Miller and Smith Homes, Inc.

I am in receipt of and responding to your email, asking for our review of the situation presented to you by [redacted] settled on this home August 29, 2014 and in November of 2015, she contacted our warranty department demanding her hot water heater be replaced. The [redacted] Group, the...

original plumber, serviced her hot water heater in December of 2015 and found it to be working properly. Replacement of the hot water heater is not necessary and not covered under the limited one year warranty which expired for this home on August 29, 2015.If you have any questions, please contact me.

Review: Dear Sir/Madam,

The complaint is about the Miller & Smith's warranty department fails to deliver the on time service as they promise in the contract. It takes them FIVE visits, from April to August, yet they still haven't fixed everything in the 60-day walk thru list. Not to mention the numerous calls trying to ask them to fulfill their promise.

It has become the worst nightmare one can ever imagine as a home owner to purchase the new home from a builder. All the warranty department keep finding excuses is they are short handed. How hard can it be to fix something like a bump out in the gutter, replacing a dead shrub/tree, fixing a curved wall, etc. Well, the extremely curved wall by the powder room clearly tells me that Miller & Smith's home quality is mediocre at the best, if not terrible, because my neighbors have the same problem. And the contractor they sent to fix the gutters are either not showing up on the scheduled days, or incapable of fixing the problematic gutters, or claiming he is not responsible for the gutter. Simply a mess.

Here's the remaining items left in 60-day walk thru list that they suppose to fix in ONE visit, instead of two or three or four or five visits.

1. Site plan for my lot is missing

2. A few patches of the grass near the birch tree are dead and needs be replaced

3. A shrub is dead and needs be replaced

4. the grids under the porch are shorter

5. Porch: there is one dent on each side of two pillars

6. tilted garage gutter needs be fixed

7. a bump out area on the side of gutter facing my neighbor needs be taken care of

8. vent noise on the microwave oven is loud in windy days and Randy said a weather strip should be attached to it to reduce the noise

In good faith I purchase a new home from Miller & Smith, and they should take good care of the home owners as they promise in the contract and do the right thing.Desired Settlement: Finish the repairs, replace new grass and a new shrub, in ONE visit. The list is as of following:

1. Site plan for my lot is missing

2. A few patches of the grass near the birch tree are dead and needs be replaced

3. A shrub is dead and needs be replaced

4. the grids under the porch are shorter

5. Porch: there is one dent on each side of two pillars

6. tilted garage gutter needs be fixed

7. a bump out area on the side of gutter facing my neighbor needs be taken care of

8. vent noise on the microwave oven is loud in windy days and Randy said a weather strip should be attached to it to reduce the noise

Business

Response:

See Attachment

Review: Miller and Smith is holding a lottery to purchase homes in their new community, [redacted]. There are only 2 people in the first lottery for their Tribeca model, and 8 for their Greenwich model. There are roughly 80 homes in this neighborhood, with probably at least 60 still available. It is extremely discouraging that buyers are not able to purchase the homes for which they prequalify for, and unethical, in my opinion to have to deal with potential price hikes for each time they are not chosen. A frenzy has been created in the absence of demand. If only 1 or 2 people enter the lottery each time, it is possible that people who were entered in the beginning may wait a very long time, if chosen at all. Seems like a game, that I am not satisfied playing. I appreciate the quality of their product, but not the manner in which they are conducting business.Desired Settlement: I hope that Miller and Smith will respectfully change this process, and allow people to purchase their product in a fair manner.

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

First of all, my name is not [redacted], which is how I was addressed. Most importantly, I do not understand why you are only releasing 3 homes per month, especially with the excessive marketing that has been done. Of course there is demand, when you only release 1 of a particular model every 2-3 weeks. I especially don't believe that 2 people in the lottery for the Tribeca model is demand and warrants a lottery. A lottery for either model, I believe is unwarranted, however, one for the Tribeca is just disrespectful to those 2 potential buyers. Seems like a good way to ensure that you can charge as much as possible for each home, and I personally, feel that is unethical business practice. If you were releasing batches or sections of homes at a time, as builders typically do, everyone or close to everyone interested would have been able to purchase a home. I think you have a nice product to sell, but I must say, I have a lot of distrust for your company at this point. I realize this is a business, and one which strives for a large profit, but it's essential for a business to respect it's customers, in order to be trusted. Especially concerning to me, was when you made 2 price hikes between the last lotteries. which means that no one would have been able to purchase the home for the advertised price, and I consider this false advertising. I must also note for you, that it is fairly obvious that many of your employees don't agree with the decision to hold lotteries either.

Regards,

Review: I moved in on 11/15 and realized that I did not have a garage door key. I spoke with the sales manager on the property and he informed me that it should be attached to the garage. After I informed him that it wasn't there, he told me to call [redacted]. I called [redacted] and they told me that I would need to call Miller and Smith. I called Miller and Smith and the construction manager was sent to verify that I didn't have a garage door key. After he verified that I didn't have one, he informed me that the warranty manager would follow up with me. After 3 days and no phone call from the warranty manager. I called the warranty service department and was told that Wednesday 12/4/13 that someone would be hear to re-key my garage and correct the wiring for the surround sound.

(The surround sound wiring was supposed to be finish prior to me moving in and that still hasn't been done yet)

Today 12/4/13 @ 2:00pm- no phone call and/or anybody at my door about fixing anything. Now I lost a day of work for nothing and I still can't use my garage to it's full potential since I can't open it from the outside.Desired Settlement: Since they refuse to re-key my garage they should provide me with a gift card from [redacted] for a garage door opener. I would also like an additional gift card for a day missed of work, but I would still like them to send someone to correct my wiring for my surround sound.

Business

Response:

We have resolved this issue.

Review: 1. Nov 2011: home purchased from builder.

2. Oct-Dec 2012 (1 year warranty repairs): owner notified builder of hardwood floor squeaking throughout the main level.

3. Dec 2012-Feb 2013: builder attempted to renail/replace some boards and alleged squeaking was normal due to weather induced humidity levels. Squeaking was not solved. Owner decided to wait an see if weather changes (winter to summer) helped with squeaking.

4. May-June 2013: squeaking worsened. Owner contacted builder regarding continued issues. Builder refused to address issues. Owner informed his decision to contact Revdex.com and post builder reviews online. Builder agreed to have a third party inspection after owner informed them of his course of action.

5. Aug. 2013: two third party inspections completed. Inspection report noted: "the primary cause of the issue is the fasterner holding property of the subfloor panel" and "As the subfloor thoroughly dried over time the strands shrunk away from the fasteners loosening them".

6. Sept-Oct 2013: builder contacted owner and informed the owner the subfloor was the issue and that it would be fixed by removing floor, resecuring subfloor and reinstalling floor.

7. Nov 2013: floor was replaced as agreed.

8. Nov-Dec 2013: squeaks re-appeared. owner contacted builder.

9. Feb 2013: builder inspected floor and agreed floor continues to have squeaks in certain areas, but refuses to do any additional work.

10. Feb 2013: given refusal of builder to fix the issue, owner files Revdex.com complaint.

11. Owner can provide Revdex.com pdf versions of the reports if required.

12. Builder point of contact: [redacted], ###-###-####Desired Settlement: Fix squeaks.

Business

Response:

July 2, 2014Dear **. [redacted]:I am in receipt of and responding to your letter, asking for our review of the situation presented to you by **. [redacted]. We have replaced the hardwood flooring on the first floor of **. [redacted]'s home purchased from Miller and Smith in 10/26/11. The floors were replaced on 11/20/13.We have since carefully inspected and confirmed that the floors were correctly installed and there was not a warrantable issue that needed to be addressed. The homeowner has been advised that correct humidity levels need to be maintained in order to keep the floor in shape to perform its best. No further action wili be taken with regard to the floors at this home.If you have any questions, please contact me.Sincerely,

Review: I am a federal employee of the Navy. I am a 29 year old single female that was looking to purchase her first home. I decided to go with miller and smith in [redacted], va. I paid $25,000 dollars down on a townhome and then another $13,000 dollars on upgrades. I was trying to buy my first home and build my life in it, but circumstances changed. In March 2013 there were many talks about Reduction in Force within the federal government and I thought my position might be at risk- also the government furlough was already slated to cut my wages by 20% and I would not be unable to get the financing for my new home. The government furlough was out of my control and with the pending RIF, I thought I might be better suited in a command where RIF wasn't as much of a possibility. So, I transferred out of state and had to relinquish my rights to the townhome and COMPLETELY lose $37,000 of all my savings. There was no way for me to purchase the home without it being my primary residence and miller and smith completely took advantage of the situation. I would have to put 20% down on a secondary residence and Miller and smith already had all of my cash- everything I ever saved in life. I was supposed to take over the new home in September of 2013. Miller and Smith was able to turn around and sell my townhome in September of 2013 for MORE (based on real estate records on the address) than I was going to pay for it. I released the townhome months in advance for good measure, so while I know Miller and Smith had some risk in taking over my home-- I don't think they should be entitled to my entire life savings.Desired Settlement: I have tried to write miller and smith asking them if they could take into consideration that the government furlough pay cut was going to be absolutely too much for a single woman to take on with that type of home. I believe there are some business ethics and morality issues with this company. I am in no way asking for a complete refund of my $37,000 down payment, but I requested that Miller and smith partially refund my down payment. According to real estate records, the townhome was sold for $570,000 in September of 2013. I was to buy the home for $551,000 in September of 2013. So not only do they get to keep my life savings, they actually earned more money on the deal than if I were to actually buy the home myself. With the changes and mobility agreements that military and civilian families go through on a daily basis, I find it completely unethical that they will not at least partially refund my down payment. Please Revdex.com, I am begging for your help. Business is business, but this situation is completely unethical. Thank you.

Business

Response:

October 29, 2014Dear Revdex.com, In response to the complaint you received on October 21, 2014 from a previous purchaser the following is a summary of our position at Miller and Smith. On February 18, 2013 the complainant entered into a Real Estate New Home Purchase Contract for a home to be built in [redacted], VA [redacted] in [redacted] County VA. Miller and Smith proceeded to build the home over the course of 6 months to her exact preferences. We planned to settle her home and provided her notice of the planned settlement of her home on July 31, 2013 and the settlement date was set for August 23, 2013. The prospective purchaser did not represent that she had any issue going to settlement until just before the scheduled settlement in August. She then signed a mutual release 4 days prior to her settlement stating that she defaulted and that she acknowledged the seller was entitled to and would retain the deposit monies.In order to be very clear, ethical in all our dealings and to provide a purchaser in good faith all the information needed to make an informed decision to buy upfront, the documents in our contracts are clearly written and very obviously state what happens in the case of purchaser default. Our contract documents are drawn up to be easily understood by purchasers and specifically not for the intent of Confusing people with legal language. We value transparency in our business dealings. Upon the purchaser's decision to default by not going to settlement, the purchaser signed a Contract termination and Release agreement. That document specifically noted the deposit would be forfeited prior to her signing the release. This is truly a contractual matter. However of note, our understanding based on her comments at the time of her request for release is that the buyer elected to move to California and did have a job here yet chose to take an optional job relocation, and that her choice was of a personal - not job related - nature. When Miller and Smith resold the home, the settlement was delayed until the end of September 2013 resulting in additional costs to Miller and Smith to carry the finished home. Subsequently after the default, Miller and Smith sent her an OFFER to Re-Purchase letter dated 8/21/2013 offering her the ability to use her FULL deposit towards the purchase of any Miller and Smith home, in any of our communities for up to a year after the date she defaulted on her original contract.We believe we ethically tried to work with the purchaser to help her purchase our home under very clear conditions. It is a binding contract document that she made a decision to sign and agreed to the terms. In offering her the ability to use her deposit money in the future towards any other new home built by Miller and Smith, we feel that we made accommodations to allow her to not lose her deposit money despite her default.As a new consideration and in hopes to resolve this complaint, Miller and Smith is willing to extend her letter to re-purchase an alternate property and use her full deposit with any new contract in any of our Miller and Smith communities as long as the contract is written prior to 10/30/2015. This resolution has worked for other people in her situation – there is no stipulation on the price of the home for a repurchase agreement and we offer homes starting at $299,990 that can be purchased as an excellent rental/investment property as a possible alternative.Sincerely,Catherine BVice President of Sales

Review: Hardwood flooring (investment $11,810) found to be defective 11/2013- 9 total appointments, 4 involving Miller and Smith's craftsman, flooring service's management on several occasions (inspections); 1 no-show from supervisor, 4 in which flooring company installed (1) or attempted to install wrong product. Original product discontinued by manufacturer. Per Miller and Smith, we should continue scheduling appointments, which require a full work day off and that they are honoring the warranty by continuing to schedule appointments (that flooring company tells builder they have the correct product, despite never delivering).Desired Settlement: Replace all flooring with product currently available (in a single appointment, number 10), or reimburse monies paid so we may proceed with replacing the discontinued floor.

Worst home buying experience EVER. Firm believer of under-promise and over-deliver. You definitely will not get that from this company. If anyone does, read this review...STAY away. Save yourself the headache, heartache and frustration. They are rated a C- on here for a reason. I was like you, thought that this was a very low rating and tried to rationalize it. LEARN from my mistake. Don't walk, just run. You can do better. There are plenty of other builders with beautiful homes. Don't let the biggest purchase you will make turn into a miserable mistake.