VAN METRE HOMES ASHBURN OFFICE

Buyer beware! In January 2009, we settled on our new construction single family home with Van Metre Homes in Stone Ridge, VA. Since settlement, we have had the following issues with our home: March 2009 - Crack in Master Bathroom Sink May 2009 - Crack in Princess Suite Tub May 2009 - Ceiling Replacement in Family Room Due to Leak (Took Van Metre Six Weeks to Repair/Replace) July 2009 - Bay Window Separating from Home October 2009 - Drive way/Front Lawn/Front Walkway Sunk July 2010 - Roof Leak in Master Bedroom July 2010 - Unexplained Condensation/Rain Forest Type Conditions in Furnace Room September 2010 - Van Metre Sub-Contractor Damages Garage Door While Topping Off Drive-Way November 2010 - GE Refrigerator Fails and is Replaced In addition to the list above, on Memorial Day weekend 2011 our Goodman air conditioning (that was installed by Van Metre's subcontractor - Comfort Professionals) stopped working. We immediately called Van Metre's 24-hour warranty emergency line; however, we were informed that although our air conditioning was only 2.5 years old -- it was no longer covered by Van Metre's builder warranty (builder warranty was for 2 years.) Van Metre Warranty suggested we call Comfort Professionals directly. After five days and $1,112.00, we finally were able to get Comfort Professionals out to replace our refrigerant coil. (We unsuccessfully called Van Metre to see if they could help get their subcontractor/Comfort Professionals out sooner.) During those five days temperatures reached 100 degrees outside and 104 degrees inside our home. Our six year old daughter and 110 pound dog were miserable. Our hardwood floors and door frames suffered too (our hardwood buckled and door jams swelled.) Subsequently, we called Van Metre Homes to discuss some sort of reimbursement from either Van Metre or their subcontractor -Comfort Professionals. Our request was elevated to the President/CEO, Rick Rabil, and the Executive Vice President, Brian Davidson. Sadly, Mr. Rabil and Mr. Davidson did not feel any sort of responsibility, empathy, or sympathy for our plight and informed us that there was "nothing Van Metre or Comfort Professionals could or would do for us." Additionally, Mr. Rabil made it quite clear that although he was " disappointed in the quality of our home" that he hoped that I " continue to market and sell his homes!" (-- I am a realtor.) I was completely astonished by Mr. Rabil's arrogance and lack of class/professionalism!! After our very disheartening meeting with Van Metre, we realized the "repaired" Goodman air conditioner was not cooling our home and/or getting the humidity out of the air. At this point in time, we called Snell and Son for an evaluation. We learned that Comfort Professional installed a 4 ton coil in our 5 ton unit and that Van Metre/Comfort Professionals installed a Goodman system that would be completely obsolete in less than a year (the unit they installed in our new construction home was one that used R-22 refrigerant -- as opposed to the R-410A refrigerant -- which was required by law as of January 2010.) As a result, we just spent an additional $14,000.00 to replace our 2.5 year old Goodman HVAC system with an upgraded multi-zone Bryant system (oh, Van Metre only installed one...yes, one...air conditioning unit for our 4500 finished SQ FT home -- there wasn't even an option to "upgrade" to two units!) After much research and meetings, we decided to go with Snell and Son for the full HVAC replacement. We are absolutely THRILLED with Snell and Son (will be my next review!) They did quality work and were complete professionals. I would highly recommend them for any type of HVAC services/installs needed!!