Magruder Homes Reviews (%countItem)
Magruder Homes Rating
Address: PO Box 10572, College Station, Texas, United States, 77842-0572
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Purchased new construction home 2 months ago. Strong odor in front bedroom causing my son’s asthma to trigger attacks requiring medication, and he has not been able to sleep in that room for weeks. Builder has been dragging his feet to find a solution and take action. Finally cut a hole in the sheet rock myself and the wood inside the wall is coated in some kind of termite chemical. The same odor in the room is the same odor in the wall which is a toxic pesticide. Even had the gas company come out and their tech, without my prompting, said the room smells like pesticide. 2 months and all the builder has done is to remove the base boards and spray some foam to try and stop the odor. All of the burden of proof and coming up with a solution has been on is as the home owners, and on my son who has had to deal with shortness of breath, headaches, nausea, diarrhea and fatigue, all signs of exposure to termite pesticides. I need help getting this builder to fully solve this problem, or give me back my down payment and earnest money and he can re sell the house to someone else. Thank you for your help.
Thank you for taking my call today. I have attached our response. Please let me know that you received and if there is anything else I can do to help.
To whom it may concern,There have been conflicting subjective, personal claims on the presence of an unspecified smell. Magruder Homes has paid for (at no cost to the owners) two separate inspections to investigate the claimed smell. The first inspection tested for any potential gas leaks and / or gas build up, and a moisture meter was also used during the inspection. Results for each test came back negative. The customer then engaged on their own a mold inspector, and coordinated an inspection. Samples were collected in the bedroom, hallway, and living room, and each sample collected and lab analyzed returned results indicating normal levels of each category. Between inspections, and at the customer’s suggestion, Magruder Homes removed base boards and applied caulk at the base plate. Again, this was at no cost to the homeowner.Regarding the specific allegations of a common-industry pesticide, it is industry practice to apply borate to the studs in residential new construction, and is often required by applicable code. I was scheduled to meet at the home on March 24 to check to see if the smell was present, and to discuss next steps. That day, the customer cancelled the meeting due to concerns over COVID-19. Magruder Homes remains ready, willing and able to address any warrantable item and review any substantiated evidence or materials provided by the owners or third-parties.
Regards,***Magruder homes, LP Member
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Magruder Homes, at every step of this process, has placed full responsibility for finding a source of the odor that triggers my son’s asthma, and suggesting a solution on me as the home owner. *** built the home and sold the home with a 1 year warranty. After 2 months of his two warranty people denying there was a problem, he has since employed an attorney from Ft. Worth to send an email stating that Magruder Homes is “closing the file” on this issue in violation of the warranty and *** personal guarantee to stand behind his work. His attorney has demanded that I submit in writing to him what I believe the cause of the odor is, and what I want done vs. Magruder Homes as the builder with construction knowledge diligently pursuing remediation and repair until no health threat exists. I have had ServPro out and two techs confirmed the odor, paid out of pocket for *** who sent two specialist who both smell the problem, one of whom has asthma and also began to have issues breathing within minutes of being in my son’s room. *** found a hole in one of the exterior walls of the bedroom large enough to allow mice in, and found droppings under the carpet in the bedroom closet. Is this hole part of the problem? Clearly if mice can get in, so can air and whatever comes with it. Additionally, my pest control tech, an Atmos gas tech, and a licensed general contractor from *** also have examined the room and can smell the odor. Magruder’s own inspector that he hired on his second and voluntary follow up visit could also smell that there is a problem. We have been forced at great personal expense to get our own attorney who has now forced Magruder Homes back to the table to stand behind their home. This is not a random homeowner complaint, but a documented 3 month process whereby Magruder Homes has failed to find the source of the problem and fix it, preferring instead to hide behind two tests and throw their hands up saying there is no problem when we have independent experts in the field stating that their clearly is, then using their deep pockets to hire an attorney and intimidate us into going away. In the mean time, none of the other remaining punch list items have been completed w I’m sorry that I ever purchased this home, and for trusting *** that he would stand behind his work, or in this case, take 15 minutes of his day anytime in the last 3 months to stand in the room he built.
Regards
In short, notwithstanding the inspection of the residence by multiple independent third party experts on behalf of both parties, inconsistencies and conflicting stories about the origin and presence of a smell/odor remain. Two Magruder Homes’ (“Magruder”) warranty representatives, along with two independent third party inspectors could not detect the smell. Further, an inspection for gases and moisture came back negative for elevated moisture levels, and all mold tests performed at the property have resulted in negative findings of mold spores within the residence.
In an attempt to further inspect the issue, the homeowner also hired a third party contractor/inspector to tear out the wall and insulation in the room producing the alleged odor – still, no evidence of construction defects were discovered. In addition, Magruder hired a third (3rd) independent, third party inspector, and inconclusive results were again derived. However, based on the findings from this inspection, the third party inspector is of the opinion that chemicals associated with pest control treatments, sealant, etc. could have potentially gotten into the carpet, or carpet pad – thereby potentially resulting in a chemical like odor, if any, remaining in the area that may have been exposed to chemical(s). As it stands, the origin or cause of the odor remains undetermined. However, Magruder has been working with homeowner making good faith attempts to remedy this situation for the homeowner. For example, Magruder has made an offer to pay to seal the concrete, replace the pad, and reinstall the carpet. Further, Magruder Homes has made an offer to pay to reinstall insulation, drywall, base board, and paint the damages caused by the client's contractors. Essentially, Magruder has offered to strip the area of the residence allegedly causing the odor and replace the material with new materials, at absolutely no cost to the homeowner.
Regarding unrelated punch list / warranty requests, Magruder stands ready, willing and able to complete any and all valid warranty requests. Yet, the issues associated with Covid-19 required Magruder to suspend all non-emergency warranty items. Recently, Magruder has resumed scheduling warrantable repairs, and homeowner’s warranty requests will be addressed as soon as possible.
In summary, multiple people on Magruder Homes’ staff and multiple experts could not smell an odor during their time at the property, and the origin of the alleged odor is still unknown. Nonetheless, Magruder Homes has paid for multiple experts to examine the home, and is offering to pay for repairs to the home that has not been proven to have been caused by Magruder.