Royal Dominion Homes, Inc

[A default letter is provided here which indicates that the business has not responded to you directly. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
At this time, I have not been contacted by Royal Dominion Homes, Inc regarding complaint ID
***
Regards,
*** ***

I never got a copy of the warrantyCan you please explain to me why you're asking me for a copy of the contract, a copy of the warranty, etc.? I don't understand how it fits in with my complaintThis is becoming even more of a hassle nowWhat I'm complaining about it how Royal Dominion doesn't answer me, won't let me submit my warranty requests through channels, damaged my property several times while fixing something they promised to fix (see my email I attached last time), and other things that are NOT relevant to what you're asking meHowever, if you would also ask them to provide me with a copy of the aforementioned warranty that would be great since I don't have a copyAll they gave me was a piece of paper that mentioned some things that are NOT covered, as well as some numbers for independent contractors if certain items fall under them (carpeting, etc.)I do NOT wish to close this complaint and I do not understand why the Revdex.com is sending me requests for things that have nothing to do with my complaint or they'll close it after five daysPlease re-read my complaint and advise if you can assist me or notIf not, I don't wish to waste my time anymore

I want to ask that the Revdex.com inform the customer that the avenue of "working through" the Revdex.com for correspondence and service items is not the correct process and that Royal Dominion Homes will not continue to communicate in this manner The customer should send any service requests to Royal Dominion Homes via the process outlined in a previous letter sent to the customer We will be glad to address any warranty related items, but will not respond or accept communication other than what was previously outlined.We appreciate your assistance
*** ***Royal Dominion Homes, Inc

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]
Regards,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer 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.
Royal Dominion completely disregarded my issues. Please mark this file as not accepting their offer, and advise them that I will consider pursuing legal action along with some of my neighbors who are also dissatisfied. But it's important to me that you mark this negatively in the Revdex.com's website as unresolved. Also, I will do everything in my power to make this known to anyone and everyone thinking about buying a home from these crooks.
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer 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.
Hello,
 
The response that Royal Dominion sent was the exact same letter I received in the mail before I even filed my complaint with the Revdex.com! I am highly unsatisfied by their response and I am wondering if there is anything else that the Revdex.com can do for me.
Regards,
[redacted]

Hello,
The following still needs to be fixed:
Branches lying around the house from when they were trimmed
There's a crack in the concrete by the automatic garage door
There's a crack by the other door in the concrete in the garage. Also this door makes a loud noise when opened
Misc nail pops (can be fixed at the final walkthrough after one year)
Ceilings are caved/low in places (can also be fixed after one year, just getting this on record)- i.e. you can see where the beams are
The countertops in the kitchen are loose and not fastened properly
The roof by the bedroom still needs to be powerwashed as per [redacted] original email
The guest room facing the street has poor ventilation
Ceiling above shower is cracking
The carpet along most edges is loose- whom do I contact for that?
There are paint stains that won't come off from when they installed the master bedroom shower
The door to the back porch is difficult to open/doesn't slide properly
More things will come up as the year progresses, but that's what I have for right now. Also, I do not want to deal with [redacted] in any way as he has seriously offended me and he doesn't do what he's supposed to do. Please find another building manager for me to work with as per my warranty items during the upcoming year.

[redacted],
I am writing in response to your emails addressed to Royal Dominion Homes this past week as well as previous ones in April. I'm truly sorry that while you have a beautiful homes, you feel that we cannot make you happy. It appears to me that the main issue stems from a...

conversation regarding the removal of tree limbs near the house. Being that this conversation wasn't pant of the contract (please see section 17 of the Purchase Agreement oral Statements or Promises - "Unless oral statements or promises are written into this agreement, they are not enforceable under Law,") our production staff had no paperwork explaining this item. After correspondence between our sales and production staff (even though it wasn't part of the contract, but was discussed between you and our sales staff, a courtesy we removed the limbs that our sales staff believed had been discussed. As you mentioned, there was some damage caused by falling limbs which our production staff had inspected and repairs made. We do apologize for that. After this work was completed, you informed us that more branches should've been removed. Both our sales and marketing representative and production supervisor met you at your home and discussed these differences. At that meeting, , it was agreed that we would remove additional branches as a courtesy. which was done this past Monday, April 28.
Contrary to your email claiming that we used unlicensed contractors, rest assured that all of our contractors are fully licensed and insured in the state of Virginia. As for damages to the yard, please let us know and our production staff will inspect it and make a decision as to what actions we will take (unless you've already made an agreement with the staff).
You mentioned the excessive waten during this last storm. For the last four days (Monday 4/28 through Thursday 4/30), it poured in the Richmond area, with monthly totals exceeding 10". Since there are homes under construction in the community, "gutter buddies" are installed in front of the sewer inlets to prevent silt and debris from entering the Chesapeake Bay water shed. With downpours as heavy as we've experienced, the sewer inlets couldn't handle the volume of water and apparently backed up. So we can't answer your question as to if this will happen again. It all depends on the severity of the storms that we get.
Again, I apologize that we have tried to appease you but apparently to no avail. In lieu of your latest emails with social media implications, and along with your litigious correspondence we will no longer perform any courtesy wonk other than warranty items at your home. We will gladly stand by our warranty as we have always done and perform warranty related service. Any warranty related correspondence shall be via US Mail and can be sent to Royal Dominion Homes, Inc. [redacted] [redacted], attention [redacted] [redacted]. No longer will we communicate via phone or email.
Again, I am sorry that while we built you a beautiful home we are unable to make you happy.
Sincerely,
[redacted] [redacted]
President
Royal Dominion Homes, Inc.

In response to the complaint, we acknowledge that the home delivery date will be past the estimated delivery date quoted on the contract.  However, the contract does state that this date is an estimate. However, we hope to have the home completed in August vs an estimated date of June....

 The contract doesn't call for any compensation for the home being late, but we have offered to pay one month's rent to the customer due to this delay, and then revisit it at the end of July.  We are happy to offer this and feel it is the right thing to do in this instance since this action is above and beyond what the contract calls for.
It is our intention to commence with construction and build the home as quickly as possible to remediate the delays that we've experienced in the permitting stages. We've also delayed the due date of the last installment of the customer's deposit until the start of construction vs. a due date from April.

Mr. [redacted], I want to take this time to respond to your
letter regarding warranty items at your home. We are sorry for the oversight of
your complaint to Revdex.com, but we were unaware of it and wanted to take this
opportunity to respond. Your letter indicated a few items of which the first is
a...

concern of caulking split at the master bath shower. Being that you closed on
the home in July 2012, and the letter indicating this situation came to over
two years from your closing date, unfortunately you were informed by Kevin that
caulking of either ceramic, tubs or showers are a normal homeowner's
maintenance function and it not covered by a warranty (Please see below for
excerpt taken from your Homeowner's Warranty Handbook, section 9.2a). 9.2
Ceramic Tile (Walls & Floors): a. Service & Maintenance Tips Ceramic
Tile, Tub, and Shower: A separation between the tub and the wall tile and/or
cracking of joints between ceramic tile and tub and shower stall comers may
occur because of moisture and normal settlement in these areas. The weight of
water and a bather also contribute to such separation. This is a normal
homeowner's maintenance function , and you can remedy these situations by
simply removing the old grout and filling the crack with new grouting compound
available at hardware stores. This situation may develop periodically depending
on living habits and maintenance. Grout should be inspected every 3 months. While
it is a rather typical and easy item to remedy, it is a homeowner's maintenance
item and this is why you were instructed as such. This is the same reasoning
for our response concerning additional caulking requested in the owner's bath.
The other items such as a smell from the jets as well as a plumbing noise
should've been directed to the plumbing contractor, whose contact information
was provided to you in your Presettlement Package at your home orientation. If
you did not contact them directly, we would have certainly assisted you in doing
so within the term of the warranty, which was one year. Again, we were in
receipt of your letter well after two years from the settlement date,
unfortunately past the timeframe of the warranty period. Please understand that
in addition to these items, we did respond to your call regarding your HVAC
(air conditioning) and replaced the coil on 7/22/14 at no charge to you
(approximately 2 years from your closing date, and approximately 1 year after
the warranty ended on the coil). We did this as a courtesy and while you were
charged an initial trip fee of $50, we then refunded this amount so that the
total zeroed out with no charge at all. I trust that with this example, that
you see how we go out of our way to help our customers when we know if items
that need looked at or corrected. Again, thank you for your letter. We hope
that you understand that we honor all warranties and requests within the
warranty period and when we can, try to take care of items even after the
warranty has expired (ex. HVAC above). We apologize that with your items of the
need for re-caulking) it is not a coverable warranty item and falls under
homeowner's maintenance functions. Truly,

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the offer 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.
Royal Dominion still has not contacted me with an apology from [redacted]. Also, I have not been informed that I may submit my warranty requests through channels available to other customers such as email and phone.
Lastly, the warranty requests I have requested thus far (e.g. sliding door not working properly) have not been addressed or resolved. Also, I never received a response to my original Revdex.com complaint as to why my messages were not being replied to, why concerns were not being addressed, why my property was damaged while they "fixed" the branches, and so forth.
If my above complaints are not addressed I have discussed possible class-action settlements with other neighbors against Royal Dominion for not honoring their contractual obligations.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: I signed a contract with them to build me a townhouse back in Nov. 2013. They were supposed to start the 1st week of March. To date they have not put in a foundation and say the contract closing date of May/June is only an "approximate" date. I have sold my home (which was paid for) and I am paying to live in apartment with most of my furnishings in storage. I have put down 6500.00 which I have asked for a refund but they won't return. I still owe them another 3000.00 towards the down payment but I am withholding until I see some work done. They have offered to pay my July rent and storage but they have not started so it is looking like I won't get in before Aug or Sept. I have no idea because they keep telling me something different as to when they will get started. I feel I have been mislead or blatenly lied to over the past several months. They should have told me what they have told me the last 2 weeks way back in Nov. I certainly wouldn't have signed a contract that the "approximate date" benefited them only.

Today they say they are waiting on construction loans. The stress and frustration with these people not being straight with me has been emmence. I have several emails / phone calls showing where they have told me different times that they will start....dragging me along.Desired Settlement: I want to get moved into my home so naturally I would like to see some progress. I also would like for them to be responsible for any and all expenses after June 30 in reference to my rent/storage fees. My daughter has all her school stuff packed away. If she gets into nursing school she has 500.00 worth of items (books/scrubs/stethoscope) packed in storage that she needs. I feel they should be responsible for that as well. I have so much time wrapped up in this since last year. I have bought things for the home that cannot be returned. I have a dog that is staying my sister because I could not have her in the apartment. I got a small apartment with a short term lease because I was only going to be there a couple of months. They had plenty of time to tell me that there were problems or that the approximate date was unrealistic.

Business

Response:

In response to the complaint, we acknowledge that the home delivery date will be past the estimated delivery date quoted on the contract. However, the contract does state that this date is an estimate. However, we hope to have the home completed in August vs an estimated date of June. The contract doesn't call for any compensation for the home being late, but we have offered to pay one month's rent to the customer due to this delay, and then revisit it at the end of July. We are happy to offer this and feel it is the right thing to do in this instance since this action is above and beyond what the contract calls for.

It is our intention to commence with construction and build the home as quickly as possible to remediate the delays that we've experienced in the permitting stages. We've also delayed the due date of the last installment of the customer's deposit until the start of construction vs. a due date from April.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer 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.

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,

We purchased a home from Royal Dominion in February and getting them to properly follow-up with their promises has been like pulling teeth! Our most recent endeavor has been getting them to trim some branches and it has been a nightmare since day one. First they would not honor their agreement. Then they hired some local guy with a chainsaw (who let a small tree damage the house) and most recently an unlicensed contractor did damage to our newly landscaped yard. The house has been great overall, but they should realize that pleasing the customer upfront will be more cost-effective than cutting corners and pinching pennies!

Review: The master bedroom shower's caulking seal split and allowed enough water through to cause water damage in the ceiling on the room below it. Mold and mildew constantly grows in the shower stall, and it's believed to be due to an improper seal, or a faulty shower install. The same issue exists in the tub, there is mold constantly growing inside the jets, though the jetted tub was never supposed to be installed in the first place. The humidity from the shower has caused cracking up the corner within the stall, but also in the corner of the bathroom door, on both sides of the wall. The hot water in the bath tub makes a very strange high pitched whining sound, once it warms up. The plumbing from the master bedroom can be heard very loudly in the downstairs of the house.Desired Settlement: We'd like the tub replaced with the soaking tub identified in our contract, and the shower inspected for proper installation. If the shower is not properly installed, we'd like it replaced and done right, this includes the correcting of any mold issues that may have evolved from the issue.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted], I want to take this time to respond to your

letter regarding warranty items at your home. We are sorry for the oversight of

your complaint to Revdex.com, but we were unaware of it and wanted to take this

opportunity to respond. Your letter indicated a few items of which the first is

a concern of caulking split at the master bath shower. Being that you closed on

the home in July 2012, and the letter indicating this situation came to over

two years from your closing date, unfortunately you were informed by Kevin that

caulking of either ceramic, tubs or showers are a normal homeowner's

maintenance function and it not covered by a warranty (Please see below for

excerpt taken from your Homeowner's Warranty Handbook, section 9.2a). 9.2

Ceramic Tile (Walls & Floors): a. Service & Maintenance Tips Ceramic

Tile, Tub, and Shower: A separation between the tub and the wall tile and/or

cracking of joints between ceramic tile and tub and shower stall comers may

occur because of moisture and normal settlement in these areas. The weight of

water and a bather also contribute to such separation. This is a normal

homeowner's maintenance function , and you can remedy these situations by

simply removing the old grout and filling the crack with new grouting compound

available at hardware stores. This situation may develop periodically depending

on living habits and maintenance. Grout should be inspected every 3 months. While

it is a rather typical and easy item to remedy, it is a homeowner's maintenance

item and this is why you were instructed as such. This is the same reasoning

for our response concerning additional caulking requested in the owner's bath.

The other items such as a smell from the jets as well as a plumbing noise

should've been directed to the plumbing contractor, whose contact information

was provided to you in your Presettlement Package at your home orientation. If

you did not contact them directly, we would have certainly assisted you in doing

so within the term of the warranty, which was one year. Again, we were in

receipt of your letter well after two years from the settlement date,

unfortunately past the timeframe of the warranty period. Please understand that

in addition to these items, we did respond to your call regarding your HVAC

(air conditioning) and replaced the coil on 7/22/14 at no charge to you

(approximately 2 years from your closing date, and approximately 1 year after

the warranty ended on the coil). We did this as a courtesy and while you were

charged an initial trip fee of $50, we then refunded this amount so that the

total zeroed out with no charge at all. I trust that with this example, that

you see how we go out of our way to help our customers when we know if items

that need looked at or corrected. Again, thank you for your letter. We hope

that you understand that we honor all warranties and requests within the

warranty period and when we can, try to take care of items even after the

warranty has expired (ex. HVAC above). We apologize that with your items of the

need for re-caulking) it is not a coverable warranty item and falls under

homeowner's maintenance functions. Truly,

Review: I recently purchased a home from Royal Dominion Homes and have several complaints. First of all, I have spoken to many of my neighbors- all of whom said that blue tape was provided at their final walk-through to identify issues prior to closing. My construction manager, [redacted], who handled the closing never brought tape and said that the home was "a perfect home" with no issues and that we were not there to "stare at the walls" so we were never given an opportunity to identify and address all our issues prior to closing. Secondly, an issue that was promised to be taken care of was not only not taken care of, but resulted in more damage to the home. First, some guy with a chainsaw came by and damaged the house- which [redacted] tried to blame on me as a result of him "doing me a favor". Then, they hired a company called "[redacted]" that damaged my newly landscaped lawn. I looked up this company's license, and although Royal Dominion insists that they only hire "licensed contractors", I found that this company's license expired in 2009. Also, the building manager would not answer my questions that I sent numerous times about whether or not the house may flood in the future so I could determine whether or not to purchase flood insurance.

When I reached out about another problem- my screen door not working- I was ignored, and finally received a letter that basically said I was wrong about everything and that Royal Dominion had no blame whatsoever. I was also told, that I cannot submit any electronic warranty requests (which the rest of the neighborhood is still allowed to do), and not ask any more questions. Unless Royal Dominion is willing to pay for my gas, postage, and time off work to write a physical letter to me when everyone else who owns a house from them can contact them via email, I should be able to do the same. It is not fair. Furthermore, I am now concerned about retaliation and I am taking many, many measures to ensure that any such action is recorded and documented- on my premises, as well. I am incurring many expenses to ensure against not only retaliation, but failure to honor legitimate warranty items and questions in a timely manner. I expect that my concerns will be handled in the same amount of time as neighbors I am in contact with, and I expect to be able to submit my warranty requests in the same manner as everyone else. I also, naturally, expect not to be retaliated against and again I have set up several measures to ensure that does not happen- because then we will have a serious problem. In other words, the way Royal Dominion has treated me has eventually led me to believe that they are capable of anything.Desired Settlement: I would like an apology from [redacted] as to why he did not bring blue tape to our walkthrough and why he has not answered my questions. I would like an apology for the damage caused while honoring an agreement we had. I would like an apology from [redacted] for discriminating against me personally and not allowing me to go through the same channels as other customers of Royal Dominion for submitting warranty requests and questions I have. I would like to deal with someone other than [redacted] who will treat me respectfully and honor agreements and my warranty requests in a timely manner. I will continue with my website, filing complaints, and further securing myself against retaliation as well as deliberate delays and/or failure to complete warranty items in a timely as well as professional manner (i.e. not incurring further damage, as well as doing a 100% complete and perfect job as they would with anyone else on all my requests that are guaranteed under warranty) until I am satisfied that Royal Dominion cares about my concerns and is not trying to hurt or mess me over in any possible way whatsoever. I am a reasonable person, so once I can be assured of that I will be more than happy to change my views and reviews to reflect any positive changes that Royal Dominion has made to make me happy again, and remove the negative reviews. I sincerely hope that I am an exception, and that other people are treated better. But if that does not happen, I will assume the worst and do my best to warn and protect the public from this business.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

I am writing in response to your emails addressed to Royal Dominion Homes this past week as well as previous ones in April. I'm truly sorry that while you have a beautiful homes, you feel that we cannot make you happy. It appears to me that the main issue stems from a conversation regarding the removal of tree limbs near the house. Being that this conversation wasn't pant of the contract (please see section 17 of the Purchase Agreement oral Statements or Promises - "Unless oral statements or promises are written into this agreement, they are not enforceable under Law,") our production staff had no paperwork explaining this item. After correspondence between our sales and production staff (even though it wasn't part of the contract, but was discussed between you and our sales staff, a courtesy we removed the limbs that our sales staff believed had been discussed. As you mentioned, there was some damage caused by falling limbs which our production staff had inspected and repairs made. We do apologize for that. After this work was completed, you informed us that more branches should've been removed. Both our sales and marketing representative and production supervisor met you at your home and discussed these differences. At that meeting, , it was agreed that we would remove additional branches as a courtesy. which was done this past Monday, April 28.

Contrary to your email claiming that we used unlicensed contractors, rest assured that all of our contractors are fully licensed and insured in the state of Virginia. As for damages to the yard, please let us know and our production staff will inspect it and make a decision as to what actions we will take (unless you've already made an agreement with the staff).

You mentioned the excessive waten during this last storm. For the last four days (Monday 4/28 through Thursday 4/30), it poured in the Richmond area, with monthly totals exceeding 10". Since there are homes under construction in the community, "gutter buddies" are installed in front of the sewer inlets to prevent silt and debris from entering the Chesapeake Bay water shed. With downpours as heavy as we've experienced, the sewer inlets couldn't handle the volume of water and apparently backed up. So we can't answer your question as to if this will happen again. It all depends on the severity of the storms that we get.

Again, I apologize that we have tried to appease you but apparently to no avail. In lieu of your latest emails with social media implications, and along with your litigious correspondence we will no longer perform any courtesy wonk other than warranty items at your home. We will gladly stand by our warranty as we have always done and perform warranty related service. Any warranty related correspondence shall be via US Mail and can be sent to Royal Dominion Homes, Inc. [redacted], attention [redacted]. No longer will we communicate via phone or email.

Again, I am sorry that while we built you a beautiful home we are unable to make you happy.

Sincerely,

President

Royal Dominion Homes, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the offer 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.

Hello,

Review: My boyfriend and I built a house with these builders that we were pre-approved for. Our interest rate went up and we realized we could not afford the ammount they wanted amonth, and we also are not approved for the loan for the house. They will not let us out of our contract, even though we are not approved for the loan. They stated they wanted us to wait until we filed our taxes and did not want my boyfriend to claim his tax deductions so that way it would be approved. They also would not speak to us because of usnot being approved and are not listening to our attorneys. We feel as if we are being lied to about a lot of things from them and being treated EXTREMELY unfairly and would like some help. Our contract states that if we do not get approved for the loan then we get our 2500 dollars back and we would be out of our contract. They will not honor that .Desired Settlement: I would like for the out come to be to get my 2,500 dollars back and for this contract to be voided and for this situation we have been dealing with since DECEMBER to be over with.