Meritage Homes Corporation

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I do not accept the response provided because as first time home owners, they knew we could easily be taken advantage of. We were told from the very beginning (email documentation) that we were approved for the amount of the loan for the home we had our eye on. The only stipulation was that we had to sell our second vehicle. Which we did. Once that was completed, then we were told that we had to pay off a credit card, about three weeks before the close of escrow. Wow, we were not prepared for that. We thought every thing was in the go once we sold our car! We tried asking for help from friends and family members. We were not able to get the amount needed to pay off the credit card they wanted us to. So then Meritage suggested that we extend escrow. We thought that would be a good idea to try and come up with the money. We came across a family friend who said he would be able to help, but at the last minute said some things had come up and we were still not able to get the money needed. So in the eyes of Meritage, we were in breach of contract because they were able to add changes to the contract (pay off credit card) that we did not know about. In our eyes however, they knew from the very beginning that we did not qualify for the home and we wish they had been honest with us instead if giving us the run around.They put us through this entire process, had us get rid of our second vehicle, and now we are out $2,000. So yes, technically they say we are in breach of contract because we did sign. Morally, however, they knew we never qualified in the first place and still had us jump through these hoops. They knew they could take advantage of the eager first time home buyers who didn't know much about the process. And they told us they pride themselves on helping military members and their families get into homes. It's sad that they treat someone who has served their country like this. I fully regret not doing more research or having an attorney look this contract over. But we will chalk it up as a lesson learned and we definitely know better next time. So do we accept the response, no, because we do not think it is fair. But we do wish to retract our request for refund of the deposit. We do not wish to put ourselves through this anymore. Thank you.

Regards,[redacted]

I reject Meritage' response because it is obvious that the damage was not caused by the weather conditions or chemicals. Any reasonable person can see that. The poor workmanship is the root cause and the conditions accelerated the detoriation. None of my neighbors have damage to the same extent as mine yet their concrete is exposed to the same conditions. Several contractors have analyzed the pictures and stated to me the detoriation was caused by poorly mixed concrete. 
Moreover, Dan D[redacted] did not initially inspect the damage but lied and said he did. After pressing him for details he conceded he did not and then proceeded to my house and conducted a cursory and pefunctory inspection with no meaningful analysis. Essentially their mind was made up and their decision was predetermined. 
in fact,  Dan D[redacted] offered me a small sum of $1800 for repairs. I declined the offer because it is not sufficient to cover the repair costs and the offer was patronizing. I don't want money, I want the damage repaired and Meritage to have some accountability! 
Meritage DOES not stand by their work! They readily took my money after performing shoddy work and their warranty is crafted in such a way that the homeowner has little or no recourse. 
What else can I do?

Revdex.com,
 
We can certainly understand the complainants frustration, the need to have and make time for warranty repairs are never a convenient matter. Unfortunately the "missed" appointments he referenced in his complaint were actually cancelled appointments due to a blizzard that...

hit the area just a few days before. The entire city was subject to various delays due to the weather. We do apologize but we could not control the circumstances. Our trade partners are contracted to provide service Monday through Friday only and the warranties are for a limited but fair amount of time. We allow homeowners to submit request for service when it is convenient for them within these guidelines. The complainant can have a representative present during repairs if they are unable to be home due to their work schedule. We have offered to work with our trades and schedule repairs to the best of our ability to meet the complainants needs, however we cannot guarantee after hours, weekends or extension of warranty periods. The year end warranty repairs are mostly a courtesy, we are willing to work with him, however he must meet us half way.
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes Corporation

Meritage has reached a mutual agreement with our homeowner and we do consider this matter resolved.
 
 
Meritage Homes Corporation

Buyer beware of Meritage Homes in the Raleigh, NC area. They are not equipped to keep up with the demand, and it is manifesting itself in delays, poor quality, poor communication, poor customer service, and unhappy customers.

We had a contract to build a home with Meritage in Durham, NC. Delays, mistakes, poor quality, communication problems, and lack of experienced construction management started from the very beginning. After we signed our contract, it took three months for Meritage to break ground on our lot. During this time, we received no updates and had to persistently inquire to get any information. At first Meritage avoided our inquiries and we couldn't get any information about reasons for the delay, and then the reasons for the delay kept changing, and some of the reasons given were lies.

When Meritage did finally start we had all kinds of problems: concrete slab problems, framing problems, electrical outlets in wrong location, HVAC vents in wrong location, brick columns on front porch not straight, walls not straight, trim not straight, bad fireplace stone installation, mistake pouring concrete driveway - the list goes on and on. We requested meetings with Meritage about problems several times, and none of our requests were granted or even acknowledged. We had a real estate agent representing us, and he couldn't get Meritage's attention either. He told Meritage several times that there were problems and that we were not happy, and Meritage ignored him also. Meritage's lack of interest was frustrating and baffling. Meritage's modus operandi appears to be to ignore the customer as long as it can and then if pressed either claim ignorance about the problem or say that there is no problem. There were also several times where we were told something would be done and it was not, and we were not told why. Meritage lost their credibility and broke our trust early, and it only got worse. The communication and coordination between Sales and Construction appeared non-existent. There were many, many times where we asked our Sales associate, who was supposed to be our prmary contact for questions, something about our house and he either did not respond or did not have the information we needed. It definitely seemed to us and our agent that Sales was not getting the information it needed from Construction. It was a typical example of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing.

One contributing factor to the problems we experienced was that Meritage changed our construction manager, with no transition or handoff (even though our agent suggested a meeting), at a critical time in the process. Things went downhill after that. Several things which were discussed with the previous construction manager were missed or done incorrectly. Our new construction manager was inexperienced, appeared overwhelmed and not knowledgeable about our house, and was not present much at our job site. We and our agent felt that our construction manager was not giving our house enough attention and was not walking it like he should.

The problems piled up to the point where we decided we could not close because Meritage was not fixing anything and we did not have confidence in the quality of the home. If there were that many problems we knew about, how many problems were there that we didn't know about? The final product was as flawed as their processes and communication. We informed Meritage that we would not be closing, and only THEN they decided they wanted to meet with us. We met with management (Director of Sales and Director of Construction). They claimed they had not heard about any of the problems. They admitted they had problems with their internal processes and with their staffing and with our construction manager being inexperienced, overloaded, and insufficiently trained. They admitted they were having trouble keeping up with demand. They agreed that our concerns were valid and reasonable. They offered to "look into" the problems but could not commit to fixing them. We politely asked for a refund of our $11,000+ deposit, and they refused.

We also had issues getting a closing date from Meritage and Meritage's in-house mortgage company, MTH. When we got to the point where we should have received a closing date, we did not have a closing date. We went several weeks past the point where the builder should have provided a closing date - the mortgage company even told us that it was strange that we did not have a closing date by that point. When we asked our Sales associate about a closing date, he told us he had nothing to do with the closing date and passed us off on the mortgage company. The mortgage company passed us off on Meritage. Not getting a closing date for so long and so late in the process made it difficult for us to lock a mortgage rate and resulted in us getting a higher rate than we should have.

We know Meritage can easily sell the house for at least $10,000 more than our contract price. They raised the base price on our model $9,000 shortly after we signed our contract. Meritage should not be able to keep the profits from selling our home AND keep our deposit. Falling back on what the contract says about the deposit is not reasonable, fair, or acceptable given a) Meritage did not fulfill the terms and conditions of the contract b) all of the attempts that we made to get Meritage's attention about problems fell on deaf ears and c) everything that Meritage put us through.

We forwarded our request to the Division President in Raleigh but have not heard back.

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

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 1[redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
We have met with our fifth or sixth Home Warranty Manager for Meritage last week. Some progress is being done but, we have a long way to go. We are hoping we can have all of our issues resolved soon. If we have any other issues we will submit a new complaint. 

Regards,

Tell us why here...Meritage Homes has agreed to reimburse the customer and wish them the very best as they search for a new home. Best regards, Meritage Homes Corporation

Tell us why here...Revdex.com, Meritage Homes had the opportunity to discuss this matter directly with our customer. We have agreed to refund the deposit and wish them the best of luck in their pursuit of a new home. Best regards, Meritage Homes Corporation

I did not say they were section 8 apartments, I said they were low income apartments. Those who prefer cheap apartments are low income families who avail of government subsidy for their rent. The section 8 program funded by the US department of housing and urban development (HUD) provides housing to extremely low income individual,. Families, senior citizens and persons with disabilities. I know once again they are not section 8. Douglas county records shows LOW INCOME APRTMENTS GOING IN NOT SECTION 8. The right thing for this BIG CORPORATION Meritage HOMES to do is to refund our earnest money, for not disclosing this information of LOW INCOME APARTMENTS.
Thank You for your help Revdex.com in this matter,

If there is price error  and contract was never executed or accepted, why the Meritage ran the credit inquiry and brought down my credit score? Without accepting, can Meritage run the credit inquiry?
I agree there might be technical error but how come sales agent called us multiple times and confirmed.. When sales agent called on 06/24/16 @ 1:30 pm ,she told manager is not ready to decrease further more as she checked with him,if you  want the home for the listed price i.e $295,003 we need to execute the contract on the same day. She checked with manager also on the price. if there is price error, how come manager also agreed for the price, ?
And now through Revdex.com Meritage is telling there is technical error,but that was never informed to us and I haven't received the earnest money?
 
Desired Solution:
I am looking forward to move on the contract, if it is not accepted, I need compensation for  my credit report inquiry and bring back my credit score, as it is very much needed for home shopping.

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

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Revdex.com,
 

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Meritage Homes stands behind our homes and will take care of all warrantable items. We have met with our homeowner and determined the majority of the items they noted within their complaint are not covered by their homes warranty however we are doing what we can to assist.
 
Here is an update on a few items we have agreed to address as a courtesy.
Cracked light under the hood:  We do not have any records to my understanding that the light lens was damaged prior to move in, but as a courtesy have agreed to research and replace this part.
 
During our onsite meeting with both the homeowner and a representative from our low voltage trade partner we were unable to locate any issues with the low voltage system.  Mr. [redacted] agreed to order a new router and test.  He will notify us if there are any others issues after the new router is in place.
 
Landscape rocks:  Mr. [redacted] purchased a rear yard landscape package and a pool from Meritage.  There has been minor settling in the utility trench to the pool.  As a courtesy, we agreed to re-compact the trench areas and provide additional rock.
 
We will complete the items above as quickly as possible.
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes Corporation

[redacted]...

[redacted]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Revdex.com,
 
Meritage has attempted several times to complete the warrantable items requiring attention in the complainants home. Unfortunately,  the complainant has rescheduled our appointment set for tomorrow as well as others in the past; therefore we are...

unable to complete the repairs. Our warranty guidelines require a full day of access; however we have accommodated her request for a smaller time frame. Our team will attempt once more to schedule the repairs. It is our goal to complete the repairs within  5 business days. We welcome the Revdex.com's assistance to resolve this.
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes Corporation

Revdex.com,
 
Our team has met with the complainant on many occasions and most recently on January 22, 2016  to review their concerns.
It rained just 7 days...

prior to our visit. There was no standing water or any indication of a drainage problem.  We offered to send a camera down the existing drain line already installed to verify there is no break or blockage in the lines.  There was no evidence of this.  The backyard was a little soft, but nothing out of the ordinary.  The backyards in Apopka are installed with Bahai grass per the City requirements. 
We did observe during our inspection that the Coleman's have installed gutters on their house.  In the backyard they have 2 downspouts on the rear lanai.  The downspouts collect water from the lanai roof and the main house roof.  The downspouts are not tied into drains and simply discharge the water into the evident horseshoe swale.  It is our professional opinion that the extra water run off from the gutters may be contributing the issues they complain of.
 
We advised them to tie the spouts to a drain that ensure the rain water is guided away from the yard. At this time their are no warrantable events that require Meritage to make any alterations. Drainage and grading after close of escrow are the responsibility of the homeowner to maintain.
 
Meritage does consider this matter resolved.
 
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes Corporation

Meritage Homes claims that the reason for the leak was plugged up weep holes.  Even if the weep holes were the problem, the reason the weep holes were plugged was due to construction debris that was left there by Meritage after the completion of the house.  Since then the weep holes are properly cleaned and we continue to get moister inside the house.

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], even though I never got the rejection notice, Atleast I now know it was declined and inform other people about whats going to happen.

Regards,

Tell us why here...Revdex.com, Meritage records indicte all repairs have been completed. Best regards, ?

Revdex.com,
Meritage has reviewed the customers concerns. An upgraded hood vent was offered and recommended at the design center. We do understand and will work to address this matter with the customer directly.
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes Corporation...

Their mortgage company qualified us for $550k, based on my husband's prior income which almost doubled after he started his new job. We were out of state buyers, so we checked that we would be able to price options for our home through their advertised virtual design center VEO. In addition, we were told we would receive a book for our homes available options including different level pricing. We NEVER had access to their VEO online center, NOR did we receive our browse book until AFTER our 1st design appt, because of that our 1st appt was a complete waste! We now have 2 other M being built much closer to us & they're $100k-$200k cheaper than where we purchased.
M stated they let us change options to get down to our lowered loan amount, lie-I have attached e-mails to show that. They told us we could make deletions no changes. M has dragged out THEIR process & we have to pay for it. We trusted their employees were telling us the truth about being able to receive our full deposit (all the way up to the day of closing) if we were not able to secure the financing amount necessary. We couldn't simply take out $50k-$60k loan on top of our pending home loan, because that also disqualified us because our debt to income ratio. 
We were mislead w/ included base level of our home. We've brochures from our salesman that have Monterey Homes labeling & our salesman told us that M owned them & that it's the same product. They're the luxury brand of homes & are at least 4 if not 6 levels higher.
M never even pulled a permit much less anything else & they're trying to claim they are entitled to our earnest money when their mortgage company did not give us the appropriate approval amount & essentially started our entire process over again & they're somehow trying to claim we're responsible for this? We've a substantial amount of e-mails, phone calls & much more to back up our entire experience thus far.