Meritage Homes Corporation

Better Business...

Bureau:

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,

[redacted] UPDATED RESPONSE:On 4 June 2015 a Customer Care Associate (CCA) from Meritage Homes arrived at my home to talk withme. I was informed that they (meritage Homes) would be sending some “roofers” (repair personnel) to my home to actually inspect the roof and I would hear back once the inspection was completed. On 5 June 2015 the CCA informed me that the roofers were set up for Tuesday 9 June. On 10 June 2015 the CCA informed me that the roofers had completed the inspection and in the CCA words “Theyhave scheduled to come back out to the home tomorrow to make the repairs and this should take care of the issue”. On 11 June the roofers informed me of a scheduling problem and that they would arrive on the 12th of June.  On 12 June at approximately 0955hrs the roofers arrived and made repairs on my roof.  In summary: Meritage Homes did send a representative to my home and they (Meritage Homes) agreed to send out someone to inspect the roof and after the inspection they made repairs to the home (roof). My concern is their definition of “warrantable”, thecurrent damage falls outside the one year warranty but the home has leaked each year since its purchase.  I will reserve my final comments until Meritage Homes has provided me feedback and determined the exact damage, cause, and liability for this dispute.  I am summiting this response today because of the 7 day requirement to respondback to the Revdex.com.  I hope this is no longer an issue for either of us.

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.

Their response states they met with the homeowner (me). This is false. As of right now (Thursday night, 04-23-15) I have not met with anyone from Meritage in several weeks. No one has come to our house and met with us in person to discuss any of these issues.  To state that they met with us is simply not true.  I received phone calls from their warranty manager and a warranty representative during the week and they pledged to take care of the issues, just as previous Meritage representatives have done in the past but have failed to resolve the issues. And as with previous appointments, a Meritage vendor/representative failed to show up for a scheduled appointment today (4-23-15). A morning appointment (8am-12pm) was scheduled with one of their vendors and they failed to show up during the 4 hour window.  This is now the 4th straight appointment for which they have failed to show up. My wife waited all morning for them and we were once again stood up. My wife works and has many other things to do and has wasted countless hours waiting for Meritage to no avail. Only after I told the meritage representative that they failed to show up did the vendor even come, but by this time my wife had left the house to do other things.  When I spoke to the vendor on the phone and told him she was not going to be home until later in the afternoon and questioned why they were not able to come on time, he got agitated and said they would have to reschedule and abruptly hung up the phone on me.Other vendors are scheduled for tomorrow morning (04-24-15).  I asked the Meritage representative if she would also be coming so I can discuss the issues with her in person and she said she probably would not get to our house until late morning.  I am disappointed to hear that she will most likely not be here when the vendors show up. It would seem prudent for the meritage representative to be here when the vendors first arrive to discuss with the homeowner the issues and properly direct the vendors.

Regards,

Meritage has agreed as a courtesy to address the doors only, all other matters are no longer warranted and will not be addressed. Best regards, Camille N[redacted]

Revdex.com,
 
Meritage has reviewed not only the complaint but the home lot file thoroughly. First, our new home warranty does not guarantee paint. Paint will fade overtime and subject to its exposure to the elements including rain, humidity, snow and even the rays of the...

sun; the degree that it will fade varies by region and even the color itself. Our robust warranty provides that we will touch up paint one time within the first year.  As noted within the complaint, Meritage did perform this service.
We even as a courtesy painted a second time within the first two years after the complainant closed on his home. We did inspect the paint to provide assurance to the complainant that his homes paint is not defective, but rather performing as paint does. At no time did our team agree to perform any additional repairs related to his paint outside of his warranty. During the testing process we did cut out a portion of the homes stucco. We completely take responsibility to make that repair and of course, touch up the paint in that area only. 
We understand the complainant is selling his home and would like to avoid out of pocket expense, however paint is a homeowner maintenance responsibility as clearly outlined in our new home manual that includes the warranty. This manual is provided to every Meritage homeowner at the time they purchase a home with us. A digital copy of the manual has been sent to the complainant in the event he has misplaced it or would like to provide to his realtor or the family that purchases his home. Our warranty is transferrable and therefore the manual would be useful to future homeowners.  
 
No further action, with the exception of the pending stucco repair will be taken in this matter by Meritage Homes.
 
Best regards,
 
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.

We are still awaiting final repairs from our complaint.  The company considered the matter resolved however, we were told that the seals/repairs would be tested both inside the home and out.  The tests have not occurred.  We were also told that the painting on the outside where the repairs were made would be done and it has not.  Part of the repair that was made on the inside of the home (upstairs interior wall by the faulty window seal) is still soft which tells me the repairs were not made up to par and that the water damage that was caused should have been reason enough to COMPLETELY repair sheetrock/drywall.  We do not consider this matter resolved until the repairs that were promised are completed in their entirety.

Regards,

Revdex.com,
 
Meritage has inspected the complainants concerns. Concrete color will vary from one pour to another as well as based on external factors including weather. The home in question is located in Colorado where snow and salt accumulation  can and will have an affect on...

concrete as well as its surface. The "spalling" of the complainants concrete is the result of weather such as snow and freeze thaw cycles as well as the magnesium chloride (salts) either applied directly to his driveway or from his vehicles tires. These are all factors outside of the control of Meritgae Homes and not covered under our robust new home warranty; thereby the complainants request that Meritage replace has been denied.  Meritage has discussed this with both the husband and wife as well as sent them a latter via certified mail to ensure we properly communicated with them. The complainants shared they recently damaged their cabinets and had a few other concerns (dead trees, etc.) that are homeowner maintenance items. They shared with our team they are preparing the home in an effort to sell. while we are not opposed to assisting, the complainants declined any assistance outside of replacement of their driveway.
 
We do hereby consider this matter resolved.
 
Best regards,
Meritage Homes Corporation

When we started with Meritage Homes, we were sold quality and a friendly build process... What we received was the following:

Poor craftsmanship, questionable materials, poor communication, and a 4-month late closing and we're still waiting for our open-items letter to be complete that is now several weeks overdue.

Meritage treated us with such disrespect during our build process by frequently promising updates that were infrequent at best, promising close dates that they didn't hit (we literally had 5 closing dates given to us), and having incompetent and lazy subcontractors coming on-site to do work.

At the beginning (and I believe the FTC should be notified of a public company providing false advertising) they send you through a model home... which after you buy you find out the options they show you aren't actually available and you have a list of unaffordable options at their design center to get the home even remotely close to what you were promised. Huge lie #1. Don't buy it.

Then as you're looking over the contract they say they have 2 years to build your home... 2 years. Ridiculous! But of course you're given every reassurance that they always complete on time, maybe a month over but that case is "rare". Let me tell you now that these scammers trap you in that line of reasoning and they have no issue lying to get you to sign that contract.

They treat you like they have every right to lie to you about dates and work completed and then have the cajones to turn around and blame their crappy tradesmen that they claim they "can't get rid of" due to some bureaucratic process. They act as if they have no control over hiring the cheapest possible labor and then act even more surprised when they get what they paid for. It's a complete sham to scrape pennies and hope you, the homeowner, doesn't notice.

Finally... on closing we were given an "open items letter" with a 2-3 week completion date. We're now at about week 6 and this is not done. Irony here is... you talk about a lawyer and they can delay your process indefinitely! What a crock of bull.

Meritage Homes: I hope you feel great about bending your customers over and just giving it to them hard in the rear end... Because this is the experience we had and this is how I'm certain you treat all of your customers because hey... "What can we do about it"... Right? Shame on you and your shady practices and dishonest way you do business.

[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, Meritage has reached out to our homeowner and am working with them to schedule a meeting to discuss their concerns. We hope to have an appointment soon. Best regards, Meritage Homes Corporation

Revdex.com, Meritage Homes warranty team met with our homeowner shortly before this complaint was filed. We agreed to test the floor for moisture readings as well as conduct inspections by the flooring company  engineer. While we can visually confirm a few wood planks may require replacement,...

complete tear out of the entire floor is not necessary or warrantable. Pending the availability of all parties involved, we will conduct the necessary inspections. The customers concerns regarding the yard had been delayed to due inclement weather; this was explained to our customer. Temporary placement of jute and rye seed was completed as a stabilizer. It is our intent to conduct sod repair once the weather improves. Regarding the deed, this is a document that the title company would have initiated at the time the homeowner closed escrow. The builder does not handle this, however, as a courtesy; our team will request a duplicate deed on their behalf. We will update the Revdex.com as soon as we have more information regarding the inspections. Best regards, 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.

Regards,

Lisa Reisdorph

Revdex.com,
 
Our team is reviewing the circumstances regarding this matter; we will require more time to respond to this complaint.
 
Meritage Homes

Revdex.com, Meritage did not refuse to inspect the homeowners concerns. We had a 3rd party inspect and somehow the homeowner had the impression nothing would be done when in fact we are waiting for the engineer report to make sure we properly address any warrantable items. When we contacted the...

homeowner after this complaint was filed, she informed us she was aware that we will address her concerns and that she sent an email to the Revdex.com requesting this complaint be removed. While we are uncertain where the break in communication occurred, we have every intent to perform per the context of our warranty. Best, Meritage Homes Corporation

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID...

10542161, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me, assuming that Meritage will be refunding the full amount of $5,000.  I'm not sure I understand the "Tell us why here" opening to the letter, but that is a mute point.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Revdex.com, On April 21, 2014 the complainant entered into a purchase agreement with Meritage Homes and indicated she would secure financing with an outside lender not affiliated with Meritage Homes.  The prequalification loan approval provided to us had conditions regarding debts...

that the complainant had to pay off prior to obtaining full loan approval. Meritage complied with our legal obligation to build the home in accordance with the complainants’ personal specifications and décor as established during the purchase and design center appointments. The home was fully constructed and a final occupancy permit was applied for, thereby making the home ready to occupy and transfer ownership to the complainant by the end of August. Meritage was notified by the complainants outside lender on August 6, 2014 that she had not yet fully complied with the terms of her loan and requested an extension to allow her time to pay off debts. Although Meritage was under no obligation to do so, we did without penalty extend the closing date to September 29, 2014. In fact, Meritage waited until October in hopes that the complainant would meet her lenders financial obligations and close on the home. In November, the complainant informed Meritage of her intent not to close on the home and requested a refund of earnest monies. As explained above, the complaintant is in breach of contract and Meritage fully performed pursuant to the contract therefore her request for refund of the deposit has been denied. We certainly wish the complainant the best and regret that we were unable to provide her keys to the home she personalized.  Best regards, Meritage Homes Corporation

Revdex.com,
 
The customer will need to consult with the mortgage company. Meritage Homes is a builder, we cannot assist with this matter.
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes

Please think twice before you decide to buy a Meritage home especially in the Creekside at Austin waters in the colony tx.

You will be so surprised on how less Meritage cares about you once you sign the contract. Customer service is the last thing for them. You will find they have cut corners in everything. Basic things like shower rods, under stairs closet light, fence gate etc are either missing or an upgrade option. They will really make you pay for upgrades at the design center, as the base price includes very few upgrades. We had to double the amount we had calculated for upgrades.

In a span of 6 months I had 3 construction managers and none of them had a clue what was going on in my house. All the 3 guys either left and changed to a different community. I was surprised each of them had 15-20 houses to manage. The previous guys did not even hand over the things before leaving. I was rushed in every meeting.

The quality and finish is very very poor. During the final walk I noticed so many issues in the house, I was shocked they did not check such basic things before the walk. Paint drips on all doors, texture issues on every wall, grout missing in so many places, cracked bath tub, water drips...and then I was told you only have 2 hours for this walk.

On the day before closing when we were checking all the items they were fixed, I was told I only have 30 minutes. It was like we just want you to close, don't ask any questions.

And then came the closing date. I got a email only 10 days before asking to close the house. They had moved the date back because they wanted to close the same month. When I went to check the house there was no fence, no sod, and had so many things missing. I was so surprised they would even consider closing. When I asked if the date can be moved, I was told that is not an option, exactly in these words. Later after multiple conversations, I realized they were not ready either. You can imagine the quality of work when someone is pushed to finish something in such a short time.

On the contract the HOA fee was clearly stated. To my surprise they increased that by $200 without any information. I only found out a couple of days before closing while reviewing the HUD. When I went back and asked, they said that's how it works. They can increase it anytime.

I would suggest you look at other builders if you are looking for a better overall experience.

Currently in the process of building a new home with this builder. This is my sixth home to build. And I will have to say this is the worst experience ever. If I could back out and get all my money returned to me I would certainly do it even though I am currently living in an apartment. This builder is basically a cookie-cutter builder. They don't appear upfront with any information for example when I first signed the contract on the home I assume there would be mailboxes for each individual home. As was was displayed by the model home. Come to find out that they knew all along it would be a community mailbox. That is just one example of hidden information.

Now this is serious stuff: BAD Builder, Meritage Homes - Stay away, they invest in toxic property and do not tell the potential buyers of the health risks. Buy a Meritage home and risk the life of you, your family and your pets. When you risk your life making the largest investment of your life / something is not right... STAY FAR AWAY - just read all the other bad reviews. YELP, Revdex.com, if your convinced buying a home from Meritage is safe, your wrong - do your research !

Filed and pending in Court now !

STATE OF FLORIDA

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

JOHN G[redacted],

Plaintiff OGC CASE NO. [redacted]

FDEP Tracking ID No. [redacted]

Revdex.com,
 
Meritage Homes met with our homeowner and all issues have been resolved and acknowledged by our homeowner in late April 2016. We do appreciate the opportunity to respond to this complaint.
 
Best regards,
 
Meritage Homes Corporation...