Kaerek Homes, Inc.

Review: My fiance and I found a lot that Kaerek Homes owned. We wanted to build a house on the found lot. During the process of designing the house we were told to put a down payment of $2000. We met with the architect three times. After the third meeting, we found another home that fit our needs and purchased the home. We have contacted Kaerek Homes three times for an itemized bill and return of the rest of the down payment for the lot. We have not recieved any notification and they fail to return our call. We understand the architect needs to be paid for his time, but that can not possibly add up to $2000. We would be happy with a return of $1500. At $1500 the architect would be paid over $100 an hour for his services. At no point in this process was anything signed to commit us to building a house or allowing them to keep the down payment.Desired Settlement: We would like an itemized bill and refund of the rest of our down payment on the lot.

Business

Response:

Concerning [redacted] complaint, Kaerek Homes, Inc. drafting staff spent 8 hours of draft time on a custom plan for [redacted] and her [redacted]. After three revision meetings, [redacted] and [redacted] decided to buy an existing home. The deposit covered our drafting rates & time. I had a very nice conversation with [redacted] this afternoon when discussing their concern. As a goodwill gesture, we agreed to accept $800 and will mail a check to [redacted] for the $1,200 balance. [redacted] said he and [redacted] are satisfied with this amount.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

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

Review: My complaint is three-fold. My first complaint is that the builder knowingly placed a fireplace vent 4 feet from the deck floor they built without regards to occupant safety. When bringing this oversight to the attention of the builder, in order to have a home that was safe, they charged me an extra $500 as well they proceeded to ruin the aesthetic appearance of the home by choosing to place a factory like pipe straight out of the roof with no plans to create something to match the beauty of the home. The $500 was truly a price gouge and never should have occurred. Upon closing the home, the builder failed to give me or my realtor detailed explanation of what a street side tree planting was. The builder made an agreement with the city of Hartford stating they would ensure that street side trees were planted. In the only document given to me it stated 2 street side trees would be planted and grass would be planted in the city right of way indicating two separate areas of the lot. Because of this misinformation, I was forced to purchase additional foilage to fulfill the agreement Kaerek made with the city and in order to receive back a $1000 bond. I asked them to pay for this due to their oversight, and they ceased communication with me, which is quite unprofessional and I still have yet to get my $1000 bond returned. Lastly, I closed my home in January of 2015 and no one at the company continued to actively oversee that the things that couldn't be completed during the winter months were completed. They completely dropped the ball as outside painting on my home only got completed due to my continued followup and nagging. A lot of money was spent on the home and the customer service from Kaerek was greatly lacking after that money was received. I'm disappointed that I spent an extra $700+ on this home because of their neglect. They are supposed to be the experts and instead of guiding a new home builder, it appeared to be all about the money and nickel and diming the consumer.Desired Settlement: I would like to see not only the bond given back as it should be as all requirements of it were fulfilled back in June of 2015, but I would like to see the fireplace vent either beautified with stone at their expense or refunded to me ($500) and the extra tree refunded to me ($206.03).

Business

Response:

In response to [redacted] Complaint [redacted], the conditional occupancy permit does state street trees, “not street side trees”, as a requirement (copy attached). Addendum F of the Offer to Purchase lists street trees (copy attached). [redacted] closing statement that they signed has the verbiage on it that the “Buyers understand that 2 street trees are required …. and is responsible for same. The City holds the bond – not Kaerek Homes. It is the homeowner’s responsibility to call the City and have them inspect the street tree(s) for compliance. The City then releases the bond to Kaerek Homes and we in turn release it to the homeowner. The homeowner also received a packet in their closing file on what species to plant and where to plant the tree(s). I will send you a copy of what they received at closing in my next message. The [redacted]s’ used an outside real estate agent to represent them in the transaction. When there is a Buyer’s agency, their agent discloses all documents. It was made clear street tree(s).I will look into the fireplace concern.Part Three concerning [redacted] - the fireplace vent is placed in a location that is standard on all of our home plans and within code compliance and pass inspection. A year ago, (Nov. 2014) the [redacted]s' asked us if the vent could be moved up or come out through the roof. Our architect department quoted $1,000 for labor & materials to pull out the unit, siding repair, roof repair, piping materials, etc. [redacted] agreed to split the cost with them. [redacted]s' agreed to a change order - they signed the change order and paid $500.[redacted]s' have been in their home 10 months. This Revdex.com complaint was initiated after they asked us to complimentary plant a street tree for them or move the tree that their landscaper planted on their front lawn instead of where the City required them to plant it. Since we respectfully declined, they are trying to obtain money from us through the Revdex.com system. We built a beautiful home for them at a very aggressive price. Our service administrator Nancy and our service technician Joe have taken excellent care of them on punch list items. We will not oblige to their demand of money for a street tree or refund their $500 change order. The initial vent was installed per code and per plan - they initiated the change order to move the vent and approved the change order with their signatures. They paid half price for this service. If they want to add decorative stone they need to pay a subcontractor for time and materials. No subcontractor provides free stone or provides free labor.I consider this case closed.