Rather than writing a report, I will copy and paste my first of three letters sent to Padilla Homes Inc because it provides a picture of Padilla's business practices. He did not reply to any of the letters.
July 8
To: Padilla Homes Inc.
7332 Remcon Circle, Suite B
El Paso, TX 79912
From:
El Paso, Texas 79932-3813
Dear Mr. Padilla,
Early December we entered in a contract with you to purchase a house built by your company. The house is located at Alta Valle Del Sol in El Paso, Texas. During our meeting, we asked you for a closing date and you selected January 31 as the date. We accepted and provided the date to our bank to finalize the required documentation for the closing. The bank clearly stated that the builder would have to notify them when the house was 95% completed. They also added that the notification had to be at least two weeks before the scheduled closing date. All this information was made available to you by us and by the real estate agent. Additionally, as the date approached and we realized that you were not moving at a pace that would meet the suspense determined in the contract, my wife sent you an email (with a copy to the real estate agent) communicating her concerns about the delays and the apparent possibility of missing the suspense. You disregarded the email message claiming that you would meet the suspense accorded in the contract. You did not. The bank charged me $280 for failing to close on the agreed date. Unfortunately, the amount was added to my mortgage and when I asked you to pay the amount (via my real estate agent) you categorically refused. Bottom line is that two days after the scheduled closing date the house was not ready.in fact, it had failed the city plumbing inspection.
Among the problems that we are having one is the lack of responsibility and disregard for customers displayed by your office staff. After all the problems leading to the closing, they seem to disregard any basic customer services skills. We closed the deal on February 15; after the closing my wife asked for the keys and was told that they were at the Padilla offices and that she would get them only after all money disbursement was completed and all parties were paid. On February 16 she received a call from the title company to sign an additional document, which was forgotten during the initial closing. Late that afternoon, the title company called to inform that all parties were paid. My wife called our real estate agent which in turn called your office and received authorization to pick up the keys.By then, it was after 4:30 PM and my wife was disappointed that she had to wait until the next day because your offices close at 5:00 PM.
On February 17, early in the morning, my wife went to your office and picked up the keys without problems and proceeded to the house with a truck full of household goods. She was surprised when she arrived and discovered that the door was opened, the dead bolt was missing and work was still being done in the house. She called me frustrated and made me aware of the situation. At the time I was out of town attending a job related training. I excused myself from class and phoned Padillas main telephone number and was quickly patched with Ernie Aredondo; he apologized for the situation and said that he would take care of it.By the time everything was taken care of, it was February, 21 2006. To add insult to injury, the utilities were connected since the original closing date (January, 31 2006), and when my wife arrived to the house on February, 17 2006 she saw that the water and electricity were being used for the construction of the adjacent house. She called Ernie Aredondo and received the same answer, Ill take care of it. As of today, that phrase is meaningless to us because we paid the bills and nothing was reimbursed.
The house has been plagued with many small problems that are easy to correct but have not been corrected yet. Every time we call and report a problem, we get poor customer service; appointments are made and not kept by your staff. We have to call multiple times to get the problems corrected. Some other times, the workers start the job but fail to comeback to finish it; therefore, we have to call to get somebody back in the house to finish what ever was started (i.E. Alarm system and air conditioning system). I can go on and on; rather, I prefer to provide you with a list and pictures of the problems plaguing the house and ask you to fix them. Furthermore, I am demanding that action be taken within 30 days of the receipt of this letter. I am also asking to be reimbursed for the expenditures incurred because of the unauthorized use of my utilities by your employees and for the penalty charged by the bank (with the corresponding interest) for your failure to close on the agreed date as stipulated by the contract. My reason for demanding action within 30 days, of this letter, is because your office previous lack of interest failure to fulfill its responsibilities. For example, the 30-day inspection was never performed and I believe that the same will happen to the six month and subsequent 12-month inspections; they will not happen. Consequently, after 12 months, the house warranty will be expired and I will be forced to repair the house at my own expense; which was your responsibility according to the contract.
I am attaching a list, with pictures, of the problems affecting the house. Additionally, I also attaching a copy of the home inspection performed by a licensed inspector, which was provided to you before closing. The inspection identified items that had to be corrected and were never addressed by your office; even though, I personally asked Ernie Aredondo several times for a list of the repairs. This list is not all inclusive because there are problems arising everyday. For example, today it rained and the water leaked through the windows and moisture penetrated the wall and the carpet. As usual, it took your staff more than one call to respond and as usual the first crew left without fixing the problem with the promise of returning after the weekend.
Sincerely
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