Hunterbrook Media’s investment affiliate, Hunterbrook Capital, does not have any positions related to this article at the time of publication. Positions may change at any time. Hunterbrook Media is working with litigators on potential lawsuits based on our investigation. If you are a victim, we invite you to share your story by emailing [email protected] — […]

Cover Photo.

You’re in what you thought would be your dream house — until it wasn’t.

The living room ceiling has been ripped out after sewage water backed up and flooded the upstairs bathroom. With the drywall gone, you can spot loose nails and concerning gaps between the floor joists. Rainwater seeps through the cracks around the front door.

Insects crawl through the window frames — even though the windows were reinstalled because they weren’t installed properly in the first place. And most of your bathrooms are unusable, awaiting repairs the builder promised more than a year ago.

It feels like a nightmare — but it’s reality, according to Danielle Antonucci, who invited a Hunterbrook Media reporter to the home she and her husband bought just four years ago in Sarasota, Florida, built by the nation’s largest homebuilder, D.R. Horton ($DHI). In an email provided to Hunterbrook, Antonucci desperately pleaded with D.R. Horton to address the numerous defects rendering their home nearly uninhabitable: “I keep getting the response that this matter has been escalated to the Sarasota office,” she wrote. “It has been 21 months!”

  • scytale@lemmy.zip
    16·
    16 hours ago

    I definitely experienced some of the stuff mentioned in the article.

    • The pressure to buy or else you lose the discounts.

    • Showing you only the homes that are near completion so you’re forced to buy those even when you’re not in a hurry.

    • The rep saying they’ll grab their tools in the truck to fix some of the blue tape stuff immediately, then seeing the same blue tape still there when you move in.

    • Going out of their way to try to avoid warranty claims.

    Thankfully we haven’t had the severe issues the people in article have that make their homes literally unlivable. If you’re a first time buyer, get your own 3rd party inspection and make sure the builder follows through with the issues found.

    As the article mentioned, these builders (at least for the more affordable homes) hire the cheapest subcontractors they can find, so brand doesn’t really matter much. It boils down to the quality of the subcontractors in the area you’re in. So make sure to get an inspection. If you can get in early enough where the walls haven’t gone up yet, better. If you can afford it, do 2 inspections, before (when foundation is poured and no walls yet) and after (actual pre-closing inspection on the completed house). We were only able to do the latter, and thankfully we haven’t had any major issues yet.

    Edit: Don’t forget to also have an inspection done on your 11th month, to get any work done before the first year warranties expire. You’ll have more power to get stuff fixed if you have a report from a licensed inspector.