I'll guess the folks interviewed have some buyers remorse.....especially since their loan is about to adjust.....LOL.

When you buy a tract home you get tract quality. The problems mentioned are not that big of a deal. Most of them are probably related to the sprinklers running too long (owners fault)....from your article, "an irrigation system that flooded sidewalk landscaping", the toilet issue is a simple fix and I'm sure Lennar took care of it (did you ask them that??).  The photos show nothing but VERY light stucco shrinkage, completely normal.

If you guys are going to run a slam job on company at least back it up with some real damages and not some weak picture of stucco shrinkage at a window and hearsay from a disgruntled buyer.

I say welcome to home ownership! there are ALWAYS issues!

 I wish I could just say welcome to home ownership, but our list for Lennar to fix was two sides of a legal pad piece of paper.  There are items from the original closing walk through that did not get fixed and we have had a revolving door of people who were supposed to take care of customer issues.  And then you just give up and say to hell with it.  Our family worked in construction for years, we realize ours is a tract home, but d***, just fix the stuff as agreed in our purchase agreement - we aren't asking for perfection, just that it be fixed right the first time.  That tradesmen show up, that customer care people show up and KNOW THEIR JOB ,  that the people at the customer care office who built the house know where things are located - (ie, the cat5 wiring which ended up being buried in the floor between stories - should have been in a junction box - they had NO clue where it was)  Five days after we moved in,  somehere in the laundry room which is upstairs, we had a massive water leak and I came downstairs to standing water  on wood, tile and carpeted floors, water came through all the can lights,  the entire ceiling had to be retaped, etc.  Lennar wouldn't even check for mold and it took months to fix and multiple tradesmen.  Doors are hung crooked, with big gaps around them,  finish is coming off our "upgraded" cabinets, cracks and nails everywhere, improper drainage around the foundation, etc - I could go on and on.  My old house was a tract house also - we did not have these problems at all.  We spent alot of money on this house and the idea that we wasted it , that we aren't getting what we paid for and were promised makes me ill. 

 I've seen tract home quality, then I've seen Lennar quality.  Somebody told me the unofficial motto is "We build it right because we build it twice."

I recently bought a McMillin home and I moaned and complained about the quality the entire time.  I even brought my father, a former general contractor, through to show him how sloppily the work had been done.  I was appalled at the gaps in the drywall.

Then I walked through my friend's new Lennar home while it was being framed.  I've never seen anything like it.  I am amazed homes like this can even pass inspection.  The studs being used were ROTTEN.  It was like they had gotten a truckload of scrap lumber and decided to build a house with it.  Some studs had at least 1/3 of them broken off.  Even better, some "studs" were actually smaller pieces of wood nailed together.  I've never seen anything like it.

Yeah, tract homes are tract homes.  But I would bet these people have very legitimate lawsuits.

 First the unethical mortgage lenders, now the construction company. Who can a buyer trust these days?

 We looked at those houses two years ago.  Thank God we stayed put in our twenty year old, well built house. 

The only thing wrong with our house when we bought it was the Wal-Wart quality light fixtures, toilets, sinks, faucets, linoleum, and windows. It did come with good quality blinds throughout and a somewhat decent carpet.   We have since updated the entire house (three renovations) with quality stuff.  So, it's kind of like rebuilding a house from the cement up.

 From the first day of buying a home, you take on responsibility to maintain it.   No matter what kind, brand or building construction there will always be problems.

Everything takes some maintenance to keep it up and working properly.  People these days expect a home to be perfect in every way.  Perhaps the amount of time these people have spent complaining could of been spent FIXING the problem. 

It's the easiest thing to do these days.... complain.  What happened to putting in a little initiative and working thru the problem.  This article sums up how the United States works.... we talk about fixing problems and never FIX them...we just wait so we can sue them.     Really Pathetic

-- Proud Lennar Homeowner

 The problems with Lennar Homes and other developments has to do with Bakersfield’s code enforcement. They seem to have two standards. Big developers get a lot of slack but individuals who pull a building permit are enforced to the point distraction over all sorts of structural detail minutia. The reason there aren’t more lawsuits is individual buyers have signed away their rights to sue somewhere in that large stack of paper everyone must sign or initial to buy property now.

Back around 1980 I was invited to a private party at an associate’s new home. I won’t say the name of the development but it’s that development of very attractive Spanish style zero lot line houses surrounding private lakes. As I walked up to the entrance I saw a lot of shockingly bad details I realized were an invitation to moisture intrusion that down the road would allow rot and mold to damage the structure.

Jump ahead about 25 years and a friend called me decrying the $5000 “non-refundable” deposit he had on one of these houses and his discovery there were some serious problems with the flat roof portion of this house that had not been noted by the professional home inspector.

I made a second inspection and my detailed report noted among other things poor flashing that allowed years of moisture to get into the roof structure causing rot and mold, pine needles, rat droppings and leaves falling through a crude hole where electrical wire passed from the attic into a light box over an inside bathroom, and many more structural issues all from poor construction details. I was unable to inspect the attic because there was no attic access provided. Many of these bad details were easily observed at the time of construction had anyone bothered to simply look.

My advice to him was to either pursue a refund of his deposit or get credit for what promised to be some major structural work that could have cut the price of the house in half. I also offered to inspect the attic if the owner would have an access door installed pointing out where this needed to be located.

Also about 1980 I visited a friend who complained that one electrical outlet in the garage would trip the breaker every time he tried to use it. It turned out a nail had been driven through the wire contacting a copper pipe! That same house had a thin panel of drywall spanning about 6 feet across the mantel of his fireplace. There was nothing behind it and no connection between the bottom of this piece of stuff and the top of the mantel. With many other examples of just plain shoddy construction I suggested he seek council.

Recently touring some open houses I see many examples of workmanship that shows a complete lack of skill or knowledge. Yet they are selling and like the Lennar Homes case there likely will be some legal action attempted by homeowners who assumed they were buying well built and properly inspected homes.

Why aren’t these houses in large commercial developments being inspected and the codes being enforced? Bakersfield’s inspectors appear to be too busy closely inspecting individual property owners renovation and remodel projects. A friend who owns several older properties he uses as income property has a practice of buying run down structures, restoring and renovating them before renting them.

Unlike many such business people these folks pay close attention to the architectural details and style of these properties and restore them in keeping with their original style ranging from Mid Century Modern to Craftsman and Cape Cod. Hardwood floors are professionally refinished, plumbing and electricity upgraded. New bathroom and kitchen fixtures and tile are professionally installed in a style appropriate to the period of the house and so forth.

The contractors they hire include HPS plumbing, a first rate plumbing contractor in Kern County known for not taking short cuts or otherwise performing substandard work. (Yes that’s a plug.) In the case of one job they had installed some replacement plumbing that well met all of the Uniform Plumbing Code and the company’s own professional standards yet the city inspector found numerous “faults” requiring them to tear it out and do it over including moving one pipe over 6 inches.

The contractor supervisor was shaking his head because he is also involved with large developments and noted he got nowhere close to the kind of scrutiny he was getting when working on this individual project let alone that the required changes made little sense. It looked like there was something personal going on there that went beyond the mandates of a city building department.

This happened at my own house when I had HPS plumbing replace my building drain lateral. Paying close attention to good details and taking no shortcuts the contractor was doing a job I was very pleased with. I was present for the entire project and when the city inspector came out this 20 something kid proceeded to tell this senior project supervisor to make a couple of changes that made no sense indicating to me an attitude of arbitrary authority.

To avoid more delay and problems we did it his way but as I see it this approach to building inspection is counter productive to the good of the community but reflects the long prevailing local government attitude supporting so-called “property rights” as a euphemism for “developer rights.” And we wonder why we have so much shoddy construction and bad planning in Bakersfield.

Oh, my friend’s non-refundable deposit? With my report and his attorney he got it back.

This sounds like a bunch of out of town lawyers trying to get a payday.  The only one who will gain anything from this will be that worthless lawfirm. 

How about taking responsibility for your own actions; or in this case inaction? Did you bother to check out the builder first? Did you walk through other homes that were under construction in different phases to gage the quality of the work being done? You signed a contract to have a home built by a reputable builder; did you ever bother to visit your home while under construction? The "damage" described, especially mold from leaking pipes or toilets is caused by the homeowners own negligence.  If your sprinklers are running to long you are going to get a flood in your yard, maybe you should flush out your yard drains.  If you have leaking doors, adjust your weather strip; leaking toilets, replace the wax seal; discover a leaking pipe, shut off your water and call a plumber! If your carpet is wet, get a wet/dry vac and get the water up before mold has an opportunity to grow creating a bigger problem. Since you have the luxury of having a “stay at home” parent, you obviously had plenty of time to deal with each of problems as they arose. Unlike most of us who have to have two incomes and come home to find the same issues and just deal with it! Face it; you are responsible for maintaining your home not the builder.  The day you signed off on your home, you officially took responsibility for everything that happened from that point on. With all that free time on your hands, it seems it would be better spent repairing damage rather than blame others for your own problems.

 Who can you trust?  First off, find an agent with a proven track record for honesty and good ethics.  Use referrals, do your homework.  If you're having a home built, find a reputable builder or a builder of a development and stay on top of it.  Visit the site every few days and take pictures of every phase of building..and I mean LOTS of pictures.  Let them know you're watching but stay out of the way.  Contactors don't want injuries and lawsuits and construction sites pose some risk for the uninformed. 

If you're buying new construction keep you agent with you through all the steps even when the sales staff tells you you don't need to have them present.  People are often intimidated and overwhelmed by all the details and make mistakes.  It helps to have someone on your side to help you wade through the process.

Once again, selecting your agent is one of the most important things you can do when buying a home.  Just because an agent sells the most houses doesn't mean that person will be looking out for YOUR best interest.  Some agents work on a smaller scale and can get you more personalized service.  If you see a house for sale contact your own agent rather than the listing agent, after all, you want someone who is working for YOU and not for you and they seller.

There's probably a mile long list of how to protect yourself when buying a home and one of them is to not buy emotionally..use your head.  Don't get impatient and remember, sentimentality can cost you a bundle.

Avanti, with all the building that went on during the boom, the inspectors were probably booked solid and overworked and I'd like to think that's the reason why inspections didn't catch all the faults.  I'd hate to think there was payola going on.   (ahem) 

 If you look around in the paper or somewhere in the advertisements, you will see buyers tips that are given to you by realtors. These "tips" they give you are there to build your trust and to brainwash you into believing that buying now is a good idea and that they can show you how to get a better deal. These "tips" as they call them are nothing more than propaganda delivered to you by the real estate industry. My favorite one is about "buyers agents"; how they will tell you that you should get a buyers agent because "they work for you to negotiate the best possible price". Common sense tells me that anyone who is going to be paid a commission on a sale is going to want the sale price to be as high as possible. Don't be fooled by this, no agent is going to help negotiate the price lower because of this conflict of interest; they certainly will try to make you believe this though! You can setup an agreement on a fixed commission but that only goes so far. Sometimes a buyers agent will be offered something under the table by the sellers agent to get you "the buyer" to accept an offer and close the deal; some of these things include a vacation, a broadway ticket, etc. They know that if you have a buyers agent, you trust them so this is an easy way to get past your natural defenses and perform an inside job; I like to refer to them as double agents. It's like you're playing a game of football and one of the players on your team is really on the other team and when the opposing team gets the ball, they will "accidentally" let the opposing team get through your teams defense and score; they are truly the hand that rocks the cradle!

The problem with many home buyers is they simply don't know what to look for when buying a home. When buying a new home they do have the reasonable expectation it is properly and soundly built. Unless they have a background in construction or design faulty construction details may not be apparent to them. Coming on the property to check work in progress got one would be buyer's escrow canceled as a pretext by the developer seller to find another buyer who might pay more. The Californian and local television news covered this and similar cases about 2 or 3 years ago.

Yes we must be responsible for our own actions but the reality is a purchase and finance document is hundreds of pages and requires hundreds of signatures or initials. Sanctimonious statements about responsibility not withstanding developers and their sales offices have the upper hand from having a bit more practice at presenting a proposal and closing a sale than the average buyer  and I doubt anyone actually reads all that turgid text.

Most of it is legal filler and the traps are hidden. Yes, they could hire a lawyer to read it for them and give them a rundown on its intent but why should this be necessary? Also many potential problems are simply not visible in a finished home particularly to a buyer who lacks a background in construction and design. That's why inspections are done in stages and why they are done at all. Regarding payola I never suggested that. I am suggesting a problem with elected official attitudes not in sync with reality or their being more in tune with their ideology than with concepts of good governance.

Anyway Nancyll's advice is very good and prospective buyers would do well to take heed. Buying right in the first place is much better and far less hassle than trying to seek legal remedy for buying a bad product later.

 Well if you think Lennar and McMillan are bad............. don't buy Castle & Cooke! We moved into a University Park place that is a joke, workmanship and quality is absent. I am not talking about minor cosmetic issues, a leak here or there, I am talking about air conditioning and heating, major plumbing, walls not framed correctly, foundation issues and so on. I should have hired an inspector, my mistake!  Problems from day one of the home being occupied. The guy running it could care less and we get attitude from the Customer Service Manager Debra. She blames it on construction and construction guys blame it on subcontractors and the boss, Patrick Hneberry blames it on everyone but Castle & Cooke. The lady in charge of sales doesn't have a clue as to what is going on and here we are going in circles. I sent a complaint letter to the corporate office in Los Angeles to Mr. David Murdoch himself, guess what, it was intercepted and I never had a call back from him. Surprised? Not me, just another round with a local builder that buys silence.  So who is the attorney? I have friends that live in another Castle & Cooke neighborhood that have recently in the last six months purchased who are just as unhappy. Great deals in a terrible market but like they say....."you get what you pay for". 

FYI Complaints: Castle & Cooke Corporate number for David Murdoch is 310-209-3800, President in Bakersfield, Bruce Freidman 661-203-3261, Customer Service is Debra 661-342-0538, Manager of Housing, Patrick Henberry 661-978-0904 and the woman in charge of sales is Darlene 661-805-2295. This is how I got some of my problems resolved, I chased everyone down. Good luck!

 Greedy deep pockets. Once they make the sale they really do not care. They hire cheap subcontractors with minimal experience and as previously stated by another, "you get what you pay for". My grandmother lives in Brighton Parks, a retirement/senior community built by Castle & Cooke. The neighborhood is nice but they had some inexpensive idiot contractors installing the air/heat units backwards. And go figure, they did not work very well. My grandmother was told by a gentlemen that works for Castle & Cooke that the contractor was most affordable now out of business and that was who David Archer selected. There own representatives seem to be embarrassed.

 When you have illegals building your house what do you expect the quality to be? 20 years ago  real Americans were building houses and these problems didn't exist. You get what you pay for.

 Is it any wonder that it was a Bakersfield company that refused to sell a new home to a lawyer? Yes, it was the first case of someone being discriminated against because of their job. And it was because lawyers "complained too much".
 

Someone at the Californian: what was the name of the company, and what happened to the lawsuit that the lawyer started on behalf of the residents?

 I had previously thought that the 'Corporate Home Builders' were crap as all above have mentioned until my most recent experience.  We had bought in 2004 at the Lennar Westlake community.  I had previously identified that the master bath show was leaking via their warranty forms.  The problem appeared to have been fixed prior to warranty expiration.   However, having a new addition to the family, I was a little skeptical about the possibility of mold in the wall adjacent to the shower.  I placed a call to Mr. Steve Hitch at Lennar Customer Care regarding the possibility of the mold contamination.  He scheduled a testing and abatement crew right away - 3 years after we had moved in, no questions asked!!  After opening up the wall and removing some shower tile, a minor amount of mold was found and removed.  Of course, the tile we had chosen at time of purchase was no longer available and I thought we were in for some "patch" job.  But to my surprise, Lennar offered to retile the entire bathroom to include shower, tub, and counter top.  But the kicker to the story is that they also removed the carpet and placed tile on the floor - well above their responsibility!!  Sure we were out of a bathroom and inconvenienced for a short (2 months) period of time, but Lennar staff more than made up for any warranty/construction issues with the service and "baby sitting" of the home during construction activities continued allowing the wife and I to maintain our busy working schedules.  GREAT JOB STEVE & JUSTIN!!

Now if I could get the dogs to keep from digging up the back yard... 

 This is the same partner who built our defective homes here in San Luis Obispo, both Lennar and Partner RW Hertel & Sons built the New development called RANCHO OBISPO. When several people got ill they investigated discovered massive Toxic Mold and major home defects and leaks. So what did the builder do ? He told us owners if we COMPLAIN he the builder will sue us to silence us about telling of his shoddy and defectice homes. RW Hertel and Lennar failed to fix the leaks and more and more owners complained. Both to City officilas and State Officials. What happened next was the builder Sued the owners who complained some were low income who bought affordable housing thus they could not afford to defend against a false suit. But the State got involved did a 2 year investigation found ALL 100% of the New homes inspected were in fact all defective and NOT to Code. Still now 4 years later Mold and leaks still persist. Now the builder Hertel was found at fault and brags that he does NOT care since it is the Insurance companies who he will make sure get screwed having to pay for damages.

Ron Hertel Partner Robert JS Fowler are facing many suits state wide and are under a fraud investigation so Bakersfield your in the same boat we are. WE go to trial later this year keep up the work on getting Justice and file complaints with CSLB and the FBI under violation of your civil rights and file a Civil RICO charge.

 Someone at the Californian: what was the name of the company, and what happened to the lawsuit that the lawyer started on behalf of the residents?

mattloch: I asked some folks here including our font of institutional memory, Steve Swenson. No one remembers the names...if any readers do please e-mail me (gwenner@bakersfield.com) and/or post it here. I'll try to find out what happened with that.

Thanks-

Gretchen

Having worked for nearly a decade in home-building, I've seen this type of thing happen time and time again. I've been personally involved, cleaning up the damage left by others as a warranty rep, juggling buyer complaints and company policy as the first line manager, and I've been the division president who's had to meet with owners, lawyers and arbitrators on major litigation cases.  Basically, I've been on every level - to include being the owner of a tract home with major warranty issues that were blown off.  WIth that experience I can say situations like this are a crap shoot no matter where you are, who you bought from or what the building codes are.  Sometimes the complaints are legit and sometimes they are an owner's personal peeves that gain momentum as they stand in their front lawn and chat with neighbors. Next someone says, "lawsuit" and instantly attorneys start rappelling out of the sky ready to "help."  In the current climate these legal angels believe that builders will just roll over to avoid any more negative publicity, but I can attest that specifically Lennar and several other of the major tract builders have a razor focus on reducing their exposure in litigation. This includes employing some extreme policies and procedures, holding division level management accountable, and retaining top-notch legal services. Don't get me wrong, builders aren't blameless and there are more than a few - public and private - out there knowingly cutting corners in order to save cost.  My advice: Be smart. I've read all the comments posted and there is a wealth of good information here, but, I'd like to share a few additional considerations.

The quality of the home will depend more on the actual construction superintendent overseeing the building process of your home, than any other factor.  If they are honest they will give you their thoughts, insights and concerns (i.e. They may tell you stuff like external French doors and skylights are pretty, but there is a better than 50% chance they will result in a leak at some point in the life of your home).  If they are organized and professional they will keep a close eye on their homes and hold the contractors accountable to do their jobs correctly. Finally, If they are experienced they know what to look for in the construction of a home and can tell if something is properly installed or not.  If they are not any of these things then there's bound to be an issue.  So here's a few things you will want to ask when buying a tract home no matter the stage of construction.

- How long has the superintendent been building homes? And how long with that builder? Builders like to hire young candidates with little to no experience so they can pay them less (heck, I once was one them).

- How many homes are they overseeing at the time your home is (or was) being built? For large homes, carrying 4-8 is good and for smaller homes 10-13 is acceptable.

- Find out which closed homes were built by that superintendent, and if possible, talk to the owners about their experience with that superintendent.  

- How much interaction does that superintendent have with you? If they hop in their truck and leave skid marks when they see you, then chances are they don't want to deal with you.  Also, were you given the opportunity to ask them construction based questions? Some builders use the sales person as the gatekeeper that does all the talking. Be wary, but also be on the look out for those smooth talkin' site managers. They talk a good game and you can't help but love 'em, even though your concerns aren't being addressed. You can't be a nice guy here. If they said they'd fix it and didn't then they aren't fixing the other stuff either.

- Ask if the builder does the walk-through with the buyer to ID punch items, and are they also the person that will take care of warranty issues for a portion of for the entire warranty period. Many builders use various methods for these situations such as a quality Inspector for a walk through and a separate warranty rep, but companies that make their building superintendents conduct walk through as well as the warranty hold them accountable for the quality of the work they were responsible for overseeing.

There are more considerations but these are a few good ones that I have rarely seen put out there.  Keep in mind too, no home will be perfect, just as no home-builder is blameless. Protect the most important and emotional purchase of your life by being proactive.  There are shady builders and there are builders that despite the best of intentions make mistakes, but the best advocate for a home purchase is always going to be you.

- House Go Boom