I purchased a new Lennar Home known as a "twin villa" in November. I have only owned and lived in a single family house and have never rented or lived in an apartment or any other "attached" dwelling. At the time I was considering retiring and downsizing, but wanted to make sure that I was purchasing a quality of home that I would enjoy.
I asked a lot of questions prior to purchasing this property. As I discovered over time, several of these questions were not answered in truth. THE question I asked the most was, "Are these homes soundproof? I do not want to feel like I am living in an apartment." I was assured over and over, time and time again, that these homes were well constructed and were soundproof. I was anal about this and bugged the sales folks and the construction supervisor to death with this concern. Therefore, I figured they were placing sound barrier insulation between the units.
I checked out the model home in another sub-division, as I was buying "pre-constuction" at this particular site. The homes seemed well constucted and quiet. My daughter and I tested this out in the model house with one of us in each unit making various noises. Neither of us heard anything.
Prior to purchasing, I went to Oklahoma City to visit a friend who had bought a new twin Villa (not by Lennar) in 2000. She was very happy with her home, and it was so quiet. She said she never heard her neighbors. As the matter of fact, about a year after moving into her home, her neighbor removed a wall in their home to open up a space between 2 rooms. She never heard a thing. Of course, I found out later, after complaining to her of the noise in my house, that there is a concrete block wall between the two units. (required by building codes)
A cousin in California has a similar attached home, with a brick wall between the two units. (required by building codes) Hence, no noise.
I was the first person to close and move into this sub-division. A week later, my neighbor closed & moved in. It has been constant noise since. I hear the washing machine, the vacuum, talking, the shower, the bathwater, doors and drawers being shut, the grandkids, walking in the upstairs rooms, & more. When they are in the kitchen, it's almost as if we are in the same house. Of course, this would mean she hears me, too. The master bedroom shares a common wall. Oh my!
I have complained many times over the years to Lennar employees, including construction site managers, Rick Perry, and Scott Kinsley, among the many. Every one repeats the same story about not hearing about this problem from anyone else and about how the units cannot be entirely "soundproof" (excuse me! But I shouldn't be able to hear my neighbors talking or bathing or washing). And what about that 5 1/2 hour firewall? I'm afraid to trust that, since I can hear my neighbor so well.
I'm sick of their PR retoric! It's a bunch of bull and this is a cheaply constructed house in many ways. Also, this is deceptive sales, since many of my questions prior to purchase were answered dishonestly and incorrectly.
I have visited and stayed with friends here in Houston who live in townhomes and apartments. I can tell you that almost everyone of them are so quiet that you wouldn't even know that the unit is attached with a common wall to another residence. My boyfriend has rented 3 different aprtments over the years, and I have spent countless hours with him without hearing a peep of noise from the adjoining unit. Yet, I own, and am subjected to noise due to inadequate construction. What do these apartments and townhomes have between them that my home seems to lack?
I am severely disappointed with Lennar and would not consider purchasing another one of their homes or recommending them to anyone. The materials used for the walls and the woodwork throughout the house are of inferior quality. There is extremely sloppy caulking throughout the house. There are probably more patches in the walls than I want to know about. My "upgraded" carpet is pieced together in so many places in the upsairs hallway, that it is ridiculous. I could go on with more, but I'll stop now. Most of all, I hate the noise.
I have heard about the noise problems from several people in this sub-division. I know for a fact that some of them have apprised Lennar of the problem. Tonight I attended a meeting and heard it again from another person who is as frustrated and upset as I am. She has been in her home almost 1 year. So, the existing problem has not been resolved! She is meeting with the constuction supervisor to discuss her concern.
Lennar should be ashamed of using "cheap" materials and with the lack of quality provided by the constuction labor crews. I don't care what anyone says, I should have a reasonably quiet and sound house that I can enjoy living in. I should not be miserable and annoyed about spending my hard earned money for this! I should not have been lied to and deceived. Lennar has not changed the constuction of these units, even though they are aware of the problem. What kind of care and concern is that? I purchased a home, not an apartment. I'm just biding my time until the sub-division is built out and sold out, so I can sell and move.
I would like to shove my house right in Lennar's mouth full of deceit. Everything about this community is not what Lennar presented it to be. Of course, when a company uses it's own loan financing, title company, etc., it's a Texas sham. I feel certain that my bank would not have appoved a lot of these loans.
It would appear that the incentive is to get the house out of inventory, make the profit, sell the loan as quickly as possible, make the profit, and keep on rollin'.
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