Insight Homes

The Business called in and stated the complaint is resolved.

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 need the porch fixed correctly  so the two large puddles do not sit there for days on end this this not correct  building standards please address my warrenty issues  insight

As the customer stated, this house was built over 5 years ago.  It take a few days before the information regarding this home can be gathered.

Insight home does it right...they build an awesome house...and their customer service is exceptional and the finished ahead of schedule!

This is in response to the letter we received from your office concerning a complaint filed by [redacted].  In her letter [redacted] makes a number of statements and I will endeavor to answer as best I can based upon the factual information that we have on file. (copy of the letter...

attached).
I would like to start with the time line.
8-7-13- An agreement for sale for a property and home to be built known as a Whatley model on [redacted] in the community of Stonewater Creek,  Millsboro, Delaware was written and later ratified by Insight Homes on August 13th, 2013. This was an agreement contingent upon the sale of an existing home by the Will [redacted]. The original contingency was for 60 days and was verbally extended until they released their contingency on November 15th, 2013. This contingency guaranteed the reservation of the lot, lot pricing, home pricing and option pricing. A deposit in the amount of$5,000.00 was paid to Insight at this time. (Copy of contract attached).
11-16-13- [redacted] changed home type to an Elaine model.
12-1-14- [redacted] visited the Insight Selection Center and met with our Selections Coordinator and finalized their structural and designer selections for the home and paid the additional $33,568.00 deposit due.
2-4-14- Our Sales Manager [redacted] received a note from our Community Sales Manager [redacted] stating that the [redacted]s stopped by the model at Stonewater Creek and that they were upset because the home had not yet started. They complained that they were due to move from their rental home in May. [redacted] the CEO of Insight, had a discussion regarding their concerns and agreed to move [redacted] forward in the construction process and start the home earlier. (Copy of e-mail attached)
2-5-14- [redacted] sent an e-mail stating that they wanted Insight to "cease & desist any further construction on the site." They requested a full refund and stated that they had contacted an attorney, and were fully prepared to move forward with litigation. They also stated further that they would involve the Attorney General's office and that others wou ld join them in litigation . No actual reason for this action was given. (Copy of E-mail attached)
2-10-14- [redacted] sent [redacted] an e-mail stating that she had tried to contact the Real Estate agent ([redacted] Bay Coast Realty) and [redacted] multiple times to let them know that we would be willing to move them up in the construction schedule and also pay any additional rent and storage fees if they were not in their new home by the time the lease expired on their rental property.  Leah did not receive a response from either party .(Copy of e-mail attached)
2-12-14- Insight was informed th at [redacted] had purchased a home from another builder .
2-18-14- Insight received a "Release From Agreement of Sale" form from their Realtor's office (Bay Coast Realty) . This included a paragraph that stated all deposit moneys held wou ld be returned to the [redacted] . (Copy attached)
2-18-14- [redacted] called [redacted] the Broker at Bay Coast Realty and explained that contractually Insight was not obligated to return the deposit and that we were prepared to start the home and deliver the home as contracted. [redacted] also questioned [redacted] regarding the fact that [redacted] had purchased a home elsewhere. Bill replied to Don that he would have to check on it and would get back to him. [redacted] never received a response.
2-21-13- [redacted] spoke with an attorney representing [redacted] of Tunnel & Raysor . [redacted] requested the return of the deposits. He was not aware that the [redacted] purchased another home. He wanted Insight to send him a statement of costs associated with the purchase of the home. Don explained to John that Insight was not interested in returning the deposits and that we were prepared to proceed with the construction of their home and have it complete within the 150 days allowed by the contract.
Concerning the delays in the construction start:
The community ofStonewater Creek is owned by a development company . Insight Homes purchases lots from this development company for resale to home purchasers. Over the winter there were several"start" dates mentioned by the developer. These in turn were
passed on to Insight's customers in good faith. The start dates were delayed for a number of reasons; mostly due to the develop er waiting for a bond issue to be resolved. As soon as these issues were resolved February 18th, 2014- we started the actual construction process for the homes in this section. Insight currently has ten homes in the building process in
this particular section of Stonewater Creek. These range from the initial "foundation stage" to what is referred to as the "mechanicals stage." All of these homes will be finished well before the promised contractual date of 150 days from permit.  [redacted] could have been part of the initial group of starts a nd completion would have been sometime in late April to early May.  Insight is extremely interested in starting and closing on hom es in a timely fashion to satisfy all of our customers.
Concerning the accusations:
[redacted] make several accusations:
Accusation #1
Business associates of Insight told them th at th e "The company is in financial trouble, slow
to pay contractors and having difficulty meeting payroll".
Insight Respons e:
Insight has shown a profit from the building of new hom es for five straigh t years. We have ongoing contractual relationships with dozens of different vendors a nd we pay according to those obligations. Insight Homes does not have difficulty meeting pay roll.
Accu sation #2:
They stated that they have had "No response from anyone above the sales agent in the business office since our contract signing in August."
Insight Response:
Insight's Community Sales Managers are committed to servicing their customers and any communication would start from that source. This is a complete contradiction to their statement made earlier in the same document, where they admit that they met with the Selections Coordinator and had spoken directly to the Sales Manager.
Accusation #3
[redacted] were told through the Community Sales Manager that In sight could not return deposits because supplies were purchased . [redacted] states "We don't
under stand how thi s could be done without a permit. If this was true these supplies could be used on any of the homes that are waiting to be built."
Insights Response:
Once a home is released in Insight's purchasing system, hundreds of purchase orders are
issued to various vendors. Most of these purchase orders were issued I n [redacted] case, not only is this a huge undertaking for Insight's staff, but m any of the items ordered have to be either cancelled (a n other huge undertaking) or warehoused.  We can't arbitrarily use parts intend ed for on e house in the construction of another. There are hundreds of different colors, types, makes and finishes involved in each and every home.  In addition to this we have the expense of our time for writing and  processing and servicing the contract, for managing the selections process, issuing the necessary purchase orders and for paying commission s to sales staff an d agents. Also, the loss of the profit from the sale of the home.
To conclude; Insight is an award winning build er having garnered top design and construction award s from the state of Delaware. We built more than 150 homes in 2013 and have close to 500 people in our custom er family. We str I ve to provide premier
customer service and to stay in communication with our customers throughout the en tire
process from first contact to well after the home is completed.
The delays in development construction were not a deliberate act by Insight Homes.  We were held to information provided to us by the developer and this information was passed to our customers in good faith.  Likewise the developer was acting in the best faith with Insight and circumstances changed over the course of the winter.  Some of this was caused by Sussex County requirements and other by developer financing requirements.  All of which were out of Insight's control.
Insight is still willing to abide by the legal contract agreement that we entered into with [redacted] and build the home a s purchased.

Insight Homes' company records indicate the customer's roofing issues occurred during the historic and record breaking...

blizzard that impacted Sussex County Delaware on Saturday January 23rd 2016. While to a much lesser degree than other builders, some of our homes sustained wind damage.  This includes the home in question.
 
Insight Homes' attempted to mobilize office and service teams to respond to these out of the ordinary weekend service calls, however a state of emergency was declared by Delaware Governor Markell which required all vehicles to remain parked. 
 
We were fortunate to have only a handful of service calls compared to other area builders, however our staff is not sized to instantly handle such a rare event. To make sure all customers knew we were aware of the potential for damage, a generic email was sent to all. In the email customers were informed that we will be setting up appointments to have our experts visit their home and assess the storm damage.  In the same email and in order to allow homeowners to minimize delays, we reminded homeowners of our warranty process and that acts of god are not covered and should be reported to their insurance company.
 
Homes were scheduled for a visit based on the severity of the issue. This particular customer's home was put on the schedule prior to this Revdex.com complaint. We have since been notified that the roof situation has been resolved and no further action is necessary.
 
Regarding the customer's concrete garage floor complaint...the floor has been assessed in person by our experts. It has been determined that the concrete floor meets or exceeds all of the National Association of Home Builders Guidelines. What the customer is referring to as "cracks" are known as control joints and are defined in the National Association of Home Builders Guidelines as such:  "Control joints are placed in concrete for the very purpose of encouraging cracking to take place at the joints instead of random places."  Many builders do not spend the resources necessary to install control joints however we believe that in the Delaware climate of cold winters and hot summers it is an essential part of a quality installation.  We will be very happy to have one of our building scientists meet with this customer and their expert, providing their expert is accredited by the Revdex.com. We have been in regular communication with the customer and will contact him again to encourage a meeting with their expert.

This reply was originally submitted on August 26th 2015 however, there seemed to be a system error and it did not post.  REPLY - "Insight Homes has reviewed the attached images and cannot see any abnormalities.  Again, all measurements made in front of the customer illustrate the correctness of the concrete based on the National Association of Home Builders guidelines.  If the customer would like to set up a meeting with their Revdex.com accredited expert and our building scientist, we can arrange."

My wife and I had been looking for a home in Delaware for several years. We were dismayed at either the quality of the builder or the location. We stumbled upon the website for Insight Homes, http://www.itsjustabetterhouse.com/insight-difference, and they have a series of videos that show how their homes were built. We were impressed. We than began to look at their neighborhoods and found one that we were pleased with. Close enough to the ocean but far enough away to stay out of the crowds if we wanted to. We picked the lot and model of home we wanted. The next thing was to pick out the options. We worked with Mike for the selections and he was fantastic. He knows all their models and what went with what. He wasn’t pushy and he did make some very good suggestions. We were paired with Heather, who would be our contact person during construction and for the first year afterwards. Heather informed us that if we had any questions during the construction phase or after settlement that she would be the one to contact. This simplified the process and with one point of contact made it easy to find out answers to our questions. During construction we were invited to visit the site for a foundation inspection, pre-drywall inspection, and pre-settlement inspection. We felt that we could stop by to see the progress anytime we wanted to. But, that wasn’t necessary because we were given weekly updates with photographs of the progress. We have never known a builder to do this. We have been in the home a little more than a month. Yes, there are some minor things that needed to be addressed such as sticking doors or a very minor chip in a tub but these things have been addressed and fixed. We are very pleased with our choice of builder and their quality of product and their workmanship. WATCH THE VIDEOS.

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. 
The pump was improperly installed, regardless of what water it was "designed" to "redirect."   Experts have informed us that the pump failed as a direct result of having been improperly installed (with no gravel in the pit).   Oh, and we are still waiting for our vacuum brush, which he does not mention.

An outstanding orginization. From beginning to end. No surprises. Excellent communications, services, and product.

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 reached out to [redacted] on 3 occasions in the last two months and he never responded. Also, If there was no damage then why did you refer us to Sherman Williams. My last correspondence received was that Insight was resolving the issue jointly and would provide me with that solution. Hard to lie when someone has copy of the emails. Lie after lie, continuously. This was my last resort before filing suit and I guarantee you will lose. 
Regards,

The purpose of the meeting is to better understand the concerns from a technical standpoint.  A meeting should be able to be scheduled from our end within a week.  The meeting should take less than an hour.  In order to ensure no error is made and expectations are met, please assist by forwarding a link to the exact brush that is expected.
"I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted].  I will contact our expert about meeting with Insight's  "building scientist."  I require clarification as to the purpose of the meeting, however.  Will it be to confirm that the sump pump installation was done incorrectly, and if so to reimburse us for the cost of having it done right?  Also, the meeting must take place soon, as we are running out of time to take legal action if Insight refuses our request for reimbursement.
As for the vacuum brush, I forwarded an email regarding our incomplete punch list including the whole-house vacuum brush problem to Sunni in the Insight office during the summer.  I explained to her that Joe, production manager in 2010, said he had ordered it.  We haven't heard anything since.  Please ask them to send us a replacement brush."

Insight Homes prides itself on quickly responding to all customer inquires.   We are among the industry's top home builders when it comes to customer satisfaction.  While the industry states that 5% of customers will never be satisfied, we take that as a challenge and work diligently to...

maintain our customer satisfaction rating, which currently exceeds 98%.  We will review our records in regards to this customer and reply back shortly.

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.
 
[redacted]
Please inform Insight Homes that if they require a meeting to corroborate our information about the failed sump-pump, they will need to contact our expert directly.
[redacted]
We also have a licensed plumber whose contact information we can supply if necessary.
As for their second request, the vacuum brush replacement we need is the Stealth Power Brush for the Stealth Central Vac.  
Thank you,

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.  The Stealth 14 inch electric power brush 490 appears to be the right one for our whole house vacuum. Thank you. Moreover, our expert can meet with their expert on Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 2 p.m. at our house.

Insight Homes has addressed the original complaint.  If the customer implying that water is coming into the house, this is a new concern and one that we would like to address immediately.  If this is not the case, we consider the matter closed.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted].  I will contact our expert about meeting with Insight's  "building scientist."  I require clarification as to the purpose of the meeting, however.  Will it be to confirm that the sump pump installation was done incorrectly, and if so to reimburse us for the cost of having it done right?  Also, the meeting must take place soon, as we are running out of time to take legal action if Insight refuses our request for reimbursement.
As for the vacuum brush, I forwarded an email regarding our incomplete punch list including the whole-house vacuum brush problem to Sunni in the Insight office during the summer.  I explained to her that Joe, production manager in 2010, said he had ordered it.  We haven't heard anything since.  Please ask them to send us a replacement brush.

Review: company is to fix this large puddle on my new front porch concerned about insurance issues with someone getting hurt spoke to company not getting anything done from them puddle is large three feet by two feet paid a large amount of money this is not suppose to be this way need helpDesired Settlement: fix the porch or give me the money and I will fix it

Business

Response:

Insight Homes holds itself to meet or exceed the National Home Builders Association Home Building Guidelines. Insight Homes had their building scientist and concrete contractor meet with the customer on 8/11/14 at 10:30am to measure for and illustrate the NAHB guidelines. Due to concern that portion of construction may have fallen below NAHB standards, Insight Homes' Vice President was also on the premises at that time to provide further verification that all guidelines were met or exceeded. At that time the customer understood, agreed and the issue was closed out in our systems.

Consumer

Response:

Review: We have had difficulty throughout the building of a house with quality of workmanship. Many issues were repaired during construction but others remained at the time of settlement. We went to settlement in good faith that the remaining items on the “punch list” would be completed within the 30 day time period specified in the contract. We even left the building unoccupied – with the lockbox on –for nearly two weeks so the workers could have easy access to complete the work. It has now been over four months and the work has not been completed.

Business

Response:

Insight Homes has been working with this customer since settlement and as per an email from the customer on July 9th, all issues have been addressed except those that are part of the one year walk-through. If this is not the case, we will continue to work to meet the customer's expectations.

Review: Standing water in both my front and back yards. Which is now a breeding ground for all kinds of insects. Also, has become a safety hazard issue for my grandson, My lawn tractor has gotten stuck there on several occasions and nothing can be grown in the area.

I have emailed the owner of Insight Homes more then once and explained my problem in detail with photos. He has never responded. His warranty coordinator even laughed and said," good luck getting this resolved and I'll give you his email address, but he'll never get back to you".Desired Settlement: to eliminate the standing water in my front and back yards

Consumer

Response:

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

This problem was corrected by Insight after I informed them--I had submitted a complaint to the Revdex.com.

I cannot answer for them not responding to the Revdex.com---that's the main issue with them--they never respond when there's a problem.