First Federal Savings Bank

First, it is extremely unfortunate that issues like this manifest although it has always been our company’s top priority to provide a positive Customer Care Experience whenever possible.The complaint directed to your attention is somewhat correct although it does not outline the full detail of the...

occurrences. The concern regarding inadequate grading concern in 2013 was apparent and addressed at the area where the new phase of the development and the existing grade on our customers lot joined. This concern was never questioned once it was presented and was resolved to the best of our knowledge. We then were contacted once again, approximately a year and a half later, by the customer that contacted us originally regarding this grading and drainage concern. Once again, without any denial of responsibility, we found that the drain box that we had installed in this area in an effort to provide better drainage, was too high off the soils and was not performing as it was intended to do. We had this additional work performed and all seems to being performing as designed to this day.In approximately February of 2016, we were contacted once again by this same customer asking us to address a concern that was occurring approximately 50’-60’ further up into his yard towards the driveway. This new area of concern was at a new location compared to the area we previously repaired twice before. As I met with our Field Supervisor, Professional Landscape Contractor and his crew, the issue at hand was that we found water attempting to drain under the sod and within the soil instead of flowing over the sod as expected. When we walked on this sodded area, the ground would move as if you were simulating walking on a waterbed. After further investigation, it was found by our Professional Landscaper that there was a breech in the culvert pipe installed under the driveway, causing the drainage water to erode the soils and drain under the sod causing this concern. After this finding, the customer was contacted and notified of the issue.The concerns presented are related to two different issues. One of which we took full responsibility for and resolved without question. The second is related to soil settlement which caused the culvert pipe to settle after six and a half years of home ownership. Per our warranty obligation and commitment, this concern is unfortunately not covered, becoming a homeowners maintenance responsibility. These obligations and commitments are outlined in the warranty acknowledged by the two parties, builder and customer, at the time of agreement to enter into contract with a full purchase of the home.Once again, it is unfortunate that situations as this become concerns although the warranties provided are in an effort to protect all parties involved in an effort to resolve concerns such as this and their responsibilities.Cc; file

As stated in my last response, our original offer of $2500  still stands but Mr [redacted] refuses to take any responsibility for being out of the country when the issue occurred. We have been unable after several meetings to come to a solution.     David G[redacted] Vice President of Operations

I am rejecting this response because: i am not sure whether they are paying attention to what I mentioned in my emails or ignoring it and just repeating the same irrespective of my detailed explanation. Anyway, that solution is not at all acceptable. As a good will, I am willing to split the cost 50% and can accept $750 or $700 as reimbursement amount.if they want stand firm with their initial offer then I will reject again. I will not take anything less than $700. I spent lot of my time dealing with this issue so $300 is no way near what I experienced.
Regards,
[redacted]

All the facts are not told. On December 29th, my wife, two dogs, and I waited outside of our home in 28 degree weather, while construction workers sanded our ceilings. It was not safe to go in the house. I spent two out of the three days of my vacation days waiting and watching construction workers worked on our house. On December 28th, no one called me and said they would not be coming that day. I waited till 10:00 A.M. No phone call. I had to call to find out what was going on. No communication from M/I homes. Poor leadership. This is not how I spend vacation days. I lost $ 420.00 over three days. M/I homes should do the right thing and compensate me and my wife. As of January 3rd. Our ceiling in the living room still shows bulges in the living room. The master bedroom still shows lines and bulges in the ceiling. Again, our property is the only property that is an eye sore when it rains. I talked to Kevin C[redacted], [redacted]. I asked him to please put some colorful rock where it looks bad. This would cost maybe $200 to $300 to fix. Can the Revdex.com give me the CEO Of M/I homes. He needs to know. If M/I homes is not willing to compensate me for my time off and fix our back, I will contact the Veterans Administration and right my congressman. I will go to every news station in the Charlotte area and show the home I bought. I did not buy a new home for 260,000.00. I bought a fixer ups home. Look at the other consumer complaints. This tells you about how bad some of the homes are.[redacted]

I have asked Mr. *G[redacted] on multiple occassions (beginning in January of 2016) to have his Engineers comment on each point of Mr. V[redacted]'s report, as well as his photos, and to tell me whether they agree or disagree and why.  I have not received any comments from his Engineers or from Mr. [redacted] regarding this.  In fact, I spoke to Mr. [redacted] on the phone last week and he stated that he would send a copy of my questions to his Engineers for them to comment on.  I have heard nothing!!The Engineer my parents hired, Mr. Steve V[redacted], is a degreed Mechanical Engineer with over 46 years of construction experience.  In fact, MI Homes knows this because according to Mr. V[redacted], MI Homes has hired him in the past to do some consulting work.  He is also a certified AB Chance Foundation underpinning contractor who has successfully repaired thousands of homes.The Engineers that MI Homes hired did not shoot any elevations to determine if there was any movement on each of the four sides of the house.  They did not look at the house as a unit.  They only looked at the crack in the brick veneer and at the crack monitor.MI Homes did not hire a surveyor to establish benchmarks nor did they comment on the report we provided them from a surveyor that was hired by my parents.

MI Homes has never received an engineer’s statement on the [redacted]’s home as identified in the customer’s statement. The only report supplied to MI Homes was that of a home inspector. MI Homes has hired both a Geo Tech and Structural  Engineer to evaluate the property located at [redacted]...

[redacted] Drive. Both engineers are highly qualified and experts in their respective field. After evaluating the home, both engineers agree there are no structural defects and no repairs are required.  MI Homes has supplied both the Geo Tech and Structural Engineer reports to the customer for documentation.   MI Homes stands 100% behind their product and warranties. If conditions should change in the near future, we would be happy to re-evaluate the home.       Vic [redacted] | VP of Construction M/I Homes of Cincinnati, LLC Tell us why here...

I looked at business response and here are some comments I want to respond1. ***, our HVAC contractor, has no service call records since occupancyThey don't have record because we did not contact them because we assured it's common to get some water in the pan. So as years passed by it stopped blowing cooling air then we contacted independent contractors (2 of them to make sure what they saying is correct).2.  It is reasonable to assume our Production Department responded and repaired the water source leak at the loft utility closet at time of occupancy. MI homes fixed water leakage from pan but NOT actual cause because they said it's common to get water in pan from HVAC, which is not correct but we believed as we don't have much exp with HVAC systems before.3. May I now provide you with MI’s position response dated June 7, 2016MI initially said to go ahead and finish the fix and they will review and reimburse. They did not mention about NOT REIMBURSING labor cost. If they said that then we would have went with temporary fix which may last one more year and we would have repaired next year after adjusting our budget for next year. Now we struck with almost $1500... (NOTE: also the reason u see numbers fluctuated is because I round up amounts)4.He allegedly paid the unknown company somewhere between $230-250. We are unsure because his pricing reports fluctuate between emails and no receipt has been submittedI clearly mentioned I lost that bill in the communication to MI homes. Reason it fluctuates is because sometime I round the value to nearest whenever I think it does not matter.I submitted receipts for 2 other services $79 and $1200. 5.  $309 as compensation reimbursement as you see total cost we paid is more than $1500 so $309 is no way near to what they are offering. It's really helpful if they stand by their quality and reimburse at least $1000 then I think it's reasonable.Thanks,***

Complaint DetailsDate Filed: 9/8/2016Date Opened: 09/08/2016Date Closed: N/A Nature of the Complaint: Guarantee Or Warranty IssuesConsumer’s Original Complaint:M/i home...

installs faulty/poor quality sprinkler systems. During first year of exploitation it failed 3 times. Third time it end up costing me a whole backyard lawn death. Up to now M/I home fail to recognize its liability and do not stand behind their product quality. I am very disappointed about this dispute and will be forced to take legal actions against builder to protect my rights under new home one year builder warrantyConsumer’s Desired Resolution:M/I home to repair all damage to lawn caused by faulty sprinkler system

I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me.

Re: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Central Ohio in regards to your complaint #[redacted].[redacted] To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]Complaint: [redacted]I am rejecting this response because:Unfortunately after only a few weeks of the driveway being repaired, it is cracked all the way from the front possibly due to the elevation that was set and it needs to be repaired. Thank you.Regards,
[redacted] Attachments:[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]

I didn’t have buyers remorse. This is untrue I started to look elsewhere when I wasn’t getting any communication from M/I. The loan office and from the builder weren’t responding and doing what they said they would do. I don’t know where M/I received there information but this is untrue. I knew the home wasn’t going to be ready until February. The way I have been treated with M/I I would never recommend one if their homes. They don’t care about their customers and they lie. They should pay attention to their customers and respond to emails and follow up if they say they are going text you. This upsets me not only because they will not return my earnest money but because they are liars.

Per the PWC warranty, No reimbursement will be issued for voluntary payments made prior to our knowledge of a believed construction defect.  Had written approval been obtained, or our involvement been requested prior to the repairs of a believed construction defect we would have had the...

opportunity to assess the situation and if necessary make the appropriate repairs under the PWC warranty.  Based on this claim and our statement of warranty issued to the previous homeowners/ original purchasers we will not issue reimbursement for the work performed on the residence.

Unfortunately M/I Homes can only evaluate whether a construction defect occurred through documentation and pictures provided by the homeowner since renovation has been completed.   Based on our review of these documents, we do not believe there is any evidence of a construction defect.   M/I representatives are willing to meet with the customer to review any further concerns in person.

I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]

·         Mr. [redacted] settled July 30, 2012 ·         Airtron, our HVAC contractor, has no service call records since occupancy ·         It is reasonable to assume our Production...

Department responded and repaired the water source leak at the loft utility closet at time of occupancy. Unfortunately the superintendent with MI is no longer with us and secondly we have no records of production work completed that were forwarded to  Customer Care ·         May I kindly attach (copy and paste) our HVAC contractor, [redacted], their stated position in their June 8, 2016 email:   We have no service history of ever running a single call to this home. I can tell you by looking through the email and the picture they attached from the original home inspection the problem they are having now is not the same problem noted  by the home inspector. The note from the home inspector was a “water” leak at the air handler. I can only assume that this was corrected by the production department as it was pre settlement and we have no history in the service records. The problem they are having now is a “refrigerant” leak. The indoor coil should still be under the part warranty provided  by the manufacturer.   ·         May I now provide you with MI’s position response dated June 7, 2016:   After management review it has been determined that unfortunately the labor charges are non-reimbursable due to applicable warranty. MI Homes assigns all warranties from our trade partners that cover parts, but again not labor charges. In this particular case the manufacturer has agreed to bear the cost and absorb replacement cost for parts. I know that this was not the answer you were hoping for however I hope you understand why we are unable to reimburse you for the labor charges.   In conclusion, the owner initially contacted MI Customer Care May 30, 2016. May 31, 2016 the owner proceeded to hire [redacted] to diagnose his HVAC problem. However, we understand from the owner that he first contacted an unknown HVAC company prior to May 30, 2016 to come to his home and diagnose his HVAC issue. He allegedly paid the unknown company somewhere between $230-250. We are unsure because his pricing reports fluctuate between emails and no receipt has been submitted. The owner states the diagnosis of this inspection resulted in finding a Freon leak. The second confirmed inspection, May 31, 2016, the owner paid [redacted] $79 as part of a service call to diagnose the problem. This company checked the evaporator coil and said it must be replaced because it is leaking refrigerant. On June 2, 2016 the owner paid [redacted] $1200 to replace the evaporator coil which was under warranty. The cost for the coil part is $1950, which the manufacturer agreed to replace at no charge to the owner.   In lieu of the aforementioned statements and conditions may we say once again that we stand behind our original position (see email for June 7, 2016). However, as a good faith gesture, we would like to reach out and offer payment to the owner in the amount of $309 as compensation reimbursement for his initial payment sum of $230 to contractor #1 and $79 to contractor #2. Should the owner choose to reject our offer we would like to kindly suggest that he refer to his [redacted] warranty manual booklet received at settlement and consider filing a dispute resolution claim with [redacted]. They can be reached at #-##-###-####.   Thank you,   
[redacted]
[redacted]

While normal wear and tear is certainly expected, this would imply that construction was done properly in the first place. My problem was the result of the builder leaving a 10-inch hole in my chimney's particle board, which was then covered with siding. Had this hole been properly addressed during construction, I would not have had an issue with the builder. Their falling back on a contractual limited warranty wouldn't seem to hold water, as good faith would indicate what was warrantied was properly constructed to begin with- otherwise shortcuts and insufficient construction practices would be incentivized to save time and money, and as long as the owner doesn't know there's a resulting problem because it's in an obscured, not-readably-accessible area it's their tough luck when resulting issues occur.

I have received the response you have forwarded from MI
Homes 6/27/2016.
Concerning the culvert, I’m not sure what maintenance
measures are expected for a pipe under hundreds of pounds of dirt and concrete,
and believe that MI was negligent in installing a damaged culvert (as does the
company who excavated it).  Nonetheless,
if MI Homes follows through on the promise to correct the drainage, as detailed
in their response, I consider this a reasonable compromise.
I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me.

Here’s a copy of the contract of the new buyer.  All info related to the buyer has been redacted.  Sold on 11/29/17 and closed 12/28/17  David P[redacted]M/I Homes Tampa

I disagree with the comments that MI Homes made regarding this complaint.  It does not accurately represent the facts and misconstrues information to unrelated subject matters.  There are 5 water leaks at our house.  There was not a thorough water test to "the home."  Certain areas were tested for one specific leak location (not others), with incorrect methodology (proven since), and most importantly the areas actually causing the leak were not tested to delineate between potential sources.  The engineer was on-site and verbally noted that there were several sources and we would have to retest in order to delineate between them.  Before the report was issued I communicated with the engineer about the spots he missed and how he did not differentiate between potential sources.  Furthermore, I was able to conduct a test myself, as a college degreed Engineer, and verbally told both MI Homes and the engineer before the report was issued that the source was not the shutter and in a different area.  I offered to show them this personally or with a video recording.  After this, MI Homes communicated that they are not willing to do anything further because their engineer conclusively said it was from a shutter.  I've communicated on many occasions concerns of mold and the different water leaks at my house.  See below for a definition of each leak and current state.  I disagree with the statement MI Homes makes in regards to the home warranty.  If the house was built incorrectly, it's not a manual or warranty issue.  All of these issues are ongoing from the warranty period and are independent of any alterations to the house.  All 4 sides of our house are leaking.  Original workmanship is incorrect and that does not apply to a warranty.5 Different Leaks:1. - Front of the house with suspect "shutter" - East Wall.  The above paragraph references this specific leak.  There is no final resolution at this moment.  Even though I think it's inappropriate, I proposed to remove the shutter and MI agreed to seal the mounting locations for the shutter to their specifications via an appointment.  This step was recommended by myself to completely eliminate this as a source.  After MI Homes seals the mounting locations to their specifications we agreed that the next step would be another water test.  MI Homes has indicated they will have the original engineer come out and do another test after the mounting locations are sealed.   This issue is currently unresolved.2. - South Wall - MI Homes claims that water leaking (submerging ~10% of my home) and mold growing on the interior block wall was from micro cracks in the stucco.  Again, disregard for all potential locations and to pass the blame on the homeowner without considering any other factors.  MI Homes employees sealed the cracks and the house still leaks.  It was communicated to MI Homes several potential sources including a horizontal weep screet, vertical expansion joint, stucco quality, and also an original warranty issue in progress with the grade of yard on that side of the house.  MI Homes originally agreed to paint the wall after they sealed the cracks but since have denied doing this step.  So, I have white lines all over my house from MI and they won't paint it.  The proposal that I made was to have the wall cracks sealed again, painted, and then once again view if the wall still leaks to find the potential source.  We've agreed that I will seal the cracks and that I will paint the wall and then a retest will be performed.  I received word as of this moment that they are working on the pricing for the materials and labor.  It was said that if the retest shows it's not the "cracks" then MI Homes will pay for the caulk, paint, and labor. Then find the source.  This issue ongoing and currently unresolved. 3. - Second Story Ceiling Leak - This is directly above the #1 location and MI has said they will not look at this source because it was first seen by myself during Hurricane IRMA.  I offered for them to view the source in conjunction to #1 and again see if this could be a first or secondary source but they informed me they are not going to investigate.  I believe that it would make sense to view this area as a potential source that first came visible during IRMA.    4. - First Story Dining Room Ceiling Leak - This is adjacent to #1 and MI has said they will not look at this source because it was first seen by myself during Hurricane IRMA.  I offered for them to view the source in conjunction to #1 and again see if this could be a first or secondary source but they informed me they are not going to investigate.  Additionally, this might be separate leak all together related to installation of weep screet, flashing, stucco, paint, caulk, and vertical expansion joints.    5. - West Rear of House - This one of the first leaks seen.  It seems that MI homes took the appropriate steps to the lay person at the time to resolve this issue.  I have a communication back to MI Homes that I'm waiting on a response regarding the proper installation of weep screets and vertical expansion joints.  I have conflicting information regarding #2 and the potential incorrect fix on the rear of the house and/or improper installation.  This issue is still ongoing and I have not got a response on this yet.Just to be clear, all 4 sides of my house are leaking.  See attached pictures for reference.  At this time, these issues are unresolved.
[redacted]

I am working with business and they are favorable to me.
I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me. Thanks for your help!!
Regards, [redacted]