Handler Corporation

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below We actually first brought up the size of our driveway verbally shortly after moving in In fact, it was while the snow was still around because the ground was wet and we were causing ruts in the mud from being unable to maneuver in the poorly designed driveway We voiced our concerns regarding the driveway size and shape in e-mails multiple times (which I will gladly post if necessary), the first one being March 17th We were told our concerns would be passed on at that time On April 27th, I asked about the yard and driveway again and got no response On April 29th, I sent an e-mail regarding my frustrations with Handlers lack of response I finally heard back on May 4th and was told the driveway had to be staked before we could discuss changing size This was now months after I brought our concerns about the driveway up – nothing had been done at all On May 6th, John (the site foreman) came out to stake the driveway I was home and went out to discuss our concerns about the driveway size He had no idea what I was talking about and hadn’t been told anything Later that day, my husband e-mailed again about the problem with the driveway On May 14th, I was jogging through the neighborhood and noticed new driveways on houses that hadn’t closed yet Imagine my frustration.! The dates and e-mails continue and I could keep going on Unfortunately, my entire experience with Handler has not been a good one We’ve gotten lots of talk and promises, followed by even more excuses, from a company that strives to meet the minimum This is the e-mail I was sent when I was afraid to sign the winter weather letter because of our overall experience with building I have taken the liberty to underline some important parts of the letter below “Sorry for the concerns we have caused you Please note that the letter from New Castle County is their form letter that they require to be signed by the buyer While it has an outside compliance deadline of months, it also says that by signing it that the builder agrees that final grading and seeding will be done “as soon as circumstances allows.” This is a typical process every year and we never take months to complete County inspectors would probably confirm this as we have a good reputation with them John assures me that grading will be completed to the point that you can install your fence before you settle We will work around the fence afterwards The yard will be temporarily stabilized with seed straw and tackifier In the Spring, we will need to come back on your lot to do fine grading, raking, and seeing We also then remove the stone from the driveway and install a new stone base and pave drive The timing of this work will be weather dependent In past years, (although we try), we can seldom do this work in AprilIt is typically mid to late May that this work can be done I can’t guarantee anything, but you will be first on our list to complete as soon as weather and ground conditions allow I’d anticipate all work to be complete by the end of May If we have a dry Spring, we will complete it sooner I hope this assures you enough to proceed Please return the signed winter grading letter as soon as you can as to not delay settlement processes” [redacted] [redacted] Handler’s response is extremely frustrating to me because they are blaming us for holding up the driveway/yard, and, they are patting themselves on the back for giving us a useable driveway at no additional cost to us Their poor initial design and lack of action after our initial concerns is not our fault Since we sent the letter to the Revdex.com and another to the Department of Land Use, we have gotten the rough coat of asphalt on our driveway There is no scheduled time for our yard or final driveway coat I just want other people to know what I went through dealing with Handler My complaint will not be resolved until I have a yard and a driveway Sincerely,

This serves as a written response to your letter to us dated 7/2/15, regarding customer complaint D # [redacted] I completely sympathize with the buyers frustrationI am equally frustratedUnfortunately, the situation described by the buyer is a common occurrence with the new home construction process that many builders and buyers encounterWe are working to get the work completed as quickly as feasibleIt involves multiple steps and multiple contractors.In general, it has been a very rainy spring and summer which greatly delays this type of workAlso, most of our contractors are very busy this time of year, and as the new home construction market has greatly improved their services are in greater demand by many builders.The buyers settled on their new home on February 13, Because of winter weather, it is typical to stone a driveway and rough grade the lawn New Castle County Land Use requires the builder to have a buyer sign an acknowledgement letter before a winter settlement that lets the buyer know that New Castle County Land Use will get involved if final grading and paving hasn't been completed within eight monthsfrom date of settlementTherefore, the eight month deadline is mid OctoberWe expect this work to be completed prior to the deadlineIn this particular case there were additional delays because the buyers didn't like the curve of their driveway after it was staked out The shape and curve of the driveway is on the construction plans and reviewed and signed off by the buyers before the start of construction of their homeIn an effort to address their concerns, we met with the buyers, had our surveyor provide an additional layout plan of the driveway shape, and we agreed to increase the size of their driveway at no additional cost to them.These extra steps have further delayed the completion of their driveway and yard , and the additional costs in redesigning the driveway were paid by the builder.I stick to every commitment I made to these buyers, expect to have their work done soonWe are still awaiting schedules from our contractors and to date do not have a specific date for completionWe have already given the buyer concessions by expanding their driveway size at no additional cost to them and do not intend to sod their lawn.If you should have any questions please feel free to contact me

This is written as a response to your letter to us dated 5/28/ 15, to address the concerns of our homeowner regarding a floor inspection and repair at the rear sunroom door.The homeowner has not produced any records which indicates that the sunroom door was an issue at the time of closing or a presettlement issueTue documents she enclosed are the day and month list which we have on record We previously agreed that the door was adj usted during the warranty period, however, a water leak was not reported to us until after the one year warranty periodRegardless, we have agreed to make an inspection of the subfloor to see if any water damage has occurredAs outlined in our letter this is done by cutting the vinyl and revealing the subfloor, and making auy necessary repairs However,the homeowner has repeatedly stopped us from proceedin g with the inspection and repair.In our most recent letter to the homeowner dated April 27, 2015, we again agreed to reschedule the inspection/repair We asked that the homeo\vner respond to us by May 15, In her email response dated April 30, 2015, she agreed to the floor inspection/repair, but attached several new conditions.We are in the process of reviewing the new conditions set forth by the homeowner and will respond to her as soon as we have been able to review them with our contractors and our own service team We hope to have our decision finalized within the next several weeks

This serves as a written response to your letter to us dated 7/2/15, regarding customer complaint D #***I completely sympathize with the buyers frustrationI am equally frustratedUnfortunately, the situation described by the buyer is a
common occurrence with the new home construction process that many builders and buyers encounterWe are working to get the work completed as quickly as feasibleIt involves multiple steps and multiple contractors.In general, it has been a very rainy spring and summer which greatly delays this type of workAlso, most of our contractors are very busy this time of year, and as the new home construction market has greatly improved their services are in greater demand by many builders.The buyers settled on their new home on February 13, Because of winter weather, it is typical to stone a driveway and rough grade the lawn New Castle County Land Use requires the builder to have a buyer sign an acknowledgement letter before a winter settlement that lets the buyer know that New Castle County Land Use will get involved if final grading and paving hasn't been completed within eight monthsfrom date of settlementTherefore, the eight month deadline is mid OctoberWe expect this work to be completed prior to the deadlineIn this particular case there were additional delays because the buyers didn't like the curve of their driveway after it was staked out The shape and curve of the driveway is on the construction plans and reviewed and signed off by the buyers before the start of construction of their homeIn an effort to address their concerns, we met with the buyers, had our surveyor provide an additional layout plan of the driveway shape, and we agreed to increase the size of their driveway at no additional cost to them.These extra steps have further delayed the completion of their driveway and yard , and the additional costs in redesigning the driveway were paid by the builder.I stick to every commitment I made to these buyers, expect to have their work done soonWe are still awaiting schedules from our contractors and to date do not have a specific date for completionWe have already given the buyer concessions by expanding their driveway size at no additional cost to them and do not intend to sod their lawn.If you should have any questions please feel free to contact me

This serves as a written response to your letter to us dated 7/2/15, regarding customer complaint  D #[redacted]I completely sympathize with the buyers frustration. I am equally frustrated. Unfortunately, the situation described by the buyer is a common occurrence with the new home construction...

process that many builders and buyers encounter. We are working to get the work completed as quickly as feasible. It involves multiple steps and multiple contractors.In general, it has been a very rainy spring and summer which greatly delays this type of work. Also, most of our contractors are very busy this time of year, and as the new home construction market has greatly improved their services are in greater demand by many builders.The buyers settled on their new home on February 13, 2015.  Because of winter weather, it is typical to stone a driveway and rough grade the lawn.  New Castle County Land Use requires the builder to have a buyer sign an acknowledgement letter before a winter settlement that lets the buyer know that New Castle County Land Use will get involved if final grading and paving hasn't been completed within eight monthsfrom date of settlement. Therefore, the eight month deadline is mid October. We expect this work to be completed prior to the deadlineIn this particular case there were additional delays because the buyers didn't like the curve of their driveway after it was staked out.  The shape and curve of the driveway is on the construction plans and reviewed and signed off by the buyers before the start of construction of their home. In an effort to address their concerns, we met with the buyers, had our surveyor provide an additional layout plan of the driveway shape, and we agreed to increase the size of their driveway at no additional cost to them.These extra steps have further delayed the completion of their driveway and yard , and the additional costs in redesigning the driveway were paid by the builder.I stick to every commitment I made to these buyers, expect to have their work done soon. We are still awaiting schedules from our contractors and to date do not have a specific date for completion. We have already given the buyer concessions by expanding their driveway size at no additional cost to them and do not intend to sod their lawn.If you should have any questions please feel free to contact me.

This serves as a written response to an email that you forwarded to us on August 13, 2015, regarding the homeowner's rebuttal to our letter dated July 13, 2015.We are sorry that the homeowner is not happy with the course of events that have transpired regarding her yard and driveway.Please be advised that since our letter of July 13, 2015, progress has continued. The landscape package has been installed (except for street trees), the final grade has been completed, and the base coat of asphalt has been applied, which allows the homeowner to park in the driveway.Our asphalt contractor has recommended that the final top coat be applied in cooler temperatures. Paving in extreme hot temperatures is not recommended.  The heat can cause the asphalt to soften in places, fade or allow small ripples to come up, making the surface rough to drive on and allowing deforming and deteriorating surfaces.  The homeowner would be required to stay off the driveway for an extended period of time, and parking on the asphalt during hot days could cause ruts and sink areas in the newly paved soft asphalt.  Therefore, our contractor plans to install the final top coat of asphalt when weather temperatures cool.However, if the homeowner wishes to proceed to schedule the final top coat at this time, against our contractor's recommendation, they will need to sign below indicating that they understand the consequences of paving during the hot summer months as mentioned above,the homeowner is willing to accept full responsibility for the final top coat install and outcome of the product, neither the paving contractor nor Handler Construction will accept any responsibility for the driveway,and the contractor will not warrant the work whatsoever.We realize that the homeowner does not fully understand the extent of new home construction and the processes required by state and local agencies.  They settled in February, in doing so NCC required that they sign a Winter Grading letter in order to go to settlement, allowing the builder up to 8 months to complete exterior grading and other exterior items. The 8 month period expires in October. However, those homes settling in the Spring were required by NCC to have final grade prior to settlement, which is why the homeowner saw some homes being finalgraded prior to their home being completed. While we can understand their frustration, this process is common to new home building.As stated by the homeowner, "the complaint will not be resolved until she has a yard and driveway". Therefore, we feel that there is nothing further for us to do as it appears that the complaint will be resolved once the driveway is complete.We trust this explains our position in this matter.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
We actually first brought up the size of our driveway verbally shortly after moving in.  In fact, it was while the snow was still around because the ground was wet and we were causing ruts in the mud from being unable to maneuver in the poorly designed driveway.  We voiced our concerns regarding the driveway size and shape in e-mails multiple times (which I will gladly post if necessary), the first one being March 17th.   We were told our concerns would be passed on at that time.   On April 27th, I asked about the yard and driveway again and got no response.  On April 29th, I sent an e-mail regarding my frustrations with Handlers lack of response.  I finally heard back on May 4th and was told the driveway had to be staked before we could discuss changing size.  This was now 2 months after I brought our concerns about the driveway up – nothing had been done at all.   On May 6th, John (the site foreman) came out to stake the driveway.  I was home and went out to discuss our concerns about the driveway size.  He had no idea what I was talking about and hadn’t been told anything.  Later that day, my husband e-mailed again about the problem with the driveway.    On May 14th, I was jogging through the neighborhood and noticed 4 new driveways on houses that hadn’t closed yet.   Imagine my frustration.!  The dates and e-mails continue and I could keep going on.  Unfortunately, my entire experience with Handler has not been a good one.  We’ve gotten lots of talk and promises, followed by even more excuses, from a company that strives to meet the minimum.   This is the e-mail I was sent when I was afraid to sign the winter weather letter because of our overall experience with building.  I have taken the liberty to underline some important parts of the letter below. 
 
“Sorry for the concerns we have caused you.  Please note that the letter from New Castle County is their form letter that they require to be signed by the buyer.  While it has an outside compliance deadline of 8 months, it also says that by signing it that the builder agrees that final grading and seeding will be done “as soon as circumstances allows.”   This is a typical process every year and we never take 8 months to complete.  County inspectors would probably confirm this as we have a good reputation with them.  John assures me that grading will be completed to the point that you can install your fence before you settle.  We will work around the fence afterwards.  The yard will be temporarily stabilized with seed straw and tackifier.  
 
In the Spring, we will need to come back on your lot to do fine grading, raking, and seeing.  We also then remove the stone from the driveway and install a new stone base and pave drive.  The timing of this work will be weather dependent.  In past years, (although we try), we can seldom do this work in April. It is typically mid to late May that this work can be done.  I can’t guarantee anything, but you will be first on our list to complete as soon as weather and ground conditions allow.  I’d anticipate all work to be complete by the end of May.  If we have a dry Spring, we will complete it sooner.  
 
I hope this assures you enough to proceed.  Please return the signed winter grading letter as soon as you can as to not delay settlement processes”
 
[redacted] 
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Handler’s response is extremely frustrating to me because they are blaming us for holding up the driveway/yard, and, they are patting themselves on the back for giving us a useable driveway at no additional cost to us.  Their poor initial design and lack of action after our initial concerns is not our fault.  Since we sent the letter to the Revdex.com and another to the Department of Land Use, we have gotten the rough coat of asphalt on our driveway.  There is no scheduled time for our yard or final driveway coat.  I just want other people to know what I went through dealing with Handler.   My complaint will not be resolved until I have a yard and a driveway. 
 
Sincerely,

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
I have attached copies of my 30 day and 10 month checklist. The 10 month checklist specifically states that the sunroom door was an issue at my walk-thru / presettlement. Fixing the backdoor was a condition to close. The settlement checklist Handler provided a copy of is the 2nd inspection I was asked to sign, not the original. They made me hand the original in and after several adjustments were made and a second walkthru the morning of settlement was completed. There were numerous issues at closing and my settlement attorney had requested that [redacted] Handler ( son of the owner) walk thru the home to see the issues as well prior to me settling. Since Handler adjusted the door and at the timw it appeared to resolve the issue, nothing was documented on the 2nd walkthru. after 30 days another adjustment was made and the issue persisted into the 10 month checklist and continues to date. It has been an issue and all of their attempts to repair have not only not resolved the issue with the door, but has directly caused the water damage to my floor and subfloor. 
Regards,

Review: I purchased my Handler Home in [redacted] in September of 2012. Prior to settlement, I completed my walkthru in which there was an issue noted with the backdoor located in my sunroon. This was a condition to close- that the door would be fixed. The door has continued to be an issue throughout my time in the home was on my 60 day checklist and my 10 month checklist. Several adjustments were made to the door- never resolving the problem fully. One day after a significant rain storm, I noticed that the rug at my backdoor was completely saturated. I notified the builder and they sent someone to inspect the door. After doing a water test we verified that the door was actually leaking from two area- the glass insert and the right lower corner of the door. Some sort of buffer was but in the doorway ( which I was advised was "accidentally" left off). So needless to say, this door was issue since prior to settlement in 2012. I have a video of the door leaking and the damage to the baseboards that it has caused. In addition the vinyl floor in my kitchen is damaged and I am assuming the subflooring per comments made by the [redacted] contractor that came to my home on 4/13/15. Prior to this appointment, there was various communications with the warranty department regarding this issue. The mailed me paperwork to sign regarding how the repair would be done. The first letter did not include inspection of the subflooring so I refused to sign it and requested new paperwork. A second round of paperwork came and I signed it but followed up with an email. There repair agreed to inspect the subflooring and cut the piece fo vinyl out from under my stove and patch the floor by the backdoor. I signed the paper agreeing to the inspection of the flooring and in email ( which I have a copy of) advised that I did not agree to the cutting of the vinyl. The warranty department indicated that [redacted] would inspect it with Eddie ( Handler's contractor) when they came for the appointment. On 4/13/15- The contractor from [redacted] stated that he was going to cut a 5x5 area of vinyl in front of my back door. The area of vinyl under my stove is 2 x 2'6. Obviously this would not be enough vinyl to fix the area anyway. They then questioned whether vinyl was delivered to my home- it was not. They stated that this was suppose to be arranged by the warranty department- again it was not. I advised them that I wrote to the warranty department back in December that I did not agree to this type of repair- 4/13/15 appt was suppose to be inspecting the subflooring and deciding on a different resolution instead of patching my floor. The [redacted] associate agreed- new vinyl woul dnot match since my home is over 2 years old and there would be a very visible seam in the middle of my sunroom floor which is also a high traffic area. He stated that the right way to complete this was to redo the entire floor which is what I , as a homeowner, would expect them to do since this is a well documented problem / concern with the home since pre-settlement. Obviously, they can only makes repairs of the recommendation of Handler. After they left my home on Monday, I was told that I would expect a return call that afternoon. It did not happen. I called the warranty office and left three messages and received a return call 4/22/15. During this phone call I was advised that they could not disclose any information about the status of my repair- I may or may not be receiving a letter in the mail and they cannot tell me if that letter has or has not been drafted yet. Why would I not be able to be informed about the status of a repair in my own home? Handler Homes had no problem communicating with me prior to settlement but it has been sub-par since that time. I spoke with an attorney and I was advised that according to Delaware law- my statute of limitation is September 2015 for pursuing this issue legally. Is this why they are stalling? I need a favorable resolution to this issue and quickly. There resolution was equivilent to putting a bandaif on a cut that really needs stitches- it is a temporary solution. IN addition- I must mention that every window in my home was replaced due to manufacturer defect. Why wasn't the glass insert in my backdoor replaced at that time as well? This could have eliminated one of the leaks.Desired Settlement: I would like the vinyl floor in sunroom completely replaced- not a 5x5 section cut out and replaced. The sunroom unfortunately is connected to the kitchen, laundry room, and pantry- the vinyl floor is throughout. THe trim around that area also has to be replaced due to water damage. Prior to any flooring being replaced, the subflooring needs to be inspected as this has yet to be completed.

Business

Response:

This is written as a response to your letter to us dated 4/23/15, to address the concerns of our homeowner regarding a floor inspection and repair at the rear sunroom door.A review of our records indicates that the sunroom door issue is not listed on the pre-settlement inspection list as being an issue prior to settlement as indicated by the homeowner, see attached copy of pre-settlement inspection page 7, item #17 sunroom. The homeowner has initialed item B, doors indicating that the door was acceptable at the time of the pre-settlement walk­ through.Although some minor adjustments were made to the sunroom door during the one year warranty period at the request of the homeowner, our records indicate that the leak at the sunroom door was reported to us after the one year warranty period and inspected at that time as a customer courtesy. The door leak was repaired and a follow up water test was performed. Inan attempt to inspect the luan/vinyl underlayment for any signs of moisture at the sunroom door we sent the homeowner a letter dated 11/4/14, outlining the inspection and repair process. The homeowner signed the letter acknowledging that she understood and accepted the inspection/repair proposal and an appointment for the inspection/repair was scheduled for 4/13/15, see attached letter dated 11/4/14, with signed acknowledgment. However, upon our arrival on 4/13/15 to make the agreed upon inspection and repair the homeowner refused to allow our service person and our flooring contractor to perfonn the necessary work. She indicated to them that she didn t want seams put in the vinyl flooring and wanted the entire vinyl flooring through-out the kitchen, sunroom, and laundry room replaced if we cut the vinyl. The flooring contractor followed up in writing to us stating that he was unable to make the floor repair, and reiterated that this repair procedure is made by them all the time with no issues, see attached note from L&L Flooring.We had previously discussed with the homeowner that if we were not pennitted to cut the vinyl to make an inspection of the underlayment and repair/patch the vinyl as per our letter of 1114/14, that no further action would be taken by us. The vinyl underlayment cannot be inspected without cutting the vinyl material. The subflooring materials had been previously inspected from the Widemeath side of the flooring visible from the basement and no moisture was evidentThe limited warranty in which the home is enrolled allows us the right to repair, replace or pay the reasonable cost for a repair as necessary. Each case is evaluated on an individual basis and a repair and/or replacement detennined based on our findings. In this case, after an inspection and assessment of the approximately 2'x 4' area at the door by Handler representatives and our flooring contractor, it was detennined that an inspection of the luan/vinyl Wlderlayment by cutting the vinyl, replacing any underlayment if needed, and repairing (seam sealing or patching) the vinyl at the door was a reasonable repair method.As a follow up to our appointment on 4/13/15, we sent the homeowner another letter dated 4/27115, see attached letter. In our letter we again explained the inspection/repair process and agreed to reschedule the inspection/repair appointment one more time.In response to our letter, the homeowner sent us an email dated 4/30/15, and has again agreed to allow us to make the floor inspection/repairs but now has included a list of conditions that she would like us to consider, see attached email dated 4/30/15.In response to her email, we replied that we would need to review her list of conditions and would respond to her sometime this week. However, to date, we have not heard back from our flooring contractor as to whether they will agree to install the left over tiles from her bathroom at the area of the proposed floor repair at the sun.room door, or whether such a repair is even feasible. After we have an answer from our contractor we will review this matter further and respond to the homeowner's email of 4/30/15.

Review: We have been in our house since 2/13/15. They were not able to put a yard or driveway in because of the weather. We were told that the yard and driveway would be put in as soon as circumstances allow. I voiced my concerns about settling without the house being finished, but was assured that they anticipated all work to be done by the end of May. And We were assured of their good reputation with the county. I do have this in writing...from someone at Handler. The entire building experience with this company was very slow, disappointing, and our questions were never answered, it has been the same with this yard and driveway. We have been told numerous time that "they are coming next week" . That's if we hunt the foreman down in the neighborhood at other sites. I have sent 2 e-mails to Handler in the last 10 days with no response at all. There have also been other yards and driveways done in the neighborhood...some didn't even have residents yet. At this point, it's so late in the season to plant grass, I am concerned that it will probably not grow.Desired Settlement: I would like my driveway and yard finished. And, since they have gone way past the time where grass seed should be planted, I think they should sod the front yard.

Business

Response:

This serves as a written response to your letter to us dated 7/2/15, regarding customer complaint D #[redacted]I completely sympathize with the buyers frustration. I am equally frustrated. Unfortunately, the situation described by the buyer is a common occurrence with the new home construction process that many builders and buyers encounter. We are working to get the work completed as quickly as feasible. It involves multiple steps and multiple contractors.In general, it has been a very rainy spring and summer which greatly delays this type of work. Also, most of our contractors are very busy this time of year, and as the new home construction market has greatly improved their services are in greater demand by many builders.The buyers settled on their new home on February 13, 2015. Because of winter weather, it is typical to stone a driveway and rough grade the lawn. New Castle County Land Use requires the builder to have a buyer sign an acknowledgement letter before a winter settlement that lets the buyer know that New Castle County Land Use will get involved if final grading and paving hasn't been completed within eight monthsfrom date of settlement. Therefore, the eight month deadline is mid October. We expect this work to be completed prior to the deadlineIn this particular case there were additional delays because the buyers didn't like the curve of their driveway after it was staked out. The shape and curve of the driveway is on the construction plans and reviewed and signed off by the buyers before the start of construction of their home. In an effort to address their concerns, we met with the buyers, had our surveyor provide an additional layout plan of the driveway shape, and we agreed to increase the size of their driveway at no additional cost to them.These extra steps have further delayed the completion of their driveway and yard , and the additional costs in redesigning the driveway were paid by the builder.I stick to every commitment I made to these buyers, expect to have their work done soon. We are still awaiting schedules from our contractors and to date do not have a specific date for completion. We have already given the buyer concessions by expanding their driveway size at no additional cost to them and do not intend to sod their lawn.If you should have any questions please feel free to contact me.