Royal Oaks Building Group

Poor airflow, poor craftsmanship, poor follow-through from warranty department and drainage issues. Built and purchased a home, closed in June 2015. The small punch list that was created during final walk-through included poor craftsmanship around the stairway bullnose. The worker destroyed with multiple nails and [redacted] putty. This was finally replaced after over a month of asking for repair. The "painter" who came in afterwards did not fill in damage to drywall occurred during re-installation of handrails, but rather painted over it for me to fix. The rails received only one coat of stain in which portions have been missed completely. The rails were never sanded and poly never applied so they do not match the smooth finish of the existing rails. I had emailed warranty, talked with sales staff, and even building management on several occasions to see when their painter could return to finish the work. I had even offered to all of these people once each that I would be happy to complete the work myself if they could simply supply me with the brand and color of the product they used, so I could finish the bare spots. I gave them every opportunity to fix this issue with minimal commitment, and they have failed each time. My wife, now 7 months into her third pregnancy is waiting at home with two toddlers for the painter to arrive. He is as I type, 60 minutes late. I doubt he will even show. This problem should have been fixed the first time, and never have drawn out this far. My family deserves a responsible worker to arrive promptly, and to have a decent warranty group have the care to follow though on action items. This complaint is for lack of care from warranty. For those looking into ROH to build for them, I have also had the HVAC team to my property over 12 times to "fix" airflow problems, while warranty passed [redacted] blame to the city for power restrictions, which were never activated. ([redacted] the city told me these builders were known for that, for hvac reasons alone!) My sod had already been replaced once after closing due to mud runoff from above, and needs replacing AGAIN due to same lot runoff. I was told spring would be the best time, so now I have to wait for this repair to be done. My faucets have a sewer smell emitting from them, which I will be contacting warranty about after my rails can get finished.Desired SettlementFix my rails, fix my sod, follow up with all of your patrons complaints, they deserve it! Have your workers be punctual with appointments. Don't make people have to keep calling back to get their issues resolved. This is ridiculous!Business Response Unfortunately the contractor that was to be at the home today at 9 am was late and did not call to let anyone know. I advised Mr [redacted] that we are happy to get in touch with the contractors when we know they have not arrived for an appointment. We were made aware of the "no show" at 2:02 pm via his complaint to you rather than a call this morning to let us know the contractor did not show up. We have spoken with the contractor who did apologize for getting sidetracked and being terribly late. They have had two days on the schedule for over a week and the contractor let us know he would not be late to the appointment Tuesday morning at nine. I have advised Mr [redacted] to notify me if the contractor is even 5 minutes late.We do not have an open ticket for this home on sod or HVAC issues. All issues reported through our company have been resolved and signed off as completed. I have inquired with the owner as to what issues he has as outstanding so we can get to the bottom of his concerns.Consumer Response Unfortunately, it took upwards of 6 months and a Revdex.com complaint to be taken seriously by the warranty department and once a complaint was filed, my work was performed within 6 hours. To note, the appointment was made three business days prior, not the stated "over a week", as if that even matters. The work took little over 10 minutes not to mention my attempts to simply get the color of the stain and complete it myself. Obviously my concerns were simply that: MY concerns. As for the HVAC, the ticket should not have been closed due to the problem never having been stated resolved either by homeowner nor contracted service group.As for sod, I guess I will have to send a follow up for replacement so the ticket can be opened and repair promptly made.That said, thanks to ROH warranty division for promptly resolving the rail, and again, it is unfortunate I had to take it to Revdex.com to have them become so committed to seeing their work through.Final Business Response Unfortunately, as with most complaints, there was also a bit of miscommunication all around with this concern. While our customer told us they wanted to make the repair himself, we tried without luck to get the color information from the previous vendor that no longer worked on that home. Then when the owner called last week to schedule the appointment, it was clear he no longer wanted to make the repair himself. So we scheduled the appointments for this week. A Revdex.com Complaint was not necessary to get a response. A simple phone call letting us know the vendor was late would have sufficed. We would have made the same call to the vendor as we did when we found out at 2 pm through the Revdex.com Complaint that the vendor had not shown up. We have received an email from the owner that this issue is resolved.We have opened a ticket for the sod, however we do not want to make any changes until we are certain the elements will not kill anything that may need to be replaced. This is not the prime time of year to be planting sod if it can be avoided, and his one-year warranty is still open leaving us plenty of time to take care of his warranty concerns.As for the HVAC concern, I have it in writing from the owner that the air flow issue was corrected by the vendor, but he did not think it would be enough air flow IF he decides to finish some unfinished space in the future. We explained to him that the HVAC was for the finished space he purchased, not any unfinished portion he MAY finish in the future and that he should not put any sheetrock directly against the ductwork that was installed. We also encouraged him to have a licensed general contractor pull a permit to finish any unfinished portions of his home. We do value all of our customers. Their concerns are our concerns. But when we are not made aware of a vendor being late when it happens, there is nothing we can do about it. When an owner chooses to work directly with our vendors instead of following our warranty procedures and policies, again, there isn't much we can do to monitor the situation or the workmanship of the vendor. We have asked the owner to work through the warranty department from here forward to make sure his concerns are handled promptly.

There were many lies that were told throughout the building process from royal oaks to us. However, the failure to have adequate water pressure in our home is unacceptable. Had we known this was an issue we would not have bought here. By the time we were aware, if we had not purchased the house, we would have been out thousands of dollars and had no where to live. You should not be allowed to continue building houses here if you are not providing everyone with adequate water pressure. And, with each new home, my water pressure gets worse. ","neg-2

Builder supplied improper sized HVAC unit and failed to register for full 10 year warranty.
On 12/12/14 we had to replace our entire HVAC system (heat pump and air handler) prematurely. After several costly service calls and attempts to repair the system, we decided that it was time to cut our losses and replace the whole system. We learned from multiple HVAC professionals that the following shortcuts by the builder and subcontractor led to the system failing prematurely:
1. Improper sized unit for home - based on our location, square footage of home and 3 levels, the proper sized unit should have been a minimum of 3.5ton or ideally a 4 ton unit. We were provided with a 3 ton 13seer builder grade unit that had to work too hard to heat and cool our home. This led to leaks in the coil which we paid $750 to do 2 leak seal treatments and add freon on multiple occasions. This led to the compressor ultimately failing as well. They also only installed one zone for a 3 story 2300+ sq foot home.
2. The builder failed to take the proper initiative to register the unit with Goodman to get its full 10 year warranty, thus it defaulted to a 5 year warranty and expensive parts such as the compressor and coil could not be covered. They had 60 days to register the product and protect the investment for 5 additional years (at no extra cost even) and they dropped the ball on this important step.
We are hearing that many homes in the subdivision are having the same issues right now and have wasted money trying to maintain these inferior and undersized units only to ultimately have to replace the entire system in the 5-8 year range. This is by no means the only issue caused by shortcuts and poor subcontractor work through Royal Oaks, but by far the most costly one. I would like to see them take some ownership and at least cover the cost for the parts that should have been covered under warranty (Goodman compressor and coil).
Our total cost of repairs and a new unit was $6,450. Home was built in 2007 and the unit was properly maintained. HVAC repairs were needed in June of 2013, July 2014, and December 2014.

There were many lies that were told throughout the building process from royal oaks to us. However, the failure to have adequate water pressure in our home is unacceptable. Had we known this was an issue we would not have bought here. By the time we were aware, if we had not purchased the house, we would have been out thousands of dollars and had no where to live. You should not be allowed to continue building houses here if you are not providing everyone with adequate water pressure. And, with each new home, my water pressure gets worse.

Did not want to reimburse me for improperly installed HVAC unit. In April our heat went out and we called a repair person to come fix it. He stated on our HVAC unit the accelerator and elbows were not installed correctly, one of the elbows was leaking and the pressure switch only occasionally worked. He said to fix the HVAC unit we would need to upgrade the collector box and add an accelerator on the flue. I explained the situation to Royal Oaks Warranty Coordinator, [redacted] on 5/12/15. She said because we didn't use the same HVAC maintenance company that improperly installed the HVAC to make the repairs we would not be reimbursed for the cost of the repairs. I explained to [redacted] we would not ever call the company who did the installation because they improperly installed the unit in the first place. We have had previous problems with the HVAC unit and did not trust a company that could not properly install it to make the proper repairs.Desired SettlementWe would like to be refunded the $450 we paid to get the corrections made to the improperly installed HVAC unit. Business Response /[redacted]/This homeowner closed 12/28/2012. In the mail today we received a letter from the homeowner requesting a reimbursement to him with the invoice from Service Experts for $450. The letter from the homeowner indicated that he contacted them on 5/1/2015 because his heat was out. The notes on the paperwork state there was a leak in his crawlspace at the elbow joint and it was recommended that he upgrade to a new collector box. They replaced the elbow joints with new ones and upgraded this collector box. In the letter from the homeowner he states both if these were originally installed improperly.Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to observe the unit in the inoperable condition, nor were we provided pictures before the repair was made. We also have no records of continuous maintenance performed by the homeowner. We do provide a 10 year bonded builder's warranty on the home and this avenue was not explored by the homeowner.Because of these reasons the cause cannot be determined therefore the request is denied.Consumer Response /[redacted]/The builder's synopsis is incorrect. I did not state the parts were incorrectly installed. Those were the words of the HVAC company that came to make the repairs as stated in the email I forwarded from the HVAC company to the builder. I addressed the problems that lead to this latest problem with the builder's warranty repair person at the one year anniversary in 2013. His response was "oh the heat won't go out often, only when it get's super cold, perhaps once a year." He did not bother to look at the HVAC unit to see the problem for himself so saying you didn't have an opportunity to look at the broken HVAC unit is incorrect. Note to the builder so this doesn't happen to someone else. The Warranty person was a balding gentleman who drove a white pick up truck. I suggest you provide better training to address the problem in the future instead of retreating to a "the clock ran out on getting it repaired" defense. I've spoken to several neighbors via nextdoor.com who said they also had similar problems with their HVAC units installed under the supervision of Royal Oaks so this seems to be systematic problem that needs to be addressed. Final Consumer Response /[redacted]/(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)Royal Oaks failed to address the issues I expressed in my complaint. Yet again, I'll reiterate what I said before, I gave Royal Oaks an opportunity to look at the initial problems with the HVAC system when our one year warranty work was being done. The gentleman sent to our house to coordinate repairs declined the option to look at the broken unit then saying the problems we brought up would only happen occasionally which just isn't the case. I had the problems fixed myself with money out of my own pocket saving the builder quite a bit of money. Second time it breaks and I'm told the unit was improperly installed in the first place by Royal Oaks sub contractor. Now the builder says they didn't get a chance to look at? That's just not the case, they had every opportunity when I asked them to look at it at the one year warranty. I can't force Royal Oaks employees to look at something. I'd like to warn anybody doing business with Royal Oaks they're not a reputable business. Final Business Response /[redacted]/Again, we were not given an opportunity to address this concern from the beginning and the Home Owner did not submit a claim through the ten year warranty program. Unfortunately, there could have been multiple reasons for the issue, but without having the opportunity to look at the issue ourselves, or at least pictures from the repair, then we have no choice but to deny this claim. We have several means of communication available to our home owners, all of which are in writing and trackable. Please use those means when you have a warranty concern so they may be addressed timely and appropriately.

Builder supplied improper sized HVAC unit and failed to register for full 10 year warranty.
On 12/12/14 we had to replace our entire HVAC system (heat pump and air handler) prematurely. After several costly service calls and attempts to repair the system, we decided that it was time to cut our losses and replace the whole system. We learned from multiple HVAC professionals that the following shortcuts by the builder and subcontractor led to the system failing prematurely:
1. Improper sized unit for home - based on our location, square footage of home and 3 levels, the proper sized unit should have been a minimum of 3.5ton or ideally a 4 ton unit. We were provided with a 3 ton 13seer builder grade unit that had to work too hard to heat and cool our home. This led to leaks in the coil which we paid $750 to do 2 leak seal treatments and add freon on multiple occasions. This led to the compressor ultimately failing as well. They also only installed one zone for a 3 story 2300+ sq foot home.
2. The builder failed to take the proper initiative to register the unit with Goodman to get its full 10 year warranty, thus it defaulted to a 5 year warranty and expensive parts such as the compressor and coil could not be covered. They had 60 days to register the product and protect the investment for 5 additional years (at no extra cost even) and they dropped the ball on this important step.
We are hearing that many homes in the subdivision are having the same issues right now and have wasted money trying to maintain these inferior and undersized units only to ultimately have to replace the entire system in the 5-8 year range. This is by no means the only issue caused by shortcuts and poor subcontractor work through Royal Oaks, but by far the most costly one. I would like to see them take some ownership and at least cover the cost for the parts that should have been covered under warranty (Goodman compressor and coil).
Our total cost of repairs and a new unit was $6,450. Home was built in 2007 and the unit was properly maintained. HVAC repairs were needed in June of 2013, July 2014, and December 2014.
","neg-3

Have been working with Royal Oaks since April trying to purchase a lot/home in their Greys Creek development in Fuquay-Varina N.C. They have delayed the release of lots for various reasons including, "overwhelmed their design center" with to many released lots. I signed a six month lease extension in Aug at their recommendation because lots were not going to be released until Oct/Nov. so home would not be finished until March/April. Base price was $223,700 when this process started. I was informed this past week that the base price is now $254,700 for the same home. They have now priced the home out of my range, and wasted six months of my time. Not to mention the increase in rent, and having to start home search process over again.

Issues with water heater freezing up.I contacted Royal Oaks warranty emergency on 11/19 due to not having hot water. Cold water was fine, but when I turn the hot faucet on no water was coming out at all. The plumber arrived and didn't appear to have any interest in what my problem was. He checked the storage building where the water heater is and said "oh the expansion tank wasn't insulated, so it probably froze up right there" He then said "we'll get someone out to insulate it". One week later I was not contacted and it wasn't fixed. I contacted the warranty department today 11/27 and [redacted] contacted me about the issue. She started explaining that by code that tank doesn't have to be insulated and I didn't have water because it froze, well DUH I knew that already. WHY did it freeze is the problem. She proceeded to explain to prevent it I should leave the water running during freezing temps. I'm not an it and I've owned several homes prior including a townhouse, but I NEVER had any issues with water freezing without having to leave water running. Also, when the master toilet is flushed the water pipes in the walls vibrate loudly and should not. I was told, "oh thats the water pressure and sometimes that happens" It should NOT happen and I've spoken with other homeowners who do not have that problem. Their response to customers seems very condescending as if the homeowner is at fault and should not issue complaints. We pay a lot of money, probably overpriced based on how the home is built and we should receive a better understanding attitude from Royal Oaks. Once you close and sign that dotted line they really can't be bothered with your issues any longer. Word of mouth hurts businesses more than anything and you can believe I will be making it known to new folks trying to buy with Royal Oaks how their service is after the sale.Desired SettlementI want a qualified plumber to check out this problem, not the guy who was here the last time. Leaving water running is not the proper solution to this problem. If we had temps in the single digits for an extended period of time I MIGHT could see doing that as a precaution but not as a repair to another problem. I think the storage building not being insulated contributed to this problem. I understand by "code" you don't need to insulate that area, but I mean lets be real it doesn't cost but a few more pennies to throw insulation in there in order to build a better home. They are like most builders, taking the cheap, easy way out so not to impact their bottom line. They focus on quantity not quality. If they did some of these issues would not occur. I do not and will not speak with [redacted] from warranty. She certainly has no interest in your problems, just doing a job to close the request.Business Response /[redacted]/The expansion tank was NOT frozen. The line feeding the heater was missing a piece of insulation at the tee fitting where the expansion tank was tied in. The fitting is where the pipe had frozen. The plumber insulated the line where the missing insulation was which corrected the problem. This is the first time we have heard about the toilet making loud noises, but we have created a warranty ticket to have it investigated.When the temperatures are in the single-teen digits overnight and remain below freezing during the day for consecutive days, as it had the week of the 16th, there may be issues that even insulation cannot correct. That is when other homeowner maintenance measures must be taken, like leaving water dripping, or opening the cabinet doors so the pipes are exposed to the heat of the house. There are also several aftermarket insulation products he can add to increase the insulation of his products.Mr. [redacted] was yelling and cursing at our Warranty Coordinator when he was asked politely to please calm down. He could be heard threw the phone receiver by other employees in the office, that is how loud he was being. Then he hung up on her. We do not tolerate being treated abusively by our home owners or vendors. When is able to communicate calmly and in a professional manner, we will be able to further assist him with his warranty issues.Consumer Response /[redacted]/This issue has NOT been corrected by the builder. I contacted the Emergency Warranty line again on Sunday January 11 due to my hot water not working. It is freezing where it enters the home due to improper insulation. Or a pipe in the wall behind the fireplace is exposed to the cold air that should not be. The Royal Oaks Rep I spoke with agreed that should not be happening since I have plenty of cold water that isn't frozen. The plumber that called Sunday also agreed it should NOT be doing that and there is a problem that they will need to correct. I received a call from the plumbing company Monday, but have yet to have anyone out to investigate and correct the problem. Also, Royal Oaks response to my Revdex.com complaint was a lie because no one came to my home to fix this issue from the original request. I have pictures to prove nothing was changed. I just want the problem corrected and Royal Oaks should make the effort to ensure the plumber fixes the problem since they are the ones who contracted them to do the work. If it is not corrected soon I have already spoken to a real estate attorney that will be happy to step in on my behalf. I would prefer not to do that, but I want this fixed and fixed properly. I've never had to deal with such an unprofessional builder that does not really care this is a true issue for a concerned homeowner. I bet if it was their personal home that didn't have hot water and they were waiting for it to thaw they would feel differently. I'm sick of the excuse to leave water running. I'm not an it and have owned homes before. I understand the importance of protecting water lines from the extreme cold but this issue has NOTHING to do with that because my cold water never freezes. Only the hot.Consumer Response /[redacted]/The plumber contacted me today and they have been in touch with the builder. I think they will get it corrected soon. Thanks.Business Response /[redacted]/The Home Owner called the afterhours number. When his call was returned by the plumber, he told the plumber that he DID have hot water and he refused to let them come take a look at the problem. The home owner asked for some sheetrock to be removed at the fireplace to see if the plumbing lines were attached to the gas lines there. The plumber told him she would get with us and get back to him. He has NOT been without hot water and has finally agreed to let us come take a look to see what is going on with his plumbing. We take the warranty of our homes seriously. When give the opportunity, we research all aspects of the issue to find the bottom line, and fix the problem.The home owner has agreed to an appointment, so we should be able to figure this one out shortly. Having open communication with us is the way to resolve the matter.Consumer Response /[redacted]/Wow I still am amazed at the response. Maybe the plumber isn't relaying messages accurately. I NEVER refused anyone coming to look at the problem. Why would I do something that stupid ?? Yet issue this complaint?? Let's use common sense here. The plumber said he would come out but there was nothing he could do when it's frozen. He said if it didn't thaw to call back. It did thaw after I turned the gas logs on which backs up to the water heater in the storage building obviously indicating the pipes in the walls aren't insulated properly. No need to reopen case for now. I simply wanted it on recorded that I didn't refuse for the plumber to come out.

Promises have not been fulfilled, and emails are not getting returned in regards to those promises.In October of 2014 my husband and I began the process of building a house in the Rockbridge community. Our builder is Royal Oaks Homes. At the beginning of the building process we were told to pick a lot. As any home buyer, we picked a lot that was going to come as close to our needs as possible. [redacted] the project manager for a Royal Oaks, gave us a list of things that were going to be happen in and around our propriety, details that helped us choose the lot that we did. He said that the "common area" directly attached to our property and the property across from us would be leveled and all grass. Giving the impression of two huge connecting yards. We are coming up on our one year anniversary and all it has been is a growing mound of dirt that construction workers continue to add too. It is an eye sore that can potentially lower our property value. [redacted] also was supposed to leave a can of touch paint, paint that not only was supposed to be left before we moved in, but paint that [redacted] continues to say will be dropped off but doesn't. I have emailed [redacted] numerous times over the past year in regards to both situations and I either get a response that says he's going to do something and doesn't, or no response at all (I'm not sure what is worse). I even sent him an email recently saying that my frustrations has caused me to look into submitting a Revdex.com complaint, and here I am. My husband and I are in love with our home, and Royal Oaks did a great job; however, if we could have see what the future held, we wouldn't have picked this lot. We picked it off of what now seems like lies, and lies that can cost us in the long run. Between than, and the paint, [redacted] Morin was not honest with us and on top of all of that will not properly communicate with me.Desired Settlement[redacted] needs to be talked to about his poor customer service, and his "sales pitch," if that's all it really is. We didn't buy a pair of jeans, we bought a house. A huge purchase that we cannot just "return," all though we would love to. He also needs to find some sort of resolution with Royal Oaks on what they are going to do about then space in front of our house and our paint. The resolution that I am looking for is to do what he said was going to be done. Level out the common area so that it is flat, and put grass down. Not seed, because that clearly didn't work the first time. They also need to find a can of paint that is the same colors of my walls, and drop it off.Business Response We apologize for your frustration. When you closed on our home you received a "[redacted] Notebook" containing all of the Warranty contact information. All communication after the sale of a home should go through the warranty department to ensure the most prompt attention is given to your concerns. While it doesn't excuse one of our Project Manager's not delivering on something he told you he would do, it is the reason we have an entire department dedicated to service after the sale. The Project Managers are tasked with building and delivering the homes. Unfortunately this means that once the home is closed, they have to move on to deliver and close the next home. Since we offer a builder warranty, we also have a warranty department to handle these concerns promptly and expeditiously. I am sorry you felt the need to file a Revdex.com complaint to get our attention, however now the proper people are aware of your needs and we are already working on getting you a paint touch up kit. I will follow up with them daily until we have confirmation from you that it has been delivered. I have asked them to have it delivered to you this week.I will make sure that all of our Project Managers understand the importance of communicating promptly and accurately. He should have provided you with the paint touch-up kit before your closing. As for the area around your home, I have attached the copy of the map you signed with your contract and added RED Rectangles around the information for the adjoining property. These areas are not owned by us, therefore we are not in control of what happens to or on those properties. We purchase finished lots in this neighborhood and are not in control of the development company or the utility company that owns the adjoining property. Unfortunately, the Project Manager should not have speculated as to what may have been planned for the adjoining properties. We also have several places in our contract documents that stress the importance of written communication. Verbal agreements or statements are not binding. This statement is made on all of our contract documents and all of our Orientations which you also signed.I can tell you however, that typically in a developing neighborhood where there are mounds of dirt being collected, they are typically hauled off and used in other areas of development that may need the dirt. Part of purchasing a home in a neighborhood under development involves waiting through the process until project completion. You may want to inquire with the land owner of the adjoining property to discover their intentions for the area close to you. You may also find helpful public records on www.wakegov.com.

This is not how Royal oaks building group really is. Their customer service is bar none the worst in the home building experience. Please read review This is not how Royal oaks building group really is. Their customer service is bar none the worst in the home building experience. They have maintained the fact that we didn't maintain a yard that is unmaintainable as they put our "Bermuda starter grass" during the winter storm of 2015. That along with the massive amounts of rain and dry air have made it where even the best golf courses and landscapers had trouble. They never planted a seed in our back yard until the one year checkup in which they put in starter yard "summer rye" which is dying before we have even hit 90 degrees yet. I have personally watched them replace two different side yards of my direct neighbors who had the same problem, yet because we are a younger couple they think we wouldn't take this to the media and Revdex.com. Our entire yard, with as much work as we have put into it, still looks terrible. Why? Because it is on dead clay below our "Bermuda" and "rye". Today's excuse for not replacing it was with what they sent with the landscaping in the contract and it states there is a deficiency of standing water still remains after 24 hours of rain. I have sent numerous videos and pictures of standing water in the side yard and back yard days after the storms have passed. I have told them that we will take this to litigations and they think this is a joke. They just built new homes and their starter yard looks like what we have requested since day one. They now have built the model home with Bermuda through the whole entire yard, which will be false advertising as this is not what you will get. My main concern is the fact that they think our yard is not maintained, only after we complained for over a year. We cannot maintain a yard that is built on dead grass and clay. We have tried and spent 1,000 of dollars on weed n feed, landscaping, numerous mows, and weed killing. The yard cannot be grown as it is dead. They obviously know how much it will cost if we were to be awarded a yard that was planted the way it should ( see the model home) this is exactly why they are putting the blame on the purchaser and not the seller. We are not the first house to complain about this, but they have multiple excuses that blame it on the homeowner, when in fact they never had anything feasible to work with to have a "maintained yard". I have read all the Revdex.com complaints and they always deflect and put blame on the homebuyer. At what point is enough is enough? Be like any other builder and do your job correct and there will not be an issue this substantial. Sincerely, an upset homeowner who wishes they didn't choose "Royal oaks" do not take the long winded post for a joke, we are upset and will continue to let people know the issues we have had with this builder. Royal oaks and their terrible customer service will deflect back to the home buyer and say we have not maintained our yard, when we have maintained the best we could on a dead yard. You can see it with other lots that they built and created land space on places that weren't condusive to plant grass on. We had a complete mud pit for over a year and were told to wait until our one year warranty, in which the builder took the cheap approach and put summer rye grass which is already dying.Desired SettlementJust as they have done with other yards here, we want the Bermuda replaced. It CANNOT be maintained because the entire yard is DEAD. It has been DEAD since we moved in and that was noted when they built during the coldest season that even the best golf course could not "maintain" their yard. We are not the first people to complain about the yards, but we are the only one they have refused to replace. We have watched them replace the entire Bermuda on numerous yards in person after constant complaints. I fully expect as I have read on here and about the business that they will deflect all on is as the buyer, but the irony is the HOA who we have NOTHING to do with sent us a letter stating we needed to re-plant our grass as it was dead and when we notified the builder all of a sudden they took a different approach. We will take this to the media, to law, etc to get a yard that CAN be maintained and looks presentable to live on. Simple example is the corner lot just as ours but the "model home" ironically, that has Bermuda ALL the way around & was planted properly. Ours was not. Anyone who reads this please feel free to email us at [redacted]@icloud.com as we are willing to discuss this with anyone who will listen. This is the worst experience we have had in customer service and homebuying! :(Business Response First, we treat all of our customers equally. We value our customers and we always strive to do the right thing. Because of this, we also always document our files very well, both for their protection and ours. In order to receive a Certificate of Occupancy (CO) for a finished home, the landscape has to be installed to industry standards as well as the requirements of the municipality providing the CO. This home received its CO in October 2014 (Copy can be provide).The owner signed a contract to purchase the home in January 2015 and closed on the purchase in February 17, 2015. One of the documents in the contract is the Drainage and Landscape Warranty (attached). This document explains both drainage and landscaping to the buyer including maintenance responsibilities they will be required to complete after home ownership. You will see this was reviewed with the owner and signed on 1-9-2015.The next page in the contract that discusses lawn expectations and maintenance is the House Setting/Lawn/Landscaping Addendum. This document describes the starter lawn, which was provided, as well as recommendations for getting the starter lawn to become an established lawn.During the buying process we have several orientations depending on the stage of construction of the home. This particular home went through two orientations prior to closing on the home, the Pre-construction Orientation and the Pre-Closing Orientation (attached). The Pre-Construction Orientation is completed with every buyer regardless of stage. It allows the buyer and the builder to review many items and for the buyer to acknowledge in writing that those specific item were reviewed with them. In this case, the pre-construction orientation was completed on 2/10/2015 and the owner signed acknowledging she had reviewed everything and specifically stated she had NO drainage concerns. The Pre-Closing Orientation is when the buyer and the builder walk the home and make a list of items that need to be addressed prior to closing as well as address a few other items, specifically what is and is not warrantied after the home closing. This owner did not have landscaping on their list of items needing attention. She also signed acknowledging that several "outside" items were reviewed with her including lawn care, foundation drains, grading & drainage. She also acknowledged the service procedures were reviewed with her and the items not warranted after move-in which include Landscaping and sod as well as shrubs and trees.We provide a one-year builder warranty to every owner. We received the list on 2-16-2016. Even though we have already established the items that are not warranted after move-in, she put landscaping and drainage concerns on the one year list. We completed the items and the owner signed that "All items have been completed to meet or exceed the standards set forth" on 4-8-2016 (attached). A month later we started receiving emails from a person other than the owner about the landscaping. We visited the property again, even though the owner signed off that everything was completed. We took pictures of the yard and let them know, politely, that we were not going to be able to do anything else with the landscaping because they had not maintained the yard and did not get the starter yard established. The pictures attached show the weeds growing, the lack of proper mower and maintenance. We understand that not every home owner knows how to establish a lawn from a starter, which is why we provide hints, tips and suggestions from the beginning and include them in the contract documents. We find them so important and valuable that we include them in the contract documents, we point them out again during orientations, and we have them sign acknowledging they understand what is expected of them. We set the proper expectation up front that the lawn provided is a starter lawn and that it will require work on their part to get it to become an established lawn. After we reviewed the property and saw that the owner had not taken the necessary steps to establish and maintain the lawn, the following was sent to them:We all at ROBG take your frustrations seriously and strive to make your home meet industry standards as well as meet our express warranty. After looking at your landscape and walking the property it appears to be consistent with a starter lawn which is what we provide. It is a homeowner maintenance responsibility to maintain what has been installed. Your sod is Bermuda which is a heat tolerant turf and appears to be filling in appropriately. With that I would suggest that pre & post emergents need to be applied annually to help control the various weeds that can appear. In respect to the rear yard this area was seeded and straw was applied. The seed that was applied at the time your home was landscaped was a Fescue/Rye blend. This was applied do to the temperature and time of year as the Bermuda would not have germinated. this appears to be growing and filling in but needs to be maintained and cut as well. You are correct in your statement that as the temperature continues to rise the Rye will die off and leave the Fescue. This is the ideal time of season to add Bermuda seed in this area as the soil is moist and the temperatures are elevated which will help the grass to start to grow. Again, this is a starter yard and needs to be treated as such. In reviewing the grading plan and the drainage along the rear of your lot it is constructed per the designed and approved plans that the Town of [redacted] required. This is not up to us to 'make' something work, the contractor has to follow the approved plans otherwise the Town of [redacted] would not have approved the work and issued us a Certificate of Occupancy. After reviewing your property and the approved construction plans it has been decided that everything meets Industry Standards as well as ROBG Express Warranty. Your request to have your yard re-landscaped by ROBG is hereby denied. As you will see by the documentation provided, we have gone above and beyond industry standards as well as our own warranty guidelines, and the owner has signed acknowledging acceptance of these items. You will also see from the pictures attached that proper maintenance has not been completed on the lawn. Home Ownership takes hard work both inside and outside the home. We try to provide as many tools for the home owner to succeed at maintaining their residence after we are finished with it, but we are not able to do it for them. Consumer Response Where do I begin to start? Royal Oaks Building group has now responded to our numerous and I mean NUMEROUS complaints about the yard. Ironically enough today, I was contacted by 2 other neighbors who have the EXACT same problems and the same issues with the responses from Royal Oaks. I honestly do not think at this point it is the company that is to blame, but the individual to whom they have answering their social media and Revdex.com complaints. We have given many notices that the yard is NOT up to industry standards. We have pictures from the day we moved in. Royal Oaks has admitted as has any weather information you can read that during the time they did this "starter lawn" was during a time of terrible weather despair. It was one of the coldest winners, followed by one of the most seasonably wet springs and a dry summer. This left ALL landscape throughout the triangle with many problems. They stated that we should wait until our 1 year warranty look to which they would fix the problems. In the meantime we did basic lawn maintenance, spent 100's of dollars on landscaping and landscapers all to no avail as the yard was self-made on a hill that did NOT exist until Royal Oaks began building. You can look into [redacted] town codes and Johnston county as well as they are building houses behind ours now. They will have the exact same problems. We have a neighbor two doors down who said she spoke with the lawn people on numerous attempts that these issues would occur from her yard, WAY before we ever moved into our residence. If you look at every response that this company has been notified of via the Revdex.com they have responded back with all blame on the purchaser and taking NO accountability. Again, I do not believe now that it is the company but the person they are allowing to handle this. Please see below for the next excerpt."The owner signed a contract to purchase the home in January 2015 and closed on the purchase in February 17, 2015. One of the documents in the contract is the Drainage and Landscape Warranty (attached). This document explains both drainage and landscaping to the buyer including maintenance responsibilities they will be required to complete after home ownership. You will see this was reviewed with the owner and signed on 1-9-2015."They are correct but in the guidelines it specifically states that if water is still standing 24 hours after rain that there is a deficiency in the yard. Our yard sometimes still has standing water 2-4 days later, not 24 hours later! We have now been notified we are not the only yard that has this issue. We have personally watched the two neighbors complain to the point of exhaustion until Royal Oaks finally re planted their Bermuda, during a normal season and it looks beautiful. Why? Because it was done when it is not snowing and there are no weather issues. Royal Oaks said our yard looked fine and was in great growing shape, UNTIL we decided to complain about this in which now they said it has not been maintained. The irony in all this is, we told them how the grass would not grow and the weeds would not kill because of how the yard was sodded. Royal Oaks is taking the cheap approach to this situation and trying to do anything in their power not to fix a problem that they know is costly. Our entire yard is garbage and has NOTHING to do with our maintaining of it as we maintained every yard we have ever had and nothing has been this terrible, ever. If Royal Oaks wants to continue to peruse the idea of putting blame on the home buyer then they should keep from trying to decline and delete any comments online about their reputation. You can read on the Revdex.com page and it is terrible. Their responses to home owners is terrible, never once taking care of one issue out of the 7 I found in the last year, not ONE. Always putting the blame on the owner of the home. That is unfathomableOnce again they are correct below with what I will attach, but you cannot have a drainage concern until AFTER you see how a yard reacts to rain and weather. There is no way to know that a yard will flood to the extent that is does. There is NO way. You might say you have no concerns, but the first time it rained, we raised the concern and rather than take care of it they deflected to the town of Clayton rather than take responsibility. "he Pre-Construction Orientation is completed with every buyer regardless of stage. It allows the buyer and the builder to review many items and for the buyer to acknowledge in writing that those specific item were reviewed with them. In this case, the pre-construction orientation was completed on 2/10/2015 and the owner signed acknowledging she had reviewed everything and specifically stated she had NO drainage concerns." Let me now show how once again the "person" who is handling these requests takes personal jabs at anyone who complains about what they have done. To note, we have numerous professionals who have attempted to help us with this "starter yard" yet all have stated, it needs to be re-DONE! From scratch. But please use this as a reference point of how they handle issues complained to with this simple quote " We understand that not every home owner knows how to establish a lawn from a starter, which is why we provide hints, tips and suggestions from the beginning and include them in the contract documents."It is simple at this time. Royal Oaks does not want to spend the TIME or MONEY on an issue that is above just our yard but a few fellow neighbors' yards as well. The problem for Royal Oaks is this think this isolated issue will just go away. We have contacted media, considered taking out litigation, and unfortunately NOONE with the company will give us the information of the President, CEO, Owner, etc. of the company. They are relying on hiding behind both a phone and computer screen to handle these issues. The pictures they provided of the residence were when they told us that they believed our yard was fine, but now they state that it was not maintained. We are [redacted] NC XXXXX have taken a weed and feed and grass mowing approach to this yard ONCE a week since the end of the 2015 year which was unseasonably warm. We have no other issues with the house besides the yard. Simple, the same with others in the neighborhood. Unfortunately now as we type that out we realize anything in the future will be met with the same resistance to cut out the bottom line and save money. The issue is Royal Oaks knows that if they fix one yard, the entire neighborhood is going to see this and ask for the same. This is going to cost them a bunch of money. If you think this is isolated to one yard, you are mistaken. There are numerous of us who have spoken together about our issues and how we are going to go forward about this. The person who responded to these messages would not accept his or her yard to be this way, and I know that for a fact. It is disappointing to say the least that this will continue on for the foreseeable future as we can already see from previous responses, not only to us, but to other home buyers that Royal Oaks Building group will NOT fix a problem and will NOT ever take responsibility for their actions. Its as simple as this. In the letter they stated...."In respect to the rear yard this area was seeded and straw was applied. The seed that was applied at the time your home was landscaped was a Fescue/Rye blend. This was applied do to the temperature and time of year as the Bermuda would not have germinated."Yet how amazing it is that they just built the model home up front during this warm season and the entire yard is Bermuda, from front to back. IT is simple. They chose rye to be cheap and get an easy fix thinking the customer would NOT complain. What I want is for our yard to look like the model home that was just landscaped for the first time during this warm weather and the other 3 houses at the entrance. This is how a yard looks when you move in. Ours was under snow and then never lived or had a chance. There are two neighbors willing to speak on my behalf who had their yards replaced and then we have 2 neighbors beside us unhappy with their drainage and yards as well. I'd advise a more consumer friendly approach before things really do not work out for the best. I love the neighborhood, for now I love the house, but the yard and the landscaping even on the sides that has NEVER been taken care of in a year should be fixed (and ironically the side was finally rooted by a teenage after all these complaints) Have a wonderful day and I will be reaching out again soon. Final Business Response The Owner of the property is satisfied and understands this concept, however a third party is the one that is making this complaint and continues to extend an issue that the Owner has already accepted as completed.Furthermore, The yards that are being mentioned to compare to are yards that are maintained on a regular basis, including weeding, fertilizing, and mowing to name a few. The yard in question has not had regular maintenance performed on it and has signed off on the one-year warranty as the items having been addressed just a few weeks ago.

Bought a house from Royal Oaks 7 months ago, about a month ago the roof started to leak when it rains. There was 1 unsuccessful attempt to fix it.I do not recall the specific date the leaking started but it was over a month ago. Since I am stationed in Korea at the time my spouse is the one handling the problem. But with not much results due to the inefficiency of Royal Oaks. There was one attempt to fix the roof leak, and then we were told we had to wait before the dry wall was fix.So itI just recently rained again and the water started to leak in, from multiple places, it runs from the living room to the dinning room which is about a 8-10 ft span. My spouse had contacted Mrs [redacted] on Royal Oak Warranty department, and she does not seem to get the urgency of the situation since all that we are told is to wait, before something gets done. At this time there is a second appointment for someone to come out and take a look but that is still a week a way. In the mean while when it rains water is running around the ceiling and down the walls, with possibility of it becoming in contact with any of the many electrical outlets. Therefore I feel that this situation is endangering my family's life, and I feel powerless to do anything since I am stationed overseas serving my (and your) country. I had bought 2 houses in the past, this one is the third one, by far being the most expensive one, but also by far the one with most issues and less quality of craftsmanship and of customer service. Royal Oaks do not seem to understand or don not care the more they wait the more is going to cost because more dry wall will have to be replaced.All I am asking for is for my brand new house to by like it is expected to be. No one buys something expecting it to malfunction, although certain occasional irregular small deficiencies can be understood. Well this is not one of those it is a big problem that is affecting mine and my spouse emotional health. And we will like an immediate solution to it.Desired SettlementI will like for the leak to be fix. All dry wall that came in contact with water replaced and also I will like a home inspector chosen by me and paid by royal oaks to inspect the work once is completed. Business Response The original call for the water intrusion came in after hours on Friday 1/8/2016. It was raining and dark, therefore the roofer could not come to the house at the time. We made the home owner aware of the fact that the roofer could not troubleshoot in the rain and she stated she understood. The rain continued over the weekend, so unfortunately we could not get out there. The roofer cannot get on the roof in the rain. We also sent out a plumber to determine if the water was related to the plumbing or a roof leak. We did determine it was not a plumbing issue. The roofer made a repair but the inside drywall repair had not been made yet. We received an email Wednesday evening 2/3/2016 at 8:32 pm stating it was raining and the roof was leaking again. It continued to rain Thursday 2/4/2016, again the roofer cannot work in the rain, so he was scheduled to be at the home Friday morning 2/5/2016. We received confirmation the roofers were in fact at the home for several hours Friday morning to correct the problem. We have received photos from before and after the repair as well. The home is scheduled for the interior drywall repairs for next Friday. We had someone out there this morning that spoke with the Mrs. He also assessed the interior damage at this time and confirmed the drywall repairs for next Friday.It is fortunate the drywall repairs had yet to be made. It made the fact that the roofing repair was not adequate stand out more quickly. Now that we think the roof repair is sufficient we have a week to see if any more rain will penetrate the home. We feel confident the correct measures have been taken to prevent future leaks, however have asked the owner to let us know if there appears to be more damage during the next rain.I honestly think this complaint came in because the Mr is serving overseas and cannot be here to take care of the issues he may normally deal with. It is unfortunate it has taken a month to get the issue resolved, but I assure everyone, we are taking care of the problems as they arise. I also think the time difference may have kept the Mr form being updated timely about the timing of the repairs. We do appreciate his service and hope that he can now focus on his mission. As a military spouse myself, I understand the importance of the service member being able to focus on the mission and not having to worry about the household 6. We will continue to work with the Mrs. to ensure there are no further problems. And should any new concerns arise, we will handle them promptly.Consumer Response Let me clarify the events here. You have all the information completely wrong (ROYAL OAK GROUP). The incident happened on Saturday Jan 9, 2016. I made the phone call about the water leaking in the morning when I woke up and while walking to the kitchen I found the water on the floor and then I noticed the water leaking from the ceiling. I never made the phone call on Friday after hours. I was sleeping by then. Second, I called the Emergency number and talked to a machine. I get in touch with sales lady from the model home in my community (Rockbrigde) to see if she could assist me with the situation because nobody answered my phone calls. She did not find anybody either. Then, I tried again, to get in touch with a person in charge for the weekend who told me he will try to get in touch with the plumber. After back and forward with phone calls between him and I, by that time is about 1200pm he said the plumber will be at my house soon. I waited, finally the plumber arrived at 100pm. He checked the house and said he had to remove part of the piece from the ceiling ( area where the water was leaking) to check if it was a plumbing issues. He checked and [redacted] the situation and told me it was not a plumbing issue it was a leaking from the roof somewhere he could not identify from where. He said I will call the person from Royal Oak and he will contact you. He left about 230pm. I gave time to the person in charge from Royal Oak to hear about the situation from the plumber as instructed by the plumber. I call him he did not answered. Then he called me about 40 minutes later where he stated he could not do anything he will put an order and someone will be contacting me on Monday 01/11/16 by 800am and let me know how to proceed. I waited until 830am on Monday, still at the house even I was supposed to be at work at 830am which is an hour away from the house, and nobody contacted me. I made a phone call again to the person (Royal Oak) to his cell phone, he said he was on his way to the office and he will call me back. By that time, I am upset because I'm still waiting and he did not show any sense of urgency at all. I left a couple more messages to the office and again I talked to a machine and is 930am. He does not answer his cell phone anymore and nobody call me back, after a while I get in touch with him and he said you have to be standby somebody will be calling you and will be going to your house so I waited. I lost my workday already, is almost 100pm when finally the lady from the warranty contacted me and said she will send the roofer to the house that I did not need to be at the house and she does not know exactly when but he will be at the house during the week. After that, she will call me to let me know what the situation was after he checked the roof and have to wait after that for more rain to see if the leaking was fixed or not but in the meantime, my ceiling has to be like that. The fix of my ceiling never occurred. The phone call never happened and I never knew if the roofer came or not. I asked my neighbor if she saw somebody at the house she said she saw somebody on the roof but she did not know exactly what day. I made a phone call again and again nobody replied. I left messages to the warranty office and nobody ever replied back to any of them. Finally, I told my son to call to see if they answer to his cellphone. He left a message and the warranty lady replied to him and this event happened on 02/02/16 around 230pm. He called me at work and let me know about it. Then, I sent the pictures to show the condition of the ceiling in my living room. The lady from Royal Oak replied back she will be in touch with the person in charge for that and will see how his schedule looks like and she will be letting me know about it. Until this date, the roof is not fixed and neither the ceiling and everybody knows is being raining. Then, on 02/03/16 she sent an e- mail staying that the guy could be at my house on 02/10/16 or 02/12/16 asking me what day I was available and I replied back. Then, I went home at night and it was raining again and more water coming through my living room. I told my husband about it and he was upset because still it looks to us not sense of urgency at all from an event that occurred on 01/09/16. Then, we sent the e-mail with pictures showing the water in the attic and in the living room situation. That is when my husband sent the complaint to the Revdex.com. The next day, the lady from Royal Oak replied stating that it was raining and the roofer will not be able to go to the roof but she will send him in the morning meaning Friday morning 02/05/16 and in the meantime still raining. The roofer came to the house on 02/05/16 and took a look in the attic, my son showed him the area in the living room and then he went to the roof and we have to wait again and the drywall activities will be performed on 02/12/16. The actions start to happen after my husband complained and put the situation to you through the Revdex.com. Today, 02/09/16 they sent the Project Manager to take a look at the house and he established that everything will be taking care of. I don't want to close this until I see my house is fixed and functioning the way it was supposed to be as a brand new house should be. I am supposed to be dealing with this type of situation when the house is old not when is just 6 months old. Also, my husband is frustrating because the lack of respect toward us concerning the situation because nobody was addressing the issue and keep ignoring my phone calls every time I tried to get in touch with the Warranty Department. Also, I started sending e- mails as evidence for the record due to your company was ignoring my phone calls and those you can delete. Not even the bad review I gave on your Facebook page worked, nobody worked and/or addressed the issue. Also, I am usually the one who deals with the Homefront here at the states while he is deployed so no is not just a merely complaint is a real complaint about the lack of quality of your houses. We are frustrating because you are not taking care of the costumer once you buy the house the meter for costumer service dropped from 10 to -10 not because he is deployed and he can not take care of the things he usually does as you stated. If you really are a military spouse you should know the spouse is the one who deals with everything while the soldier is deployed and the people here should shows respect to them (military spouses). Do not try to play me, we have been in the service for about 20 years. Quality is something that should be built in from the beginning to the end as quality by design, not quantity by design. So, your first paragraph is not correct. You need to align your events. The doors of my house are opened if you want to see a list of what I'm talking about. Believe me if I could reverse time I will definitely not buy this home ever again. This house has many issues in a short period of time. [redacted] de [redacted]Final Business Response Yes, I really am a military spouse and we also have over 20 years of service. My comment was to let you know I understand your tough job as well as your husbands and how he really needs to not have to worry about what you are dealing with at home and you need as little as possible to worry about. I was really trying to let you know that I understand your frustrations. As for the timeline of events, I have to rely on our call tracker and email time stamps. I will see if there is a glitch in the programming, but we get a date and time with each call and email. I apologize if the dates and times do not match yours exactly, however it looks like the chain of events is how I described them.I understand it seems like an eternity for the correction to have occurred, but having the issue identified and then scheduled for repair of the actual concern, then the repair of the residual damages does sometimes take a full month. I realize we will be 3 days outside of a month by Friday when the indoor repairs are made, however this process was long underway before the Mr made the complaint. The complaint was not the catalyst for the finalizing of the repairs. Unfortunately it just takes time to get everything scheduled and then completed.As with any man made product, homes are built with human hands and often referred to masterpieces of imperfection. We are all imperfect and sometimes there are errors uncovered in the process of ownership that need to be corrected. We stand by our product by offering both a 1 year builder warranty and a 10 year Bonded Builders structural warranty. Again, I apologize for the issues you are having, but I assure you, we value both you and your husband and will always work to have your warrantable items corrected expeditiously.The interior repairs are still scheduled from Friday 2/12/2016. Please feel free to contact me directly should you ever have any trouble getting in touch with someone from our office in a reasonable amount of time. [redacted] - XXX-XXX-XXXX or [redacted]@RoyalOaksHomes.com

Have been working with Royal Oaks since April trying to purchase a lot/home in their Greys Creek development in Fuquay-Varina N.C. They have delayed the release of lots for various reasons including, "overwhelmed their design center" with to many released lots. I signed a six month lease extension in Aug at their recommendation because lots were not going to be released until Oct/Nov. so home would not be finished until March/April. Base price was $223,700 when this process started. I was informed this past week that the base price is now $254,700 for the same home. They have now priced the home out of my range, and wasted six months of my time. Not to mention the increase in rent, and having to start home search process over again.","neg-1