We just built our first home. The home cost us $467K. We worked very hard throughout the years to make it to this step. We sit in traffic 5 days a week and put up the all the BS at work. We felt we owed ourselves something. A newly constructed home was the perfect solution... Until now.
We have lived in our home for less than 8 weeks and we have run into many problems with the quality of its construction. LESS THAN 8 WEEKS! We chose to build with Donnay Homes in the Hunter's Crest Development in Minnetrista, Minnesota and to be quite honest we have received poor service throughout the sales cycle and beyond. My co-worker is building in the exact same development - right down the road form us - but with a different builder. The service he has received has been top-notch since the get-go. Their sales representative puts in a follow-up call every Monday to check on his happiness with construction of his home to-date. Our sales representative at Donnay Homes could of only dream of being that good. We never experienced such follow-up calls! We were told what we wanted to hear and then later on we were told we could not have it. It is funny, because my co-worker ran into a bit of an issue with the design of his garage and driveway. He spoke with his sales representative and THEY FIXED IT. My co-worker was happy and satisfied. We had an issue with our design - actually two issues - and we were told to live with it. We were not very happy or satisfied!
My co-worker has had multiple walk-troughs throughout their entire building cycle. We had 1 - not including the electrical walk-through, which was an hour of picking out spots for the lights, outlets, etc.
We were sold on the lot - it is quite nice. But honestly, we had a "feeling", based on our experience with Donnay Home's sales representative, that things may be a little rough. Shame on us! We even complained to Chad Donnay, the son of the builder who runs the show at Donnay Homes, and he never once apologized. Shame on us!
To-date we have experienced the following problems with the construction of our home by Donnay Homes:
1.2 days after we moved it we turned on our fireplace and the entire house filled with natural gas! We had the "gas man" come out and take a look and he discovered a gas leak! He was amazed and appalled that the builder, Donnay Homes, did not test and inspect the fireplace thoroughly. It could have killed us! We did get the issue fixed, but had to take time off of work to do so, which was a big inconvenience for us and once again, no apology or follow-up call from Chad Donnay or anyone from Donnay Homes for that matter. Below is a bit of Donnay Home's propaganda from their website. You be the judge:
"Our pride and dedication to quality is second only to your needs."
2. We had a plumbing issue in the Master Bathroom - a minor one - but yet another quality issue. Once again we had to take some time off of work to get this resolved (the plumber was 45 minutes late too - frustrating!) and once again no apology or follow-up call from Chad Donnay or Donnay Homes. I guess they expect this to happen in the homes they build!
3. Over this past weekend, we had some heavy rainfall. I stepped out on our porch and noticed the roof was leaking in at least two spots. We confronted Chad Donnay once again and of course, no apology or follow-up from anyone at Donnay Homes. Here is some more propaganda from Donnay Home's website. You be the judge:
Quality
"Whether you choose one of our signature designs or a one-of-a-kind custom style, you can be assured of the finest quality and professionalism. Donnay's experienced staff works with you every step of the way to maintain our high standards of quality and to make your home-building experience exciting and memorable."
Yeah, it has been real exciting and real memorable alright!
4. A few weeks ago we were out in our backyard and we noticed some our siding on the house was buckling. Now keep in mind we been in the house for maybe 5 or 6 weeks. So, we had to take time once again out of our busy schedules and call Chad Donnay at Donnay Homes to get this corrected. Yep... You guessed it, no apology or follow-up from anyone at good old Donnay Homes the so-called "Quality builder who puts the needs of their customers first." Don't believe it... They're just hollow words!
5. The sliding glass door downstairs did not slide well at all. It would get stuck every time.in fact, it still does not slide that well. Not to mention the outside handle on the sliding glass door broke off. At this point we had been in the house for about 4 weeks. Of course, we had to take time out of our busy schedules to call Chad Donnay to get it fixed and once again we had to take some time off of work for the correction. Did we receive an apology? Did we receive a follow-up call? Hell no! It seemed like the attitude from Chad Donnay was this is to be expected from a home built by Donnay Homes!
Speaking of craftsmanship, here is yet a little more of Donnay Home's propaganda from their website. Take a look for yourself. You be the judge:
"Long-standing partnerships with trusted subcontractors and recognized leaders in the building products industry have helped Donnay Homes maintain a reputation for consistency, timely delivery and customer satisfaction. The fine craftsmanship and attention to detail we've experienced with there impressive teams ensures that every one of our homes is built to perform."
6. Here is the straw that broke the camel's back:
We noticed portions of our baseboard/trim have gaps between the back of the trim and the wall.in one of the bathrooms we noticed a gap between the tile flooring and the bottom of the trim. Actually, some of our friends pointed it to us! How embarrassing! Of course we told them Donnay Homes constructed our home.
So, one more time we had to get on the phone and call Chad Donnay at Donnay Homes and he told us we had to live with it - nothing could be done. This is ridiculous! Let's re-visit one of their website propaganda statements again shall we?
"Our pride and dedication to quality is second only to your needs."
I bet!
Chad Donnay did not even offer to come out and look at it. His only resolution - besides there is nothing he could do about it because of this and that - was to add DAP behind it to give it an illusion there was no gap. Wow! I did not know buying a $467K home meant I had to be Harry Houdini! He went on about tolerances and blah, blah, blah... But Chad, it doesn't look good and the craftsmanship is poor and I am not satisfied...
Chad didn't care. He lacks customer service skills to say the least.in fact, he insulted me by asking me if I ever made mistakes at my work. What they hell does that have to do with all the issues... Nothing! It was another one of his diversion tactics. I told him it is rare - as I sincerely pride myself on quality work - and when it does happen I make it right for the customer. Chad didn't get it. He's too young... And he really doesn't care. He took our money and ran. That is all he wanted. Let's re-visit another "Quality" and "Customer Oriented" statement from Donna Homes:
"Long-standing partnerships with trusted subcontractors and recognized leaders in the building products industry have helped Donnay Homes maintain a reputation for consistency, timely delivery and customer satisfaction. The fine craftsmanship and attention to detail we've experienced with there impressive teams ensures that every one of our homes is built to perform."
Regarding the trim, Chad said this occurs in hundreds of home Donnay Homes have built and even in his own home. That's hilarious! Talk about sticking his foot into his mouth! I wish I would have known that when we began this journey - I would have went with a competitor. Another thing: My father installed the trim in his house 30 years ago and there are absolutely no gaps whatsoever any where! Why? Because my father cares about quality and knows how to do a job right. Another example: Our old house was 30 years old and the trim was perfect - no gaps! Bust according to Chad Donnay this is to be expected from a Donnay Home and we should live with because he has it in his own home and hundreds of the homes Donnay Homes have built have it and just get some DAP to "bondo" the problem...
But Chad, I am not happy or satisfied... It went into one of his ears and straight out the other. Chad Donnay did not care. No apology, no follow-up.
7. A few more examples of the quality of Donnay's craftsmanship:
One of the stones on the hearth of our fireplace is not lined up with the other stones - it sits back from the others. We noticed it on our walk-through, but didn't make a big deal of it - we let that slide. But of course, true to nature, Chad Donnay just made excuses.
The top stone of one our pillars outside is crooked. We didn't mention that to Chad Donnay as we knew he wouldn't do anything about it.
They put stairs up to our porch, but one side over hangs the sidewalk. Looks shotty, but we didn't mention that to Chad Donnay as we already knew the answer.
We are not telling anyone not build a Donnay Home - we certainly would not recommend it if asked and we will speak to our real estate agent (gee, how many prospective home builders will she speak with over the next year... Hmmmmm... By the way I told Chad Donnay this, but he didn't care of course). The purpose is to warn prospective home builders. To make sure they weigh the experiences of others before committing to build with them or any other builder for that matter. I am sure they have happy customers. We are not one of them and I am sure we are not alone. Yes, some issues were fixed or going to be fixed, but would you expect this type of quality 8 weeks after moving into your "dream home" at $467K with no apologies, no follow-ups, all the inconveniences, all of the excuses, and the "I don't care attitude" from pre-sale to post sale? In our opinion, right, wrong, or indifferent, we felt we were ripped-off by Donnay Homes. The quality, the service, and the attitude. Just horrid... They took the money and ran. Our satisfaction and happiness (as their propaganda clearly states on their website) really means nothing to Donnay Homes.
Just beware and ask questions and document everything and don't let up if wronged. A new home is your biggest expenditure... Something you've worked hard for... Be careful. Find the right builder, whether it is Donnay Homes or someone else. If you select Donnay Homes I hope you do not experience what we have. If you do... Well I told you so!
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