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