Wow, I was just told about this site. I wasn't aware there were so many other pi*ed off owners.
I can't speak for anyone other than myself about this builder. Martin Van Wolfswinkel is a lier and thief! He will tell you what a wonderful place he is building and that he has been building all over the state for years. I did some research of my own and found out that he was run out of Houston for building homes that were no where near up to par. I also found out that he built some homes off Ave. J in Arlington. I went by and spoke with some home owners they are all in the same situation that we are in! Martin promised the moon and delivered only hot air!
I have been here now for 5 years and remember some of the first buildings that Martin built. I have to give him credit that they have gotten better (but not much better). He went through many sales people and could not find one who would work with him for long. Larry (the guy in the crappy white truck) has been with Martin longer than I can remember. Jared has been there for around 4 or 5 years. Both are stuges for Martin nothing more.
Larry's job is to drive the tractor. Yet Martin will give you his number to come and fix your house. (Last time I checked tractor drivers don't fix homes) And, don't trust a word that comes out of this guys mouth other than, hi I'm Larry.
Jared's job is to sell homes. Or at least I think thats what his job is. With Jared its simple you never know what you are going to get. You will think he is the greatest person in the world one minute and the next he is telling you that he can't do anything to help you. When you get down to it Martin is telling this kid to do one thing and then later telling him to do something else. Sounds to me like someone is just playing along to get a paycheck.
If you have warranty work done to your home it will most likely be a CRAPY job and will be worse than when it started. Martin has no idea on how to fix leaks, texture a wall, put down tile, sheet rock a house, frame a house, well heck build a house. If a worker comes into fix your home it will be a painter no matter what the problem is. Martin will use a painter called Pecho for EVERYTHING! When they do show up however don't expect them to stay long. They will leave after ten minutes or so then be pulled off your house to fix some other problem that has come up that is a "emergency". And thats if they even show up at all. You will call to have your home fixed and not hear from them for days if at all.
I was curious about how it was to work with Martin so I asked some of the framers one day and heard nothing but nightmares. He treats his workers even worse than he treats his buyers! I was told that there were times where he would give them a check and it wouldn't clear three or four days later. They would go to him and ask what was up and he would tell them that he put a "stop payment" on the check so he would have enough money to pay a vendor. (Yet all of us have had leins put on our homes after we moved it) This would go on for months on end I was told. I mean come on these guys live pay check to pay check! I was told that Larry and Jared had even gone over a month with being able to have a check to put in the bank. I asked both of these guys about it and they wouldn't tell me anything but I knew it was true just from the look on their faces. I can't help but feel sorry for these workers.
What it boils down to is that Newport Holdings, Inc. And Martin Van Wolfswinkel are slim balls. I wish that I had done some more looking around before I moved here. Don't get me wrong I love the people that are living next door to me, but if I had the information that I have now there is no way that I would ever do it again.
Pi*ed off
Home Owne
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