web site and tell your story in purchasing your Long Lake home, send me an
email at: lynnwatkins@yahoo.com.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Received via email
Okay, yes, I made the mistake of purchasing a home in Humble built by Postwood. Luckily, I haven't had the horrible issues that these other people have been experiencing. But I do see some issues. I paid additional fess for upgraded cabinets and they are falling apart. All the toilets leak in the house - all 4 of them. I have been in my house for over a year and I just took down some blue tape where I was waiting for them to come and complete it. The paint is very thin, so we're needing to repaint. Backyard is weird with that sinkhole thing. $200,000 for a house and its like this in a year. I am also a professional realtor, but I would never have a client to purchase from this company. Never.
Thank you for your tireless effort and assistance.
Swanderlyn D. Mouton
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Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Received via email and in-person conversation
Lynn, your website is a true testimony for how this company works. I've had the most aggravating week of my life working with this builder. For $275K, you would think that you would get a perfect home. Instead, I received a driveway, that has 5 different batches of concrete, each with its own color and finish. My driveway looks like a quilt, while the employee's home across the street is perfectly white for the entire breadth of his driveway and around the entire sidewalk. It's one solid color, while mine is five. The sales manager, project manager, and construction manager all stated that they would not accept this house in its current conditiion, yet they bullied me and forced me to close on it, threatening to find me in breach of contract and keep my $20K deposit if I did not accept something that they openly would not accept for themselves.
The backyard is graded into one big river flowing through it and is going to require additional work and construction to drain properly. And I'm going to have to spend an additional $5,000+ to re-pour the driveway again. When I asked Long Lake for the permits to pour concrete 5 separate times, I'm told that they didn't get a permit for it. But the backyard is permitted for the river. I noticed that when it's convenient for Long Lake, they get the permit. When the permit is not convenient for them, they can't produce it.
If a buyer wants to know what to expect from this builder, this website lays it out plain as day. Do not ignore what's stated here.
Your New Disgruntled Neighbor
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June 16, 2007 2007
Discovered through an online search
Ripoff Report on Long Lake Pride and Foxwood Builders:
http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/254/RipOff0254987.htm
Deceptive Practices by General Management
My fiancee and I place earnest money down to purchase a home with Foxwood Builder. We asked that closing cost be rolled in the price and it was not. We asked our sales rep Mike Nguyen what happen and he said he did not know. So he added the closing cost but charged us a fee of 5% to do so. I ask what the fee was for and he said admin. fee. I asked Mike Nguyen to produce a copy of policy for the fee and he said he could not do that.
So I asked for corp ph# and was told he is not allowed to give me his boss name and ph#. I search the Internet and retrieve the Corp Office info, and called GM Sales David McCallum. He agreed that is was an admin fee but refuse to supply the paper work to back his story. I probed him for more information and he hung up the phone in my face.
So I filed a complaint with the BBB office. Meanwhile my loan officer handling my loan for the house called and said the the builders refuse to sign the contract to process the loan. I called my Sales Rep Mike Nguyen and he told me, my loan Officer and my Real estate Agent that his boss isn't signing the contract until I withdraw my complaint with the BBB. The BBB said the company is aware that that was not possible. So I told the sale rep that I would think about that, he related the message to David McCallum and abruptly the contract was signed.
Now on closing day at American Title Company which happens to be located in the same building as Long Lake Ltd, I can only assume that Long Lake discovered that the complaint was still existing and decided to stall by not signing the closing paper.
After they wasted 6 long hours a day of loss labor with my job, we are told just before the Title company closed that the seller does not want to comply with the Lender so their at a stand off. Right after that was said the Asst Mgr Kristie Higgins told us that we could pay $800.00 extension fee to hold the house. Which is more extortion money since Long Lake refuse to sign the closing papers. My loan money is in place and I should not have to pay for Foxwood/ Long Lake's delay.
Kendolyn, Humble, Tx
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Received via email
I purchased a Postwood home back in 2000. I too had the same problems as everyone else regarding Long Lake. I was bullied into closing, even though my foundation had a crack running from one end of my house to the other. I was told by their "specialist" this is a stress crack. I was provided literature to try and convince me of this fact. Well the fact is that my home is cracked in half. Being a first time home buyer I believed the "specialist". Well I too had a punch list that never got completed.
I paid for upgrades such as upgraded pad and carpet which is not an upgrade at all. However guess what I can not get a refund everyone just tells me oh well. If all of this sounds scary let me tell you 2 more scary facts.
My home has constantly "shifted" as do all homes however according to engineers that I have had to hire - while pursuing of a lawsuit the builder did not level and grade the land properly. So seven years later I am having to install drains in my yard because water sits under my home. I have had walls crack and break and since day one I have had bricks - big sections not small break on the outside of the home and fall to the ground. Sound scary?
Well - the ceramic flooring I paid for - Postwood used the wrong glue is what they say the problem was - caused my kitchen floor to crack and break - not just in one spot - not just a few tiles - but more than half the floor. The whole floor had to be replaced. I will say once I parked myself in LongLakes office on I-10 and hired an attorney - LongLake replaced the floor but told me I was lucky they were doing it because they did not have to. Go Figure.
The scariest fact of all is - I never knew that you should research the land your home is being built on and the MUD district. Our home (the entire neighborhood) was built near a salt dome - heres some education - these salt domes underground - though naturally occuring - attaches to the water wells underground if the builder has not built them deep enough - and that is what causes radium 226 and 228 and Gross alpha particiles in your water. How do you know if your water has this - your water company is supposed to tell you. This causes radiation in your water. Cancer killing radiation. So my neighborhood is breathing and drinking radiation - it wasn't until we filed numerous lawsuits that the MUD district built us a new well - it took forever for them to do that. Now I am not allowed to mention names but certain builders knew this was a problem and sold their homes once it was discovered without disclosing it on the sale papers. A few builders agreed to purchase their homes back others said ha ha on you. Postwood is one that wants to say oh we did not know so ha ha. So guess what - I now have a home that should be worth $150,000 that is worth $35,000 according to Harris county tax appraisal district. Mind you this low property value is due to the combination of the water problem, and the foundation problems etc.
Needless to say I could go on and on but let everyone know do not buy any of their homes and if you own one - I would hurry and sell it because like mine - seven years later you will still be paying for your mistake.
For legal reasons, Name Withheld
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Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Received via email
I was reading all of the information and complaints about Long Lake on your website. To tell you the truth I was amazed. I live in the Foxwood Builders Montgomery Creek Ranch neighborhood in Conroe and we have very few complaints. We had some issues but they have been addressed and fixed. The paint is thin but we were told that upfront and we were told to ask the painters for extra paint to touch up spots. I got a couple of quarts yesterday without any problems and spent 5 minutes touching up spots. We used the preferred lender and got a really good interest rate as well. We do have one closet that doesn't shut completely all of the time. It depends on the weather. The hot water heater is too hot for me...my wife likes it a lot though.
I did have an issue with my property taxes, not Long Lakes fault, and so I called them and they sent me the information we needed within an hour. The issue has been resolved with very little effort.
The sales person was and has been very helpful with all questions and so has the superintendent.
For the price we got a really good deal.
2006 Foxwood Builders Homeowner
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Wednesday, February 8, 2007
Received via email
We are currently experiencing another case with Pride Builders here in Houston, my hands are shaking I'm so upset since the agent, David Wimberly, just hung up on me when I asked him to mail me something. Once I calm down I will give the whole story, you know, we can only use their lender who has the hightest interest rate, changing the earnest money to $2000 (not in the "contract" that the agent refused to sign anyway) if we used our own lender. Of course now we have to call the authorities and BBB to get our $500 back that he says we lost because we are delinquent on our "loan" although we never signed anything...this company is a joke and people need to stay away!!!
Jeff Linhart
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Monday, February 5, 2007
Received via email
Lynn,
We just wanted to let you know that we were considering buying a Pride Builder home until this Saturday. The sales Rep at Yaupon Ranch tried to keep our $500.00 lot hold fee. The fee was just to hold the lot and the price for 7 days. We were still looking and we decided this Saturday to go back and recoup our money. It took us a few hours but we successful received our money back. He told us we forfeited our money even though we did not sign a contract. We told him we were calling our attorney and the police if he did not give us our money back. Needless to say even if we thought about going back, after Saturday we would never, ever go back there again nor would we recommend anyone there either.
We just wanted to say thanks for all the information, it was certaintly helpful in our home buying process.
The Howards
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Friday, January 26, 2007
Received via email
I was reading your site... We purchased a Lakeridge home a year ago. No problems with the home so far but the neighbors we have need to move back the the apartment complex or back where they came from. We had no idea that we bought a home next to a sex offender who just got out of prison. No one in the office bothered to let us know about this man. We had been in the same office with this man and no one said a word and we have a young child. The main problem with Lakeridge is they sell homes to low income families who would normally not be able to afford a home. One side a drug dealer the other a sex offender. I wish I had never moved to this area.
Lakeridge Homeowner
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Friday, January 19, 2007
Received via email
Wow, I wish I had found your site sooner. We have had nothing but trouble with our house. A red flag should have been when they forced us to close with no working a/c and no appliances. The plumbers could never fix the drains that didn't work properly. The people who prepared the neighbors yard cut the electrical line to our house, which deteriorated about 2 months after we moved in. The countertops weren't level, there was a hole in the foundation between a bedroom and the garage,covered with carper and a hole in the kitchen floor under the linoleum. Six months after we moved in, we discovered that the water heater had not been properly installed leaving a gas leak right next to the pilot light of our water heater. Luckily, nothing fatal happened, but it is scary to think what could have happened. I wouldn't recommend this builder to anyone, ever.
Thanks for your website,
Foxwood Homeowner
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Thursday, January 11, 2007
Received via email
Hi Lynn, I found your site today and wish I had found it before we bought a home from this company. We will be in our home 2 years come May and nothing has been repaired. On the day we moved in there was a stench in the house, well when we went to check it out, someone had use not one but all three toilets and had a BM, it was absolutely horrific. We paid to have the microwave over the stove, it was not there, even after we argued that we paid for it. We were assured that it would be there when we moved in, NOT. Every floor in every room upstairs pops with every step. The building supervisor told us they would have to cut out pieces of carpet wherever it pops in order to repair it, and over time will be have to replace the carpet, because it will begin to unravel where they cut it. I said, "no" pull the carpet away from the wall and repair the floor. This is our first home and needless to say it has been a great disappointment. The wall in the breakfast nook is crooked and very noticeable. The front door does not close properly as well as the closet in the downstairs bedroom. There are chunks of concrete missing along the foundation of the house. Along the hardi-plank above the front door they patch it with putty or some other white material and when I asked that it be painted over they told us we would have to buy the paint and do it ourselves. We had faxed our repair list so many times with one results. After I finally threaten to sue over the repairs, they sent a guy out who assured me that things would get fixed, that was in July '06, we are still waiting to get things done. Our list contained over 30 repairs when we first faxed it, we have paid for some of the repairs ourselves, however 13 items still remain. That we are going to have to repair ourselves, because we have decided to sell and go with a builder that have a better reputation. This company is very deceptive with their customers and it is a shame that as consumers we suffer. Thank you for having this site. My recommendation to anyone in the market for a home go with a company with a better reputation.
Disappointed Long Lake Homeowner
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Tuesday, December 19, 2006
From: www.rateyourbuilder.info
6 mos and still have yet to get anybody here to complete the things that I signed off on. I was rushed thru the walkthrough and was promised things would be done by the time I received my keys. I did not. Be very wary of this builder....
Long Lake Homeowner
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Monday, December 18, 2006
Re: Ricewood Village
I purchased a new home in Ricewood Village from Long Lake Ltd in the end of July 2006. [Long Lake] also pushed me into closing on the loan before all the work was completed. Missing paint, chips in the bathtub, missing chaulking. I did enough complaining and got some of the work done. The problem I have right now is the title company they used never reported to the Harris County Appraisal [District] that the house was in my name. They still have it in Long Lake Ltd's name. I'm not sure that the taxes are going to get paid from the escrow account or not. I actually confronted Craig today and as I expected, I left there with an even more uneasy feeling than I had when I went in there. He said that it doesnt have anything to do with them. Very unhelpful. I looked on www.hcad.org and found that 80% of the people just on my street are in the same predicament I am.
Scott Goodell
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Monday, December 11, 2006
Email comment received
I think a huge part of the problem is that the people doing the work on the homes are drinking most of the time. Most of my issues were with these men working on peoples homes allowed to drink cases of beer on the job day after day and leaving the can's laying all around and I had plenty of pictures to prove it. I called Long Lake everyday about this issue; nothing ever changed. We did however get Long Lake to bring out porta potties so the workers would stop urinating outside on the houses.
I have needed the builder to come fix things at my home and I have to agree that it was like pulling teeth to get it done. One huge item was the light hanging in my dining room that I pointed out before the construction was completed and I was told over and over again that it was in the correct spot. After it was all said and done Long Lake had to come into the home after we moved in and move the chandelier over 6 feet, now it is in the correct spot!
My door knobs were always falling off and once my neighbor was locked in her bedroom because her door knob came off and we had to help her get out. Our front door does not shut correctly. If you think it's shut, you'd better double check.
I also pointed out to the builder that water was coming into the garage and his comment to me was that a house isn't watertight.
I must say that the people who work for Long Lake do have VERY nice custom homes. There are a few employees who live around us and the builder's son's home is in our neighborhood and it is amazing.
Long Lake Homeowner
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Saturday, December 2, 2006
Re: Lakeridge Homes
We were in the market of purchasing a home and we ran across a subdivision with these builders. We stopped by and talked to the sales representative he was nice, but [he] had a very passive attitude with us about buying the home. It seemed like it didn’t matter much to him if we bought it or not. In his eyes, he was just selling a quality home cheap and [the builder was] taking a loss. We walked in very excited about the house and thought what a great deal. After seeing your site, I was in shock all the complaints were true. I was going to have to pay for my own blinds, refrigerator, sod in the backyard, washer, dryer, replace mismatched fixtures, etc… I didn’t know what to think I had already given my money to bind the contract and thought there was no way out so we put a stop payment on our check because they wanted a money order instead. I felt like a prisoner with no options. I immediately started looking at other builders because of the fear of buying a 2400 sq ft home with potential problems. It was a sleepless night but it would be worth it researching new homes. We started looking at what we wanted to spend and realized for about $100 more a month added to our mortgage payment we could really be in the home we want with even our plants under warranty for a year! This is exactly what we did. THANK YOU for this [web] site. Without this site, I think we would have made one of the biggest mistakes in our life. We have now gotten into Lennar and looks like a definite winner. P.S.: Really look around and shop. Spend a little more you wont regret it.
Antonio Montigo
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Wednesday, September 20, 2006
From: RateYourBuilder.com
Re: Lakeridge Builders
Any time I requested for something to be fixed, the only response I ever recieved was " What do you want me to do!" It has been 4 months and there are still items in my house that I am fixing because they will never answer any phone calls, nor will they put forth the effort to fix them themselves. I will never recomend theis company to anyone, and I will never have them build another home for me. It is less painfull to pull out your own teeth.
Lakeridge Homeowner
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Saturday, August 26, 2006
From: RateYourBuilder.com
I have to be objective and say that the realtor is very nice and helpful. But the builder is totally unprofessional. Never called to inform me anything about the progress of the house, try to threaten me to do the closing when there is even no power in the house. When I stood up and told me I wasn't closing it, and if they want to put that in court, I would go along with it. He didn't give me an answer and just walked away. Well, later on, the realtor called me and told me that she went to the house herself and agreed with me that house is not ready. Also, I found out later on that the person who did the walk through with me wasn't the builder. After a month of waiting for the stuff to be fixed on the punch list and no one showed up. I made a fax to the main office and the builder finally called me back a day after that, saying that he didn't know anything about what I mentioned. He said he didn't walk me through and he didn't know what I told that person. I asked "So, are you my builder? If so, why didn't you walk through the house with me? Isn't it how Lakeridge does that business? I think I need to talk to your main office about this because I think this is a very bad business model." Then he came over to fix half of the stuff within a week, and I need to do another push a month later for some of the things left to be fixed. There are still things left to be fixed, and I will keep pushing until the FBI got involved again. (Yes, FBI is keeping their eyes on Long Lake LTD., which is what Lakeridge belongs to, if you search more on the internet, you will find the link. I think I did a googled search on "Long Lake LTD" and it was on the 4th or 5th page). Again I was lucky to have a helpful realtor, but the builder totally sucks and unfortuntly, the realtor has not much power over the builder to tell them to fix problems. You have to mostly deal with the builder. If you want to get a house from Lakeridge, please think again. You might be getting yourself into a mess.
Lakeridge Homeowner
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Tuesday, August 1, 2006
Spoken to the Houston City Council and Mayor Bill White
"Who is Woodmere Development (aka Long Lake) and why do they not answer thier phone? I've called their offices multiple times and no one ever picks up the phone.... This is only a sign of what is yet to come from this company..... If anyone from Woodmere is present at this meeting, I'm wearing a bright pink suit and I've been looking for you. I shouldn't be that difficult to find."
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee
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Monday, July 31, 2006
From: RateYourBuilder.info
Run away from them. They pushed me to do the closing when the house is not completed, even no power! When I spoke with the builder, he was very rude and unhelpful. He even turned around and walked away from the conversation when I insisted not doing the walk-through and closing as the requested. Be very careful, they will trick you to sign the punch list even they have not done everything on the list. Don't sign them. They will not do anything after you sign the paper. You have to stand up for yourself not to sign the punch list and force them to finish all the stuff they need to do first! Don't expect them to go by your house after signing the punch list because they will totally ignore you. You will only have a fax number to contact the office after you did the closing. You will be put into a very helpless position. My suggestion: Don't let them build your house.
Long Lake Homeowner
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Monday, July 24, 2006
Hello Lynn,
I am writing to tell you about our horrible experience we recently had with Foxwood/Long Lake LTD. My fiancée recently put down a $1000.00 dollars of earnest money on a Foxwood home in Humble, TX. The sales representative he dealt with was extremely rude and annoying from the get go, we were told we had a month to pick out our upgrades and get whatever else done before the builders could start construction on our home. The sales rep. gave my fiancée a price list of how much all the upgrades would cost us. After everything was approved my fiancée and I headed out Sunday afternoon to finish picking out our upgrades and any other paperwork we might need. Prior to that Sunday the sales rep had been hounding my fiancée to come in and sign off on the contract threatening we would loose the house and our earnest money if we didn’t do so soon. Keep in mind that is why we gave down a $1000.00 dollars of earnest money so that we could make sure our lot and home were both secure. My fiancée tried contacting the sales rep earlier in the week to inform him that we would be there Sunday to finish closing on the house but the sales rep never returned our phone calls. We arrived around noon and met up with the sales rep. He never mentioned that we were too late in trying to purchase the house. We started to discuss the upgrades, and he started to renege on the prices he originally gave us. He said he was now unsure on some of the upgrade prices and that he would have to get back to us later. He also stated that he was unsure on whether he could get a price on the upgrades for us in time before our contract ended, therefore hinting to us that we would be left with no house or earnest money. An argument escalated between us and the sales rep. he even threaten to call the police on us if we didn’t leave. We demanded a name and phone number of a manager or corporate number for Foxwood homes which they refused to give us. Never the less in an attempt to find out any other information on Foxwood homes we stumbled across your website and feel blessed that we did not go through with the purchase of that Foxwood home.
Thank You for saving us from a mistake!!!!
Sharon and Frank
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Friday, June 23, 2006
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Long Lake LTD
I'm hitting my 2 year anniversary here in June 2006, my house is in terrible shape! My doors won't close properly front and back door. My concrete driveway in the front of my home is cracking. The sidewalk is uneven and no one will come fix it. My wall in my bedroom was cracking and therefore left a huge lump in my window seal causing my (actual) window to crack. it has about a 12 inch crack and moving up slowly on the inner window. I faxed Long Lake to inform them of my issues, but received no phone call or anything. I refaxed two more times and had to threaten them that I was going to tell new homebuyers (directly across the street they're buiding homes, after 2 years of empty lots) how they won't even acknowledge my problems. Then they called and I was able to talk to a real live person. Oh my walls are coming apart for the fifth time in 2 years(the rounded edges as you enter the kitchen area in my model) are coming apart. They came and patched the crack in my bedroom and the lump and haven't returned to texture are paint anything. Also, the concrete has never been looked at or the sidewalk which I had both on my 1 year warranty list that I faxed in June2005. My Light bill is tremendously high and I was told there wasn't enough padding or foam in my attic so I'm getting a lot of heat in that I shouldn't be receiveing. Therefore my upstairs stay around 85 degrees until night time even with my AC unit running. My toilet seats turned colors. Those are a few of my main issues with my home. My door knobs constantly fall off, six in the first 6 months. I was very embarrassed I had my daughter a birthday party and a guest went to open my front door and the door knob came off in his hand. Not to mention, my family was awaken at 5 in the morning from the trucks that pour the concrete lined up on my street with there lights shining through my windows. My small children was very scared, I didn't know what the noise was but when I looked I was furious 5 am!! They did not care at all!!!
Long Lake LTD Home Owner
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Sunday, June 11, 2006
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Lakeridge Builders
I have owned Ryland homes and I don't know what I was thinking when I went through Lake Ridge. I have not been able to get anyone to do the repairs that were promised after move-in. I went to website for their ratings and wished that I would have known before buying my home. I will try my best to discourage anyone from buying one of their homes. You do get what you pay for. I can't beleive that they continue to stay in business. This company has no integrity at all.
Lakeridge Home Owner
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Monday, June 5, 2006
Lynn-
We are having terrible problems with our home. The back door won't shut, water comes through every time it rains! The plumbing in the kitchen is leaking and warping our cabinets and to make matters worse they have come to "repair" certain issues but only partly finished them. I turned in the problems to BBB but the guy hasn't finished fixing all of the problems. They came to my house and made me feel bad for turning them in and asked me to sign saying that the issue have been resolved. I wouldn't do it and the guy laid a guilt trip on me that his wife / girlfriend (whatever) was getting ready to have a baby and that he was really stressed out. He PROMISED that he would have the problems fixed asap and that he wouldn't leave me with an unfinished house. GUESS WHAT!! I have never heard from him again. That is what I get for being sympathetic.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Lakeridge Home Owner
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Wednesday, June 1, 2006
Did you see the homes in Villages of Cypress Lakes that were built too close to the power lines? The homes were originally built only 3 feet from the power lines, then the power company came and moved the poles another 3 feet back. I think there's suppose to be a 10 foot clearance between a home and a power line. The rumor going around is that Long Lake is going to have to tear possibly one, if not two, homes down because they're too close to the lines. Apparently, Long Lake does not like to hire a surveyor up front. They prefer to hire the surveyor when they're near completion in an effort to save bucks. Yet one more bad decision to save a few [dollars].
Long Lake Home Owner
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Monday, May 22, 2006
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Lakeridge Builders
Worst homebuying experience! Bathroom was not completed as planned. Upon walkthrough, I told construction supervisor that this was wrong and did not meet expectations. I was pressured to close before completion and told I [would lose my] deposit of $2000. I did not close and held out until house was completed as expected. This was two months later! Also homeowners association fees are worthless! Really! What am I paying for? Rules are not followed!
Lakeridge Home Buyer
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Monday, May 22, 2006
I just wanted to say thank you. I was heavily considering buying a home from Foxwood Builders in Spring, TX. I wasn't able to find much information about them on the internet at first. I thought this odd and checked out the BBB. Seeing the horrible records of Long Lake, I tried to ensure the Foxwood Builder's that I had visited were the same as were associated with Long Lake on the BBB website. I still haven't found good enough information. What I did find was your website. That was enough to make up my mind. Thanks for the information you're providing, it just saved me from making a terrible mistake.
Home Shopper
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Sunday, May 7, 2006
My husband and I recently visited Villages of Cypress Lakes one Sunday morning when
the sales office was closed. We went through two of the homes under construction, which
were the same base model. One home had everything standard with a few upgrades and
paint on the walls that you could see through. The other, we learned later that afternoon,
was an employee’s home. Quality all the way with the employee’s house. Nice, deep, rich
paint coverage with extra perks throughout the home including plumbing for a wet sink in
the garage (which is apparently not available to the average buyer). It’s night and day
between what you can get as an employee and what you get being a buyer off the street.
Home Shopper
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Monday, May 1, 2006
Lynn, I just moved into a Lakeridge inventory home and cannot believe what I'm having to
deal with. My cabinets are falling apart. The cabinet fronts are coming unglued at the
seams and the bottom of one cabinet has completely fallen through. I barely put 10
dinner dishes with 6 coffee cups on an upper shelf and it's sagging!!!! I'm not yet sure how
the builder is going to resolve this. I'll keep you posted.
New Homeowner
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Sunday, April 16, 2006
Our family just purchased one of Long Lake's inventory homes and the experience was no
better. I thought I was buying a "new" home, but it turns out that this home is going on two
years old. We had asked that some touch up be done to the interior as part of the sale. On
the day that we were suppose to close, Long Lake has created our home-to-be into a
MESS! There was paint all over both the ceramic flooring and carpet, just as you described
with your experience. I thought I was getting a turn-key house. I never imagined that I'd be
force to close on a house that needs so much work.
I wish I had known to look up the age of the home like you show on the Existing Home
page of your website.
New Home Buyer
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Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Lynn,
My wife and I are or were interested in buying a [Long Lake] home. After [a] review of your
web site we have pretty much decided against the idea. We put down a deposit, but have
not signed the contract and will not do so..... Thanks for the web site and may more people
Google Briarwood Builders to access this site.
Regards,
TW
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Sunday, April 9, 2006
I read your site and was really concerned about the experiences that you and others had.
My wife and I recently discovered this builder and we were very interested in buying a
home from them. We are not first time home buyers and we are really doing our research
this time. I was told the same sales pitch about passing their advertising dollars on to the
customers and providing a more affordable home. .... We are very hesitant now and are
glad that we read your site.
Daniel
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Tuesday, April 4, 2006
Dear Lynn,
I am a professional "New Home Salesperson" who has been working in this business for
around 3 years now for a few different builders. When I read your story I just cringed at the
experience you described, since it's the kind of thing that definitely gives us all a bad
name. I don't know why I felt compelled to write, other than perhaps to validate your
feelings, and hopefully help you to feel a little better about your experience. I guess I also
feel that while reading your site may have made me somewhat uncomfortable, it was also
really helpful and well done.
J.B.
New Home Sales
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Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Lynn,
I have to agree with you. Postwood Homes is a poor excuse for a homebuilder. They used
shoddy materials, had no care for finishing work and had no care whatsoever in customer
satisfaction. We were specifically told by our salesman, that if we wanted a home that
catered to the customer, we should think about buying a Kickarillo home on South Fry. To
me, that is very poor customer service.
If I had not been a first time homebuyer and afraid to pay a little more, I would have went
with a different builder. Postwood Homes and Long Lake LLC have no regard for their
customers. My wife and I have realized what happened and we will live with this for about 7
years and then move and never buy from these people again and never advise anyone
else to either.
Loan Services Officer
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Saturday, January 14, 2006
As a new home inspector I have had done some finals on Long Lake LLC properties and
they always seem to fail. The inspector they are using obviously doesn't know code or VA-
FHA requirements.
I would not buy from any of their builders.
William
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Tuesday, December 20, 2005
I read you site - it's very good - I had the same problems - is there a way to tell how many
hits you've had on this sight?
I forwarded this website to a colleague. I am a real estate agent and they treated me as if
they could care less - I know there is another realtor building out here and having the
same issues - This will hopefully teach the builder a lesson!
The KPRC report - was that this builder?
Houston Realtor
Lynn's comments:
Yes, the KPRC report is this builder.
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Saturday, December 17, 2005
Lynn,
I am here in Houston and also have a defective [Long Lake] home.
I will be going to mediation with the BBB and this builder and
eventually have to foreclose; the house is horrific.
Homeowner
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December 14, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
re: Postwood Homes
Run...Don't walk...Never buy a home from these folks....Horrible simply horrible....Again
RUN RUN RUN...Don't let the cheap price fool you....In this case you do get what you pay
for..
Postwood Homes Homeowner
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December 14, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
re: Postwood Homes
You will not be allowed to communicate with anyone at the main office; and if you do get a
phone number of someone they will be sure to not answer your call after they have you on
caller ID. You are forced to deal with the supervisor of construction yourself and you have
little recourse. When you sign the purchase agreement for this builder you sign away your
right to sue the company by agreeing to forced arbitration. This builder forced me into
closing prior to the home passing walk-through. The house was a mess, windows, doors,
floors, kitchen and baths were filthy not cleaned at all. This builder did not correct all the
problems with my house that were identified prior to closing. I paid a structural engineer to
inspect the home prior to the 1 year and the report he submitted shows how nearly every
lot was improperly developed for drainage. I had to protest in front of the model home just
to get the cheap cabinet doors replaced because they all warped. I have been in my
home for more than 2 years now and still not items discoverd the 1st year have been
corrected. I WOULD NOT BUY A HOME FROM THIS COMPANY IF IT WERE THE ONLY
ONE IN EXISTENCE.
Postwood Homes Homeowner
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November 3, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Postwood Homes
This builder was 2 months early and forced us to close on the house. We were forced into
using their mortgage company with no options of other lenders. The home was not
completed upon closing. There are still problems with the workmanship that I have been
waiting a year now for them to fix. They do not take phone calls and all work orders have to
be faxed to them. They do not make any effort to work with the buyer after closing and you
are left to fend for yourself. DO NOT BUY FROM LONG LAKE.
Postwood Homes Homeowner
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October 25, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Lakeridge Builders
From what I have been told by several members employed by Long Lake LLC,
apparently when the Lake ridge development built my street, they did not use enough
stabilizing sand and there later became settling in the sewer lines. My driveway sunk
down 6 inches in many directions. My front yard is not flat, but dips and sicks in many
directions. To correct this problem that many of us had, they shot Veratrech into the
driveway and along the street where there was sinking and cracking. This expansion
method did not work and in my opinion made the cracking and sinking worse. Over the
past several months many large and deep cracks have appeared in driveways and along
the street. Many people have been asking to have this problem fixed. I along with others
was told it "may" be a fault line that we are on. I spoke with members of Lakeridge and
they promised me that this would be corrected and completed by the end of November. In
the effort to complete this, the main street would need to be pulled up and the driveways
would also need to be lifted and replaced. This is a problem I have been concerned with
for over 8 months, and it has not be resolved at this time. This is a huge inconvienience we
have to deal with because they did not make sure their part was done and rushed throught
their work. I am getting out of this poorly built and run neighbrhood and will be putting my
house on the market, but can not yet, because I am waiting for the construction on this
street to be completed. A neighbor moved in by me the other day and I asked him if he
was aware of all of this and he repolied that nobody had disclosed any of this information
to him upon him buying this house, and he was very upset. Not shocking to me that this
would pass in Lakeridge.
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October 7, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Lakeridge Homes
We are purchasing a home in the Northgate Community. The salesperson is very rude
and never calls us. We put down 1,000.00 in earnest money and she told us if we didn't
like the way she does business we could just leave and of course there is no recourse on
our earnest money. They are the most unprofessional building company I've ever dealt
with.
Prospective Buyer who lost earnest money
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September 6, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Postwood Homes
When we went to look at the homes there was only one model and it was not of our
floorplan. The house that we looked at had a patio in the back. Our salesman assured us
that the patio was standard on their homes. As our home was being built we noticed
multiple cracks in the foundation, some of the wood had mold on it, some wood had large
knotting and excessive tree bark still on it. We paid for upgraded cabinets in the kitchen,
and when they were installed they had many deep scratches and knicks out of the corners.
The island top was barely fastened to the island itself and nails were protruding from under
the top.The ceiling had four major waves in it were the ceiling joist hung lower than the
others. The living room wall had a major bow in it. The master bedroom doorframe was
extremely crooked. The ac intake vent was crooked as well as every electrical outlet and
lightswitches. Mortar from the bricks was on the roof as well as large amounts of overspray
from the outside paint. and the list continues... When we brought it to the builders attention
they tried to cover over the scratches in the cabinets with some sort of off color brown putty
paste. When we did not care for the shoddy coverup job the builder told us we were to
"CRITICAL" and that its standard practice to patch, float,putty and pretty much just try to
cover up things that actually needed repair. They told us to protect themselves we had to
close on the house in the condition it was in because it was "substancially complete" . The
day of closing they still had not delivered our appliances. At closing When we inquired
about getting something in writing on getting things fixed we were told to either buy the
house or walk away. After exhausting all efforts to talk to anyone at Longlake Builders and
being told several times that was time to sign or get off the pot. We walked away and at this
time fighting for our earnest money back. If you deal with them please bring a real estate
agent with you. In order to get the monthly discount on the house you have to use their
mortgage company. Please be careful because they have very deceptive practices. And
the patio we were so promised as standard in the end came out to be a $1500 option and
since we did not pay for this option they gave us a 2 x 2 step. Please be very careful when
dealing with this builder !!!!!!!
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March 7, 2005
From: www.rateyourbuilder.com
Re: Postwood Homes
Seven months after closing, my house is still not complete. Also, it was built too close to
the street and, though the superintendent promised my driveway would hold six cars, it
only holds 3. A pipe pierced during construction slowly leaked undetected for months,
causing lots of mold to grown under and behind kitchen cabinets and inside two walls. The
builder didn't want to tear any of it out, and it took filing a claim with the warranty co. to get
them to act. The legality of their sales contract is questionable - requiring arbitration, and
forcing buyers to close when the house is "substantially complete," with no guarantee of
when it will ever be complete. The burden then falls on the homeowner to send in faxes
requesting specific items be completed under the "warranty." These are all items that
should have been completed prior to closing. Overall, a very disappointing and frustrating
experience that I don't wish on anyone else.
Postwood Homes Homeowner
