ValueBuild Homes

When we found VB, after 6 months of searching, we have already had our share of visiting home builders, modular homes, new construction, even homes on the market to meet our needs. We decided to choose VB following extensive research and also because of the choices included (that were upgrades for other builders), pricing, rapport, etc. Don't get me wrong, VB has high end if you want to be, and medium end. Our model was the Scotland. We were able to model the house according to our needs, added a basement, and we were able to change the walls etc to make sure that there was no wasted space. We wanted classic finishes and we were able to have many choices, whereas for some builders, they are upgrades and in the end, it costs more than you expect. The pricing was correct and we compared with lowe etc if we were to do it ourselves (VB also gave us that option for some items such as the LVP) . Also, VB was able to recommend us a financing company who could combine land (we didn't have the land bought yet), construction loan and permanent loan all in one closing. Additionally, with VB, besides septic, well, driveway, clearing/grading which were included in the homeowners allowance, there was not any serious deviation from the pricing listed, so no huge surprises there. VB recommended good contractors for the well, driveway, clearing/grading and well and we are very happy with the quality of the work. As we all know, when you go with low cost you should expect low cost material/ workmanship, but we had three outside construction business colleagues come in at every step of the building process (basement, raising, rough in, rough out, finishes etc. and they were all very pleased with the workmanship. So much that they are considering using VB for their future projects including our real estate agent. Our salesman was Don. He was very attentive to our needs and was able to visualize what we verbalized. He was able to give us recommendations when we got 'stuck'... He was also very encouraging lol because we didn't think we were going to get approved by the mortgage company. Of course, when buying a home/building one must prepare themselves as well so there was stuff that we worked on, on our end to be able to be approved. We did not want to rush and we never felt rushed by Don to close on a contract until we were sure of financing and also on the plan of the home. We were able to be honest with him and say, hey we don't want to go over this price, can you work with us? Paul was our builder and honestly, from a professional construction point of view... you can't do better than that. He would tell us straight if something was not going to work and we believe that the relationship he has with the homeowners created a strong bond. We were able to be honest and upfront with him. We did not have concerns about the construction process per se as everything was well done. The material was correct and the subcontractors did the work very professionally. Paul took care of telling us when / when to call to get the permits necessary; Duke energy; subcontractors etc. He worked diligently to get the house up and running before the due date! Paul would not hesitate to call us and ask our opinion on minor things and he would let us know if we need to meet to discuss at the site. We did visit the site every weekend so we were able to see the progress made. Additionally, Paul would send us an update every Friday to let us know what they worked on the past week and what they are planning to do the following week. The relationship was honest on both ends and in the very end, we have a beautiful house, our dream forever home. I am open to any questions on every step of the process at [email protected] and I would not superfudge anything. We have beautiful cabinets, the fixtures are just beautiful, granite in all bathrooms and kitchen, LV for the whole first floor, no carpet anywhere, two masters (first and second fl), walkout basement, 2 car garage, covered porch... did not have any of the issues the other reviews mentioned... maybe they improved by getting better subcontractors... we visited every single weekend so we were able to notice if anything was out of place or not correctly done. And yes, I did have reservations after reading the reviews, but then again... depends on what you are expecting/looking at... you have to be realistic. We did put everything in writing and as we did research before going with VB, was able to pinpoint issues where we thought there could be a misunderstanding etc. We consulted with friends and family that built their own and we had outside people come in and give their opinion as well … so we knew we were on the right track with VB. As for minor issues that could come up, we do know that 'settling in' takes about 30 years... lol. I did include pics from every step of the process so … hope this helps.

Company did not fulfill the contract in a timely mannerCompany failed to even send an employee to the build locationDesired Settlement$1550Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted] OwnerContact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXXContact Email: [redacted]@valuebuildhomes.comMr. [redacted] requested a refund of his deposit around Sept 23rd. One of our new sales staff helped him and sent the message to the wrong place and it was not followed up with properly. We let Mr. [redacted] down by not expediting this. I called Mr. [redacted] personally and apologized to him. We made some changes to the plans for the client and have decided not to charge them for that due to this inconvenience. We mailed their check yesterday and reimbursed them their entire deposit. We do not believe in keeping people's money unless we incur expenses. We waived that due to the communication issue. We are not in the business of collecting deposits and will always refund deposits if customers change their mind (Less expenses incurred on their behalf).Consumer Response Value Build has refunded our deposit and we can now recommend this company.Final Consumer Response

I hired Value Build Home to build a home for me almost a year ago and have seen no results. My calls are screened and my emails are unanswered. I have spoken to managers and they have assured me they are working on the home but the code office in my area has no record of my permits being submitted. The manager even lied to me and told me the "system" was down and that was why my permits were not processed. I called code and they confirmed that they had no system issues. I have gone to the bank to see what I can do and basically Value Build has my money tied up in this home they refuse to build. I have asked them to release the contract and they refuse to respond to me or the bank.Account_Number: Contract between meDesired SettlementAt this point I would like them to release the contract and give me my deposit back for their breach of the contract. Business Response Business states this issue is resolved. They have been working with the customer and will post a complete response within a few days.Consumer Response Nothing is resolved yet. Values build homes did not take any single step to fix the issue. I did not hear from them in a long time.Final Business Response [redacted] our sales manager was discussing solutions with Mr. [redacted]. They wre not able to reach one to continue going forward so we are refunding his deposit money and releasing him from his obligation with the company. We never want to build for someone who is not wanting to build with us and we will always refund deposits less costs incurred. We did not agree with everything that was mentioned about how things progressed. There were some obstacles that had nothing to do with our company that we were waiting for Mr. [redacted] to handle. These involved land and finalizing loan. We did submit what we had for permits and did get an approval for his building permit. We decided not to charge for that time or the plans and move on. We do accept responsibility that the communication could have gone much smoother from our end. We have hired some new staff to help move clients through the after sale process. We love our customers and do need to help them understand where things. We have also added some internal meetings/benchmarks to make this happen as well. We are a growing company and always look to get better. This solution is fair both ways and I had a discussion with Mr. [redacted] and he is happy with the resolution.

We have asked repeatedly for Value Build to complete the punch list that we signed in October of 2015. We now have warranty issues being ignored too.We received a certificate of Occupancy from the county inspector on September 30, 2015 for our new home built by Value Build. We started making inquiries into Value Build completing the punch list on October 14, 1015 with [redacted] construction superintendent. [redacted] got the plumber to come by and he fixed his one issue. No one else came after that. I again reached out to [redacted] on January 26, 2016 and asked about the punch list, in addition, I needed to start getting some warranty issues fixed when the master bath floor sunk 1/2 inch, which cracked the shower and caused the bathroom door to no longer close all the way. No one called or came by after that. I then spoke to [redacted] VB warranty repairman, on June 20, 2016. He came by that very day and made a walk thru of the house, making a list of warranty issues. He also incorporated the punch list into his list. He advised he would return on June 27, 2016 and start working on the list. On June 27, 2106 I received a texted from [redacted] stating that he was no longer associated with Value Build. Same day I called [redacted] salesman, of VB and he stated [redacted], construction manager, would call me back shortly. I received no call so I called [redacted] again on June 28, 2016. [redacted] stated he would call [redacted] while I was on hold, when [redacted] came back on he said [redacted] would call me in a few seconds. I have yet to speak to [redacted] as of the date of this complaint. [redacted] did, however, call my wife on June 29th. He said he would get someone on it. When no one showed up, my wife called [redacted] on July 6th. He advised someone would be here on the 7th. [redacted] VB warranty guy, came on July 7th and jacked up the Master bath floor and kitchen floor. [redacted] returned on July 8th and caulked windows and cabinets,in addition, secured one cabinet from the original punch list. [redacted] had the wrong color grout to repair the MB shower so he said he would get more and return on the 11th or 12th if he wasn't sent to other jobs. When [redacted] didn't show on either day I made two attempts on the 13th and one attempt on the 14th to contact [redacted] Enough is enough.Desired SettlementWe want the punch list and warranty issues corrected and are as follows: Punch List: Loose shingle on vent ridge, front door had exterior paint peeled when unmasked, ragged hole in wall of half bath behind toilet, cut-out in back door frame area for locks was not completed, large nail protruding from door frame of upstairs bath.Warranty Issues: master bath tile grout cracked in shower when bathroom floor sagged, sheet rock in corner behind toilet was roughly prepared. Living room floor has basketball size depression about 1/4 inch deep. Kitchen area has molding separated from island were floor sagged, separated molding from wall near pantry and sheet rock was roughly prepared and left uneven, right sink drain detaches and floods cabinet. Hallway near front door has crack in ceiling, floor seam is separating, and sheet rock on wall 8 ft by 15 ft on right side of hall was not prepped before painting - tape seams on sheet rock joints are visible, texture of the sheet rock paper is also visible, appears minimum putty and sanding were done leaving rough appearance. Upstairs: floor in front of linen closet squeaks, floor squeaks in front of upstairs bath, screw depression in upstairs bath ceiling, uneven even joint in ceiling sheet rock near upstairs bath. Upstairs dormer bedroom has crack and area of ceiling that is dropping down. Cracked vinyl on front porch railing.They claim that they keep loosing the lists. I feel that they are trying to get the one year to run out on their warranty without having to fix anything. I want them to acknowledge the items on the list and give a timeline for correcting them.More Info Received From The ConsumerAlso, we are having an issue with the HVAC unit located in the crawlspace area of the home. Value Build advised us to contact the HVAC installer [redacted] and [redacted] of Spring Lake NC to see why the HVAC unit was making a loud popping noise. [redacted] came on July 18, 2016 and advised that the unit was excessively sweating and that the crawlspace humidity was extremely high. It appears that Value Build placed crawlspace vents on only two sides of the home's foundation and it doesn't allow for adequate air flow. [redacted] recommends that additional steps should be taken to prevent mold and termites for the excessive water in the crawlspace. See attached invoice from [redacted]. The issue needs to be addressed by Value Build. I feel that the wet environment in the crawlspace is causing the floor issues in the home such as sagging, unevenness and sucken depressions. Humidity levels stay between 80 and 90 %.Business Response Contact Name and Title: [redacted]Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXXContact Email: [redacted]@valuebuildhomes.comFirst of all we have contacted the customer to apologize for our lack of communication. We are a mid size company and we have had one gentleman perform all of our warranty work for 3 years. He left our company in the middle of this and it left us a little short staffed. We have since hired a new warranty manager. It was a bit overwhelming when he left and we did not communicate as well as we should have.We never have said we would not take care of the issues and the home is still covered by our warranty. We definitely understand the concern from the customer, but we never denied responsibility, we just failed to communicate properly. As far as the follow up goes, we are working on addressing all of the concerns. We have already handled several of the issues and are trying to finish everything in the next 10-14 days. The crawlspace was built per code and inspected by the county inspectors. We are in the southeast and sometimes additional measures need to be taken. This was an issue that came up later on and we will resolve this as soon as possible. We will make sure the customer is 100% happy with the end result. Consumer Response On August 3rd, the day after the complaint was made, Value Build was very proactive and had an employee come out to the home. He made additional repairs to a couple of sagging floor joists. He also repainted the front door. On August 5, the Value Build employee returned and re-grouted a portion of the tile shower that had cracked. He also made repairs to the upstairs floor that was squeaking when walked on. On August 9th, a drywall/paint crew was on site. On August 11th, the roofers came and made their repairs. On August 16th I received a call from the owner of Value Build. He assured me that the remainder of the issues will be taken care of and that some additional time will be needed to get them completed. He advised that the humidity issue in the crawlspace needed to be evaluated and that Value Build would be consulting with the Hvac installer, in addition to other personnel, to get the issue corrected. Pending...As of August 23, 2016 the remaining issues that haven't been corrected are vinyl floor seams, cracked vinyl railing components on the front porch and high HVAC condensation and humidity in the crawlspace. I have a great concern for the high humidity issue in the crawlspace. If not corrected properly, there is a potential for mold, mildew and termites. Also, I have concerns that additional floor joists may sag as time goes on.Final Business Response We are almost finished with this issue, we are going to install a dehumidifier under the home. The issue is due to the humidity we are experiencing this summer. The other items have been completed, this was our last outstanding item. We hope to have it installed by next week (Week of the 19th)More Info Received From The ConsumerSubcontractor advises that materials (dehumidifier) are on backorder. We will not be satisfied until work is completed.