RYLAND HOMES

We recently purchased a new construction Ryland Home in the Arbor Reserve Community in Bradenton, Florida. Numerous issues have arisen and we are beyond frustrated and have gotten no satisfaction or understanding from anyone within the company. We feel that you should be aware of the ordeal we have been through and the manner with which your Tampa office conducts business with homeowners. Ryland has taken what should have been an exciting experience for us and turned it into a stress filled and frustrating dilemma that continues on. From day one, thecommunication and basic common courtesy from our builder was atrocious. That initial lack of communication was a sign of things to come. We will fast forward past all of the ignored texts and e-mails from the builder (John McDonell) over the course of the building process and move directly into the numerous lies, mishaps and deceit. If John said it would be done tomorrow, weeks later and after numerous ignored texts, e-mails or voice mails, it may have gotten done or may not have. We didn?t learn until after moving in that many of John?s promises and job responsibilities as the builder were neglected, ignored, incomplete or even worse, disguised to appear completed. John was apparently relieved of his duties with Ryland the day of our closing but that did nothing to compensate us for the heartache he put us through that continues to this day. Those who took over for him have been only marginally better to say the least and not at all apologetic. The general attitude of ?well, John is no longer with us? is of no satisfaction to us nor is it an acceptable excuse for horrible workmanship, recurring inconveniences, lost pay, non-existent communication and poor customer service. John represented Ryland Homes and yet no one seems interested in taking any responsibilities for his actions. Robert Sipple, the Customer Service Manager cleaning up John?s mess is also lacking in communication and does not respond to e-mails. We have been made to feel like a burden to Ryland. We were never afforded a final walk through and closed on a home with a barricade still in the driveway, no gate access, light bulbs out, screws left out of shelving, batteries missing, the stove not connected and a phone line that was blatantly installed as a ?dummy? consisting of a wall plate connected to nothing. The last official walk through we had was two weeks prior to closing, was not completed and we were rushed through it as John was unable to work past 4:30PM. We were not shown how to use our thermostat, sprinkler system or any appliances. In fact, nobody from Ryland showed us how to use ANYTHING in the home until two weeks after we moved in and only after we insisted that a builder come out and meet with us. That was even incredibly difficult as the builders seem more concerned with being home by 4:30 than with appeasing a homeowner. Rather than be afforded the final walk through we never had, we were instead instructed to e-mail the list of issues. E-mailing the laundry list of issues doesn?t serve as a final walk through or teach us how to use anything in the home. Now, nearly two months after closing, some issues have still not been addressed, mostly due to a total lack of communication between your builders and your contractors. Rather than attempting to describe each and every issue we will attempt to keep it as brief as possible. After the pre-drywall walk through, which we were also rushed through (because it was after 4:00) we notified John that a phone line was installed in the wrong place on a kitchen wall. Months went by and as we got closer to our closing date, numerous attempts to contact John were ignored until finally he responded with annoyance and said ?stop worrying, I?ll take care of it?. On that same wall, there was also an electrical outlet blocked by the kitchen cabinets. John told us he didn?t want to make any changes to that wall until after the electrical inspection. Fast forward to the day before closing and neither issue had been addressed. On the day of closing, the electrical outlet was sloppily relocated and the phone line suddenly appeared. It wasn?t until after moving in to the home and having Verizon connect the phone service that we learned John had simply put a face plate in the wall attached to nothing. Surely you can agree that this was blatantly offensive, insulting and not possibly accidental. So, we attempted to make appointments to have Ryland install the phone line correctly and in the right place and clean up the mess from the electrical outlet. We had to set up the appointments THREE full weeks in advance. In the meanwhile, a ten foot shelf in the master closet collapsed out of the wall and we were told that it would be over a week until someone could come and repair that. This was the second shelf that fell (we put the other one back up ourselves) and there was yet another shelf that we happened to notice was never fully screwed in. We had to buy more shelving and install it ourselves rather than leave our clothing on the floor for over a week and take more time off of work to have it repaired. A ten foot shelf and not a single stud was utilized to secure it which is why it fell down despite having only hanging clothing items on it. Although Ryland did reimburse us for the cost of the shelving, (none of our labor time) why should new home owners have to make repairs to something improperly installed by the builder? The appointment for the phone line that we waited three weeks for was on May 6th and was set in stone for 1:00PM. That morning between 8:00 and 10:00, (while trying to train my paying clients) I received calls from three different contractors to say that they were on their way. Each one of them was extremely unhappy that they would have to wait until 1:00 as Ryland gave them all the wrong appointment time. The poor sheet rock guy sat in front of our house for 2 hours waiting and then he couldn?t repair the sheet rock until the phone line was installed. The phone line was finally installed that day and the sheet rock was repaired however Ryland had a painter here waiting to paint a wall that takes hours to dry. Nobody from Ryland knew that sheet rock can?t be painted until it?s dry? So, one of us needed to take yet more time off of work to meet the painter again. That was today, May 18th and here is where we just totally run out of patience with Ryland . More time missed from work (losing yet more income) to come home and find that the painter arrived without any paint. Ryland never informed the painters that this wall was an upgraded color that we paid $450 extra for? We were never given any extra paint for that $450 upgraded color but even so, why would they be expecting to use OUR paint to finish the wall with the dummy phone line? So, now the painters have to come back a THIRD time which requires more time off of work and more lost income, again. One of the worst parts is the ?Ryland attitude?. Half hearted apologies, if any at all and an expectation that we will continue to schedule appointments at RYLAND?S CONVENIENCE to repair RYLAND?S INCOMPETANCE. We have even been reminded several times that builders don?t work past 4:30 so we have to inconvenience ourselves and continually lose income due to your builder?s lack of integrity. Enough is enough. We paid $295,000 for this house and shouldn?t have to continually lose income to meet contractors to repair what your builder neglected or falsified. It?s just one thing after another and most of this because your builder lacked integrity and put in a dummy phone line and because NOBODY in Ryland knows how to communicate with each other. Ryland has taken a bad experience and made it worse. Prior to exploring options such as The Better Business Bureau, The General Contractor Licensing Board, Social Media or contacting the local news, we will afford you an opportunity to address our experiences.