In February we contracted with Newmark to build our home. The salesman assured us they were the best builder around and could get it done in about 6 months.
The first problem was that the salesman told us the stone was included in the price. When we finally got an appointment with the design center, we were informed that wasn't the case and we had to pay an additional $7500.
At the same time, we were informed Newmark had lost its certification as a Green Builder. This would prevent our getting the discount in our VA mortgage for the program.
We took issue with these problems and eventually negotiated the stone price to $4200 (even though we were told it was included) and Newmark agreed to get their certification before our home was completed.
We had to pay an additional $4200 that was supposed to be included in the quoted price — ripoff #1.
It was now March and we finally met with the Superintendent. From the moment the meeting started, it was clear that he had not seen ANY of the changes that were to have been made to the house. Change orders had been submitted but they were not reflected on the plans or in his notes.
Fortunately, we had OUR LIST of the changes and were able to go through them AGAIN with the Super. He made notes on his copy of the plans and assured us that they would all be addressed.
We left the meeting feeling "okay" about the situation and were positive about how the house would be built. This was short-lived to say the least!
Our next problem surfaced when Newmark couldn't get the master bathroom design correctly changed. My Wife has a medical condition that requires her to soak in the bathtub almost every night to relieve pain. We had been assured repeatedly, this would not be a problem and it would not hold up the construction.
Near the end of March, we finally got the initial plan back. It was close, but wasn't totally correct. We made the modifications and it was sent back to the engineers for revision. A few weeks later it came back with a $3200 price tag attached. We paid it and thought we were moving forward again. Wrong!
One delay after another seemed to occur and we started going to the construction site almost daily. We were assured that we were "the most important", "our house was next" and the list of lies goes on. The truth is that our slab was not even poured until August 1st!
It took newmark six months to get the slab poured - ripoff #2
Once the slab was poured, we really thought we would be moving forward quickly. This was not the case and the delays continued.
The plumbing in the slab was not correct in several locations and had to be chipped up and re-poured. As a matter of fact, a couple of these problems are still there!
The framers were next and to be kind, we will say they were not the best around. An example would be one wall in the master bedroom. It was originally put up with a double french door to the back patio. None of the elevations we saw even had this option!
It took FIVE ATTEMPTS (seriously FIVE) before this one wall was completed correctly. The sad part is that it was only to have two windows in it, but apparently that was too hard to do.
When we visited the site and spoke with the Lead for the framing crew, it was clear he had not received the changes to the plans either. We had to point out the changes to him and he made notes. Later, we even had to tell the Super AGAIN which changes were still needed.
Newmark couldn't get the change orders on the plans or out to the people actually doing the work causing delays and the need to rebuild areas of the house continually — ripoff #3
When the framing was "completed" (jokingly said), we walked through the house and found MANY problems with the work. The fire blocks, headers, etc were not correctly installed throughout the house. This was in addition to improper location of a closet door and other issues.
About this time, we were informed that our Super had been replaced and the framing crew had been fired. We were told that a new meeting with the new Super was being arranged so we could go over what was happening and where we were with the house.
When this meeting actually happened, we realize that this Super didn't even have the notes from the first one and had no clue about the problems that had been going on for these eight months!
We went through all the issues with the new Super and provided yet ANOTHER LIST of the changes that were to be made. We covered the incorrect framing and problems with the master bathroom, etc. The new Super made notes and assured us that he was there to get our home finished in the next 10 weeks! This was in September.
About this time, we saw the bathtub that was going to be installed into the master bathroom - IT WAS WRONG! We addressed this with the salesman AGAIN and were told they were going to fix it. The only problem was that there were no tubs available that fit the criteria we had specified in the original change order.
We went to a couple stores and found the tubs the didn't exist and provided the information to the salesman. He promptly said that we had to use their vendor and THEIR VENDOR didn't have any tubs.
After checking with the Super, we got the name of the tub vendor and checked their website. We found three tubs that fit the bill perfectly in about 10 minutes of looking!
When we told the salesman we found the information he was quick to say it would cost more to put in the different tub. We told him to let us know what the cost was, expected it to be shipping or something. Wrong!
The tub that should have been included in the first charge was going to cost us another $1600 — ripoff #4
Thinking that we were going to get on with it now, we relaxed a bit and were hopeful. MISTAKE!
The next call I got was from the electrician. My Wife had gone out to look at the house one morning and met the electrician. After a short conversation, the electrician asked if I could come out and show him where the outlets and wiring should go because none of the changes were on his plans (sound famililiar?).
I drove out to the site and spent about three hours going from room to room explaining the wiring plan to the electrician. At one point, the company owner came out and expressed his gratitude for our help.
At the same time we were talking to the electrician, the A/C duct installers were there. The Lead for the crew said that he took it upon himself to add a return duct in the livingroom. It wasn't on the plans, but he said without it the A/C unit would not function properly.
Newmark even failed to properly design the a/c duct system in the house. Ripoff #5
When I got home, I got an email from the Salesman telling me how I disrupted the work at the site by being there. What a joke! The electrician had to ask for our help since his plans weren't accurate.
Our next big problem came with the front door. We had asked for a nice door to be installed from the beginning. The salesman said "no way", but the Super told us to pick it out and he could get it installed. We went back and worth over this for a couple weeks before Newmark came up with their first answer.
Newmark said that we could have the door we wanted but they were going to install the original frame in the house. This would mean that after we took possession of the home, we would have to have the frame replaced with the correct one. This would involve chipping out the stone as well as pulling out all the wood frame. Very Expensive to say the least!
Obviously, we didn't go for this and after more arguing Newmark changed their mind. We could have the door frame delivered and the frame ONLY would be installed. They would turn over the house to us with plywood in the window openings and a construction door. We could have the glass and real door installed after the house was ours.
The last part of the door deal was that we had to pay for it ourselves and were totally responsible for it during construction. This meant if it was damaged, we had to pay to get it fixed. Newmark would not cover anything to do with it.
Newmark made us buy our own front door and pay for it ($3800). Newmark only installed the frame and at our risk. — ripoff #6
About this time, the real problems started! If you can believe it, things got worse now...
The roof frame had been completed by now and it was so poorly done that the neighbors commented to us when they saw us. The rafters were warped and bowed along with many bad braces.in fact, it was so badly built that even Newmark had to admit it!
We were informed that the Super had been fired and replaced with the first Super, again. The framing crew was also replaced with "THE BEST FRAMERS IN THE COMPANY" and we were told that no other home would be framed until ours was done correctly.
Newmark promised to get our house done before any others were started — ripoff #7
After two more months, we were still framing the house and Newmark was telling us they were almost done. Per our contract, we had the home inspected by a 3rd party inspector. He found 68 code violations with most of them being structural!
The violations included improper braces for the roof in several places, fire blocks not installed properly, bolts not installed to hold pillars in place on porch, bolts to hold frame to slab not installed correctly and the list goes on!
We provided this list to Newmark and were promptly told they were going to sheetrock and move forward with the house. They would "look at our list" and see what "they thought" needed to be fixed.
Since they were not going to seriously address the issues, we contacted the City Inspectors in Round Rock, Texas. After some initial defensiveness, a stop work order was issued because of the problems. The inspectors took a look at the list and after some resistance, told Newmark they would need to fix several of the issues.
We were concerned that the inspectors passed the house in the first place, but at least we thought we were getting it fixed now. I asked to attend the meeting between the Super and Inspectors, but was told I was not welcome. Furthermore, my Wify and I were no longer welcome on the work site.
Newmark said we could not visit the worksite anymore since we were pointing out defects in construction. — ripoff #8
About this time, I actually wrote a lengthy letter to TOUSA (Newmark's parent company) about our experience. I included photos of the workmanship along with all the documentation I had. This included 300 email, several certified letters, notices and open record requests from Round Rock. To date, we have received no response from them at all.
We did receive a letter from Newmark threatening to cancel our contract, keep our money and sell the house to someone else! We were told we were delaying the progress on the house and creating too much trouble.
At this point, we had enough and took our case to the media. Unfortunately, none of the government agencies, news stations, state and federal representatives were interested. They all "felt our pain" but were unable to help.
We finally hired an attorney and are presently involved in a lawsuit to recover damages and deposits from Newmark.
Newmark still has our money, promised to cover expenses we incurred after their promised deadline and continue to refuse to tell us what if anything they fixed from the list of code violations! — ripoff #9
So, we can say without a doubt that Newmark Homes is one of the worst experiences we have ever had in our lives. They promise the moon and deliver less than a moon rock! The construction of our house was substandard at best. The various trades could not even get accurate plans to work from. The Super had no idea what was going on and clearly had problems with project management!
We have since hired a custom builder and will do all we can to help others realize the quality of home that Newmark builds.
Our biggest regret is that someone will buy that house and never know what problems are there. They will believe the home is wonderful and sound when in fact it will most likely have one problem after another.
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