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About 1 year ago we purchased our first house from True Homes. The house is what they discribed to us as a "spec house;" which basically means there will be only one or two in the neighborhood. Don't really have much to complain about in regards to the house itself except for a few things here and there i. e poor dry wall mudding on the ceiling allowing you to see where the joist come together. The biggest complaint I have is with the lot; to begin with when we began the process of buying the home we were told by the agent that we were buying a bigger lot so we had to pay a premium, well in reality the "bigger lot" we paid for was eaten up by a sidewalk which was never mentioned to us so now our "bigger lot" is the same size as everyone else's except we paid more for ours, yay! We discussed with the builder our needs to have a fence installed as soon as we moved in and the only reccomendation was to have the fence installed about 1 foot from the property line which agree with. The fence company came and installed the fence; after about 3-4 months later summer came and with it a lot of rain which caused our back yard to flood. We reached out to True Homes quite a few times regarding the problem we were having and were basically told it is our problem because we had the fence installed in a "swell line" (this is builder talk for the area in between two lots where water will run off) and because of the fence our yard is flooding. I am not a builder and didn't know any better. I had different builder come out and look at the lot and compare it to the other lots in the neighborhood; he said in his opinion our fence has nothing to do with it because a swell line will generally will be in some what of a "V" shape to allow proper drainage which our lot does not have. After more attempts to get the builder to correct this mistake with no results I paid out of my pocket to have some drains installed in my back yard which helped with the problem but did not fix. This worked well for the last 1-1 1/2 years but they built the house next door and came on my property and filled in the area where the drain exited my fence causing more flooding in the back yard. After two weeks of calling the company I finally got them to come back out and what they call fixing their mistake which consisted of digging a 6 inch long 2 inch deep and 2 inch wide hole which still was not enough to supply proper drainage, I found myself this weekend digging this out farther. The end result is that I have a poorly graded lot causing flooding which is destroying my back yard; it looks like a swamp, my two year old can't even go back there, and I have to let the dogs out the front door for 2-3 weeks after it rains or else we will have mud all over the house beause all the flooding has killed all the grass leaving a big muddy mess every time you open the back door if it rains.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
We purschased and built a home through True Homes as well. They do not know how to properly construct drainage for homes. My neighbors and I are trying to get them to remedy this now. Stay tuned for pictures and I am glad I came across this. The water damage is
ruining our yards and they seem to ignore the fact that they are responsiable for this.
I have a question, because I was also looking into getting a True Home...was your home built on land that has a slight incline/decline? Or was it level all across? How long ago was the home purchased?
We purchased and built a home through True Homes in the fall of 2012. While we have little complaints on the actual home so far (aside from a small roof leak which was covered through the warranty and addressed quickly), but our complaint (similar to those listed above), where we do have MAJOR COMPLAINTS is in regards to the poor drainage we are now left to deal with. When our home was being built we were not only warned by current neighbors, in what was an old Ryan Homes Neighborhood, but also could see with our own eyes that water ran from the backyard of several neighbors, through our back yard (cutting it in half), running alongside our property line with our newest neighbors to the left, and into a huge drainage hole in their front yard. We brought up several concerns throughout the build process about the water running through, and were told that they dug this to ensure that the water stays away from the job site, but that it would be resolved and not to worry (MISTAKE #1 by us). We not only brought this up once, but virtually every time we went out to the house and spoke with our realtor- Rae Mactaggart, as well as our builder Jesse Morrison, and let me tell you, we were VERY involved in the building process.
When we went to close on the house the backyard was covered with grass seed and straw, so the drainage area, now affectionately referred to as the 'mote' was not as visible. Once a big storm came through, all of the grass seed and straw were washed away and we now have a ridiculous line of dried up dirt on dry days, and a raging lazy river during storms. This is something that is not our fault, and we understand the natural progression of the land, but then why did we pay the same land premium as others when we in essence had a DEFECTIVE lot. While we were left with a ridiculous mess of a backyard where it looks like they just plowed everything to the back of the yard and wished us the best, our neighbors to the left, who moved in after us, had trees removed and the yard flattened before being seeded. Don't worry, their backyard also drains into ours so now we have drainage from BOTH sides of the back of the house.
Long story semi-short, we have reached out numerous times to the people of True Homes, including their president- Scott Wentz, and Warranty Manager- Brian Ronca and have been told that there is nothing they "can" do to help the situation. When in reality, there is nothing they are WILLING to do. We even offered to purchase the necessary supplies if they could just bring someone in with some equipment to dig a proper ditch so that we do not have to try and instill the help of our father in laws in hand digging a ditch to install a french drain that is too small for the amount of water coming through. We also offered to sign a document saying that after they dug the proper drainage they would not be responsible for any repercussions of the drainage. Had we known that all of our concerns throughout the build process were going to be masked by grass seed and straw in order to get a couple of first time home buyers to sign on the dotted line, we would never have built with them. The only remedy they did have, was to drop off a $20 bag of Scott Grass Seed on our door step, which is completely worthless considering the lazy river. The only use we have for this now would possibly be to act as a sandbag to stop the water flow. This was such an insult, I mean really?! ONE BAG OF GRASS SEED for a probably 50' defective lazy river in the backyard. So ridiculous.
Word to the wise- take them with a grain of salt. Like every other sales position out there, they want your money, and could care less that the home you live in and raise a family in is hardly to a standard that they would consider to be acceptable. We gave them several opportunities to remedy the situation, and we are now having to spend thousands of dollars on a mistake that never should have been made in the first place. If there was nothing that could be done, then that should have been said to us in the first place, and we would have chosen a different lot, or no lot at all. KEEP YOUR WORD TRUE HOMES! This was our starter home, and instead of sticking with a company we could have loved, we will definitely be staying far away from any True Homes current or new build when we out grow this one.
I am building with True Homes right now and am having MAJOR problems already (and the slab hasn't even been poured on the lot). I've asked upwards of 20 times since day one (before even agreeing to build with them) for someone to map out the home I selected on the lot I selected. They finally agreed to do this more than 4 weeks after I went to show room (so I am 100% locked in to all my decisions and choices). Well, I find out during my lot walk that the home is actually too big for the lot and that the back of my house will bump up to the steep hill that is behind it. I never expected to have a huge back yard, but I didn't expect to have safety concerns when simply trying to step out my back door. True Homes NEGLECTED to properly inform me of this problem until it was too late. Now I am in discussions with my sales person and builder to try and have them fix the problem. If I don't get anywhere, I will be moving forward with a complaint to the BBB and contacting the local news stations and let them know of the intentional misrepresentation and attempt at withholding pertinent information that I've been dealing with.
I don't think that anyone cares what size house goes on what lot, truthfully. I have a friend building in the same development, and they were sold a lot that their house didn't fit onto and were forced to move to a different lot (of which there were NO choices). Overall, I'm very disappointed with the process so far but am hopeful that the problems will be recitified. At least I found out early on that they will be sneaky and try to hid things from me. I know to stay on top of everything and check in (daily if necessary) to the progress of my home.
If you have not signed on the dotted line...it's not final! They tried to cut corners with us but they knew I would not close if everything wasn't honored! When all else fails say no! I know it's exciting and frustrating at the same time but this is the biggest investment in your life so choose wisely! We've owner our True Home home for 9 yrs and just found out our foundation is sinking...we have huge cracks in the master bedroom walls! So worried about what will happen! Thank GOD we are still under warranty for sure! Good luck!
Pray that you don't live in a neighborhood that True Homes takes over. Dear GOD are they awful. We bought a 300K home in a nice neighborhood in 2007. Nice homes. Nice people. This was before the great recession. When building came to a halt and lots remained empty, True Homes swooped in and began to build. We watched the house next door go up in 2 months. The homes are cheap and begin at 150K. They are ruining our neighborhood, our home values and our futures. I don't know how these people sleep at night. They are trashing the financial stability of many families. They build an AWFUL house on a slab. It looks okay on the outside, but don't get me started on the cheap construction and interior.
True Homes also swooped into my deserted community also, the homes that were here ranged from 200K to 400K, then came the recession. Now true homes is here and building 130K homes! Bringing the value down of homes that were here before. Also, True Homes does not make Developer follow their own rules and restrictions...We have a trailer sitting on the street, trash barrels everywhere. No HOA and no rules being enforced.. True Homes doesn't seem to care as long as they are selling their cheap homes...My community has turned into the "projects"...this community is in Huntersville, NC.
We have a TrueHome and everything here rings true. If you buy a TrueHome in or near Charlotte in a $120K-$150K subdivision you will be in the ghetto. Lots of disrespectful renters and every other dog on your street will be a Pit Bull. The HOA (supported by TrueHome) will be useless. Save yourself some grief and look carefully at what you are getting. Be sure to drive by in the evening when activity picks up. Truehome quality isn't all that bad. Its the lack of caring for valid issues and for the community that will drive you nuts.
If you buy a house in that price range, no matter who builds it. you will experience the same issues. lol
BUYER BEWARE! True Homes is a crooked company with crooked management and cost-cutting building methodologies that will leave you and your home in danger. The Wakefield South development in Indian Land, SC is built on a slopping hill that was not properly graded for home development. At least half of the homes have SEVERE erosion due to building homes too close to steep hills or not properly compacting the fill dirt under the slab foundations. This is threatening the structural integrity of the homes and is a safety hazard for anyone living in the home.
In addition, many homes are being built BELOW the sewer line and True Homes has tried to get out of having to fix the issue properly. For one home in particular, the homeowner had to fight the builder and management to prove that True Homes was constructing the home without regard to building codes (as the home wouldn't pass inspection by the homeowner's inspector). I've seen their contractors dumping wet cement into storm drains. There are nails and debris over the entire development because their workers refuse to contain the construction trash to the sites. Management (especially the warranty department) is rude and bullies and intimidates homeowners into taking corrective actions that won't actually fix issues.
This company is a joke. There is a group of neighbors in the development that are currently banding together to take legal action against True Homes because of the breach of contract and breach of warranty issues and the intentional neglect in their building process. I strongly suggest anyone considering a home from True Homes turn and run as quickly as possible.
Crap, crap, crap, crap and MORE crap held together with nails, paint and glue. What a piece of JUNK you are buying. You would be better off renting an apartment and just burning $20, 000 in cash. Seriously. This company is a HUGE rip-off. They are pretty new so we aren't seeing the worst of it yet. Wait a couple of years until these "fabulous new homes" start to collapse in on themselves. Just you watch. Junk. These things are complete JUNK. Go to your nearest RV dealer and buy a trailer. You will be infinitely safer and at least you'll be able to sell it down the road. You'll be stuck with your True Home until you find some sucker to unload it on years from now. Run. Run FAR away. If you've already signed the contract, hire a lawyer and get the heck out of it.
Wish I had known this 3mo ago! We are having problems with our spec home, every day a new problem, and people are right, held together with glue. There isn't a piece of wood in the dam house, all fiber board, painted over to look like wood. Everything in here is cheap. Shame on me for not looking at this company more carefully.
Calabash, N.C.
Thanks for your candid comments. I was thinking about building in Fox Ridge but I think I will pass. Appreciate you sharing your experiences.
I was looking at True Home YouTube videos of some of their new homes. Was interested in relocating from CT and building. But the more I researched, the worse it got. Thank you to all the people that took the time to post their complaints. Your advice was immeasurable. I can't imagine the amount of money I could have lost or the stress I would have gone through had you not stepped forward. I wish you the best and hope True Homes honors their commitment to you, and will stand behind their work and their word. I thank you again.
If given the opportunity I wouldn't buy or recommend "True" Homes USA to anyone. We have been in our new home nearly a year and they never came back to take care of the horribly graded backyard! They left slopes all over the backyard and we have nothing but red clay everywhere as well as drainage issues! If it rains our backyard is a mud pit for at least three days. They had the audacity to drop a pile of dirt in our backyard and tell my husband he could fix it! Very disappointed in a number of things that took place towards our closing date. As far as, the builders Bobby and Stephen they had the most condescending attitudes when we told them the backyard was a safety issue for our three kids. They still get a bad review in my opinion. Seek other options!
Never buy a home from True homes. We have been dealing with them for two months now trying to get the to fix our wood floors that are coming appart from one another. They have sent then same two men to our house and both times was to look at it. They never return phone calls and when we do get in touch with Sherry from true homes she says she will setup a appointment for someone to look at it. They have already done that twice. I will make sure that anyone that comes to the model home over the weekend will know exactly what is going on. Run fast and never look at True homes again...
Stay away, even if you fall in love with the house plan. The warranty side of this company is so poor, send contractors out to work on your home without prior consent. No supervision of the warranty work, that falls to the homeowner- and then you have to debate and argue to have them agree that the warranty work done is actually worse than it was prior to them “fixing” it.
Stay away, unless you believe you will never have a warranty issue OR you are willing to pay out of pocket and forego the warranty.