GRA + D Architects

Ms. [redacted] entered into a purchase agreement with Westport Homes on 11/1/15 (see attached).According to paragraph 6 of this agreement, Ms. [redacted] had 45 days to obtain a favorable loan commitment. If she made a good faith effort to obtain a mortgage loan and was not able to obtain such loan...

within the 45 days of the agreement she needed to notify us in writing on or before the expiration of the 45 day period. Upon receipt of the written notification the agreement would have been terminated and all deposits would have been refunded to Ms. [redacted].In Ms. [redacted]'s situation, she not only failed to notify us that she couldn't obtain a mortgage, she continued on with the sales process including giving Westport Homes additional deposit monies  and making changes to the home through late March 2016.We began construction on Ms. [redacted]'s home on February 18, 2016 and completed the home in mid June 2016. Only when we attempted to schedule the closing were we informed that Ms. [redacted] open additional items on her credit report and she no longer qualified for the mortgage on the home.Ms. [redacted] was now in default of the agreement. Per the default provision of the agreement,paragraph 14, "Default by the buyer shall be deemed to have occurred upon (a) Buyer's failure (i) to make all payments on or before the specified date herein; (ii) to complete the signed selection sheet within the specified time; (iii) ON THE DATE SELECTED, TO TENDER AT CLOSING THE AMOUNTS CALLED FOR HEREIN AND ACCEPT TITLE; (iv) to comply with all other terms of the agreement;..."Upon default Westport Homes may elect to receive $6000 from the buyer as liquidated damages or pursue the buyer for actual damages (I've highlighted this provision in the attached agreement).In this instance, I've agreed to retain the earnest money as liquidated damages and terminate the agreement. Westport Homes fulfilled every obligation under the agreement including finishing Ms. [redacted]'s home to her specifications, but unfortunately was unable to close on the home because of her financial decisions. Westport Homes will not refund the deposit nor will we reimburse Ms. Reibelle for any out of pocket expense she paid directly to our vendors or sub contractors.If you would like to discuss this matter further, I can be reached at ###-###-####.Respectfully,Jack M[redacted]Westport Homes, Inc.

I am rejecting this response because: No where on our purchase contract does it state that we were purchasing the home "AS-IS" and that our warranty had been waived.  I was in fact provided with the warranty policy stating that our coverage is the same as someone building a home.  The inspection was done as it would have been done if we were purchasing a home we were building, as our due diligence.  Furthermore the punchlist was provided to them to correct this by closing, and it was done, but there was a 30 day provision.  I, [redacted], am very disappointed in the service my family has received from Westport upon moving in.  While I understand we bought a model home, we were never informed we were recieving a sub-par, used, as is property.  I personally (not speaking for Wilfredo) am disatissfied with the service we've received and would not recommend ANYONE purchase a model home from Westport. Furthermore, my expectation would be that purchasing a model home would provide me with superior quality, hence my opinion on the subpar quality of product as well as service with Westport Homes.
Regards,
[redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: The appliances have been installed because we paid to have a new base put in along with cutting the cabinets to fit. Josh initially told my wife that Westport would pay for that only for the contractor to show up and inform us that josh told him to take his payment from us! We basically paid for the base twice. 
Regards,
[redacted]

I am in receipt of the complaint filed by Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] regarding the misunderstanding of whether a pool could be constructed on the home site they chose in our [redacted] community.Though I do see where a request from the [redacted]'s was made which references a pool in the rear yard and...

relocating an electric line to accommodate a swimming pool, the size of the pool was never mentioned on this document, nor were we ever asked by the [redacted]'s to have the pool drawn or located on a plot plan for the lot. Unfortunately a 30' easement runs along the rear of the property which would limit the width of a pool to something the [redacted]'s did not want.After being notified by the [redacted]'s of this matter, it was decided to terminate the purchase agreement and refund all of the deposits held by Westport Homes. A full refund of $5900 was sent to the [redacted]'s on September 8, 2017. Additionally, we have contacted the mortgage company the [redacted]'s were working with and they have agreed to refund their rate lock commitment fee of $2325. The [redacted]'s should see a credit on their credit card shortly. With respect to the additional "out of pocket" expenses the [redacted]'s claim to have incurred ($1500 to get out of the contract of their current home, $800 for a temporary storage unit and $100 for a apartment application), Westport Homes is agreement to reimburse these expenses, provided we are provided receipts and proof of payment within the next two weeks.Upon receipt of the validation of the expenses, we will send a reimbursement check within two weeks.We apologize for the confusion regarding this matter and wish the [redacted]'s the best in their future housing opportunities.If you have any questions or need additional information, I can be reached at ###-###-####.

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

Westport Homes was contacted by [redacted] Company in July 2017, notifying us that several of the homes we recently constructed or were currently under construction were built with TJI Joists with Flak Jacket (Gen 4) Protection. [redacted] issued a release on July 18, 2017, announcing it was...

implementing a solution to address concerns from customers regarding odors and/or irritations related to this product. [redacted] determined the issue was due to a recent formula change to the Flak Jacket coating that may be emitting an increased level of formaldehyde. Westport Homes notified all of the affected customers either via letter or phone call. Attached is a copy of the letter.Initially the only remediation offered involved an additional coating of sealant to the affected joists to permanently limit emissions to acceptable levels. The occupants of the home were given the option to vacate the home for as long as necessary to complete this form of remediation with [redacted] covering all temporary housing and out of pocket expenses until the remediation was complete and satisfactory post remediation air samplings were provided.Subsequent to the initial remediation solution [redacted] introduced a second remediation method on completed homes called coating removal. This option requires more specialized equipment and labor than the top coat solution. Once begun this option can take up to 2 weeks to complete in unfinished basements. This process involves the removal of most of the Flak Jacket protection coating using mechanical methods, such as dry-ice, scraping, sanding and micro-planing. Once the coating is removed the joists may need to be painted with the top coat to address residual formaldehyde emissions.Attached is the Overview of Solutions, from [redacted] outlining these two remediation methods for completed homes.Per Ms. O'byrne's complaint, she is requesting the second (coating removal) method of remediation on her home and both [redacted] and Westport Homes are in agreement to employ this method on her home, in lieu of the top coat solution.Currently, it is my understanding, [redacted] has been in contact with Ms. O'byrne to discuss the scheduling of the coating removal process. Unfortunately, because of the specialized equipment and labor involved in this remediation, it is taking more time than anticipated to begin the process. That said, and as a result of this delay, I believe the O'byrne's temporary housing and out of pocket expenses are being fully covered by [redacted].We sincerely apologize for for this situation and the disruption and inconvenience it has caused our customers. Our priority is to remedy this situation as quickly as possible for each and every customer affected.If anyone has any additional questions or needs additional information, please contact me at ###-###-####. Jack M[redacted]Westport Homes, Inc.

I reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find the resolution is satisfactory to me. I understand we need to respond to Westport's resolution but we are hesitant until we actually receive the reimbursement. Unfortunately, there is a great lack of trust. I emailed Mr. M[redacted] with an attachment of all the receipts referenced to in the complaint/resolution. I asked for a his response confirming he received the email with the attachment, and as of yet I have not received a response. I understand he could be off or not checking email? Because I have not received confirmation that he received the email I sent a hard copy in the mail today. We also received a credit from the lender today but it was not the $2,325 listed in the resolution. We received a credit for $2,000. If Mr. M[redacted] (Westport Homes), refunds us according to the receipts he has received and we receive the amount listed from the lender we can move forward. If anything positive can come out of this experience we hope that honesty and facts are what is used to sell homes. Let families make the best decisions according to their needs with factual information. 
Regards,
[redacted]

The deck issue was not on the 30 day response since it was already on the list of things to do at closing and had not been done yet. It did not need to be on there since it was on a list that already existed from closing according to your supervisor Jeff. I did request for the deck to be stained because of the discoloration. I expressed my concerns with Jeff after it was sealed but he left the company shortly afterwards and never gotten back to me. Therefore I put the request on the 1 year warranty issue list which should still count for something. When a customer drops quarter of a million on a new house they expect everything to be in new condition. This particular property had sat over a year because another buyer backed out. The deck had sat for 1yr and in that time nothing was done with it to keep the planks from cracking and deteriorating. I put it on the list for a reason and expect it to be taken care of properly.
Here are the photos. It clearly shows excessive cracking down the middle of the load bearing beams of the deck. It also shows the discoloration of the deck from bottom to top. You had requested that the original closing request has been submitted. The vendor supplied their email to me in a previous response. Also this should be taken care of as part of the 1yr home warranty period. Thank you,

I am rejecting this response because: this is actually the first time anyone has told me of any stolen cabinets and this goes to show the lack of communication throughout this entire process. Also why do I have to pay for the stolen base?. Did the superintendent also tell you that he told us on two occasions that the hood would have its exhaust at the top and then went ahead and did something different? Nobody ever told us throughout this process until the very last day before closing that we would be stuck paying for the oven, stove cutouts and also pay to have a base put in!
Regards,
[redacted]

I was unable to respond to my complaint as I was out of town. Westport homes lied and stated they offered to have our homes scrapped/cryoblasted to remove the formaldehyde coating. However, they cannot produce once document or letter to support that this was communicated to myself or any other person in my neighborhood who have been living out of a hotel room since the first week of Aug. This was not offered to me and Jack M[redacted] stated verbatim that he will not offer the scrapping method because painting over the beams works. However, my neighbors had their beams painted and before they could even move back into their home, the paint already is peeling/cracking off. This is why the Health Dept and EPA are warning us to not occupy our homes for longer than 10 mins at a time and they say formaldehyde cannot be encapsulated. Would Jack move his family into these toxic homes where families and pets are getting severely sick, nose bleeds, migraines, vomiting, etc? If so, he can buy back our homes and try to resell them as they are worth nothing!Please reopen this case for further review. Thank you!

As discussed with Mr. [redacted] on several prior occasions, community amenities are constructed as development is completed within a community. The community pool and club house Mr. [redacted] references is proposed to be located on property that has not been developed and will not be for sometime based on...

the current absorption rates. This same property is not owned by Westport Homes, but is under consideration.With regard to the walking path (not a bike path) located in the park area, Westport Homes will address this matter in the spring when weather permits. The path is constructed per the approved plans, but we are considering replacing the mulch path with a crushed gravel path for ease of ongoing maintenance. Additionally, Westport Homes will be installing a fountain in the main pond this spring, when weather permits. The reason for the delay was getting electric to the general area of the pond to support the fountain. Now that electric has been installed, we can place the fountain in the pond in the spring.Lastly, the entrance lights have been fixed and to my knowledge are working properly.Currently, Westport Homes is the developer of the [redacted] HOA and has authority over establishing budgets and dues for this community. In 2016 Westport Homes paid in excess of $17,782 to subsidize the maintenance of the entry feature, open space, the ponds and the park. Within the next few month, we will be scheduling the annual [redacted] HOA meeting with the residents. At this meeting we will be asking for a resident to join the board to assist with communications with all current residents.I would welcome Mr. [redacted] nominating himself to this position so he can share in the HOA boards decision making and communication.Again, the annual HOA meeting will be scheduled within the next 60 days to address any and all concerns of Mr. [redacted] or any of the other residents.If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact me at ###-###-####.Respectfully,Jack M[redacted]Westport Homes, Inc.