to have acknowledged in their last response that issues occurred, not before denying it in their first response, but no one other than the warranty manager has reached out to us, knowing what we've been through. As a business owner myself, if my employees are not performing up to my expectations, I am going to reach out to the client myself to make sure I'm doing everything I can to make them happy- this has not happened with us. I will hopefully change my mind over the next year, but at this point I still feel that building a home with [redacted] is a "buyer beware" situation. We've worked hard to be able to build our "dream" home, but have been very unhappy with the entire process. I continue to believe that building a fence is the least that can be done.