Maricopa, Arizona — With lush green lawns, lakes and palm-lined streets, it’s easy to see what draws residents to Province, a new residential community of more than 55 homes in Maricopa.
“When you drive into Province for the first time, the scenery is breathtaking,” said Julie Schwarberg.
Credit: 12News
Schwarberg and her husband signed a contract and drove to a design center in Scottsdale to customize their brand new home. She could not foresee the headaches that would come with the community as well.
“I expected it to be something of a model house,” Schwarberg said.
But that was far from the case. The problems started before they even set foot in the house.
“It’s our new construction fixer upper,” she said.
Julie Schwarberg
When Schwarberg showed up at the brand-new home for a preview a week before they were scheduled to move in, they were told to make a “punch list” of all the items that needed to be fixed before moving in. said. of.
“We had a lot more problems with the brand new house than we expected,” Schwarberg said.
She was confident that the construction supervisor would ensure that all items were addressed within the next week. That didn’t happen. Instead, she said the salesperson told her the house wasn’t ready.
“They told us it wasn’t ready yet, they wanted us to wait a few days, and they wanted us to be able to move in,” Schwarberg recalls.
A few days later she said the house was a mess. And the confusion remains months later.
“That means there’s blue tape everywhere,” Schwarberg said.
Schwallberg’s house is a sea of blue tape. Each piece presents a different problem. From doors that don’t latch, to unfinished paintwork, to gaps in door frames, the list of problems is staggering.
Outside, she pointed out blistered and chipped paint, an unsealed concrete barrier, and a doorphone hanging from the wall.
“They keep saying, ‘Let’s do it,'” Schwarberg said.
Schwarberg has been reporting all issues to community builder Meritage for several months. She said Meritage employees didn’t show up for several appointments, chalking up that some issues were being “solved” internally and telling her there was a problem with the supply chain. It is said that
Credit: 12News
One of the things in Julie Schwarberg’s house that still needs repairs.
Meritage declined 12News’ request for an on-camera interview. Instead, Jeff Grobstein, President of Meritage Homes Division of Tucson, emailed the following statement:
“Meritage prides itself on its long history of customer service and quality construction, and is confident in the quality of the homes it builds. Because our homes are ‘perfect’ because they are handcrafted on site with our homes, Meritage offers industry-leading warranty coverage and does not hesitate to perform any repairs required by law or our warranty. We take appropriate measures to deal with unresolved ongoing warranty issues.
Current market conditions, such as labor and material constraints and shortages, impact warranty response times and commitments. Meritage understands that such delays may occur in state communities and may cause frustration and inconvenience to our customers. As a result, over the past several weeks, Meritage has continued to provide assurance services, including rotating subcontractors as needed and hiring additional subcontractors to supplement its warranty response team specifically to address state community concerns. We have taken a number of steps to improve our response. As always, we encourage customers with warranty issues to raise their concerns through Meritage’s warranty portal system, and we look forward to working with you to fulfill all warranty obligations as quickly as possible. looking forward to it. ”
Mr. Schwarberg is frustrated as he watches Meritage continue construction in Maricopa.
“Stop building and finish what you started. They know they built an unacceptable house and I want you to fix it,” Schwarberg said.
Credit: 12News
Craig and Julie Williams
Across the street lives Craig Williams and Julie Williams. They moved into his home in January 2021. Two years later, all the issues are still not resolved.
“They didn’t move into the house, but in a year it looks like they’ve lived there for five years. Their models don’t look like that,” said Julie Williams.
The Williams decided to buy a brand new home, wanting to avoid the hassle of remodeling.
“Two days after we moved in, I got a six-inch crack in my driveway.
Credit: 12News
Their houses also have discolored stripes on the sides. It looks like the crack was repaired.
Credit: 12News
“Current market conditions, including labor and material constraints and shortages, are impacting warranty response times and commitments,” Grobstein said in a statement. We recognize that this may cause dissatisfaction and inconvenience to our customers.”
“I’m tired of hearing it’s because of Corona, because of supplies, because of contractors. If it’s so hard, how do they keep building?” said Julie.
Mike Kasmin
Mike Kasmin moved to the Province Community in April 2022. He has been scheduling his Meritage and amendments for over a year. He said staff often don’t show up on time.
“It’s a full-time job, so I’m glad I left,” Kasmin said.
His house is left with blue tape indicating issues that have yet to be addressed.
“You don’t know what you’re getting into until you get the keys,” Kasmin said.
Manny Navarro and Dani Navarro
Manny Navarro and Dani Navarro moved from Washington to Arizona. They, too, were fascinated by the beautiful scenery of the province. They moved in September 2021, as Meritage moved their move-in schedule forward from December.
They said the air conditioning unit had been accidentally placed in the backyard and had to be moved to the backyard.
They said the interior of the brand new house was full of midge flies because they were on the water when they were given the keys.
Additionally, there was uneven drywall, gaps around the outlet, nails coming off, and the crown molding had to be replaced.
“I gave up,” Dani said.
Jeff Leach
Everyone realized they weren’t alone until another neighbor, Jeff Leach, hosted a community meetup.
“This is your new home fixer upper,” Leach said.
Leach moved to the state in July 2021. He and his wife sold their favorite home in the Seattle area for their dream retirement home.
“The day we closed the house, my wife cried, not out of joy, but out of frustration,” Leach said.
He said he experienced similar problems with his neighbors and also dealt with missing promises.
“The CEO of Meritage is not responsible because he is a culture maker and there is a culture problem,” Leach said. “They don’t believe in quality.”
Credit: 12News
New home inspector said builders are holding buyers accountable
Cy Porter from CyFy Home Inspections specializes in new home inspections.
His company’s popularity skyrocketed after he began sharing new build horror stories he saw on his social media, mostly TikTok accounts.
Porter said the new home should be close to perfect when you move in, but it’s never perfect. He estimates that it takes the occupants about two years to bring the home back to normal, and has to constantly demand the builders to deal with the problem.
He believes builders need to be more transparent about homes not being perfect or completely ready from day one.
“Any more information would solve all the problems,” Porter said. “Then all the homebuyers would be very happy, they would understand, but instead they would be like, ‘Oh, the house is closed.'” That’s perfect. ‘ No, it’s not. “
Porter said builders have a responsibility to buyers to find construction problems, report problems and wait for them to be fixed.
“They walk around slowly and are more focused on closing the house than on getting everything perfect,” Porter said.
Porter said it’s not uncommon for builders to discourage residents from being inspected themselves. Leach said he was told by Meritage that the warranty could be voided if an inspector broke into the attic or climbed onto the roof.
“Almost every day I get texts and emails that say, ‘My builder told me not to hire you,'” Porter said.
Still, he recommends that all buyers have their new home inspected within 10 days of moving in, and again after a year.
If the issue is not resolved, file a complaint with the Arizona Bureau of Contractors Registry, he added.
The link for filing complaints online can be found here.
ROC records reveal complaints against Meritage
According to 12News, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors had filed 265 complaints against Meritage, 81% of which were for poor workmanship.
The number of complaints against Meritage has increased over time, with a record 44 complaints filed in 2022. So far this year he has 25 cases.
Credit: 12News
Of the 265 complaints, 120 were withdrawn by the complainant or resolved with Meritage. The Republic of China dismissed 85 of them for a variety of reasons, from lack of evidence to the filing of charges outside the required period.
Forty-five of the complaints resulted in corrective action, resulting in the ROC ordering Meritage to rectify the situation.
Currently, there are still 15 complaints against Meritage that remain open.
Credit: 12News
A graph showing how complaints filed with the Contractor Registrar against Meritage were resolved.
How did you report this story?
This story started with a tip from one of our viewers. If you have information that you would like the 12News I team to investigate, please send an email to item@12news.com.
