Maronda Homes Inc

Dear Mrs. [redacted]   I have been able to review some of the customers complaints. The ones I cannot answer, I will have our service manager reach out to the homeowner and review them with her.  I will try to answer her complaints in order.  The stoop has been replaced, and the...

railing has been re installed. From my understanding with supervisor, the new concrete slab did not match the customer steps. I will have our production manager stop to install a longer grab rail to eliminate the gap seen.  The grout that was used in the bathroom was cracking. We have had a design change and do not install the grout where it meets the pan. I will confirm that the right product was installed and have our service manager contact the customer.  The next three items have been addressed. It is possible to see condensation on the windows during extreme cold days, or where the humidity in the home exceeds outside. This has been relayed to customer on earlier emails. The carpet has been addressed by Maornda and our Flooring company. The carpet was selected prior to the home by the homeowner. The carpet does carry the manufacture warranty as well. I believe there was a claim submitted to the manufacture but was denied. Sliding door lock has been replaced on two occasions. We assume the door is being opened while locked thus causing the issues. No further replacements will be done under the warranty. Maronda Homes uses a center return air system HVAC system. it is not calculated on the standards the homeowner sent in to us, nor is based on square footage alone. I will confirm that correct unit per our HVAC designer  is installed and notify the homeowner. While I do understand the homeowner feels that these items are not satisfactory, they are build using certified products and installation methods.    Thank you,  Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes

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.
 
Once again I do not view this as the matter is in process, taken care, of or even addressed. We have emails from August 2013 where the builder was notified  at that time the carpet was buckling( which was within our one year warranty and deffinitely within our 5 year carpet warranty). We are now over a year past thatthe originial notification  and we are no further than we were the day we notified them. We have not been notified a claim has been filed nor have we been contacted that someone was coming to look at it.  Seriously this should have been resolved by now.  I have small children and elderly parents and this is a SAFETY fall hazard!
As far as the furnace door- I don't care if they are cosmetic.  It was written on our closing document that we were going to be provided a door and I expect that we should be provided one. If it is only cosmetic why were we promised one, then one was supposedly ordered and delivered to our house but we never recieved?  I noticed on the builder requisition that they had a different housing plan written on it for the place for delivery. Could it be the builder made a mistake and put the wrong olan on the paperwork thus not getting the delivery to the correct address?  Either way I don't wan the other one removed I want the one we are owed ---provided. 
Again if the builder was so concerned about resolving this matter why has it not been taken care of to  date?
Regards,
[redacted]

We purchased our Maronda home in July 2011, we are only the second owners. I have emailed the company twice regarding our windows, front door, back door and electricity. Almost all of my 20 windows are broken, all you have to do is slide the window up and the springs pop and the metal things on the side go up and you can't get them back down. Plus the latches that you push to open and clean also popped out in some so my windows have to be propped up and taped because I don't want the windows falling out on my children. Yes, I said taped with duct tape in a $280,000 house. My front door frame is rotting out and could probably just be kicked right in and the frame on my patio doors are also rotted out. I get mold/mildew stains on my basement walls that I bleach regularly and my basement smells musty. It's a finished basement with indoor/outdoor carpet. I think the heating/AC unit is too small for a home of roughly 4400SQ. Rooms upstairs are hot in summer and freezing cold in winter. I've already replaced the hot water tank, the walls are crooked and the electricity sucks. My outside plugs with any type of moisture shut off so they are not properly insulated. The way the house is wired is crazy. When the front porch plug goes out, so does my master bathroom Outlets. The GFI outlets are nowhere near the sinks where they should be. For the house only being 8 years old, these things should NOT be happening. And also, the leveling of the yard, my side back yard collects tons of water when it rains, like a swamp and I know it's leaking into my basement. We plan on selling this house in 5-7 years and these things will need fixed before that. We don't have the extra tens of thousands of dollars for these repairs when we paid top dollar for it to begin with. Maronda Sucks!

Review: I have had many issues with Maronda since our house was built. Their materials and labor are of low quality. They do things the cheapest and fastest way possible. I have issues that still need resolved and it has been over 10 months and many emails later. I first emailed Maronda on 10/11/2015 to get my railing fixed that they improperly installed after replacing my front cement stoop. ( which was originally not properly poured) They said they would send it to the proper department manager to get fixed. I then emailed them on 10/23/2015 to get the grout in my master shower fixed. The grout was falling out and was replaced previously. They replaced the grout in the bottom of the shower with a different color. They need to take out the grout and replace it with the correct color and seal it in place. I again emailed them on 12/12/2015, 1/10/2016, 2/16/2016, 6/16/2016, and 7/27/2016 because neither of these issues had been fixed yet. I have also had issues with my windows, sliding door, and carpet that were addressed, but not resolved to my satisfaction. On 7/27/2016 I emailed them to address concerns over the size of my air conditioner. Many houses in our neighborhood have had issues with their air conditioners not working because they put a smaller unit in then the house needs. My house currently has a 2.5 ton air conditioner. That is way to small for the size of my house and for the climate zone I live in. It should be a 4 ton unit. My neighbors has a 3 ton and her house is the same square footage as mine. Another neighbor has a 2.5 ton unit and her house is 500 sq ft smaller than mine. My air conditioner runs a lot and is very loud. I am also very disappointed in the quality of my carpet. I upgraded my carpet for what I thought was a better quality and its not. This issue was brought their attention on 10/29/2015. I would not have upgraded had I known what the carpet was like. Another issue I discussed was my windows. I emailed them on 12/27/2015 because my windows were getting condensation on the inside. The humidity in my house was under 40% so there is no reason for that to happen. They put in cheap windows. I also had an issue with my sliding glass door not locking. They came out 2 times to replace the lock. The door is cheap and the is why it doesn't stay locked. The whole door needs replaced. I paid a lot of money for my house and expect things to last longer than 2 years.Desired Settlement: I would like repairs fixed and with quality workmanship and materials. I want a new air conditioner unit that is the correct size for my house. I would also like a refund for the carpet upgrade I paid for and a replacement of my windows with higher quality windows and a new higher quality sliding door.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted] I have been able to review some of the customers complaints. The ones I cannot answer, I will have our service manager reach out to the homeowner and review them with her. I will try to answer her complaints in order. The stoop has been replaced, and the railing has been re installed. From my understanding with supervisor, the new concrete slab did not match the customer steps. I will have our production manager stop to install a longer grab rail to eliminate the gap seen. The grout that was used in the bathroom was cracking. We have had a design change and do not install the grout where it meets the pan. I will confirm that the right product was installed and have our service manager contact the customer. The next three items have been addressed. It is possible to see condensation on the windows during extreme cold days, or where the humidity in the home exceeds outside. This has been relayed to customer on earlier emails. The carpet has been addressed by Maornda and our Flooring company. The carpet was selected prior to the home by the homeowner. The carpet does carry the manufacture warranty as well. I believe there was a claim submitted to the manufacture but was denied. Sliding door lock has been replaced on two occasions. We assume the door is being opened while locked thus causing the issues. No further replacements will be done under the warranty. Maronda Homes uses a center return air system HVAC system. it is not calculated on the standards the homeowner sent in to us, nor is based on square footage alone. I will confirm that correct unit per our HVAC designer is installed and notify the homeowner. While I do understand the homeowner feels that these items are not satisfactory, they are build using certified products and installation methods. Thank you, Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes

Consumer

Response:

Review: I have some recurring issues at my new Maronda home that Maronda is both refusing to take responsibility for and action to correct. During my 1-yr service warranty, I had Maronda's serviceman come to my house to correct floor squeaks and a drip above my front door. In regards to the floor squeaks, there were three problem locations. The first was in the middle bedroom, the second was by the front door, and third was in the kitchen by the basement steps. The serviceman repaired the squeak in the bedroom and attempted to repair the squeaks by the front door and in the kitchen. He cut through the ceiling in the basement and reinforced a few joints in an effort to fix the squeak in the floor by the front door. He also made slits with a utility knife in the linoleum floor by the front door. He placed a shim under the door frame of the basement door in the kitchen in effort to curb the floor squeaks. Both were only temporary fixes as both floors continue to squeak. The floor squeak in the kitchen is especially pronounced. It feels as if the floor needs some reinforcement from underneath. The floor squeak travels throughout many parts in the kitchen. It is very noticeable and annoying. Though I've made several attempts to get Maronda to come to my house to assess the floor squeaks, they refuse to do so, placing the responsibility of fixing them on me. Since they won't come to my house to assess the squeaks, they really don't know how bad they actually are and if there is a structural problem. The floor squeaks are bad. There is definitely something wrong. In regards to the drip above my front door, Maronda attempted to fix the drip by caulking above the door and around the window above the door, but the drip is still there. Water is passing through somewhere. I could have water damage to the wood above my front door for all I know. This could cause mold and other problems. I think Maronda should figure out where the leak is coming from. A final issue that Maronda refuses to correct is my garage door. There is a half-inch gap between the weather stripping and the garage door. This allows cold air to pass through in the winter months, making the room above the garage very cold. I assessed this on my own, and it appears that the reason for the gap is not due to the weather stripping but instead due to the wood frame that the garage door is attached to. Maronda did not properly install the wood frame, so it has pulled away some from the block. This is causing the gap that I spoke of. As a Maronda homeowner, I expect Maronda to assess these problems in person and make the necessary corrections. I cannot express my frustrations and dissatisfaction enough. These problems, especially the floor squeaks, have caused me to regret my decision to build a Maronda home and to consider moving. I'm reminded of the floor squeaks in particular every day because I hear them every time I walk across my floor.Desired Settlement: I feel that Maronda should assess these problems in person and make the necessary corrections. I expect a resolution. I expect to be a satisfied customer. I've invested a lot of time and money into my house, and I shouldn't have to suffer for Maronda's mistakes.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted], Maronda Homes has reviewed the complaint, and has been to the home with the homeowner on different occasions. Maronda Homes does not warrant floor squeaks in the home, and is stated in our warranty manual. A copy of the page is attached, under the flooring section. We did however return to the home and attempt to correct these issue for the homeowner as a courtesy, and in most cases have settled the sound. As the wood materials in the home shrink and dry out it is possible to find spots where wood will squeak where attached. This is something we cannot control completely. Maronda Homes has returned to the home to review the drip at the front door. To the best of my knowledge there has not been any water infiltration to the home, and olnly drips at the door header. The homeowner does have a screen door installed, and Maronda Homes, after review of the issues, felt the drip was runoff at the top of the screen door. Maronda Homes did return to the home to check the stone front, door, and window above the door and found to issues. We did apply a waterproof silicon to aid in anything we could not see. Maronda Homes is willing to return on another occasion to review the door issue and confirm there is not water getting in to home itself. As for the garage door issue, we will verify that the opening is of the correct dimensions and operation of the door. Thank You, Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes

Consumer

Response:

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.

First, the floor squeaks have not settled. There are still significant squeaks in the kitchen by the basement steps and near the front door by the 2nd floor steps. The squeak in the kitchen is most noticeable. I request that Maronda seek out the cause of the problem and fix it.

Review: A large 6' X 2' X 4' foot pothole has developed in our driveway about 2 feet from my foundation. It has grown significantly on a daily basis.Desired Settlement: We require this pothole to be filled and fixed by the contractor that paved our home's driveway. We are concerned it will cause our foundation to crack or sink.

Our house is under 2 years old and should not have this damage occur.

Thank you for the assistance.

Consumer

Response:

Maronda Homes subcontracted the paving company for our driveway when our house was built.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted], Maronda Homes has had our service personal to the home last Wednesday. We will have our production supervisor contact the homeowner within 48hr with an update for repair. Thank You, Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes.

Review: We moved into our new home in [redacted] Estates in mid-June 2015. The first night we were there, the AC unit froze over and we had to secure it. Maronda promptly sent their primary third party HVAC vendor to investigate. The third party was able to adjust the unit so that it would work, but stated that there was improper sizing of the unit (the blower part of the unit did not match the coil part causing very low performance) and that it needed to be fixed.

We got a call from Maronda in the Fall of 2015 saying that they were making the custom transition piece that was needed for our HVAC unit, but it would take a little while. Since that time my wife and I have called Maronda numerous times and have exchanged over 12 emails. It has now been over a year and our 2nd summer in the house is almost over with a deficient AC unit. Each email is responded to with a curt "I have given this issue to the service director to address, he will contact you..." but we never hear anything. This item is just one of several issues that were brought up during our 6 month home inspection (electric issues, plumbing issues, drywall issues, cabinet issues...) that have been open for over 8 months.

Based on the fact that:

a. Three technicians provided by Maronda have independently diagnosed the HVAC issue.

b. Maronda has contacted us saying that they are working on the problem.

c. This issue should take less than a week to resolve and it's now been greater than a year.

d. HVAC contractors are regularly at homes near ours setting up units for customers who have not paid yet.

Maronda has not operated in good faith to provide Warranty Service per our purchase agreement and has prioritized future profit over current outstanding obligations to a paying customer.Desired Settlement: Have a licensed HVAC technician update our HVAC unit so that proper mating between blower housing and N coil inlet plenum and resulting unit efficiency is achieved. Also, close out the items identified in our 6 month inspection.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com, Maronda Homes has reached out tot he homeowner and explained that we are willing to have our HVAC company return to the home and attempt to make a plenum adapter / or adjust the unit to one side. Being that the unit is operating and working, our HVAC party will schedule this for September. I have also been in email conversation with the homeowner as well. Thank You, Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes

Review: My wife and I bought a Maronda house in October in [redacted] on [redacted]. In April, a construction company [redacted]) attempted to install our lawn. I say attempted because 4 months later only 1 of the 7 yards on the street have been mowed and that was because the homeowners decided to redo their lawn on their own. The day our lawn was attempted we had a contractor finishing our basement who was watching what was happening outside. The construction company used the rockhound on our yard, leveled, seeded, and put straw down in half of a day and then moved onto another lot for the reminder of the day. Our contractor immediately pointed out to me that they appeared to not know what they were doing as our yard was not leveled correctly and many of the rocks they raked up remained next to the driveway. One of the workers informed me that night that they ran out of straw and would come back the next day to finish.

Two days later I emailed Maronda service with my concerns- that there was not sufficient straw on the yard, that [redacted] did not level it properly, that rocks and debris remained along the driveway, and that there were still bobcat tire treads all over the yard. For two weeks we heard no response. Eventually, on a Friday afternoon, we saw the production supervisor at the property next door. We went out to talk to him to ask if he had received our concerns about the yard.

1- Sufficient straw on the yard. We mentioned the back corner of our house that did not have straw on it because the construction company had run out. His response- “What can happen with straw is that it blows away if not watered sufficiently to keep it down.” We explained, again, that there was no straw there to begin with, yet he continued to tell us that it blew away. How can something that was never there blow away?

2- The yard was not leveled properly- We had issues in our backyard leading into our neighbors yard where there is about a foot drop off because the two yards aren’t graded together properly. We also had very unsmooth grading on both sides of our front yard. His response- “We have the big drop off on the side of the house in case you want to have a picnic on the side of your house.” A picnic on the side of our house…

3- Rocks and debris along the sidewalk and driveway- We took pictures the day the yard was attempted of all of the rocks that had been raked to the edge of the driveway and not picked up by [redacted]. His response- “Sometimes the rain can dig up rocks and we can’t pick all them up.” We again explained that these pictures were taken the day the yard was attempted, but he again maintained they were there because of the rain.

4- Tire treads- He had no excuse/lie for this

A week later, the production supervisor walked the yard with the construction company and came to talk to me. He again tried to explain how the shortage of straw occurred- still saying it was the wind, but was in the complete wrong part of the lawn when explaining this. He had similar excuses to try to explain the job had done on the rest of the yard, and even at one point said, “We have made some changes to how they are doing things now.” I just assumed he was trying to deflect all blame and would actually see the yard for what it was and have it fixed- I even said multiple times, “I don’t care why it is the way it is, just please fix it.” He also told me that he did not prefer hydroseed on a yard, which is probably the most absurd lie he told us throughout all of this. Not a single person I have spoken to about a yard would not use hydroseed if it was available. He had the construction company pick up the rocks along the sidewalk and re-rake and seed one of the tire tread marks in the back yard. Also, they attempted to re-level and reseed a small section in the front but nothing has come from it and we have filled in what they didn’t in that spot on our own.

Had this been the quality of work we saw at our closing, we would have never have signed the papers until the lawn was completed correctly. It is insulting to my wife and I to have been tricked into thinking this was such a small matter. By no means is this a small matter considering Maronda already had our money in escrow for a job that wasn’t completed.

What is most frustrating is that a construction company was hired in the first place, not a landscaping company. The company used does not even have a landscaping division according to their Facebook page, Angie’s List (which lists they specialize in roofing, garage builders, home builders, drain pipe, excavators, and gutter repair), Thumbtack (which lists they specialize in roofs, hardwood and laminate flooring, framing, bathroom, kitchen and basement remodels, additions, and new homes) and all of their advertising.

Our biggest concern is that the poor grade of the yard, with hills and slopes, cannot be fixed by bringing in topsoil- excavating equipment is required to fix it. We have had 3 landscaping companies come look at our yard to give us a quote on what needed to be done to fix it. All three have said that it needs to be releveled completely, re-rockhounded, and re-seeded. We have already paid for the yard to be excavated once and should not have to pay again due to the poor quality of work that was done the first time. We voiced our concerns immediately and just because Maronda ignored them does not mean they are not valid.

What is most insulting is that Maronda is now using an actual landscaping company to complete the remainder of the lots on [redacted] Not only are they spending sufficient time to complete the yards thoroughly, they are now using hydroseed on the lawns. This is an absolutely slap in our faces since we have been voicing our concerns about our yard since April 17, 2016.

We are requesting that our lawn be graded, leveled, and reseeded properly by an ACTUAL landscaping company.Desired Settlement: We are requesting that our lawn be graded, leveled, and reseeded properly by an ACTUAL landscaping company.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted] I have been able to review the complaint made by the homeowner and offer the following solutions. Each yard is installed to certain guidelines regardless of the contractor used. Maronda Homes uses many general contractors for its work. As per our warranty manual, Maronda Homes installs a starter lawn that consists of seeding and topical mulching. It will not germinate into a starter lawn without daily watering, overseeding, and fertilizer & weed control. The top soil used is the original soil taken from the plan and may contain roots, rocks and other organic debris which may allow the growth of weeds within the starter lawn. I have attached pictures of the customers lawn, and most of the grass did take. While I do understand that the yard has weeds, and as mentioned above about control, the yard does not appear to be a botched install. I will offer as a courtesy, a one time patch for the bare spots of the original grade. This will consist of raking the areas that are bare, seeding, and straw. It will then be up to the homeowner to water and fertilize and maintain the spots and yard. This will not include the area behind the home that was filled in by the homeowner. The swail in the yard to move water from the property was filled in by the homeowner and is not recommended by Marodna Homes and thus, will not be seeded as it is not the original grading of the property. Thank You, Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes

Review: I purchased a new home from Maronda in april 2016 and part of the sale agreement was builder will provide a starter lawn after the closing. Unfortunately Maronda homes got tied up with a very bad landscaping company as a sub contractor, who performed a horrible job. Luckily I was there when the guys came one morning and to my surprise they just got very few loads on soil rather rocks, spread some seeds , covered with hay and disappeared in no time. In no way it can be defined as a starter loan, as all I have is bare rocky land even after 5 months of extensive watering, spending money in all sort of landscaping products and seeds. Now we are at point that we spent so much money and time to re do a job done wrong in the first place.

I sent my issue details with pictures to maronda service team and my sales person on 09/16/2016 and 09/22/2016. Since builder got their money at the closing and sale person got his commission , no one is showing basic courtesy to reply to my mails and resolve the issue.

Maronda homes also realized that they have a bad subcontractor, so they hired a new company to do the landscaping for homes built after mine right across my house. Surprisingly in the same type of weather and soil my new neighbors grass came awesome in less than 30 days

Will be happy to send in pictures of job done at my house and at the new neighborsDesired Settlement: I understand that Builder got burnt up because of the bad sub contractor they hired or they improvised their starter lawn practices because of so many complaints last few months , but in either case customer should not get heating of that. We paid good money to get a good product, Just because closing is done now builder's staff should not ignore the issue. Please send your new landscaping contractor to re do the lawn and follwo what was promised is the agreement

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted] I have been able to review the yard in question. The yard has taken to grass in most of the yard. There are some weeds in the yard as well that will need weed & feed to help control. While I understand that there may be some bare spots in the yard , Maronda Homes does state that overseeding and weed & feed are needed to bring a new starter lawn in to full effect. Unfortunately I do not know how the lawn is watered or maintained after the closing of the home. I am willing to offer a touch up of the yard. this would include a rough up of the bare soil areas, seed, and straw. It would be up to the homeowner to water, fertilize, and maintain from that point on. I have included a copy of the warranty book on lawns as well for their reference. Thank You, Bob G[redacted]Maronda Homes

Consumer

Response:

Review: We have had many issues with our new home. We have had a flooring issue for 7 months and can not get anyone to even return a call I have received many emails saying someone will contact me and they never do. We also have an issue with our air conditioner and furnace. Air conditioner broke the first day we moved in and furnace keeps freezing. It is now broken again. The house is only 8 months old. They workmanship in the home is subpar and they do not correct the problems in a timely manner. Customer service is rude and they do not stand behind their work. We also have a sidewalk that hasn't been completed. We have been calling with complaints since the day we moved in up until the present time.Desired Settlement: Fix the issues in my home.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted] I have confirmed with our flooring department that the flooring service is completed. We do have a work ticket for our HVAC company, but have not been able to confirm they where out to date. This is the first complaint we have on this issue, but I was able to talk with the homeowner and the unit has been working. The sidewalk has been taken care of as well. Thank You Bob G[redacted] Maronda Homes

Review: After closing on our home that Maronda built, we were promised in writing that several items needed to be corrected within a few months in order to make the contracted work complete. After eight months of emails and phone calls, the work promised is still not complete. The grading in the back of our home was not done correctly so water settles in large puddles near our house, grass won't grow, and the water slopes toward the house.At our six month inspection (which was 2 months late) the contractor promised to have topsoil delivered the next day and the grading fixed. This is in writing on our inspection. We stressed that in order to fix the poor seeding of the 3/4 acre yard, we were paying to have a landscaper aerate and reseed the lawn with new topsoil on September 17, 2014 and that the soil the promised to us and the grading would have to be done by then.As of today, September 16th, we received another email stating the didn't know it still needed done so they would not be able to do the work.Documented emails requesting the work be done and replies by Maronda: 5/8/14, 6/30/14, 7/1/14, 7/15/14, 8/29/14, 9/15/14Desired Settlement: We will have to pay the landscaper out of pocket to correct the grading before he can reseed in this growing season. Therefore, we are requesting that we submit a separate bill from the landscaper to Maronda to reimburse us for the work they were to do. In their final email, they said we could do that but they couldn't promise they would pay it.

Business

Response:

[redacted]

I have reviewed the pictures, as well as the complaint. I have pulled the files we have here in our office, and contracts, and see no where was the grading to be redone. I have attached copy's of the six month inspection, as well as the pre settlement inspection for your reference. We do owe the homeowner a service load of topsoil which we are still willing to provide. The homeowner has had work done in the yard already, as they did hire a Maronda sub contracted landscaper to to work for them. I do not know the extent of this work that has been done. In our documents that are attached showing that top soil was on the pre-settlemtn form, but was x"d or completed and signed on by the homeowner. Our Service manager just completed the six month inspection on 9-10-14, and does show that he had added the top soil issue to the weather permitting section. Should the homeowner want the service load of soil, or if the work has begun, we will reimburse the homeowner 100$ for the soil/delivery we would pay. Should they have other email they can forward them to me for review at [redacted]

Thank You,

Consumer

Response:

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 have been promised resolutions to so many problems that Maronda was to fix but never responds to. We've owned the house for eight months and since our 6 month inspection none of the work to be done has yet to even be scheduled, so understand that we are not accepting that yet another phone call to Maronda can fix this as we've been calling and emailing for months with no resolution.

Review: My complaint with Maronda Homes covers a wide array of issues. Not only am I upset with the product (my flooring) I am upset with the service I have received, and the lack of anyone willing to stand up for the shoddy installation that has resulted in bubbling carpet and laminate, fraying of carpeting and visible seams in every room. When I reached out to Maronda for help/repairs since my home is less than 2 years old, Maronda dismissed my claims and passed me off on the company the materials were purchased from,[redacted] (whom an additional claim is being filed against them as well). Maronda refuses to help because my 1 year warranty has lapsed. [redacted] refuses to help because they say they didn't install the carpet or laminate so it is a builder issue so here I am, less than two years into a new home and my carpeting is loose, bubbling, fraying, and pulling up from the floor. My laminate is also bubbling in my kitchen and loosening from the floor. All issues that Maronda had to correct during our first year in home. Here WI am complaining of the same issues and NO ONE will stand behind their product or service. They choose to hide behind a 1 year warranty. Why? Because they know that after 1 year their product and service will fail. It is wrong and someone needs to stand up to these companies who lie a fail to help the homeowners who trusted they were building a quality home with quality products being installed by qualified individuals.Desired Settlement: There are a variety of outcomes that I feel could rectify this problem. 1. Refund my husband and I the cost of materials and labor to seek out another company to replace our carpeting and laminate. If that's not an option, 2. Maronda replaces the carpeting and laminate themselves with qualified individuals to insure this does not happen again. At this point our carpeting looks so poor, I would not be satisfied with a repair job to horrible looking carpet.

Business

Response:

After meeting at the home with the homeowner and reviewing with our flooring contractor, we do feel these issues can be repaired. At the time of the meeting, we have found there to be a few separate issues. One issue being the loose/bubbling carpet found in 4 of the rooms, and in most cases by the entry way or doorways. These types of bubbles can be stretched and repaired. The one boys room, has a bubble approx. 6' in the room near a corner of a wall. This bubble may be contributed to the large furniture in that room as well. And in the event of a re-stretch, the homeowners will be liable for the removal of this furniture from the room prior to re-stretching of the carpet. The furniture is very nice marble topped pieces, that include 3 large units in close proximity to the bubble. The second issue found was the fraying of the carpet in the living room. This will be looked at and most likely a stretching issue as well. There are visible fiber strands at the transition going into the kitchen from the living room. If the carpet warrants a re-stretch, we will be able to facilitate that the same day. The third issue is the vinyl flooring I was showed 3 spots in the kitchen area, but was able to only find one spot near the sliding door that appeared to be lifted. This appeared to be a spot where the glue may not have taken. In these situations, we would to a repair on the vinyl be pulling it back and regluing the area affected. Maronda Homes would have our flooring contractor come back to the home and review each of the areas in question as well as preform the repairs on the home. The carpet did seem like it was holding up other than the bubbling and does not warrant a complete replacement. Pictures of the affected areas are attached. The repairs will be done by qualified personal, and will be power stretched properly. In order to do this service, the furniture in proximity to the repair will need to be removed from the room or location. We will be able to help move some of the items at the time of repair excluding the boys room with large furniture.

Consumer

Response:

Hi [redacted] my name [redacted] husband. My current position is Superintendent for a Large construction corportation over seeing a 2 million dollar project at this time. I understand how building's and houses are built and the installation of products themselves. During the selection process for flooring at [redacted] we looked at carpet samples and I know how much carpet cost to replace. We had a budget to stick with and I thought at the time we should pay for the carpet upgrade because we were told it would payoff in the long run. Within a couple of months the carpet looked 3 years old instead of 3 months. I could lift all the carpet in middle of the room 4-6 inches. It matted down the same day we vacuumed. It was fraying all over the place. We could feal the tack strips on the steps if we walked to close to the back of the step. All the seems were extremely visible. We were told by our sales man [redacted] that once we move in there would be a 6 month and 1 year home inspection. Me and my wife were told several times to address any issues with our house at these inspection's. At our 6 month inspection the vinyl floring in the kitchen was pulled up and re glued to try and fix the bubbling and lifting of the Vinyl sheet goods as well as the 1/8 lauan plywood. They also went around the house and stretching the carpet, cutting frayed fibers, and trying to get it to hold on the walls. I asked the man why could I still lift the carpet in the middle of the rooms and he said "Carpet doesn't need to be that tight". I figured I would give it some time and if it still wasn't fixed then we would address it at our final 1 year inspection, as promised by [redacted], many, many times. A couple months went by and when I talked to some neighbors they informed me there is no 1 year final inspection. Maronda now called it a "1 year Nail Pop inspection", I had never heard of such things. Maronda verbally promised every neighbor I talked to a 1 year final inspection, not a nail pop inspection. All they do for the nail pop inspection is walk through with a hammer and hit any nail or screw the popped and then spread some drywall compound on and walk away. They don't even sand it or paint. I didn't believe it at first until I seen [redacted] on my street and I stopped him to schedule my 1 year inspection. I told him about some issues with flooring and stuff and he said all we do is a nail pop inspection. We also had Moisture coming through my bathroom windows and would get condensation on the inside of the glass. Maronda told me the windows are in good working condition and that gaskets have been broken. 20 years ago with single pain glass this was common but with double pain glass if this happens that window is falling. Cold air isn't supposed to get to the inside pane of glass and when it does you get condensation.

Review: We moved into our newly built home in May 2013 and 5 weeks later, the basement and garage flooded due to improper grading of our lawn. Our yard was re-graded but then it rained hard again and the water was diverted into our neighbors basement. They re-graded again but only on one side despite promises to do both sides. After additional complaints, they added dirt to the other side where it originally flooded. Since then, there has been a large amount of water being diverted all around our house. There is so much water being diverted before, through and after our yard that it has caused erosion in the front of our yard on both sides. Maronda claims they diverted the water away from the house. However, we have pictures of how much water comes down from the other lots during regular seasonal rains. There is no doubt that with hard rains, water will enter the house. Maronda has done nothing to help the water flow be prevented. Every lot above ours has been graded higher so the water is forced our way. Our neighbor on the left is having a similar issue and the ones on the right have a yard untouched by the water. We seem to be where the issues begin and end. Maronda has been notified many times about these issues and has recently responded to us saying that they were resolved. They have not been resolved and we continue to ask for a yard like the other, more recent houses which were graded properly, We have straw, mud and a little grass.Other unresolved issues include our sidewalk being lifted during the freeze/thaw period due to the amount of water being diverted to the front of the house. I warned them this would happen in October and nothing was done. The lifting occurred in December. Water continues to pool in our yard with every rain causing a moat around our house. Water also continues to seep through our garage walls. We are also still waiting for our driveway to be re-paved due to being ripped up by the machinery last June. I have also requested our sidewalk be fixed where it is crumbling.Desired Settlement: 1. Proper grading and seeding of our yard both in the front, sides and back. (Meaning water will not be diverted into our yard from other yards, pooling will not continue on the side or middle of the yard, water flow will not cause erosion and that a preventative measure will be put into place such as drains or diversion of the water in yards above us)2. Fix the sidewalk where it has lifted.3. Fix the sidewalk where it has begun to crumble.4. Re-pave the driveway.

Business

Response:

Maronda has reviewed the issues at the residence and the response is as follows.

1. - Yard, The yard has one issue where it meets the neighbors on the property line. This area will be filled, and graded, and reseeded. Marondas policy is that no standing water for more than a 24hour period. This spot will be done by Maronda. This will need to be watered and regarded if necessary due to inclimate weather. This is described in photo 1b. This is the property line and where the repair will take place.

2.- Driveway. - A repair has been made already. The repair is a patch as described in the homeowner policy handbook. No further evidence of settlement or issues where seen.

3.- Sidewalk. - The sidewalk was lifted approx. 3/4-1". this happened during the freeze/thaw cycle, as the homeowner said. and is not warranted. We cannot control the environment. The water may or may not have contributed to this. The water and grading as described above only had one area that was affected by settlement, and will be taken care of. The sidewalk lifting and crumbling will not be covered.

Thank You,

Consumer

Response:

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.

1-Yard-Please be more specific about what is being done as far as grading and re-seeding along the property line. This will be the 5th time our yard is “fixed.” I have less than zero confidence that it will be done correctly as per your agreement to “repair” it. I would like to know whether this encompasses the front of the house where all of this water has eroded the front lawn (photo 6), what the specific plans are for re-grading and how will that prevent water flow into the yard and along the other side of our house (pictures [redacted])? Also, what is being done to prevent water from being diverted to our yard from other yards? My neighbor who is having similar issues and I had a [redacted] Township Inspector and The [redacted] out here. Both agree that the grading in their yard and my back yard is done improperly. As far as the conservation goes, there was nothing that you were doing that was illegal, but they did give my neighbor a report even stating how the grading was wrong! It is against township regulation [redacted] that storm drainage should not be diverted to adjacent property owners in order to prevent injury to health, safety or other property. There is water diverted from above yards, water drainage is dangerous out front (and has even eroded the lawn and lifted the sidewalk which is dangerous itself), water drainage through my yard and out the other side and front of my house will eventually cause property damage because it is already seeping through my garage walls as mentioned in my complaint. The back yard and other side yard needs to be resolved as well. [redacted] had also approved the back yard and other side of our yard to be filled in and re-graded since grass is unable to grow due to the water flow (see previous pictures). He saw the many areas that needed filled in and re-seeded and was waiting to see how much more the yard settled to see if more soil is needed to ensure the grading is not flat against our house. The newer houses have very nice grading away from their houses. Why can’t ours as well? Do not go back on what was already agreed on. This all still needs to be resolved.

2-Driveway-One patch was made upon the initial complaint which is still not understandable because there was much more than one place needing patched. (Pictures 1-3). Upon speaking with [redacted], he saw the entire driveway when it was unobstructed by a car and agreed (by actually saying that I was right) that the entire driveway needed re-paved to fill in the large scratches and divots that were expanding throughout the entire drive. Upon [redacted]’s request, I called and spoke to [redacted] who noted it and repeated to her what [redacted] said which was that the entire surface will be done in the spring, not just patches. Do not go back on what you agreed to fix. This still needs to be resolved.

3-Sidewalk-You cannot control the environment but you should have controlled the water properly to begin with. You agree that it happened during the freeze/thaw cycle. You know there is a lot of excess water coming from our yard directly to that spot in our sidewalk. The sidewalk was lifted due to this excess water. See video here: [redacted] Even with the remote chance that it was not due to excess water, it still lifted during the very first freeze/thaw cycle. This is bad product. It needs to be resolved. The crumbling sidewalk is also a product of the sub-par work. Sidewalks should not crumble before their first year of use. This is bad product. It needs to be resolved. There have been guys working around here doing concrete. My neighbor who has similar chipping/crumbling issues had them look at theirs and my sidewalk and ALL agree that is not salt damage, nor is it from vehicles. They agree that it looks like the top layer is peeling off. (Pictures 4-5)

I will restate what is to be done: Proper grading and seeding of our yard both in the front, sides and back. (Meaning water will not be diverted into our yard from other yards, pooling will not continue on the sides or middle of the yard, water flow will not cause erosion and that a preventative measure will be put into place such as drains or diversion of the water in yards above us) Fix the sidewalk where it has lifted. Fix the sidewalk where it has begun to crumble. Re-pave the driveway.

Regards,

Business

Response:

This is in reference to the rejection to the Revdex.com complaint, and a rebuttal to your response.

Review: I purchased my home from Maronda Homes in January 2008. When I purchased the home, there was enough land at the back corner of the house to walk around the house with a lawn mower or a wheel barrel. Each year however, more and more land ‘disappears’. My house will soon be ‘sliding’ down the hill. I can no longer walk around this corner of my home. This is a very serious problem – this house should never have been built so close to the edge of such a steep hillside.Desired Settlement: It is the responsibility of Maronda Homes to properly correct this problem. I am asking that they construct an adequate retaining wall and fill it in with soil to prevent any further loss of stability. In 2014, I had to have my original deck torn down, and replaced with a new one. The original one had become unsafe. That is when I began to realize what was happening. I have taken pictures of this corner of my home if anyone needs to see them.

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. Cook, Maronda Homes has spoken to the homeowner multiple times prior to this compliant. The home was purchased on this lot as it sits. I did have our service manager stop at the home to review the issue, and to be sure nothing has changed. The lot is situated with the left rear corner of the home virgin ground adjoining a natural slope. The ground does not appear to be shifting or settling in an abrupt way. There is no evidence of settling along the foundation or marks on the foundation to suggest any. Pictures of the home are attached for your reference. The lot was purchased this way, and should the homeowner wish to install a wall to allow soil to be leveled out it would be a homeowners maintenance item. Thank You, Bob GoettelMaronda Homes

Consumer

Response:

Review: Our home has a brick porch with six steep steps leading up to it. Maronda put a set of wooden steps on it. They attached it to a small piece of wood that was drilled into the brick. The entire set of stairs was held up by a piece of wood that was two inches wide by eight inches long.

My babysitter walked out onto my porch and stepped onto the first (top) step. The entire set of stairs became unattached from the porch and collapsed. She fell six feet. Luckily, so far, she was just black and blue and sore.

The steps are crumbled. The railing is gone, both on the steps and on the porch. I had my insurance company come out so I could file a claim and they said that it was FAULTY AND DEFECTIVE CONSTRUCTION . The construction company should be responsible for replacement. The insurance company said it is not covered by homeowners. This is Maronda's responsibility.Desired Settlement: I need to be reimbursed for the step replacement/railing. I have gotten numerous bids and the cheapest is for 2000 dollars.

Business

Response:

Mrs. [redacted] Maronda Homes has been to the home to review the step issue. The homeowner is the second homeowner, and a warranty is not provided to second homeowners. While at the home we did not find fault on the construction of the steps. The statement of the board attached to the steps is incorrect. The 2x4 is as wide as the steps and still attached to the brick stoop. This is standard construction during the home building process in 2007. In the attached pictures, it does show the steps have fallen, and the header board is still attached to the stoop. In the second picture, it shows why the steps failed and fell. The screws have rusted and broken off, as evidence of the rusted broken section still in the header board on the brick. While this is the cause, Maronda did offer to build a new set of steps, in the same original fashion as was supplied on the house , as a courtesy to the homeowner. She had refused this in our conversation last week, as she wanted a different style of step and contractor to build or replace them. The steps the selves, as well as the header boards, and stringers are in tact, and only the rusted screws are broken off. While this is a homeowner maintenance issue, we di offer the new steps to be build with new lumber, and new railing where needed. most of the original railing is ok, with the exception of some pieces that have cracked to angle stress. Maronda offers a one year warranty to the original home owner. I did offer to talk to the insurance company if need be as well, as the steps where built in February of 2007, and the house was inspected for occupancy. Thank You,Bob G[redacted]Maronda Homes

Consumer

Response:

Review: We built a home with Maronda Homes and were told that the drainage issue in the back of our yard would be taken care of. Every time it rains there is a river the flows through our backyard. Because of this there is a large ditch in our back yard that is one foot deep. There is also debris from construction that has been left in our backyard. We were told for a year that this would all be taken care of. I was now just told that nothing would be done to fix any of these problems.Desired Settlement: I would like the debris in the back of my yard removed and our yard leveled off. All I get are e-mails from a woman named Patti who is simply a customer service representative. No one with actual authority ever calls or is available to speak with me.

Business

Response:

After receiving [redacted] concerns on both Facebook and the Revdex.com, a job site visit was made to [redacted] the afternoon of 4/30/14 to visually inspect the property and take photos of the area in question by two representatives of Maronda Homes.

Review: My Maronda home has had a roof leak, which stained an interior wall, A service rep came out, fixed the leak, and promised to return to address the wall, that has been months ago. I can't get them to fix the sidewalk that was cracked before I took possession of the house, or the cabinets that were to be replaced from my initial walk through 11 months ago. I have carpet that is needing restretched in every room, and I paid for upgraded carpets and cabinets. I can't get anyone out to perform the repairs, and keep getting told such lies as, "my cabinets are on backorder", yet they have built over 10 new homes since I moved in, and I imagine they all have cabinets in them. My basement door has gaps around every edge that allows my air conditioner to keep the basement icy cold.I was told by [redacted], the foreman, that My house was a test of a new finish carpenter's skills, and he installed kitchen cabinets with drywall screws, marred, split, or scratched every cabinet door, and totally destroyed the railing requiring a replacement. When I call, I never get an answer or a call back, my wife has spoken to every person up to the vice president, yet, I can't get any of my issues resolved. My 1 year warranty is up next month, and I feel they are just blowing me off until I am out of warranty.Desired Settlement: I want my repairs addressed. I want the split, scratched, improperly mounted cabinets replaced, I want the sidewalk repoured, I want my wall addressed, my carpet restretched, and all the various doors around my house looked at because they are mounted like a [redacted] did the carpentry.

Business

Response:

I am in agreement that it has taken much too long to address these issues. They are well documented and the fact that the one year warranty is about to expire has or will have nothing to do with Maronda addressing the issues if they they are indeed warranted. I will make this a personal priority to ensure the issues are addressed. I was made aware of this the first of July and have not followed up on the issue since then which was a mistake on my part.

Sincerely,

VP, Maronda Homes

Review: We moved into our brand new home on 6/7/14. The first night our sewer backed up and flooded the basement. Maronda sent a plumber to unclog the drains. We had to pay a clean up service to come in and a result and many of our baby's posessions were ruined. I was told that it would take w weeks, but would be reimbursed for the clean up and for our posessions that were ruined. It has been 6 weeks! I have called the services manager numerous times and left numerous voicemails to never have my calls returned. The few times I have talked to him, he says he will look into it and get back to me, but never does. We have also been waiting for someone to come out to repair a wall that had to be removed due to water damage and insulation pulled from the wall by the cleaning company. Again, I was told someone would contact me and no one has. I have also requested that a camera be run through our drains to make sure there are no other issues. They claimed that they came out and performed this service. We did not see them at our house and have asked numerous times for them to send me something in writing explaining that they have completed the camera service. They tell me they will send something and never do, which leads me to believe they have not completed the camera service. Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed in the service we are receiving from Maronda Homes. This has taken away the excitement of moving into a new home. To spend the amount of money we did on a home and to be treated this way is very frustrating.Desired Settlement: We would like Maronda Homes to pay us the $1700 that we had to pay for the restoration service as well as reimburse us for the posessions that were damaged. We also want them to come back and repair the wall and insulation in our basement, and perform the camera service, or send me something in writing stating that this service was completed. They have agreed to all of these, but have not delivered on any of them.

Business

Response:

We have reviewed the complaint and started the process of reimbursement. Our accounting department has returned it asking for more information. This was brought to my attention following this complaint. The invoice that was sent to us did show the amount and paid. But does not show information of scope of work or how it was paid. We would need copy of a cancelled check/ or copy of the credit receipt for our records so that we can be assured the company can not come back on us for payment. Thye invoice is attached, and shows very little information for it. The check is ready for process and if we can get either of those copy's we will have the check sent out. I will have our service manager contact your for the drywall repair by end of day tomorrow.

Consumer

Response:

I have attached a copy of the check that was used to pay [redacted], as well as the email exchange showing photos and details of the items affected by the sewage back-up. If needed, I can also forward these documents if an email address is provided.

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

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

Good Morning,

???

Review: On January 5, 2013 on an extremely cold winter day (26 degrees outside) our furnace stopped working in our home that wasnt even a year old. It was a Saturday morning so I called [redacted] Heating and Cooling as I was instructed to do in our owners manual. [redacted] stated Maronda wouldnt pay them to come out and fix our unit but we could pay them out of pocket. Since it was so cold and we have small children we couldnt wait until Monday. We decided to call someone else out to look at our system. The licensed technician looked and told us the error code was reading that the unit wasnt getting enough air and kept shutting off because it was running hot. This was caused because it didnt have enough air to push through the system. He determined we had a design flaw in our system and we needed more return air vents installed and this is the only way to truly fix the problem. He was able to temporarily get it up and running. After many calls back and forth to Maronda, later that week a [redacted] technician came out to look and said the exact same thing. I believe his quote was whoever designed this system is a mn. He explained to us that Maronda designs them and [redacted] just installs what they designed. He said the same thing; we need another return air installed to fix the problem. I spoke with the service manager at Maronda several times and Maronda even sent me $80 to pay for the technician that came on the weekend because there was confusion, not our fault, over when [redacted] would come to our house. The service manager agreed that since 2 licensed technicians both said the same thing the problem needed fixed and someone would be out ASAP to install the air returns. I have sent MANY emails following up on the issue and have been extremely patient. I have even offered to have it fixed and send Maronda the bill. However, heating my home just doesnt seem like a priority to the customer service representative and service department at Maronda. Its now July and Im constantly ignored when I try to remind Maronda that my issue still hasnt been addressed. It addition we submitted a complaint/service request in November 2012 about our floors. Our hardwood floors had a problem and had to be replaced after we moved in. After months of back and forth with Maronda, and being ignored over and over, they finally came to fix the floors. The crew they sent to patch the molding back together left us with pieces of quarter round missing, caulking stains on the BRAND NEW FLOOR, pieces of threshold crooked, and just took caulking and smeared it over everything instead of painting, which of course you cant dust so it just permanently looks dirty. 10 months later, and several follow up emails, and we still havent got a response Although I do want my flooring issue addressed, I understand that only has to deal with the aesthetics of my house. My heating on the other hand is critical and Im appalled no one there things that heating my home, in Pittsburgh, PA, is a necessity.Desired Settlement: I would like someone to fix the problems noted above. I would think Maronda would want to make some serious changes in their customer service/service department as well. They want to start selling houses for $430,000 but granite counter tops won't change their business model and reputation-if their staff isn't willing to change and they treat people like their business is worthless they will continue to be the same Maronda that has a poor reputation.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

In response to this issue, we will be sending an HVAC engineer out to the home to investigate the claim. If there needs to be attention or repair to this home we will follow their recommendations. [redacted] is an outside contractor that investigates our claims in matters like this. We will contact the homeowner as well to let them know of our intentions and a representative form [redacted] will contact them.

Thanks

[redacted] Maronda Homes

Consumer

Response:

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.

Nothing has been done. no one has contacted me, I am no further ahead.

Regards,

Business

Response:

I apologize for the delay in this matter. I have confirmed that this was sent from our office to our HVAC technician and 3rd party examiner, [redacted] to determine the issue at this home. I have receipt of these emails to them as well. I will contact [redacted]) today as well as the homeowner. Please feel free to forward this to the homeowner as well with my direct contact info if needed.

Thank You

Maronda Homes

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Consumer

Response:

Review: We are building a house through Maronda and during the purchasing process their saleman ensured us that the large ditch in our yard would be filled in. Now we are one week away from closing and Maronda is refusing to honor his guarantee. We have tried contacting multiple people at Maronda with no response. We would really like to resolve this issue but find that the only person we did get a hold of told us that he would get back to us sometime next week, we close in a week so we really need an answer before that.Desired Settlement: I would like to meet with the company to see if we can work something out with regards to the yard. The huge ditch is a safety issue and takes up the entire yard. We cannot purchase the house as is and would like to see if we can come to some type of resolution. Thanks

Business

Response:

Dear Mrs. [redacted], This has been corrected with the homeowner at this point.Thank You,Bob G[redacted]Maronda Homes