They should change the name of the company to "Somebody Else's Fault" Homes, because they're constantly telling you the problem is someone else's fault. Usually, they blame things on their subcontractors, like they didn't pick the subcontractors or something. For example, my lights flicker everytime the HVAC comes on. The electrician blames the power company, the power company says there's nothing wrong. AHP just shrugs their shoulders and does nothing. I guess they hope I'll just forget about it and it'll go away.
I signed a contract with AHP last October, we closed on the land and house January 2nd. They said it would take 4-5 months to build the house, we moved in in July with a lengthy punch list that still isn't done and has zero end in sight. Today, I found out that even though they have a ton of stuff to finish, they've stopped working on my house until they get paid by the bank. The reason the bank hasn't paid them is because they failed 2 VA inspections and they had to wait for a re-inspection to happen. What's worse is that the work they halted wasn't even going to cost them money, it was just to have someone come out and check moisture levels.
I am so underwhelmed by the house they built and there is nothing in the house where you might look at it and go, "Wow, they really did a good job on that." Actually, you don't want to look at anything too long or you'll just start noticing the poor craftsmanship. Essentially, it's a track home that you can customize and to their credit they will let you customize anything. However, you should beware, the bigger the customization, the more likely their subcontractors can't handle it. We had penny tile installed in all of the bathrooms, for example, and it looks like it was done by a DIYer on a Saturday.
They use a lot of subcontractors who only employ people who don't speak English and those subcontractors work is especially bad. We failed 4 inspections with Columbia County for the grade alone, and failed 2 VA inspections. The guys that framed our house didn't speak a word of English and walking through the house with a level and a square is a scary proposition, but it makes it really hard to install other things like shelving and molding because the house is so out of square. And still, even though they picked them, they blame everything on the subcontractors.
Also, even though they're a builder, they get surprised a lot by building codes. We built our house near water and they were surprised by all of the extra stuff they had to do, even though we asked them if it would be an issue. In addition, we have 3 bathrooms in our house, and about halfway through building we were told it's now code that we have to have 2 hot water heaters, of course they installed the cheapest hot water heaters known to man that are so expensive to run that we're thinking of ripping them out even though they're brand new and are taking up all of our pantry space.
That's another thing you can expect, if they don't charge you extra, you can expect that whatever it is will be cheap builder grade stuff. They really miss an opportunity to make more money because if we'd have known how cheap some of this stuff would be, we'd have paid for nicer stuff.
There's so much more I could add, but I will close by saying that I'm shocked this process didn't give me a hear attack and if you do decide to build with them, don't use their lenders we were saved because we used a different lender that does a single close. Also, you should plan on it taking them about a year to build your house and don't move in until everything is perfect because once you move in for some reason they can't get any of their subcontractors out.
My house was built in 2003, by America’s Home Place. I trusted that they were a professional home builder and that every effort would be made to ensure a long lasting home. Since 2004 I have incurred many expenses. Some things I can afford to fix, there are others I am just having to deal with. I have replaced the central air system, and cold water tank. I know these things wear out but I thought they would have lasted a little longer than 10 years. Other things that need to be fixed... the front porch is falling apart, nails are popping out of walls and ceilings, countertops are separating from the walls. I have cold spots and air leaks around exterior walls and windows during the winter which makes my heat run all the time, holes in the siding, water leaking into the crawl space, plaster coming loose from garage foundation making it look terrible, in the master bath door way there is a large crack that has formed that starts at the edge of the door frame and goes diagonal to the ceiling, and the floors pop and crack in certain places in the home.
America's Home Place, Inc. Reviews
They should change the name of the company to "Somebody Else's Fault" Homes, because they're constantly telling you the problem is someone else's fault. Usually, they blame things on their subcontractors, like they didn't pick the subcontractors or something. For example, my lights flicker everytime the HVAC comes on. The electrician blames the power company, the power company says there's nothing wrong. AHP just shrugs their shoulders and does nothing. I guess they hope I'll just forget about it and it'll go away.
I signed a contract with AHP last October, we closed on the land and house January 2nd. They said it would take 4-5 months to build the house, we moved in in July with a lengthy punch list that still isn't done and has zero end in sight. Today, I found out that even though they have a ton of stuff to finish, they've stopped working on my house until they get paid by the bank. The reason the bank hasn't paid them is because they failed 2 VA inspections and they had to wait for a re-inspection to happen. What's worse is that the work they halted wasn't even going to cost them money, it was just to have someone come out and check moisture levels.
I am so underwhelmed by the house they built and there is nothing in the house where you might look at it and go, "Wow, they really did a good job on that." Actually, you don't want to look at anything too long or you'll just start noticing the poor craftsmanship. Essentially, it's a track home that you can customize and to their credit they will let you customize anything. However, you should beware, the bigger the customization, the more likely their subcontractors can't handle it. We had penny tile installed in all of the bathrooms, for example, and it looks like it was done by a DIYer on a Saturday.
They use a lot of subcontractors who only employ people who don't speak English and those subcontractors work is especially bad. We failed 4 inspections with Columbia County for the grade alone, and failed 2 VA inspections. The guys that framed our house didn't speak a word of English and walking through the house with a level and a square is a scary proposition, but it makes it really hard to install other things like shelving and molding because the house is so out of square. And still, even though they picked them, they blame everything on the subcontractors.
Also, even though they're a builder, they get surprised a lot by building codes. We built our house near water and they were surprised by all of the extra stuff they had to do, even though we asked them if it would be an issue. In addition, we have 3 bathrooms in our house, and about halfway through building we were told it's now code that we have to have 2 hot water heaters, of course they installed the cheapest hot water heaters known to man that are so expensive to run that we're thinking of ripping them out even though they're brand new and are taking up all of our pantry space.
That's another thing you can expect, if they don't charge you extra, you can expect that whatever it is will be cheap builder grade stuff. They really miss an opportunity to make more money because if we'd have known how cheap some of this stuff would be, we'd have paid for nicer stuff.
There's so much more I could add, but I will close by saying that I'm shocked this process didn't give me a hear attack and if you do decide to build with them, don't use their lenders we were saved because we used a different lender that does a single close. Also, you should plan on it taking them about a year to build your house and don't move in until everything is perfect because once you move in for some reason they can't get any of their subcontractors out.
My house was built in 2003, by America’s Home Place. I trusted that they were a professional home builder and that every effort would be made to ensure a long lasting home. Since 2004 I have incurred many expenses. Some things I can afford to fix, there are others I am just having to deal with. I have replaced the central air system, and cold water tank. I know these things wear out but I thought they would have lasted a little longer than 10 years. Other things that need to be fixed... the front porch is falling apart, nails are popping out of walls and ceilings, countertops are separating from the walls. I have cold spots and air leaks around exterior walls and windows during the winter which makes my heat run all the time, holes in the siding, water leaking into the crawl space, plaster coming loose from garage foundation making it look terrible, in the master bath door way there is a large crack that has formed that starts at the edge of the door frame and goes diagonal to the ceiling, and the floors pop and crack in certain places in the home.