CLASSIC COMMUNITIES CORP

Business (Legacy Homes of Central PA is part of this business)

We entered under a contract with Classic Communities Corp. in one of their
communities to build our new home.  Everything up through the contract
signing went well.  However, once under contract the process was not
very good.  The list of issue we had from contract signing to closing
(does not include one year warranty time frame as we are still under our
warranty) were as follows:

1.      Excavation was delayed due to sub-contractor availability

2.      Excavation completed a day before a substantial rain storm was predicted in our area for a week.

3.      Excavated area filled up with water and sat for 19 days before we had to ask the builder to pump it out.

4.      Two lots under construction at same time but we were told that
two different builders would be constructing each one. Turns out both
were done by the same set of sub-contractors.  This created numerous
delays in completing work on our home as we were told that the other
home had a closing date before ours.  Again we were told two different
builders were constructing the two homes.

5.      Foundations were cracked by concrete sub-contractor when they
lifted them up as they forgot to install the lateral foundation drain
into the sump pump pit.  Had to contact township builder code official to have Legacy mitigate the situation.

6.      The superintendent assigned to our home originally was never on
site.  Never providing oversight of sub-contractors.   We had to be on
site every day to take photographic documentation of all issues.

7.      Framers undersized a door opening and there was no QA/QC check on the framing to catch it.

8.      Electrical rough in was not done in a professional manner in the
basement.  Wires were wrapped around sewer lines, duct work and gas
lines. 

9.      Trim sub-contractor cracked door casings, damaged window drywall
trim, missed placing crown molding in certain areas, cut open a door
header where drywall was already installed and finished to create space for a miss framed door.  Again there was no
oversight or QA/QC checks performed by the builder.  We had to report
everything we noticed.

10.  Carpeting installers damaged numerous walls, trim and window trims.

11.  Builder presented a schedule they had set upon contract signing
that had a closing date different than the one on our contract.  As
other house progressed towards closing we continually were told our
closing date was not going to be met.

12.   Spot light installed in wrong location as per the plans but
builder states it cannot be moved as there is not enough wire run to
move it.  This was pointed out to builder well before siding was
installed.

13.   Numerous delays in masonry installation as stone sub-contractor was continually on other jobs.

14.   At final walk through builder stated that dishwasher was tested
and run.  Upon moving in it was discovered that dishwasher water valve
was shut off and the drain house was not connected to the sink. 

15.  Numerous doors tight in closing and one will not even close.  This hopefully gets correct at 90 day warranty follow up.

16.   Lot grading delayed to the point were was not complete at closing
but money was withheld to mitigate if builder does not return.  There
was plenty of good weather in the late fall and winter of 2015 to
complete the site grading.

So to summarize if one intends to use this builder make sure you are on
site every day taking pictures of everything.  This will come in handy
for schedule delays, closing and warranty.  Pay close attention to
electrical and trim sub-contractors they tend to  cut corners.  Request
contract language that requires the builder to have weekly progress
meetings with the potential buyer and buyer take good notes and have
builder sign off on the notes.  The builder's struggles with
communications with owners, sub-contractors, Realtor and financial
institutions so one must stay on top of Legacy/Classic Corp.

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I would avoid this builder at all costs.  We purchased a town home in one of the developments mid way through the developments progression.  Although we love our home, the value has plummeted since we bought it and it?s not just the economy since comparable homes in the area have not lost the degree of value ours has.  When we bought the home we were sold on the community ? it was a great planned townhome community with gorgeous homes.  We received bylaws that stated the builder could only build a certain type of home ? must have at least three bedrooms and garages were mandatory in every home.  When the development was approximately two thirds of the way to being completed, the builder started building homes that did not abide by the bylaws.  These homes were almost $100K less then what we paid for ours, due to their decreased size and lack of garage.  This group of homes is an eye sore on the community and although we cannot prove it decreased the value of our home, it certainly didn?t help.  As if that wasn?t enough, towards the end of the communities completion, Classic started building homes that were constructed with much less quality.  Many of the homes were put together with different (CHEAPER) finishing?s.  Our home, and many of our neighbors who have similar homes, have lost a significant amount of value because on the outside these homes appear to be similar (same square footage).  When we started talking with realtors to sell our home, we found out that this is not a unique situation and Classic has done similar things in other developments they have built.  When these issues were brought up to management at Classic they gave a million excuses but no resolution to the many problems this has created.
Our home has not been without problems but that is another story. 
I would avoid this builder at absolutely all costs unless you want to lose a significant amount of money (unless you buy a home after the community is completely finished).

We had a new home built with Classic Communities, which was completed at the end of January 2014.

PROS

-Helpful design staff when choosing options, colors, etc. Michelle was great to work with.

-Threw in a fair amount of upgrades in with our base price offer and included $10k closing cost assistance.

-House seems to be quality built and have had no major issues. It's only been 6 months though.

-We like our neighborhood, but that's not really a tip of the hat to the company itself.

CONS

-Easily #1 complaint is post-build customer service - HORRENDOUS. They do not respond to emails and it takes up to 5-10 requests for simple warranty issues to be completed. All neighbors have said the same thing as well.

-Expensive upgrages (most likely the same with most builders). Lack reasonably priced upgrades. Few Choices.

-Told us we could not choose certain lots because they were "sold" and there are still no houses built on said lots. However, we are happy with the one we ended up with.

-Time management of our build was poor. claimed they would be done much earlier than seemed reasonable and we were really in no hurry so we pushed the time back from their time frame and they still missed the deadline and pushed back settlement, which nearly ruined our financing we had locked in 60 days prior to settlement.

-Framers miscalculated dining room size (actually in our favor, but what if it were not?) Could have Caused major issues.

-Subcontractors left chunks of concrete and exterior house stone lying around which was then tossed in and around my foundation. Every time i dig up a pathetic plant they planted for landscaping i find boulders in my flower beds, which need to be removed. Neighbors all have same issue. Lawn is also filled with rocks.



We are supposed to get a 1 year inspection where we can have cracking drywall, nail pops, etc. fixed, but we have a neighbor that has been here nearly two plus years that is still waiting for this to be completed.