If you read but 1 page, let it be "BIG Worries Ahead!"
We arrived at Walden Woods South, closed the deal and paid the balance on our house, then moved into the guest house to await the arrival of our moving van. Our furniture arrived and we planned to spend our first night in our new house only to discover that the brand new fridge didn't work. And this was a $700 upgrade from the fridge that was standard with our model. The onsite sales rep said it could take "weeks" to replace our fridge because it had a bottom freezer. We knew they expected more prospective buyers to occupy the guesthouse the next day and needed us out of there so we countered by telling them that we'd continue to reside in their guesthouse until our fridge was replaced. They caved. A new fridge miraculously arrived within 72 hours and we finally took up residence in our new home.
A few days after moving in we had no hot water. We called the onsite sales office and they sent the handyman who said the element (whatever that is) needed replacing. He went to Home Depot, bought one, returned and installed it. Within a few days it happened again and another element was replaced. Then we had no water at all, so a plumber was called who arrived at 5 p.m., climbed under the house and returned 20 minutes later to announce that our house "had a lake under there". He ran to Home Depot, returned an hour later then climbed back under the house to replace the broken part. Before departing he said the problem was caused by Nobility's use of "cheap plastic parts" and that he intended bringing the broken part to the onsight office to show to them at the same time he handed them his bill. You'd think we'd be through with water problems. Guess again!
Within two weeks we reported mold in our bathroom to the onsite office - and by now were beginning to wonder why we ever considered living here. They sent the handyman again and he had to cut open our brand new wall in our brand new bathroom. The shower pipes were leaking inside the wall and causing mold. He cut open a large section of the wall, tightened the pipe to the showerhead then repaired, re-plastered and repainted the wall. He said the problem was caused by the manufacturer of the home, Nobility Homes. It seems they didn't sufficiently tighten the joints between the showerhead and the pipe leading to it.
On the same day the shower wall was cut open the second brand new $700 upgrade fridge again needed repairs. The ice machine died. I called the office and they told me to contact another company who came out, confirmed the death of the ice machine, returned a couple of days later and installed a new one. And the troubles were only beginning!
During this same period we noticed that one of the large bathroom wall mirrors was peeling off the wall. We called the office; they sent the handyman (by now our new best friend) who re-stuck it to the wall. The next week he returned when it again peeled away from the wall. When it happened a third time he injected some more glue behind the mirror and it stuck - only it dried with the mirror away from the wall. Apparently either the mirror was curved and/or the wall was warped. He offered to replace the entire wall but we declined. So he told us that the office won't let him repair it again and said "If it comes off the wall I'll come replace it free for you" then gave us a new mirror which we stored behind a bookcase. Think it can't get any crazier? Stay tuned!
The next week I complained to the office that large patches of our new lawn had died and turned brown. They said ''It was green when we laid down the sod so it's your problem.'' Really, that's what they told us! Fighting words if we ever heard them! We were determined to press the matter which is what we did. The office construction manager and the guy who sold them the sod and installed it came to inspect the dead lawn and repeated that ""it was green"" when they installed so we're now on our own. I reminded them that after the sod was installed it was six weeks before we arrived from Houston and during that time the house was unoccupied and in the care of the office. Therefore, I said, the sod was their responsibility until I arrived. We fought back and forth until they realized I would not back down. They caved. But they made us wait another two months until they finally gave us enough sod to fill in the dead patches. Our lawn and the lawns of many other residents died soon after movei-in. See the PHOTOS page to see some of the actual lawns.
It seems amazing to us the number of items we needed to ask them to repair. We lodged a number of repair requests with the office. Here''s a partial list of the items requested:
1. Master bedroom floor squeaks in front of door and in front of dresser
2. Floor in front of the spare bedroom closet squeaks
3. Glue stains on outside of front door frame
4. Cut in the kitchen dining area floor
5. Glue stains on kitchen sink
6. Kitchen cabinets - some have no bottoms and are painted a different color
7. A kitchen cabinet has a very rough unfinished corner
8. Our lamppost is missing a cross-tie
9. Spare bedroom door won''t close properly
10. Door knob in walk-through closet is broken
11. Kitchen light is falling out of the ceiling
12. Install & calibrate the new water meter as previously discussed
13. Bubbling paint in living room near the AC/heating vent .It may from leaky roof
14. The lingering lawn problem
15. Vent above microwave oven was not completely sealed - open to outside vermin
16. Light fixture/wiring in kitchen is faulty and needs replacing
17. Your handyman tested the kitchen light fixtue and determined it needs replacing
18. Master bathroom mirror still comes loose. The mirror and/or the wall is warped
19. The door latch between the living room and the master bedroom is faulty.
20. Crack in left-side master bath wall beneath mirror
21. Guest bedroom closet shelf collapsed
22. Screen door installed on last week has screening already coming out of the frame
23. Clogged sprinkler head
24. Living room ceiling border: separation between where 2 boards meet
25. Front door frame - paint is peeling off
26. Some floor/ceiling moldings have separated in several places
Beware: They only repair items you find and report during the first year. After that you're on your own.
A few days after moving in we had no hot water. We called the onsite sales office and they sent the handyman who said the element (whatever that is) needed replacing. He went to Home Depot, bought one, returned and installed it. Within a few days it happened again and another element was replaced. Then we had no water at all, so a plumber was called who arrived at 5 p.m., climbed under the house and returned 20 minutes later to announce that our house "had a lake under there". He ran to Home Depot, returned an hour later then climbed back under the house to replace the broken part. Before departing he said the problem was caused by Nobility's use of "cheap plastic parts" and that he intended bringing the broken part to the onsight office to show to them at the same time he handed them his bill. You'd think we'd be through with water problems. Guess again!
Within two weeks we reported mold in our bathroom to the onsite office - and by now were beginning to wonder why we ever considered living here. They sent the handyman again and he had to cut open our brand new wall in our brand new bathroom. The shower pipes were leaking inside the wall and causing mold. He cut open a large section of the wall, tightened the pipe to the showerhead then repaired, re-plastered and repainted the wall. He said the problem was caused by the manufacturer of the home, Nobility Homes. It seems they didn't sufficiently tighten the joints between the showerhead and the pipe leading to it.
On the same day the shower wall was cut open the second brand new $700 upgrade fridge again needed repairs. The ice machine died. I called the office and they told me to contact another company who came out, confirmed the death of the ice machine, returned a couple of days later and installed a new one. And the troubles were only beginning!
During this same period we noticed that one of the large bathroom wall mirrors was peeling off the wall. We called the office; they sent the handyman (by now our new best friend) who re-stuck it to the wall. The next week he returned when it again peeled away from the wall. When it happened a third time he injected some more glue behind the mirror and it stuck - only it dried with the mirror away from the wall. Apparently either the mirror was curved and/or the wall was warped. He offered to replace the entire wall but we declined. So he told us that the office won't let him repair it again and said "If it comes off the wall I'll come replace it free for you" then gave us a new mirror which we stored behind a bookcase. Think it can't get any crazier? Stay tuned!
The next week I complained to the office that large patches of our new lawn had died and turned brown. They said ''It was green when we laid down the sod so it's your problem.'' Really, that's what they told us! Fighting words if we ever heard them! We were determined to press the matter which is what we did. The office construction manager and the guy who sold them the sod and installed it came to inspect the dead lawn and repeated that ""it was green"" when they installed so we're now on our own. I reminded them that after the sod was installed it was six weeks before we arrived from Houston and during that time the house was unoccupied and in the care of the office. Therefore, I said, the sod was their responsibility until I arrived. We fought back and forth until they realized I would not back down. They caved. But they made us wait another two months until they finally gave us enough sod to fill in the dead patches. Our lawn and the lawns of many other residents died soon after movei-in. See the PHOTOS page to see some of the actual lawns.
It seems amazing to us the number of items we needed to ask them to repair. We lodged a number of repair requests with the office. Here''s a partial list of the items requested:
1. Master bedroom floor squeaks in front of door and in front of dresser
2. Floor in front of the spare bedroom closet squeaks
3. Glue stains on outside of front door frame
4. Cut in the kitchen dining area floor
5. Glue stains on kitchen sink
6. Kitchen cabinets - some have no bottoms and are painted a different color
7. A kitchen cabinet has a very rough unfinished corner
8. Our lamppost is missing a cross-tie
9. Spare bedroom door won''t close properly
10. Door knob in walk-through closet is broken
11. Kitchen light is falling out of the ceiling
12. Install & calibrate the new water meter as previously discussed
13. Bubbling paint in living room near the AC/heating vent .It may from leaky roof
14. The lingering lawn problem
15. Vent above microwave oven was not completely sealed - open to outside vermin
16. Light fixture/wiring in kitchen is faulty and needs replacing
17. Your handyman tested the kitchen light fixtue and determined it needs replacing
18. Master bathroom mirror still comes loose. The mirror and/or the wall is warped
19. The door latch between the living room and the master bedroom is faulty.
20. Crack in left-side master bath wall beneath mirror
21. Guest bedroom closet shelf collapsed
22. Screen door installed on last week has screening already coming out of the frame
23. Clogged sprinkler head
24. Living room ceiling border: separation between where 2 boards meet
25. Front door frame - paint is peeling off
26. Some floor/ceiling moldings have separated in several places
Beware: They only repair items you find and report during the first year. After that you're on your own.
This is definitely not paradise!
"Walden Woods South lied!"
"Our dream is lost!"
"I know. So is our money!"
"Our dream is lost!"
"I know. So is our money!"
(c) 2010
"The sales reps sold us all a phoney bill of goods from day one!"
(I can't reveal who made this direct quote but it's someone in a high position who definitely knows!)
(I can't reveal who made this direct quote but it's someone in a high position who definitely knows!)
Families Warned:
Our house had mold problems, and ad if mold wasn't bad enough, we had more than two dozen other problems almost immediately!
