DAVID WEEKLEY HOMES

The home build was the most chaotic and overpriced fiasco we have ever had the misfortune of taking part. We would strongly discourage anyone using David Weekley in the Belterra subdivision of Austin, TX. Homebuilders use local trades. You NEED to talk with those who went through the build process in the subdivision you plan to build. There were a number of issues we discovered as the build occurred, but if I had to sum it up: "David Weekley does not have the ability to control the trades workmanship in the Belterra subdivision and you will get poor quality for the price point! There exists a restrictive covenant with Texas Community Propane in the Belterra subdivision which will also be a significant budget concern." Our "personal" builder was spread across multiple jobs and had a hard time keeping the trades under control. For example, David Weekley started talking about closing and an outstanding code issue of a hot water expansion tank, identified in our pre-frame inspection, was not yet resolved. Another example is the wood floors were not covered as secondary trade traffic walked through the house. The mason's work kept getting chipped around the home, such as around the fireplace and a poorly repaired chip on the stonework around the garage. Throughout the build I began to feel like I was doing the "personal" builders job at pointing out incorrect installation and orders. Be prepared to invest a lot of personal time reviewing what is installed against the Homeowner Transaction Summary (HTS). We had incorrectly configured cabinetry and the appliances were not even in the model family of those listed on the HTS. David Weekley builder said appliances were close enough, but we strongly differed on that opinion since it was same amount of money paying for the cheaper model appliances. The pricing was overinflated, but we were willing to live with it assuming the quality and craftsmanship would be there for our dream home. It turned out to be a nightmare home and there surfaced other systemic issues in the nieghborhood. We were watching the Austin news one night, and the Belterra restrictive covenant with Texas Community Propane came up. Around 800 residents were complaining about over inflated propane bills. I asked David Weekley to insulate me from this fiasco, and I was directed to contact their HVAC contractor, Christianson Air Conditioning and Plumbing. Some days later after my initial call the HVAC contractor gave me a bill of material quote over the phone for a heat pump, but when I asked for a paper BOM with pricing, he never would send it. I bugged the HVAC contractor numerous times and even asked my David Weekley salesman to follow up, but nothing ever materialized. How bad is this propane restrictive covenant? Please see the following URLS: KAXN News Story: http://kxan.com/2014/05/02/dripping-springs-propane-customers-complain-about-prices-2/ Costs of converting Belterra Heat to Electric: http://belterra.w7o1.com/content/operating.html Eventually, we had to cut our losses back out of the contract. David Weekley has stated they will not refund our option deposit of $23,000. I understand them keeping our earnest money deposit, but the option deposit should be returned.