Alpine Homes, LLC

I am happy to take a moment and address the two issues Mr [redacted] presented in his complaint (No [redacted] ) ***’s home has the same strike plates that we use in all our new homesAfter building 200+ homes with the same door hardware package, [redacted] is the first homeowner to feel that there is an issue with themWe did not build this home from a vacant lot for ***We built it as a speculative home and [redacted] purchased it after it was 100% built and standingBefore he purchased it he saw the home in its entiretyHe had an opportunity to see all the door hardware and how it functionedAt his final walk through inspection before closing he never brought the strike plates up as an issueThey function very well Neither our purchase contract nor our any of our marketing literature commit topsoil placement before we install sodMost soil in our area is good enough to produce a healthy, green lawn with traditional lawn maintenance and careEven if the soil is rockyIn fact, our model home across the street from ***’s house does not have top soil between the sod and native soilOnce again, [redacted] purchased this home after it was built and standing and the lawn was in, so he had an opportunity to inspect it before making that decision As [redacted] mentioned, I indeed visited with him in his front yardI was there for at least minutes and I looked at the lawn in several areasOverall it looked quite goodI talked to him about ways to help a new lawn get establishedHis lawn is still very new, and after a hot spring and summer it will take time to establishOut of professional courtesy, after our meeting at his house I also sent him a gift card to Lowe’s to help him purchase lawn care materialsWe have been very responsive to ***’s warranty requestsFor example, previously he submitted a rain gutter issue, and we went out and removed a ball in the gutter from one of his kidsWe did not pass any charge onto him for thatWhile we will continue to warranty any items he may have with his home per our warranty manual, we will not take any further action on the two issues aboveThey do not fall within our warranty program and they have been properly addressed Attached is the warranty manual that [redacted] has for his home, a photo of his lawn taken on 9/25/2015, and an image of the strike plates as installed

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Even though I "had a chance" to look under my grass ( who would even think that someone would cover up their problem area and crappy job with sod?) every time we went over to see the house the realtor told us to stay off the grass but if there was ever an issue with our grass that Alpine would take care of usHOW UNTRUE AND WAS THAT STATEMENT THAT ALPINES REALATOR TOLD USMy grass still looks horrible with rocks protruding through my grass, sod separation, uneven terrain and the list goes on and on I have looked at other ALPINES homes in my neighborhoodThey have replaced several of their Spec homes that still have not sold with new grassAlso I have looked at other Alpine homes grass since I have started my claim of getting my grass fixed and since then all alpine homes grass have nice beautiful undead thriving grassI don't know why Alpine will not just step up and fix my issue! If you know that this neighborhood is rocky and has a hard time for grass to grow why would you not do something about it and stand behind your work? I have also spoken to a previous employee for Alpine that did their landscaping and he said my situation is the reason he left AlpineThey wanted him to do the fasted quickest easiest way to just "get the job done"There is an issue with my lawn and it does need to be fixedWhy would you not just do it right in the first place?
Sincerely,
*** ***

A couple items need to be separated to help with this issue
*** states there is an issue with his lawn, but his grass is alive and wellWe personally inspected it once again yesterday to verify thatHe will need to upkeep maintenance on it to keep it that way, as you would with any lawn
What *** is apparently most displeased with is the cobbly, native soil underneath his lawn*** is blaming his homebuilder for the status of the native soil where his home is built
While in some instances people put down top soil before installing sod, Alpine Homes--and many other home builders--do notAs stated in our last response, we didn't use it at our model home across the street from ***'s house, and in no way do we market that we provide it for our homebuyers
Alpine Home's stance as stated in our previous response remains the sameWe remain appreciative of *** for choosing Alpine Homes, and we hope his home serves his family well for many years
Sincerely,
Alpine Homes

We have spent some time investigating this issue. It is correct that the [redacted]’s home warranty was expired for this area of coverage when they submitted a warranty request for it. That aside, in our discussions with the siding contractor it has been determined that the trim piece in question is...

purely aesthetic, and it not being in place does not affect the integrity of the home. Siding contractors commonly use different crews and foreman, even within the same subdivision, so some variation will occur from house to house because of that. Installing the trim piece now would require removal and replacement of the adjacent stone masonry and existing siding planks, and anytime you reconfigure the exterior envelope of a home to that extent you increase the chance of air or water intrusion down the road. Being that it is an aesthetic piece (and furthermore not a substantial one since it is in a corner of a porch where it went unnoticed for over a year), and also because the home warranty has expired, Alpine Homes will not be installing this trim piece. We are, however, interested in why the paint was peeling at the edge of the siding where it meets the stone. It is possible the paint was applied when there was still some mortar dust on the siding from the masonry. We are going to have our siding contractor inspect and address this issue in the coming days. We will also ensure there is no significant gap there that would allow pests to enter the home, as the [redacted]’s alluded to. Sincerely, Alpine Homes

In interest of continuity, I'll address the issues as they are submitted:First, the stove needed leveling.  I believe this is a misunderstanding of what warranty regarding the home is.  While I was not present for this instance, we are often confused as repairmen.  Alpine Homes...

employees do not, for insurance purposes, fix items that need repairs or work.  Our department coordinates efforts with subcontractors who can perform repairs and balances that with a warranty manual.  That is to say, our subcontractors do warranty their work, but it must fall under a warranty section or the scope of work.  The scope of work is the instructions essentially to build a home.  We do not have the ability to make them perform work that isn't included in the homes scope of work or work that doesn't fall under warranty.  Its not an issue of arbitrarily determining what we will cover and what we won't.  Our subcontractors are under contract for their scope of work, and if something falls outside of that, they are under no obligation to perform the work.  Leveling a stove to a customer's preferred height is not an item that falls under its installation.  It would fall under what we call home owner maintenance or items that a home owner can adjust on their home as they see fit.  Also, the stove being leveled did not appear on the home owners buyer walkthrough paperwork as an issue they requested us to do before the home was turned over to the owner or at any point.  Many of the issues raised in this complaint are not found in the buyer walkthrough or its subsequent sign off when the owner signed off on the items.  In the complaint it was referenced as being an issue from the beginning, but according to the buyer walkthrough that this owner signed off on to take possession of the home, there was no pending issue of an unbalanced stove that we agreed to fix.Second, the issue of the paint being on the windows appears to be related to the first issue.  While the complaints states that the employee couldn't clean the windows because he didn't have a ladder is true.  Again, we are not repairmen with tools to correct issues, but merely coordinators or work with subcontractors.  Any cleaning of windows was also not mentioned on the signed buyer walkthrough form that the owner submitted to take possession of the home.  Cleaning of windows also would not fall under a warranty of work on the home, but would be expected as a part of home owner maintenance if not noted initially as an item we would clean for them.Third, the garage door gap.  Often, a new homeowner will prefer repairs to be done a certain way rather than just brought up to the way it should have been.  In speaking with the garage door subcontractor, he states he merely stated the garage door might rub against the top, not that it would.  He would do any work to prevent that, but if it occurred over time as the home ages, a home owner could easily sand down a section to prevent the paint rubbing off.  Garage doors are explained to be never referred to as water tight seals to keep out the elements.  I understand that when the snow blows in his garage some comes around the seal.  This isn't a defect as any garage door cannot keep out the elements that present against it nor are intended too.  The repair of weather stripping that he is asking for is not found in the scope of work the subcontractor used to construct his garage door.  What can be warrantied is moving the garage door to where it needs to be to prevent more snow from entering his garage.  Since our subcontractor is not contracted to handle weather stripping, he can only warranty the placement of the door.Fourth,  the grading was never agreed to be fixed as the complaint stated.  He did raise the issue when he purchased the home and it was listed under the "look into" section of his buyer walkthrough.  Look into items are items that we will look into before home closing but we do not promise their completion as other items noted were.  Essentially, the certificate of occupancy issued by the city he resides in certifies that the grades on his property were properly established for them to take possession.  That is the standard our subcontractors are held to so any extra work the home owner would want done would not fall on the builder to supply.  It was an item that was looked into and found to be sufficient for city codes.Fifth, another item that claims to have been brought up prior to moving into the home.  There is not punch list items for sealing around the frame of the man door in the garage.  The sixth issue of a sinking concrete slab I can substantiate from emails to owner and subcontractor that this work cannot be completed when the ground is saturated or consistently freezing.   Our subcontractor will fix the issue as soon as the weather permits which will likely be spring.  I was under the impression this was understood, but apparently not since it finds itself in this complaint again.  Those emails are not attached because they contain subcontractor and owner information that should not be made public.  They can be doctored to remove information but I have spoken to the owner about this work being done in the spring.Often, the line between home warranty and home maintenance gets blurred.  I feel this situation is a complex case of items the owner wants or wanted done, but did not make a buyer walkthrough list showing where Alpine Homes could either commit to it as part of the scope or work or something that we could look into.  We still address whenever possible items that fall out of warranty that we have the ability to rectify easily, but items outside of the scope of work of a built home are difficult to deny because the owner wants their new home a certain way.  It should be noted that several legitimate warranty issues were addressed that fell under warranty.  This has never been an issue where we denied any warranty that existed in the warranty manual.Attached - Signed buyer walk through sign off

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

I am happy to take a moment and address the two issues Mr. [redacted] presented in his complaint (No. [redacted]).
1. [redacted]’s home has the same strike plates that we use in all our new homes. After building 200+ homes with the same door hardware package, [redacted] is the first homeowner to feel that...

there is an issue with them. We did not build this home from a vacant lot for [redacted]. We built it as a speculative home and [redacted] purchased it after it was 100% built and standing. Before he purchased it he saw the home in its entirety. He had an opportunity to see all the door hardware and how it functioned. At his final walk through inspection before closing he never brought the strike plates up as an issue. They function very well.
2. Neither our purchase contract nor our any of our marketing literature commit topsoil placement before we install sod. Most soil in our area is good enough to produce a healthy, green lawn with traditional lawn maintenance and care. Even if the soil is rocky. In fact, our model home across the street from [redacted]’s house does not have top soil between the sod and native soil. Once again, [redacted] purchased this home after it was built and standing and the lawn was in, so he had an opportunity to inspect it before making that decision.
As [redacted] mentioned, I indeed visited with him in his front yard. I was there for at least 20 minutes and I looked at the lawn in several areas. Overall it looked quite good. I talked to him about ways to help a new lawn get established. His lawn is still very new, and after a hot spring and summer it will take time to establish. Out of professional courtesy, after our meeting at his house I also sent him a gift card to Lowe’s to help him purchase lawn care materials. We have been very responsive to [redacted]’s warranty requests. For example, previously he submitted a rain gutter issue, and we went out and removed a ball in the gutter from one of his kids. We did not pass any charge onto him for that. While we will continue to warranty any items he may have with his home per our warranty manual, we will not take any further action on the two issues above. They do not fall within our warranty program and they have been properly addressed.
Attached is the warranty manual that [redacted] has for his home, a photo of his lawn taken on 9/25/2015, and an image of the strike plates as installed.

thank you for your concern.  First, let me apologize for your difficulty reaching me.  I am out of the office more than half of the day most days.  I can assure you, Skylar was not asking me if I wanted to take a call from you.  He was likely composing an email to me to call you...

as soon as I got back in the office as is what he normally does.  For warranty work, I work out of our warranty system which collects warranty items submitted on-line.  My team or I don't man the phones all day, but rather follow through with items that were submitted through the on-line system as we instruct our new home buyers as the best way to reach us.  Again, apologies, I was not avoiding your call.  The first time you called, I was about an hour away from the office working and the second time, I was nearly that far in the opposite direction.  When we made contact, I had literally walked in the door and Skylar asked if I could speak with you.  I understand that without communications, its easy to assume someone is avoiding you.  Trust me, that is not my team's standard or intention.  We respond to all warrantable items we receive on-line within 24 business hours.  Calls, we simply aren't around to take frequently. I hope our contact since then has hopefully helped somewhat.  When we first spoke I contacted the electrician who originally did your work.  I assumed he had made contact with you to finish his work.  I apologize he didn't and I apologize I didn't follow up with him and you after that.  I have dispatched an electrician I trust to reach out to you at his next convenience.  I'll follow up and make sure contact is made.   As for your neighbor you reference who also had a bad experience, I can't see a reason to address another home owners issues with another home owner.  Since I've gotten one other complaint from a home owner out there, I suspect I know the situation well and have done everything and more to help him with his yard, well above and beyond industry standard.  I'm not trying to convince anyone to take sides, but there are two sides to each story and I'm sure he's publicly been making his as he promised threateningly when we refused work well outside of warranty after already going above and beyond.  I encourage us to focus on getting your wiring on the outside light completed and working together.  You have my email and my phone, I hope to get this completed quickly for you and am dedicated to doing so.   Thank you, Andrew R[redacted]Alpine Homes