Kim Grant Homes

I am writing because of unfair business practices with [redacted] Homes contracts and how their home is advertised. Purchased:5-31-13.(2nd home purchased from [redacted](**), 1st from [redacted]) I am writing bc of unfair business practices.** said we are bound to the contract when it did not state that their contract is not contingent on the appraisal when it is a conventional loan.However, the contract did state that if it were a VA or FHA loan&the house didn't appraise for the sales price that we could get out of the contract. [redacted] Bank stated that they would not give us a loan because the house didn't appraise for what [redacted] was trying to sell it for.I asked what happens in this situation&[redacted] said the builder lowers the sells price & the loan is approved.When ** said she would not lower the sales price,we let our agent know that we would find another home to purchase.[redacted], ** & [redacted](** Agent) then attempted to persuade the appraiser that his appraisal was wrong& our home is worth the selling price.[redacted] Bank reviewed it again &stated that they would not give us the loan bc the house did not appraise for the sales price.We attempted to work with ** regarding this&they refused to compromise.The house is not finished&we asked them to finish the bedroom to bring the value up and they said "no".The published square footage was inaccurate.The comparable house to ours w/ the same floor plan was a finished home.It was the subdivision's former model home & had all the bells & whistles.Ours was basic&that's why we asked them to compromise&add some things to bring the value up.When the appraiser measured the the home it was smaller than what ** advertised it to be.** advertised the square footage of a finished home, however it was unfinished.We suggested that they put granite countertops&put a fence up&they said "no".What this situation has done is make a FALSE COMP for our home when others buy a home in this neighborhood.As ** completes this subdivision they will profit from our FALSE COMP.This is the 1st home we have purchased in MS.We were told that home sold prices are not public information in MS. When the house was appraised I was provided w/ what homes sold for which were lower than ours.Our previous homes have been purchased in TN where this info is easily accessed.The only way I could have prevented this from happening is to get the house appraised before a contract was placed on it and who does that?It's like they made their contract say something that is not even written in it.There is nothing regarding a conventional loan in it so how can they say it says things that it doesn't.We were forced to move forward pay the $5,950 difference out of our pockets, rather than get declined by the bank because the house appraised below the sales price.Why were we forced?** had our earnest money & 50% deposit on blinds which totaled $2,000.We didn't want to lose that.We suggested that KG get another appraisal on the home since she didn't agree with the appraisal that we paid for.She said the only way she would do that was if we went through [redacted].We were already locked in with a lower interest rate at [redacted] & the closing costs were higher at [redacted].We were then reminded of the $75/day penalty if the closing is delayed, the sales commission that we would have to pay if we walked away&$5000 additional dollars.[redacted] told us if we were declined it would have a negative impact on our credit rating.** contract says that if we are refused a loan we have to go through one of their lenders.[redacted] told us our credit was so good that they don't know of any bank that wouldn't approve us.The problem was not with us getting loan, problem was ** selling above appraised value.Home advertised to b wired for security system.3 windows not wired. [redacted] told me they pd for entire downstairs to b wired.Home has very little counter space & there is no outlet outside island.Desired SettlementI would like KG Homes to reimburse us for the 3 windows that are not wired for security. We had to pay for wireless contacts in order to have a working security system installed. I would like outlets to be placed on the outside of the kitchen island & would like to be reimbursed $5950 (difference between sales price & appraised value of home). [redacted] said the only way he will put an outlet in the island is if I would purchase an outlet in my garage for $250. My son was ill during the walk thru & my husband was unable to be at the walk thru ** he had to take him to the dr. I was hesitant to reschedule ** I'm sure they would have thought I was stalling & would have threatened to charge me for delaying the closing. I had a good experience when we purchased our home from [redacted].We were asked to give a customer testimonial & they used our home on their website. We had one problem w that house and it was fixed. We have had numerous problems w our current home & it is no comparison to [redacted]. You can talk about this house having a lower price point but that is a poor excuse [redacted] had cheap stuff too like linoleum floors. We just made the upgrades once we moved in. The house did appraise for what we bought it for.These are quotes from [redacted]."one thing that has never changed throughout the long history of [redacted] is providng outstanding customer service." "We try & make the task of finding the right home in the right location at the right price easy. We are very customer-focused ** we want to maintain our reputation in the marketplace. What people thin k of us is our most important sales tool."I would just like to say that [redacted] no longer practices what they preach.If you sell a house every 36 hrs. then why didn't you let us out the contract and sell it again since your houses supposedly sell so quickly.I believe the addition of [redacted] Homes to [redacted] will continue to make a negative impace on the growth or expansion of [redacted].I no longer have kind words about [redacted] as I have in the past.I used to tell my husband if we ever built a home again I would ask the [redacted] to build it or if we ever decided to move into a retirement community I would buy on in a [redacted] Community.If our kids ever bought a home it should be a [redacted].I do hope that [redacted] was just having a bad time during this process and would reconsider how she had treated us.She and [redacted] have a bully type attitude when they are dealing with customers.This is our 7th home purchase in 25 years. We had to stay in our previous [redacted] longer than we had planned because of the decline in the housing market. We purchased this home while still owning our other [redacted] & trusted in the [redacted] name. Although we thought we were experienced buyers & trusted in the [redacted] name we have learned that people unfortunately try to take advantage of you.Business Response We will be addressing what seems to be (3) different requests by the consumer.1. Reimbursement for security wiring on three windows.2. Receptacle (Outlets) being relocated on the outside of the kitchen island. 3. Reimbursement of $5,950.Item #1The consumer notified the builder that a security company hired directly by the consumer charged a fee for the security companies inability to locate a security wire located on three windows inside the consumers home. The builder was given no notification of the supposed missing wiring or given the chance to rectify the supposed situation, only an email from the consumer asking for reimbursement from the security company hired by the consumer. Please see the segment of the [redacted] issued by the builder on the consumer's home to assist in clarifying this claim. Additionally, the consumer signed a document at closing stating they would refer to the [redacted] if any discrepancies within the home occurred. Located on Page #2[redacted]Right to Cure: After providing written notice of a claimed defect to the Builder, the Homeowner shall provide the Builder with a reasonable period of time to cure the claimed defect. The reasonableness of the cure period to effectuate repair of a claimed defect shall be determined based on all of the circumstances surrounding such defect. Correct diagnosis of the cause or source of a claimed defect may involve a level of trial-and-error, which may extend the length of the cure period necessary to effectuate repair. The Builder shall not be deemed to be in violation of this Limited Warranty as long as, upon receiving written notice from the Homeowner of a claimed defect, Builder proceeds diligently in attempting to locate the source of and cure the claimed defect. All work, methods and materials necessary to repair a defect shall be performed or supplied by laborers and material men chosen solely at the Builder's discretion, as long as the resulting repair is within the appropriate Performance Standards as determined by the Registered Builder Committee. The direction and supervision of the Builder's laborers and material men rests exclusively with the Builder. If the Homeowner issues any instruction to these laborers or material men, or otherwise interferes with the Builder's efforts to repair the claimed defect, this Warranty's coverage of the claimed defect is void.Item #2Olive Branch Code Department requires all free standing kitchen islands have a receptacle (outlet) located within the island. The island does have an actively working receptacle in the island. Item #3The contract signed by the buyer is not contingent on an appraisal. The buyer was aware of the price of the home, agreed to it, and signed a contract stating they would pay that price. In order for a contract to be "contingent upon appraisal" it must be stated in the contract, it cannot be assumed.Final Consumer Response Response to [redacted] Revdex.com response on 10-20-BItem 1. Reimbursement for security wiring on four windows .After talking with [redacted] security again ([redacted] registered business) it was brought to my attention that 4 windows were not prewired for security. I have numbered pages written with numbers circled by hand attached. Page 4 is a letter written by [redacted] security stating that this was the only way to resolve the problem. [redacted]) also spoke with [redacted] with [redacted] regarding the problem. (p. 7) [redacted] then sent me a vague response about how I was to be reimbursed. [redacted] also sent me an email (p.6) stating that he saw with his own eyes the wires being run to the windows and Olive Branch does the inspections while the home is under construction. The wires weren't run and they still aren't. Invoice is attached (p.5) showing 4 wireless contacts being placed in the windows with missing wires. I used this same security system company to install my alarm system in the [redacted] that I moved from. No problems with that installation.My security system was installed in June. I did not receive the New [redacted] until August. (p.l) email from [redacted] stating he would have a booklet hand delivered to my home. However, there is an exclusion section in the new home warranty (p.2-3)(p. 19-20 of [redacted] booklet) which states next to letter "U" that any condition which is required or In compliance with local building codes or ordinances.If this is excluded from [redacted] warranty what other option would I have other than to have it corrected? l should not have to play hide and go seek with problems that the builder should have identified during the building process. [redacted] needs to be held accountable for this mistake in the building process. I would like to be reimbursed $110 for correcting this mistake. I was told that each wireless contact is $75 each but since I was a long time customer they would discount it to $27.50 for each window.Item 2. Although Olive Branch requires a11 free standing kitchen islands have a receptacle within the island [redacted] knows this is not practical. This is why they put outlets outside islands in other homes built in this subdivision which are all less expensive than our home. [redacted] stated that if 1had caught this during the walk thru he would have put it on the outside of the island. Again, r should not have to play hide and go seek with something that the builder missed because the house was not supervised adequately during the building process. If I wanted to build a home from scratch, I would have done that. This home was already built and ready to move in. This is a standard item in homes built with an island. I directly asked [redacted] to put the outlet in (p.9) because he answers questions in a can you figure out why I'm trying to stay vague in answering your questions kind of way. He said we give the customer the option of placing it where they want it when it is not true. All other homes in this subdivision have outlets placed outside the island. [redacted] just missed it in this house. (pictures p. 14 my house-inside island and p. 15 picture of house next door- outside island) I can get other neighbors to verify that they had the outlets placed on the outside before purchasing their home. I have already asked them and can get a written statement by them because I told them I was writing the Revdex.com on [redacted] regarding this issue. Pages 10-13 show emails between myself, my agent, [redacted] and [redacted] regarding an outlet that was supposed to be placed in the garage prior to us moving in. He never did it. This was before we found out the appraisal came in below the sale price. Page 13 email shows [redacted] saying he would put the island outlet in at no charge if we use his person to put it in the garage. [redacted] is overpriced and I was not going to use him because I felt like they were stealing our money through a contract that should not be valid. I told my agent I didn't care to do business with the [redacted] again and since he didn't put the outlet in the garage as he told us he would, don't worry about it [redacted] was making his profit off the garage outlet which was large enough to include the profit from the kitchen island outlet too. This is why he said he would put it in at no charge. $250 for the one garage outlet is enough for 5 outlets. He wasn't giving us anything at no charge, he was just overcharging us for one outletItem 3. The contract signed by the buyer is not contingent on an appraisal. I have attached [redacted] contract to show how it is misleading to a buyer. (p.16-17) I am also attaching an email from me to my agent stating that [redacted] did not forward a copy of the sales contract to me like she said she would. (p.l8) When I got the contract I noticed a page missing. (p.19) [redacted] contract states (p.16) that the contract is contingent upon Purchaser securing a loan commitment from a local designated Lending Institution with VA, FHA, Conventional and USDA listed. What this means to me is that if the bank does not loan me the money to buy the home, then I can get out of the contract. This is not what it means to the [redacted]. Then, 6 pages later in their contract they have these amendments listed for VA and FHA loans only about the appraised value having to come in at the sales price.(p. 17) This is misleading because as buyers, we are thinking from the first statement that we can get out of the contract if it does not come in at the appraised value because the bank won't loan money to the Purchaser if the appraised value does not come in at the sales price. Page 20 shows [redacted] reviewing the appraisal and agreeing with the appraiser. I specifically asked [redacted] who is no longer employed by [redacted] if the homes in this neighborhood appraised value came in at their asking price. She said "'yes" and yours will too. She also said l'm going to be your neighbor next year. I asked why she had to wait so long and she said she had to be on the job for two year and she has only worked for the Grants for a year. This was witnessed by my agent, [redacted] and my husband, [redacted] asked to use a [redacted] contract but [redacted] said [redacted] only uses their own contracts. The fact that [redacted] makes you use their closing attorney, their contracts, their preferred banks, their contractors, etc. allows them to take advantage of people that are acting in good faith that [redacted] will do what is right. Had I used the bank that [redacted] suggested or had gotten an FHA loan (for people with bad credit), l would have spent more than the $5,950 that was taken from me. This way of doing business is wrong and I have chosen to write the Revdex.com to prevent this from happening to others.Final Business Response Item #1It is our policy that customers receive the warranty booklet when they sign their contract. Since we can not verify that the customer did receive the warranty booklet at that time, we will reimburse the customer the $110.Item #2Although the receptacle in the island does meet code requirements, we are willing to have the receptacle moved to the outside of the island at no charge to the homeowner, per the homeowners request. Item #3 The contract signed by the buyer is not contingent on an appraisal. The buyer was aware of the price of the home, agreed to it, and signed a contract stating they would pay that price. In order a for a contract to be "contingent upon appraisal" it must be stated in the contract, it cannot be assumed.

This house was advertised to have an attic. Builder had attic access in ceiling sealed and told me it could not be removed. When we (agent & I) did walk through with[redacted] there was what looked like an attic access to me that was damaged. [redacted] said this was not an attic and the access in the ceiling was not removable. The home was advertised as having an attic. There is a 4th bedroom that is unfinished that[redacted] showed us and he showed us where there was a door cut out if we decided to finish the bedroom. I shared with[redacted] that I mentioned to my agent why there was an attic access that had no purpose. Why didn't they just have all ceiling up there? When I had shutters put in my home the shutter company was wanting to measure a window that I did not know how to get to. The only way to get there was to have the sealed attic door to be removed from the ceiling.I also had a concern that over the years this window would have no way to be cleaned and spider webs and dust would build up and look bad from the street.[redacted] told me this space was crawl space and he would reimburse me for the blind that was not installed in the home because he understands that it could be misleading.He sent me a check for $43.70 with no receipt.He claims this is what his blind company quoted him.When I was able to look at what[redacted] said was crawl space that he said was 3-4' high I discovered this must be the attic that was advertised with the home.It is not crawl space and when you get up there you can stand straight up. It is an attic. I told[redacted] I would like to apply the cost of my blind to my shutter.My shutter company measured the window and I showed her the check that[redacted] sent.She removed the blinds that[redacted] had prior to installing the shutters and said there is no way his blind company sold him that blind for $43.70. I asked[redacted] to give me a receipt and gave him the opportunity to give me what I would have paid him for the blind had it been installed in my home like it was supposed to before I moved in.I did not notice the blind missing until my shutter company asked to measure the window.He also did not have a blind in the bathroom window when I moved in. It is frosted but you can see through it.He needs to reimburse me for that also. I asked[redacted] to install a ladder to get in this attic because I felt like I had been misled.He said there was no attic in the ceiling and the opening that was in the ceiling was not removable. When I told him about my concern of not being able to clean it he decided it could be removed but told me it was crawl space when it is an attic. [redacted] would not answer my email and I asked him if he was going to respond and his response was these are not warranty issues and they have already been addressed. He is right. This is not a warranty issue but it is an advertising issue and it does need to be addressed. He misled me into believing this was not an attic and it is. It is not safe to put a ladder underneath the ceiling and jump up to get in the attic. It should have stairs to get up there. Desired SettlementI would like Kim Grant Homes to reimburse me for the [redacted] that was not installed in the attic for the correct amount with a receipt from his [redacted] company. Although I felt the [redacted]s installed were low quality they were a brand name [redacted]). The $43.70 check that he sent me would verify that this is a low quality [redacted]. That is a walmart or home depot ready made [redacted] price. I would also like to be reimbursed with a receipt for the [redacted] that was not placed in the bathroom window.Finally, I would like a ladder installed to get in the attic that was advertised with the home. [redacted] lied and said the covering in the ceiling was sealed and could not be removed yet he removed it. Business Response Kim Grant [redacted]s LLC built the home according to plans and specs that does not include a pull down stair, which was agreed upon in the contract dated May 6th, 2013. Per code, this area is not meant to be attic space. The blind package installed in the home did not include covering windows with obscure glass since you cannot see thru them. This is true in all of our neighborhoods. Regarding the blind situation, we gave Mrs.[redacted] the option for us to install the blind in the dormir or we would give Mrs.[redacted] the money that we would have paid to install it. In an email to Kim Grant [redacted]s, Mrs.[redacted] chose the money, so we sent her a check for $43.70 dated 4/3/14.Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I am attaching pics of my floor plan, given to me by Kim Grant [redacted]s to show you how I have been misled.I am enclosing pics of my attic that I was told in emails wasn't an attic.Finally, I am also sending you a pic of the same home in this subdivision that was recently sold with pulldown attic stairs and this space is an attic.My home was advertised to have an attic.I am attaching the email that I sent my real estate agent dated 5-8-13. stating that[redacted] said there was no purpose for the attic access door in the ceiling & it isn't removable.Since the 4th bdrm isn't finished the builder can easily mislead the buyer by saying the attic space is the 4th bdrm space.This attic space on the floor plan is where the heater is located.(This is not an attic).You can see the unfinished bdrm window next to the water heater.If I finish this bdrm, there would be no storage space which means there is no attic.The other space near the bdrm is the water heater which is not labeled as an attic on the floorplan as the heater space was.I am attaching a pic of the space in the 4th bdrm where[redacted] told me to climb to get in the attic space to get to the window when the attic space was sealed shut with nails.There is no way I could get up there with a ladder this way.It is ductwork.If the 4th bdrm is finished, this access through the 4th bdrm (ductwork) which[redacted] calls attic access would be nonexistent.The only way to this window is the attic in the ceiling.This isn't a crawl space that is 3-4' tall as[redacted] stated in his email to me.It is an attic that measures 9' tall.As mentioned earlier I gave[redacted] the opportunity to reimburse me the correct amount for my blind but he refused to.I have attached the price sheet given to me by my shutter company that removed the Norman blinds from my home.She said I am to be reimbursed for a 20"x36" window.She said there is no way Grant [redacted]s could have paid $43.70 for this blind.I asked[redacted] for a receipt & he refused to give me one.I would like a receipt from him.He has to get a receipt from his vendors.I'm sure he doesn't just take their word & pay them like he expects me to do.Once I get the receipt I will give my receipt to my shutter co. so she can share this with her supplier.My neighbors said they didn't pay anything extra for a blind being placed over the see through frosted window or the front door.I did not get reimbursed for my front door either.I would like to be reimbursed for that.A blind wasn't placed on my front door window.I have this verified by text message but will be happy to get this in writing by my neighbors.I was also told that this home was built by[redacted], not by Kim Grant as the contract states.I have asked my neighbors who their home was built by & whom they dealt with when problems would arise.If it was a Kim Grant [redacted] they dealt with[redacted].If it was[redacted] & [redacted] they dealt with them and now I hear the cousins are involved.I shared my experience with some people who were looking for a home in the [redacted] area.They chose a [redacted] after I shared my experience with them.I have never met nor talked to Kim Grant and from my understanding this is a Kim Grant [redacted]; at least this is what my contract states.I was told that this was[redacted]'s first Grant [redacted] that he built which may explain all the problems that have occurred that may be due to the job site not being correctly supervised.He just missed things & should make them right.As I mentioned to my real estate agent, "why would a builder put a hole in the ceiling that had no purpose?"This hole is an attic access.What I was told & what is actually here are two different things.Once I saw the space I realized that I was being deceived the entire time.Had my shutter lady not brought the missing bind to my attention in the attic I would have never realized I had been misled the entire time.I wanted to see the space during the walk through but[redacted] told me it wasn't at attic.If I had seen this space during the walk through I would have immediately noticed the missing attic stairs and would have let[redacted] know that he needed to put the pull down stairs up for this attic. I was unable to submit my file on your response website.I will send this file separately.Final Business Response Kim Grant [redacted]s LLC stands by its original statement sent in to the Revdex.com on 5/20/2014.