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Debra of Temecula CA (09/18/08)
Approximately 4 years ago, water came through improperly installed doors, damaging wood floors. After three years, the doors were finally repaired. In the last 9 months, Woodside has sent 3 different vendors to obtain an estimate to fix the floors. Nothing has happened. Today I received an email that Woodside has filed Chapter 11 and they apologize.
Does this mean I am just up the creek? Because they filed Chapter 11, do they get away with shotty work and stringing me along for four years. Are the class action suits filed against them by other homeowners now lost?
Brenda of Phoenix AZ (08/22/08)
Here I sit in my house built by Woodside Homes that was built without post tension slab and my house has snapped into four pieces. All of my floors and walls have cracked to the point of my tile lifting off of the floor. There is a gap in my slab that is at least 1/3 inch big. It goes all the way across the back part of my house. Initially, Woodside homes was helpful and they told me that I needed to have concrete installed in the entrance way where I had already done some landscaping. They took everything out and also installed gutters.
In this area, my front door has been adjusted five times and replaced once. It promptly cracked again. They tell me the issue is a drainage problem and agreed to assist with having the lot regraded. Like most things they have come to tell me, they have not helped and sent a letter telling me it was up to me. I used their preferred contractor who had given me a bid and they say they are coming out but they don't.
I have contacted Stacey K since he stated in two different letters to me that Woodside Homes will help me through this process. Deb from Woodside Homes had initially been out to my house numerous times and told me to change all my landscaping which I had already done. After that, they said it was a drainage problem.
Last night I was laying in bed and I heard the final quadrant of my house crack. At this point, I'm exhausted of the lies they tell and the help they say they are going to give me that they don't. I'm tired of tripping over the cracked tiles on my floor and trying to mop it. I'm embarassed to have people into my house. Woodside claims we are responsible for the drainage problem because a pool was put in (someone owned our house for one year) but, how can I know for sure the drainage problem is really because of this? How do i know it was done properly to begin with?
Woodside has already settled (I think out of court) two houses in the neighborhood. One is exactly like my model with the same exact problems. I'm looking for a lawyer at this point. If I could contact the family who settled and asked them who their lawyer was, I would but they have moved out of their cracked house. Its been a nightmare for us. I can't believe they can continue to build homes and not care about the ones that they already built that are falling apart.
I've already replaced all my landscaping per Woodside homes recommendation. I've put in artificial turf to eliminate the watering of the grass. All of which they told me was good but now say is not good.
Tony of Henderson, Nv 89011 NV (08/15/08)
I am writing to inform you that the dispute i had with Woodside Homes has been amicably resolved. We have agreed all issues and Woodside Homes have agreed to refund my money. There is no longer any outstanding matter pending between myself and Woodside Homes. thanks for listening and posting.
all matters resolved and i have been been made whole.
Eugene of Fallbrook CA (07/12/08)
My wife and I found what we believed to be the perfect home at the Sycamore development in Wolf Creek (Temecula, CA). This is our first home, so I made sure we went over every single detail of what is included and what is not included. On the day that we signed our contract we went over the details one last time. One of the details that we discussed was the flooring that would come standard in the home. The sales agent Karen Cochran, pulled out some paperwork with the details and then told us that the kitchen, kitchen nook, and a few other places downstairs would be the standard tile. Everything was fine until we visited the design center to pick our flooring. When we arrived at the design center we were told that the flooring (that we were originally told is tile) is in fact vinyl ( a $10,000 difference).
We called the sales agent and after a lot of arguing concluded that the issue was due to a color coding change. Woodside Homes decided to change their flooring contractors and now the yellow color code means Vinyl and not Tile, so the agent was confused when she told us. We told the sales agent that we wanted the tile since it was her mistake and that we were told that it would be included when we signed the contract. She asked Tim Mcguiness the president of the California branch and he blew us off. We were told that we could back out of the home and lose our deposit if we didn't like it. I preceded to call the main branch in Utah (they simply forwarded the message to Tim).
Finally after calling the main branch non stop and leaving numerous messages, Shelly Sromalla (Director of Escrow Services) called us and gave us the same run around saying it is our fault and we misunderstood. I was very nice to her and explained that I simply wanted Woodside Homes to work with us and that maybe we could come to some type of agreement. They were simply rude to us and tried to bully us around. Today I received a letter in the mail stating that we can pay for the upgrade if we still want it. Instead of returning my NUMEROUS phone calls they sent me a letter.
In a area were the market is so saturated with foreclosures, I am surprised. I will report them to the BBB and the local new station, anyone else have any ideas. I want to warn others so they do not get cheated like us. The solar advantage is not worth the pain and frustration they have put our family through.
Incorrect flooring in our brand new home. $10k to fix the issue
Tony of Henderson NV (07/04/08)
I Agreed to buy a house from Woodside Homes office at Boulder Creek. Gave them $10,000 Earnest Money. They insisted i use their lender. Fortunately we had added a clause to the Agreement that stipulated that if the appraisal price was lower than the contract price, they have to either reduce the contract price or refund the deposit. The closing date has come and gone, they did not produce an appraisal.
I arranged for my own appraisal which was lower than the contract price. They have refused to lower the price and refused to refund the deposit. I will report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Nevada Attorney General's office. I assume i will have to sue them to recover my deposit.
$10,000
Tony of Henderson NV (07/03/08)
Signed a contact with a clause that said ... if the appraised value was lower than the contract price, then they have to lower the contract price or return the Earnest money of $10,000. They cannot get an appraisal close to the purchase price, my appraisal came in at $367,000 versus the contract price of $435,000. As a result they refuse to lower the price or refund the deposit. I will sue them, lodge a complaint with the Better business Bureau and the Nevada Attorney General.
$10,000 plus attorneys fees.
Karen of Las Vegas NV (06/23/08)
I put down $20,000+ on a home in Summerlin, Palmilla Subdivision for options. As we got closer to closing, Alexis, the mortgage officer told us our payment would be $2800. She told my husband that she could qualify us because we had good credit scores. She was very vague. We finally found out that it was a negative am loan, which means you don't pay all of your interest and this results in a lower payment. Then at the end of the year your loan balance would be an additional $13,000.
This was not acceptable. They were trying to force us to purchase the home eventhough we felt this would not be a good loan. When we began to question everything,and look for other financing. They sold the house out from under us for $140,000 less. The point is, they were very unprofessional, their mortgage person is unavailable within their timeframe to be approved. I think they do this on purpose to keep everyones' earnest money and then claim it was the customers' fault. I am pursueing this.
Maybe we can find a lawyer to take this case. They have an arbitration clause in their contract, but I know they have violated some mortgage laws. If anyone is interested, please contact me. Maybe we should picket them to warn other people. This is very wrong and unethical to say the least. I am very disappointed in their integrity.
Financial hardship and health problems
Keith of Las Vegas NV (03/25/08)
This is a follow up to a complaint posted on January 5th, 2008. The situation has deteriorated and I would like to know to know where I stand legally. In short, the house was incomplete when I was promised it would be. I was coerced into closing on a home in Las Vegas while I was still in New Jersey, without inspecting the completed product personally. I was told by Brenda Skaggs that if I wanted to move into the completed home on December 29th, 2007, I could not arrange the wire transfer in Las Vegas after final walk through but had to wire the funds and sign all documents from New Jersey. At final walk through on December 28th, 2007, there was still scaffolding in the house, construction equipment was everywhere and every surface was covered in a thick layer of white construction dust, when the move in date was December 29th, 2007.
There was a three page list of unfinished or missing items on December 29th, 2007. After the verbal abuse by Brenda Skaggs on December 29th, 2007, I have tried every avenue to get the chain of command at Woodside Homes Las Vegas and at the Corporate Offices in Utah but no employee will give any information or return any phone calls or emails. I finally got in touch with Michael Kerns, the Sales manager for Woodside Las Vegas about three weeks ago. When I finally had a chance to speak with him, I asked to meet with him to discuss the problems I have had, however he said to me he does not have to meet with me, he does not need to meet with me and he does not want to meet with me. He went on to say I was pissing him off and that he has final say and there is no one above him who will say differently. I was told the corporate office would not help me and I would be refered back to him.
When I called the corporate office immediately after our conversation, only a receptionist would speak with me and when I kept insisting on speaking with someone in charge, was told the corporate lawyer gave instructions to have me leave a message, which naturally was never returned. Since then, the 30 day walk through was done and was promised that a Woodside representative would be responsible for ensuring all matters would be properly attended to. There was no one present during repairs and workmen kept approaching me for guidance. All of them spoke Spanish and I could not communicate with then properly, in addition to which they constantly interrupted my work. The final straw came when I was told an outstanding item would not be addressed to my satisfaction.
I was advised in a letter that while Woodside has tried to make up for my frustrating experiences by fixing things they should not have, the replacement I requested for a damaged threshold was the proper one and they would not match the other two thresholds beside the replacement. I must now accept the unmatched threshold because the company is allowed to provide modified replacements. The door jams of my front and back door are still unpainted after repairs. There has been no apology, regret or admission of guilt from the sales office. In fact I have been met with outright hostility even though I am the injured party.
My health has suffered since my move. I lost 15 pounds from the stress of dealing with Woodside. My work has suffered from constant interruptions to my days from workmen in my house on a regular basis. Most of my finances are tied up in the purchase of this property with little funds extra to pursue a legal battle. I would like to know what my options are legally and perhaps work out an arrangement with an attorney for services provided.
I have been advised by my real estate company, Prudential American that I may be wasting my time, energy and money, trying to get some satisfaction from Woodside but I am extremely upset that anyone purchasing a new home could be treated this way while the builder shrugs. Surely there must be something that will hold the builder legally responsible and how could it be that these big companies can provide a sub standard product at closing, completely drop the ball on service or any pretense of professionalism after funds are transferred and get away with it. I strongly believe, the closing was rushed to ensure the builder had my funds on their books for their 2007 year end closing.
Romeo of Stockton CA (01/23/08)
We moved in to our new home back in July 2005. Since then, we had at least 7-8 times of PLUMBING PROBLEM in our house. The first occurrence was after 2 months (August 2005) of moving in and it has been at least every 4 to 6 months since then. The water from the sewage actually backed out to our bathroom (toilet and shower/tub) on the bottom floor where we had to dry out the water on the bathroom floor and hallway carpet. Mr. Mike Peters has been very helpful, but has always constantly told us that he had videoed the main pipe and there were not an obstruction. Finally, around July 2007, Mike, after 5 to 6 times of the same plumbing problem, videoed the main piped and found out that it was sagging. Due to this problem, the water backed up. They took out part of the driveway and replaced the main pipe line.
I thought everything were fixed until last month, December 2007 when the water backed up one more time on the bottom floor bathroom. I contacted several phone numbers of Woodside Home (it happened on a Sunday after Christmas) including their emergency number. After several hours, I was able to contact Jennifer (Sales Rep at Woodside Orvieto Office). I told Jennifer that I could not get a hold of their emergency number. She called me back after a few hours and told me that she left messages with some managers and advised me to go ahead and call one of their contractor Bianki Plumbing. I tried several minutes and even left at least 3 messages. When I talked to Jennifer again, she advised me to call any plumbing company. Roto Rooter came after an hour and fixed our plumbing problem. We were charged for $148.75. According to the plumber, the main line from the bottom bathroom was clogged (Kelly C10) with soap accumulation due to cheap construction of the plumbing system. He also stated that new homes have a Kelly C-10 at the backyard which we don't have installed. After a few days, Bishop called me and said that he will come by and send some people to take a look of the problem with our plumbing. He even stopped by and took a look at the copy of the bill from Roto Rooter. At that time, I could not give him a copy because my copying machine had ran out of ink from it's cartridge. As Bishop had requested, I placed a copy of the bill on our front door for him to pick up. It has been more than 2 weeks and he had not pick up the copy of the bill.
Although Woodside Homes have had sent their people to check of the problem, the plumbing problem continues. We are asking from them to refund the $148.75 that we paid to the Roto Rooter plumbing company plus replace or redo the whole plumbing system and install a Kelly C10 (according to the Roto Rooter plumber) at the backyard. They also need to replace the carpet on the hallway. We have suffered too much with the bad plumbing system where we had lost so much time waiting to get it done right.
The company responds:
According to Woodside Homes records, this homes warranty issues with the patio door have been addressed and repaired since November 2007.
Woodside Homes Corporation
Chris Kane
Warranty Service
Keith of Las Vegas NV (01/05/08)
On December 28th, 2007 I closed on a home in the Las Colinas Development at Mountain's Edge. I moved from the New York area and needed to have enough time to give proper notice and to plan my move. On November 27th, 2007 I was advised via email that my final walk through was scheduled on December 28th, 2007. The representative for Woodside Homes, Brenda Skaggs was advised that I would be driving from New York and that my partner would fly out for the walk through. We were advised we could occupy the house by the weekend after December 28th, 2007. Hotels for the weekend were cancelled and we received the keys on December 29th, 2007 at 4pm.
At this point, naturally, all funds had changed hands and documents were signed. The house was filthy and unfit for occupation. There were also several missing components and unfinished issues that were promised to be addressed by move-in date. When Brenda Skaggs, the Woodside Representative, was contacted on the issues, her attitude was scathing, HIGHLY abusive, disdainful, dismissive and the most unprofessional behavior ever witnessed. As much as we were disappointed with the problems with the unfinished product, the attitude of the Woodside representative was the most attrocious. No consumer should be treated in this way, especially given the cost of the homes at Woodside and the selling points of their website. Woodside Prides themselves on a great product and service and frankly the service has been so terrible. Given her attitude, Brenda Skaggs should not be allowed to represent any seller and I am thoroughly disgusted with the experience. She turned what should have been a jubilant time into a nightmare. The excitment of the New Year and moving into my first home was thoroughly ruined by this Woodside representative and I want something to be done. I'm not sure what steps can be taken at this point. Today is January 5th, 2008 and there are still several missing conponents to the house, including the keys to the garage which was promised to be delivered from Brenda by January 2nd, 2008.
My take on this situation is that Woodside wanted to close on the house before 2007 ended at the expense of the client and the final product. I also think that once documents were signed and funds changed hands, Woodside and especially their representative no longer cares how the client is treated or how their issues are addressed.
Marlene of North Salt Lake UT (11/28/07)
When our house was built, the backdoor was completely defective; it was not installed properly or correctly. It wouldn't close right so wind and bugs would get in through the crack of the frame and the door. Not only that, the door wouldn't close right, it was partically open. In Sep 2006, we filed a Better Business Bureau complaint because the warranty manager, Chris Kane, was not doing her job. In the previous months before Sep 2006 we notified her a few times by phone that the door needed to be fixed but each time she wouldn't send a repair guy until the BBB complaint. The repair guy only placed a quick fix which consisted of a piece of plastic so that the door could close right. A few months later, the door went back to the same position (had the look of being open) and wind kept coming into the house. This is now around Sep 2007! I again contacted Chris Kane to get it repaired but each phone call was left with, I will get someone right on out there, or You have not called me, otherwise your phone call would have been written down. Because of those numerous excuses we filed again another BBB complant which was closed as unresolved. Since phone calls weren't going anywhere with the warranty manager, my husband and I have been to her office a total of 3 times. The first was to get the door replaced which was finally done. The second was to get the door and trim finished (moldings pasted back on and placing putty on the cracks). Now the third one was today.
Ronnie Sparks of Las Vegas NV (02/13/07)
My spouse and I wanted to purchase a home from Woodside Homes of Nevada Inc. however due to my inability to qualify for the home the firm has decided to keep earnest monies belonging to us. After contacting the headquarters of this firm four times they have failed to respond to our request for earnest monies.
In addition to the non-qualification, my spouse and I found other issues that we feel were not professional nor of proper business acumen:
-The home builder’s sales staff “touted� an increase of $5000 per phase increase in value in front of potential buyers when in fact they lowered the price by 23k
-The home builder’s sales staff failed to make it to a meeting they made
-The home builder’s sales staff stated “we don’t need your signature to release the home back to us� and would no longer communicate with us from that point on
-The home builder failed to respond to the last two letters sent to them
-The home builder lowered the price of the home after our contract more than $23,000
-When notifying the sales agent that the wrong color palette was written on the wall the agent dismissed us stating “Don’t talk to me about color…it is was it is� A few months later it was confirmed that the builder painted our home incorrectly.
-The home builder’s sales staff called our realtor three weeks before our walk-through date and said we were in breach of contract.
-The home builder’s sales staff would not identify how we were in breach of contract and told us we were no longer allowed to contact her that is was now in the hands of their Corporate. When contacting Corporate we were informed that they couldn’t help us it is in the hands of the Sales Agent. When asking for the Chain of Command, information was denied
The home builder’s sales staff failed to return phone calls about arbitration questions.
The home builder’s headquarters would not contact us after issues with the sales staff yet had the sales staff contact us.
The home builder’s accounts receivable failed to return a monetary instrument to me.
The home builder has failed to return earnest monies to me.
The home builder’s sales staff erroneously reflected sales of the model homes well over $900K when in fact they did not and this mislead potential customers believing that the values would soar to those amounts if they purchased there. This happened just before they reduced the pricing of their homes.
Your investigation into this matter would be appreciated as I know many other unhappy customers in the valley have had this same problem and need your assistance. The builder needs to return the $10,000 earnest monies to us as well as any other unhappy customers.
Gerald of Visalia CA (04/20/06)
They had very poor customer serivce and did not give me regular updates on the progress of my home. I had signed papers in October 2005 and was told that the house would be done in February 2006, but it's now the end of April and we're barely going through the home walk-throughs. I would have to call in myself to follow up on the reason for the delays every few weeks and on certain concerns and questions that I had. When I did talk to Marilynn, the sales agent, about my concerns she didn't seem like she cared to look into the issue or try to find the correct answers. For example, the loan agent that I was working with through their company had told me that I had to purchase home insurance before my home loan can close. So, I called an insurance agent and one of the questions they had asked was if there was a fire hydrant within 1000 feet of my home, so I called Marilynn and she said that there is one inside of the court where our house was located. I didn't really trust her answer so I went to go look for myself and it turns out that the fire hydrant was at the end of the street. She also hung up on me while we were having a conversation regarding my concerns with the way that they had paved my driveway, which I thought was very unprofessional.
Since they told me that the house was going to be done in February I had put in a trasnfer with my employer from San Jose to Visalia resulting in a pay cut. If I new that the house was going to be delayed more than 2 months I would have stayed in San Jose longer. I have been paying rent for a room here and also rent for a storage unit here for my belongings. So, it has been a financial strain on me moving here too early.
Richard of Visalia CA (04/11/06)
I am purchasing a new home in a tract development built by Woodside homes. I transferred my job here in sept. 2005, from San Jose to Visalia based on when my home was to be finished. According to Woodside, my house should have been completed Jan. 1, 2006. I took a paycut to come here and moved all my belongings in storage and renting temporarily. It is now March 22nd and my house is still under construction.
I was told by three or four employees of Woodside that they strive in customer satisfaction and also finishing a home in only four months. I signed a purchase agreement back in Oct.. Four months have passed. I was also told that all options are available for my house before my deposit. I gave a deposit of $10,000 on the following week after our conversation which was 10/12/05. It was then that i was choosing my options and i was told that i was not able to choose a few of the items that i wanted for upgrades because the deadline has passed which i was never informed about. I also had to pay approx. $6,000 in upgrades that the builder chose which i had no say so about.
The problems continue and the completion date keeps extending further out. My completion date is now expected to be end of April, beginning of May 2006. My funds that i had set aside are depleted, and so is my patience. They tried to settle for a $2,000 decrease in price but took the offer back due to the economy and competition they had to lower the prices of the homes for everyone. I feel that this organization is lying to me and everyone else. They are uneducated of their product and the result is we have to suffer while there sales staff continues to hustle customers so that they could leave their non-refundable deposit and make it difficult to go back on the purchase.
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