Please be sure to visit our Google advertisers ----->. This information will be going to a private report for a fee if funding does not meet cost. Show your appreciation and support by visiting the links to the right ------>. Expectations One Year Warranty is a Joke. Don't expect ANYTHING to be fixed during your one year warranty period. It's just a sales scam because nothing is taken care of unless you have the time to stay on your project manager's ass on a daily basis. You'll hound and hound and they'll do nothing. Read through the comments on all of the boards and you'll see folks who have been in their homes for 2 years still trying to get their punch list items corrected, myself included. Expect Your Home to be on the Utility Easement. The homes are just too big for the lots, plain and simple. That's why the Houston City Council required Long Lake to go hire a new architect and re-engineer the homes for a neighborhood that Long Lake is attempting to build within the city limits. My air conditioner was (and 50% of my neighbors' AC units are) sitting on the utility easements. Long Lake will tell you that they got permission from the utility company to do so, because it's a temporary structure. That's a lie. I called my area construction representative for the utility commission and he told me that they NEVER give a builder permission to place a concrete pad and AC unit on the easement. Long Lake gets away with it because the surveyor surveys sometime in between when the slab goes down and then does a drive by a few days before closing. Long Lake slips the AC unit in between, hiding it behind the fence line so that the "drive by" surveyor doesn't see or note it. Great scam, no? So come time for the utility company to want access to their easement, it's your responsibility to move it, and that is not a cheap undertaking. Then Long Lake will tell you that the title company wouldn't approve it if that were the case. Well when it's not noted on the survey, the title company doesn't necessarily know about it. Furthermore, the homes are typically a couple of inches themselves on the easement, as is mine. Well the Title company lets that slide. They hide it by telling you that you'll get the final survey a few weeks after you close. They already have the final survey; they're hiding it from you, cause the final survey has the notation that the house is on the easement and the title company knew it. Weeks or months later when you hound them for the survey, you'll see it there yourself. The next title company might not so willingly accept this because it's their responsibility to financially cover structures that sit on easements. Just beware that your house is most likely too big for your lot and your structure is sitting on the easement at some point. In my case, I noted on my walk-through paperwork that I wanted the ac unit moved off of the easement. Much to my surprise, Long Lake pursued having Reliant Energy release the easement so that my ac unit could remain where it is, and Reliant gave up their right to that strip of land. Expect Electrical Problems. Breakers pop all of the time, lights don't work and you have to go back out to the panel top reset on a daily/weekly basis. The homes are just not set up properly to handle anymore than the bare minimum (meaning only using one out of eight electrical plugs). Case in point: I rented a margarita machine (the small $99 kind) for one evening for a small party. I couldn't use the dining room light without throwing the breaker switch. When the mix machine would go to a freeze cycle, all of the lights in the house cut off and then back on. No direct communication to your project manager. All communications go through the sales person, which leads to lack of, or incorrect communication. My husband was particularly annoyed with this, as he wanted to speak to the project manager regarding technical specifications on the electricity. He was told that he couldn't have the PM's contact information. Weeks were wasted during our build because a wall was erected that should not have been there. The wall was removed so late in the process (despite our early communication through the sales person) that the repair work was painted when the brand new carpet and tile was down. No effort was made to cover the flooring, so paint was everywhere all over my ceramic floors and carpet on the day that we did the walk -thru, the same day that we were to close. My particular lesson learned was: I'll never buy a house again from a builder that won't let me speak directly to the project manager. Pressure to close on a house that's not finished. There's a statement in your contract that states something to the effect of: "Buyer will close on house when the builder claims the house to be construction ready." This means, the house can be in total disarray cosmetically (as mine was) and the builder is going to force you to close on it, or they'll take your full and entire deposit plus personalization money. If you don't believe it will happen to you, read my TV & Links page along with the Better Business Bureau report. Sub-standard Cabinets The standard cabinets seem to be falling apart for a number of folks who did not buy the upgraded cabinets. I'm hearing lots of complaints about them. (Mine were upgraded and so far, they seem to be fine, except that I'm beginning to notice a little bit of trouble with the bathroom cabinets.) Thin Paint Wall paint coverage is thin. My house had to be sprayed multiple times because the paint was so thin. There are still spots now that I can see through. Horrible, cheap, paint job. I was told by my salesperson that I could not pick my own paint during the selection phase of the purchase. I found out later that this may have been a lie. Upgraded paint is apparently offered (you'll pay for it). The employee owned homes, by the way, all have better coverage and a color that's different than the standard paint offered. The paint that goes into the employee owned homes actually covers the wall. Water Heater is Undersized The hot water heaters are just too small for the homes. We took the standard heater and with only 2 people living in the house, there's just barely enough hot water, even after we bumped the thermostat to its 80% capacity. The other neighbors have complained in a similar manner. We're all putting our heads together along with a certified professional plumber as to how to add additional hot water heaters to the homes so that we will have enough hot water. There is an upgrade offered on the hot water heater, but from what I've been told, the upgrade is not effective either. No changes. No modifications. Limited customizations. You can move or add a window. And you can add electrical outlets and plugs. There's some optional rooms or walls that come with the plan. But that's it. Don't even think about adding a shower drain in the garage for an outside shower. Ain't happening, unless you're an employee then the sky is the limit. Long Lake employees can change pretty much anything that they want to within the homes, customers can not. Horrible ceiling insulation Don't pay for the upgrade on the ceiling insulation. I did, and I can definitely tell you that it is not worth it. You're going to have to replace it anyway. In fact, tell them not to put any so that you can go ahead and lay your own. The upgrade uses a recycled paper material. It's a mess, it leaves dust throughout your house, and it's not even effective. Skip the insulation upgrade. Poorly graded lots Expect a river in your backyard. The builder grades away from the back fence, towards the street, and then again from the house to the fence. So you get a huge rut in your backyard that when it rains, gives you a huge river running horizontal through your backyard. Long Lake states this is per code, and it might be, but just set your expectations for a river and additional drainage work that will need to be completed. Broken door handles & faucets Expect your door handles to come loose easily and fall off, including your security doors. And expect your facets to break within the first year or two of use. Both of the mentioned fell completely apart on me within the first 18 months of ownership. No grout sealer They don't provide it. You'll have to seal your own grout, even if you upgrade to tile throughout the house. Expect higher electric bills A home plan at approx 4,000 square feet is running $600 for a summer bill, a 2,600 square foot home is running approximately $300 for a summer bill (with the upgraded insulation!). You'll need to spend additional fees (in the hundreds) for the attic and vents to be properly sealed and chalked. Long Lake does not provide this level of energy efficiency as a standard to their homes.

What You Can Expect