Villages of Columbus - Columbus Square - Camden Place

NEW -> Contingent Buyer Assistance Program
I'm supposed to get my keys this afternoon. I went on a walk through on 12/19, found about 10 or so cosmetic issues, basically just touching up paint. I tried all of the light switches and one of them over a bathtub wasn't working.



Basically, just point out every single thing that doesn't look right, or you're not completely satisfied with. At the end of the walk through, the place with covered in red/green tape haha.
 
So I moved in on Friday. Noticed one of the recessed lights in the kitchen will turn on sometimes, other times it will just stay off. Then the light above the 1st bedroom's shower didn't turn on at all.



The 2nd day, the bathroom downstairs was draining water very slowly. After a few hours, there was a backup and the tub starting overflowing with backup sewage water coming from the toilet. After a day and a half, finally was able to get a plumber out to my house. He opened up the main sewage pipe, stuck in one of those machines, and pulled out a plastic gasket with a string attached to it. He said that was causing my clog, and they use it to test the pipes but they are supposed to remove it afterwards. The builders just left it in there causing an eventual backup.



Then he noticed something else was stuck in the pipe, he said it could anything from dried clump of paint to drywall. but he couldn't get it out and said the builder may have to come back and dig up the pipes to get it out. Then he noticed the cap wasn't even glued on, so if there were a backup the water could just flow all over my garage.



I've tried calling all of the "emergency" or "customer care" numbers they have for Lennar. Nothing but voicemails.



Yeah, Lennar sucks. Talked to a neighbor, and he's having another assortment of problems.
 
<p>I'm sorry to hear that Shooby. I came really close of buying in phase 10.</p>

<p>Seems like you pay for what you get. Other builders (Laing) seem more expensive, but if it's better quality it's worth it.</p>

<p>Hoopefully you won't make other bad discoveries.</p>
 
hey Shooby- sorry to hear about your problems.... did you get a home inspection when you did the walk though? i am debating whether to get one or not. did you notice a missing beam on top of the attic? builder cut cost by leaving it out and such. the plumbing issues is common. my sister house had the same problem in az way back when. i think it will take about a year or so for you to find all the little crap that is wrong or missing with the place. luck of the draw i guess. so what kind of problems are your neighbor having? i wouldn't stress too much if it is just plumbing problems.... that is just an inconveniences. just as long as the structure and foundation are ok. little problems are just part of the new home buying process IMHO.
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. It seems that regardless of buying new or used, it probably makes sense to plop down a few hundred to get a professional construction inspector to go through the house to inspect & test everything as a part of the walkthrough!
 
<p><em>Seems like you pay for what you get. </em></p>

<p>Exactly. Minor plumbing problems is nothing considering Lennar sold these units below cost. If you want better quality spend a little more money and don't buy fire sales.</p>

<p> </p>
 
I'm all for the inspection, that way you can give them a demand list before the actual closing. "Fix it before I sign, please". You can bet they'll fix all problems faster that way....
 
I didn't get an inspection done on my place. I fell into the trap of "its a new place, its covered by warranty so no inspection needed"



My neighbor's smoke detector went off at night because he turned on his stove. When Lennar tried coming to fix it, they couldn't get in the house b/c his doorbell wasn't working.



Aside from the plumbing and the electrical light, I haven't had any other major problems. To Lennar's credit, as soon as the holidays were over, they showed up at my house this morning at 730 seeking details of the issue and said they will have a plumber here today to look at it. So at least the care is there to help get it fixed, regardless whether the house has closed already or not.



In the end, lesson was learned. Get an inspection done regardless the house is 1 day or 10 years old. Some things just aren't visible to the naked eye. There are other things to worry about when moving in, and having a defective house should be the least of your worries.
 
<p>All new construction has drama.</p>

<p>Asking for a home inspection on a new house is just stupid.</p>

<p>If Lennar is that bad - and I can only guess it is - why buy from them? I'm not in the market for a new construction home.</p>

<p>I think my wife and I agreed to buy a home in the area North Tustin near Foothill HS. Maybe next year. We're looking now.</p>

<p>Irvine is nice to shop in, but I can't handle the whole sterilzed suburban hell of cookie cutter tract homes.</p>
 
"When Lennar tried coming to fix it, they couldn't get in the house b/c his doorbell wasn't working."





Wow. File that one under "couldn't make up a better story if we tried."
 
Would an inspector even find a problem like that that's below the surface?





That just seems like shoddy/inexperienced construction to me.





Shooby: I'd use that warranty to death if I were you. Better make them fix everything no matter how small while you can.
 
Home inspection is a must on any kind of construction. It should be done twice, once when they put mechanical & electrical in (before they put in plumbing and drywalls), and then at the walk-through. Don't hire regular home inspectors for new construction, unless they have extensive background in construction. I'd personally go hire some area supervisor from a competing home builder and pay him big time to make sure he finds everything that is wrong with one of the biggest investments in your life...
 
<p>I bought several new homes in the past many years. I hired an inspector for my first purchase, he picked up a lot of cosmetic staff which I believe I would have noticed after moving in. I don't think it is worth the money. I think you really should avoid bad contractors to start with. I don't believe Lennar is a bad contractor. I have four close friends bought Lennar homes in Coto. They are all happy with Lennar's services. They are always responsive to fix problems, even after the expiration of warranties. I think the quality of the homes have a lot to do with the experiences and attitude of the construction super at that community. It is the builder's construction super's responsibility to do qa/qc. Staff in the pipes of new homes are pretty common. It is a standard good practice to send camera down to the main pipes to make sure all the large items are cleaned out. Maybe Lennar didn't ask for that to cut costs? Hiring an inspector would not have found this problem at way. I don't know what the inspectors can find that you can't find? cracks, and settling won't happen after you live there for a while; appliances are brandnew, which you will know right away if works or not; cosmetic staff you will notice after living there; in wall electrical issues and plumbing issues the inspector won't find if it is not obvious. Maybe he will notice cracked roof tile, but that is something you can notice, or ask the builder to recheck - which they alway do after final window cleaning.</p>

<p>I think the most important inspection is before they close the wall! You can do that yourself or hire someone. </p>
 
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