** ?? Pre-publication Note: Replace [the builder] with Lennar on what date ?? **
Quality? Not So Much Really, But You Don’t Find That Out Until After You Buy The House.
Below are just some of the problems I encountered with my production built new home. Others in the development had similar or worse problems. One had mold in the concrete under the flooring by some windows, and a hidden water leak in the plumbing. Someone else had water come in under the front door every time there was a heavy rain. Just about everyone in the development I spoke with had issues they didn’t find until after moving in.
It’s only my opinion but it seems to me that [the builder] hires the low bid contractor. The low bid contractor then hires the cheapest labor. The actual sub-contractors doing the work are probably paid by piecework. The more they do in a time period the more money they make. So there is no incentive for quality.
Unfortunately there is not much recourse for buyers of new construction homes with quality issues in Florida. This is because of the agreement you sign with the builder and Florida law. And while [the builder] acknowledges the problem tickets by an automated email that doesn’t mean they’ll do something. You get a call, maybe, if it’s something they’re willing to fix. I have never gotten a response to my more serious issues with the windows.
One real estate broker I spoke with told me I would be better off buying a home that was 2 or 3 years old. That way some or all of the quality issues would have been worked out. And if the seller was being transferred out of the area I might get a really good deal. I should have listened to him.
Poor Quality Windows and Sloppy Installation
This is probably the most frustrating, time consuming, not to mention what could be the most expensive problem to fix I have encountered so far. These windows are probably the cheapest [the builder] could get away with buying. The installation work on some windows was so sloppy it might cause them to fail prematurely. This will be the one problem that will be the hardest to get [the builder] or their contractor to fix, if I can get them to fix it at all. I have put in more than one ticket and had no progress on this issue.
There were also issues with the weather stripping on several windows. After cleaning up the love bug mess from the outside with a hose I found water inside on the window sills. And the front windows that have fixed transoms over them leaked badly between the window and transom due to poor quality installation.
Careless Installation… 
…Allows Water In 
Unscreened Drain Holes Let The Love Bugs In… 
…And They Get In Easily, By The Hundreds, Daily
The Doors Aren’t Much Better
The door installations were done by the same contractor as the windows from what I was told. And since the quality of the work wasn’t any better I believe it. The front door was poorly aligned, its weather stripping has gaps, and its threshold was not properly adjusted.
The door to the garage had pretty much the same problems. From the awkward position of the light switches relative to the door it may even have been installed backwards. And what a joke the rear sliding glass doors are. Our first time in the property they would hardly open. Thought that might have been fixed by the pre-closing walk thru – nope. Not on my next trip to the property after settlement either. Not only that but later I noticed that they were installed backwards. The door handle was on the opposite side of the room from the light switches. Same for the vertical blinds they give you with the house. And there were similar problems with the weather stripping and adjustment as with the other doors. Poor quality components and just plain quick sloppy work. So of course the love bugs were getting in that way also. Unfortunately heavy doses of pesticides around all the doors and windows was the only remedy, something I had hoped to avoid for environmental reasons.
The Roof Installation Had Problems
The home inspector (yes, you really should hire one even for new construction before settlement) found one section where the roof flashing was not flush with the roof. This would allow water, insects, birds, and rodents to get into the attic space. Especially as there was supposed to be something called a rodent fence in this area that is missing when compared to the opposite side. He also found some exposed nail heads on a few shingles that needed to be sealed. I had to put in a ticket three times.
The first time a sub from the roof contractor came it was 4 PM on a Friday and he didn’t want to get on a ladder and have a look. He just told me there was nothing wrong. The second time the same guy came and again tried to tell me there was nothing wrong. After he talked to his boss he did get a ladder and go on the roof. All he did was move the flashing around which accomplished nothing, and pounded the exposed nail heads down without sealing them. I found that out by paying the home inspector to come back and re-inspect.
So I put in another ticket, and this time I told [the builder] do not send the same guy back. Eventually [the builder]s fixer came out to have a look. He too tried to tell me there was nothing wrong. But he did take a look from inside the attic and then admitted there was a problem. He got some expanding foam to fix the gap in the flashing, and put sealer over the exposed nail heads. There were also some other gaps in the flashing that needed to be filled where it was just cut too short.
The Trim And Paint Work Was Quick And Sloppy
When it came time for the pre-settlement walk thru we were really disappointed. The house still wasn’t finished and settlement was in two days. So of course the finish work was rushed and sloppy. There were a few places where the trim was badly nailed and the nails were coming out of the trim then into the walls. And the painters just painted right over it. All the cosmetic issues were written up by [the builder]’s rep, and marked for the painters to see with blue tape.
The first time I got back to the property two weeks after settlement I was furious. While some of the paint and trim issues were fixed somebody just came thru and removed the blue tape from many other spots.
The painting contractor was made to come back and fix some things that they by passed before, and of course they were pleasant about it. But later on when they were working at another site and saw me going by they just stared daggers at me. They got caught and they didn’t like it.
Later after trying to wipe a spot off the wall it became apparent that only one thin coat of paint was applied. It seemed to me that they may have even watered down the paint. When I went to wipe a spot off the wall the paint came off with it.
And there were many other quality issues such as gaps in the baseboards, gaps in the tile and grout work, stuff that wasn’t caulked. There were a couple of exterior light fixtures that were not installed square, even the doorbell switch was crooked. Too much to detail here, this page would never load.
The idea of a new home is nice, like getting a new car. But the quality control and recourse for new home consumers just isn’t there in Florida.
Moving To Florida 
You must be logged in to post a comment.