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The Media, Business, and Politicians All Need To Stop the Hyperbolic Discounting of God! - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2009-03-02T05:11:13-05:00

In my blog post entitled "What The World Needs Now.." Is More Than "Love, Sweet Love", I point out that the United States and the world has bought into short term thinking, and that deception, and corruption, are all around us. While greed, for lack of a better keyword, may be "charming and beautiful..", it forces people to make one small compromise after another. While all this is true, one might ask "Why?". Obviously, there are many reasons, but the one that comes to mind now, "Separation of Church & State", or "leaving God out of the equation", is based on a recent sermon at my Catholic Church last Sunday. The deacon talked about Madalyn Murray O'Hair, an American atheist, who was a "Separation Of Church & State" "activist". Bill Murray, her son, is a self-asserted "Born Again Christian", who now heads up the "The Religious Freedom Coalition".

"Separation of Church & State" has been taken too far, and in inappropriate directions, in my opinion. In Wikipedia's "Catholic Views" on "Advocacy" against it, it says: "The Catholic Church's 1983 Code of Canon law, while not laying down general rules about relations between Church and State, considers that a religious and moral education in harmony with the conscience of the pupils' parents is an integral part of education, and obliges Catholics to try to secure its inclusion: "Christ's faithful are to strive to secure that in the civil society the laws which regulate the formation of the young also provide a religious and moral education in the schools that is in accord with the conscience of the parents" (canon 799)".

So, when "Madalyn Murray O'Hair won her Supreme Court Decision back in 1963", Wikipedia says: "The Court voted 8-1 in Murray's favor, which effectively banned coercive prayer and Bible verse recitation at public schools in the United States." I think that that extreme decision which pleased only a small percentage of the entire population of the United States caused the generations that came after it (46 Years Ago!) to DISCOUNT in a HYPERBOLIC way, God. The media, business, and politicians are all influenced by, and are some of these people, as well as their parents who did not transfer the saying of prayers to their family homes at the beginning of each day.

In Wikipedia, the "HIstory" section of "Hyperbolic Discounting" says: "Notice that whether discounting future gains (of getting to Heaven) is logically correct or not, and at what rate such gains should be discounted, depends greatly on circumstances. Many examples exist in the financial world (and the spiritual world), for example, where it is logically reasonable to assume that there is an implicit risk that the reward (getting to Heaven) will not be available at the future date (lack of Belief, Faith & Hope), and furthermore that this risk increases with time." (the more you open yourself to sin, because of the omission of prayer to God, the higher the risk that you won't be ready at the moment of your death). The way I figure it, you're either moving towards God, or away from God. There is no "status quo", or spiritually staying where you are. The same goes for business. Companies are never stagnant. They are either growing or diminishing!

The "Activism" section about Madalyn Murray starts off by saying: "In 1960, Murray filed a lawsuit (Murray v. Curlett) against the Baltimore City Public School System in which she asserted that it was unconstitutional for her son, Bill Murray, to be required to participate in Bible readings at Baltimore public schools. In this litigation, she stated that her son's refusal to partake in the Bible readings had resulted in violence being directed against him by classmates, and that administrators overlooked it." It is my opinion that the Supreme court wrongly discounted "Freedom of Speech", and actually got into Censorship (the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive, as determined by a censor). In this case, Madalyn Murray was the "censor", or at least, a major influencer on the "censor".

So, while it was wrong for Bill Murray, her son, to have violence directed at him, two wrongs don't make a right! But, alas, I am not an attorney or a judge on the Supreme Court, and I don't know the details of the case. All I do know is that "THE MEDIA, BUSINESS, and POLITICIANS ALL NEED TO STOP the HYPERBOLIC DISCOUNTING of GOD! If you need some proof of that, just look at the stock market right now, which appears to reflect negativity, short term thinking, a lack of confidence by investors, as well as consumers, and an overall lack of Faith in God, as well as the future. Here is an article by Ivan Fail with speicific proof called "While the Cop’s Away, the Crooks Will Play" in the DCInsider.com. The author is more informed about Washington DC politics than I am, and I think he speaks for many people.

Charitable CEO's With Integrity In a Down Economy; Any Takers? - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2009-02-14T20:29:00-05:00

There are many CEO fish in the tank today. Some do charitable things with some of the money they make. Some promote integrity within their chosen fields like Chad Dreier does (Ryland Group Inc - RYL - CEO).

However, this blog post will delve into "Paycheck Traditions, from Banking to Broadcasting". It is a 2/13/09 blog post from the "Howzit Howard" blog. Howard starts off saying: "The nation’s leading investment house CEOs went before the House Banking Committee this week and were asked to explain why they continued to pay massive bonuses to themselves and their people at a time when the their own greed and incompetence has thrown the entire world into economic crisis." He examines "why each profession pays what it does", and ends up saying that it is "because it’s used to doing that." Here is my take on the subject.

When I was younger, and being tested for a straight commission, "point of purchase" advertising, sales management position, a 6 hour psychological profile test told my upper management that “I believed that everyone should be on straight commission.” Now that I am older and hopefully wiser, I realize that some positions, like “dirt digger” would be hard to quantify the total yearly "value added" aspect of that basic, but important in some circumstances (archaeologist's helper carefully digging dirt away from a “find”), job function.

Yet, in a 2/13/09 NY Times article entitled “Jack Welch and the Lone Ranger Theory”, there is a quote from a Mark J.Perry, economist, blog post entitled "Maybe CEOs Like Jack Welch Are Underpaid?" that says: “When Jack Welch became General Electric’s CEO in 1981, the company was worth about $14 billion. Through hiring and firing, buying and selling decisions, Welch turned the company around and when he retired 20 years later, GE was worth nearly $500 billion. What’s a CEO worth for such an achievement? If Welch was paid a measly one-half of a percent of GE’s increase in value, his total compensation would have come to nearly $2.5 billion, instead of the few hundred million that he actually received.
Bottom Line: You could probably make a stronger case that Jack Welch was underpaid and exploited by his shareholders GE’s Board of Directors than making a case that he was overpaid as a CEO.” This general concept agrees with my basic feelings of “Pay For Performance”, and my test results.

However, a 1/2/08 comment on that same Mark J. Perry’s blog post by “Walt G” says: “The premise of pay for performance is negated when there isn’t any positive performance (golden parachutes). If the CEO is taking credit and PAY for things when they are going well (whether he or she is actually the reason), then, let the CEO take the blame and NO PAY when things are going poorly (whether he or she is actually to blame).” I like that concept because it brings into play the higher concepts of Charity and Integrity. Why wouldn’t a financially successful CEO who will probably never be a “beggar in the streets” agree to temporarily reduce his/her total earnings to $1.00 per month or even per year? He’d still have his “perks”, but that charitable show of goodwill, and self sacrifice, would actually be the best PR that he could do to sell himself to the next large corporation he’ll work for. It would prove his love of what he does for a living, while giving back to one of the compainies who made that CEO well off. It would, also, help change the current negative press about "CEO Compenstion" into positive press. Plus, that money saved by the corporation could be reinvested wisely in some way as to try to increase sales! Now THAT would be showing CHARITY and INTEGRITY (most looked up word for the 2005 Mirriam-Webster Online Dictionary). (On 4/23/09 Ethisphere.com's article "Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric, Agrees to Eliminate Multi-Million Dollar Bonus" proves that Jeff Immelt has integrity, as he became "a taker"!)

Alas, the short term thinking that is plaguing everyone (I fight it myself!) has spawned too many generations of people without meaningful Charity, Faith, Hope, and Love. Let’s all “get back to basics”, as they say, and stop taking “Separation of Church and State” to such extremes that we lose sight of the massive benefits of ethical long term thinking mixed in at appropriate times and with appropriate amounts in everything we do, for all our sake, and for the sake of our future generations. After all, who will pay for the Stimulus Bill? Will it be the future generations of the top paying jobs, like CEO's? Or, will some CEO's figure out "How To Take It With Them"?

In "Sermons that Work", it says: "Have you a will? Have you taken time to think about who is important in your life, and how you would like to thank them, or be remembered? Have you decided what your treasures are, and how those treasures will be divided - or have you tried to figure out how 'to take it with you?'" It goes on to say: "The night before the flight from Egypt, and the night before the crucifixion." that "This is still God's night. His night to prepare us for a life where death is identified not with the end, but as a beginning. He prepares us by commanding us to love one another as he loves us, see in each other what he sees. Seeing through his eyes allows us to let go of our prejudices, our fears and expect life where we did not know it before. Seeing through his eyes allows us to die and live again, live again in love, in resurrection." It ends up saying: "Say "Amen" by allowing his eyes to become our eyes, his hands to become our hands, his life to become our lives. Say "Amen" and know the treasure of his love."

Yes, "Howzit Howard", “..each profession pays what it does because it’s used to doing that.”, and we all should (in the case of some overpaid jobs), and have to (in the case of some not overpaid jobs) NOW get UNUSED TO many things that we are very USED TO! I wonder if God’s “tough love” had something to do with that?

Fish Tank Image Courtesy of "Dream Aquarium Screensaver" (No Affiliate Program Established!)

"What The World Needs Now.." Is More Than "Love, Sweet Love" - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2009-01-14T05:02:00-05:00

The United States and the world has bought into short term thinking. Also, no one believes in Joan of Arcadia's definition of "evil" (Evil is charming and beautiful. It makes you doubt yourself. It asks for one small compromise after another until it whittles you down, and, it functions best when no one believes in it."). So, evil is functioning at its best right now. Deception, and corruption, are all around us. While greed, for lack of a better keyword, may be "charming and beautiful..", it forces people to make one small compromise after another. It also operates best when no one believes that GREED is evil.

So, while short term thinking is a result of "doubting yourself" for the long term (a Kahil Gibran quote - "Doubt is a pain too lonely to know that faith is his twin brother."), all those compromises to the highest level of Christian ETHICS can whittle down politicians, wall street, and even main street.

President Elect Barack Obama ("PEBO") has great ideas! Certainly, TRANSPARANCY is one of his best. But, he also recognizes the need for all kinds of CHANGE. GOV. Here is what "The Rebbe of Apt" said about changing yourself, "As a young man, I was determined to change the world. As I matured, I narrowed my goals to changing my community. Still later, I decided to change only my family. Now I realize that it is all I can do to change myself". In effect, PEBO is also saying what Marshall McCluhan says: "There are no passengers on spaceship earth. We are all crew." PEBO, again, knows what Margaret Mitchell said: "Every problem has two handles. You can grab it by the handle of fear or the handle of hope."

All the world can do is to HOPE (Helen Keller quote: "It gives me a deep comforting sense that ‘things seen are temporal and things unseen are eternal.") that PEBO realizes how sage the question is that St. John Vianney asked years ago: "Do you know what is the first temptation the devil presents to someone who has begun to serve God better? It is human respect." Because, if he does, he will understand in a clear and complete way what Thomas Merton said: "Pride makes us artificial and humility makes us real."

Let's all wish PEBO "Godspeed" in his dreams of a better future for us all, while he pragmatically carries out his plans. Let's HOPE that "The hardness of the human heart.." does not get in the way. Maybe Abraham Linclon will inspire PEBO with "Nearly all men can stand adversity..."

As for me, a humble Catholic, I love what Mother Teresa said in "Be Anyway..", as it is, IMO, the true definition of INTEGRITY! Oh, and what Mother Teresa would probably also say today is that "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW in addition to LOVE is HOPE, FAITH, AND CHARITY!"

Kindness, Joy, Peace, Love (Hope - Faith - Charity), and Happiness to ALL,

Brokerblogger

PS - You May Have To Scroll Up or Down a bit to get each quote centered to read!

My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes! - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2009-01-11T05:37:13-05:00

Does Chad Dreier (COB of Ryland on 5/29/09) or Larry Nicholson (CEO) know of the Ryland Homes' "customer relations" & "business ethics/integrity" challenge in South Carolina that could happen again to future Ryland Homes customers without corrective measures? I sent a certified letter to Mr. Dreier signed for on 7/6/09. Will they turn a poor "home readiness" and "unenjoyable customer experience" negative into a positive for Ryland? Or, will maximizing short term profits in this down economy take precedent over Ryland's website claim that their "..constant aim is to deliver....an enjoyable customer experience with every home we build." Here is our real life story told honestly, to the best of my knowledge and with detailed documentation, under my First Amendment rights of Free Speech:

My wife successfully beat breast cancer with a mastectomy, and we wanted to celebrate by moving from Texas to Murrells Inlet, SC near the ocean. We put a deposit down in early 2007, but did not want to close escrow on the house until 1/08 to give ourselves time to sell our Texas home (Ryland contract signed on 4/22/07, Pre-Start Meeting 9/11/07, first estimated completion date = 12/15/07, Actual "Close of Escrow" delayed by Ryland = 1/18/08, Move In date = 2/3/08). As if the stress of selling our former home in a "down market", and moving 1,200 miles isn't enough, over a year's time, we had over 100 documented problems with some serious like an inside the wall leak with minor mold (one week of inconvenience to get fixed), and warped exterior siding on both sides caused by structural "back braces" missing on the inside that took from 1/18/08 to 10/30/08 to get fixed (see photo of one side's exterior being fixed above).

All this occurred during our first year (13 mo.) warranty even though some of my neighbors say they only had about 25 problems with their Ryland home. It was due to a series of circumstances that, I believe, Ryland and all builders can avoid if they had more quality controls during construction like "What gets watched, gets done right!". They also need to detail and inspect a new house before they take their customer's money at close of escrow. See: "New Home Builders Deliver 'Cleaner Upper' Homes". Our new house was also a "Fixer Upper" with too much of our time needed to find and fix all the problems. Just setting appointments for all the subcontractors who, some of which, didn't show or were very late was aggravating and stressful. We adjusted our schedule to the sub's throughout that first year, so that the growing list of things would get fixed ASAP. Some subcontractors were coming from over an hour drive away, and limited how often they'd make that drive to help control their costs!

If that wasn't bad enough, many times, I had to get in my car and chase down my first on site builder as a last resort, who did not return my phone calls or emails about 95% of the time. That went on for about 9 months until our second, more organized, builder arrived. The "buck stops" for the first on site builder's behavior with the Charleston Division management, IMO (See: "Corporate Assigned Power vs. Responsibility"). So, I lost almost a year's worth of my time in dealing with and documenting all that, when I really wanted to get a consultant business started.

Then to "add insult to injury", and after being ignored for quite some time in my effort to help make sure that the stress that happened to my breast cancer survivor wife and I doesn't happen to anyone else, the Charleston, SC Divisional management responded to my 3/16/09 Better Business Bureau complaint about my almost one year of lost time by saying: "Ryland has received this complaint and appreciates the recommendations offered by our customer. Since these are recommendations and not actual problems concerning the home purchase or construction of the home no further action will be taken with regard to this complaint." I take that to mean that Ryland Homes believes that what happened to my wife and I was "normal", and that all homebuyers should expect that 100 plus problems can happen during their first year warranty! A BBB manager said to me on the phone that too many companies of all kinds (after their lawyers draw up their legal documents) follow "the letter of the law" vs. "the spirit of the law".

Ryland's Divisional office in Charleston SC, may not think they need my customer and professional recommendations, but the facts, and "time line to fix" details, that are in their own records say otherwise. I also detailed them in "My Ryland Homes Initial Repairs 'Punch List'", and "My Ryland Homes Follow Up 'Warranty Service Requests'". How Ryland's Charleston Divisional management can say there were "..not actual problems concerning the...construction of the home.." is beyond me! Maybe they saved money by spreading my first builder way too thin ("20 something" homes at the same time), while contracting out to probable "low cost sub's" who, IMO, were far less than professional in many cases? I know they saved money by having me be their unpaid "Quality Control Person"! We wish Ryland Homes believed that inherent in the purchase of a new home is the right of any customer to enjoy their new home during their first year in it. In our opinion, this is a Ryland Homes potential problem which could stir more online Ryland Homes complaints in the future.

In fact, all tract home builders could now have the perspective that by having 13 months to fix whatever number of problems and complaints the new home customer has after close of escrow, the pressure and additional cost it takes to deliver a new home as problem free as possible ("home readiness") is taken away. Also, I believe the tract home building industry is now set up more to financially reward "cost savings" by their employees, than it is to reward both "cost savings" and "customer satisfaction levels" equally. The current down economy has made things even worse for both buyer and seller! This "short term thinking" could backfire on the tract home building industry as buyer Internet usage increases for research on perspective builders. One upset new home buyer said in a comment to me on another Ryland blog post of mine: "Once we move out is when I will write reviews on our builder."

I believe that many national tract home builders save money by not caring, so much, about the "attention to detail" of how well a house gets put together initially. By that I mean that the builder delegates/communicates, sometimes ineffectively, the responsibility of doing the actual work to subcontractors who need to be watched more closely. Builders, also, sometimes hire the lowest cost sub's, and then make them fix the problems that they create, with little, or no additional, direct extra dollar expense to the national tract home builder.

Some new home warranty problems are to be expected (maybe even up to 25 of them in the first year), but over 100 problems is not acceptable to me, and should not be to the building industry, in my opinion. Certainly, no new tract home buyer expects to have to get in their car to find their tract's builder, who appeared to me to be "hiding" at times, while always having the excuse of being overloaded with work. I'm sure the National Association of Home Builders agrees, since it has a National Housing Quality (NHQ) Certification that Ryland Homes and all home builders should adhere to. The stated benefits to builders are: "Reduced warranty calls, Shorter cycle times, Increased customer satisfaction, and Improved profitability". That certification is definitely better than just saying "Close on your house and your builder disappears. Unless of course, your builder is Ryland Homes." like in this proposed Ryland print ad from Rodney Rogers (Creative Director & Copywriter).

Also, what would have helped is the Ryland Division manager in Charleston accepting my offer, and coming up to meet with me in person near his Creekhaven tract to discuss how and why things went so bad for my breast cancer survivor wife and I. This would have showed genuine concern on his part, but I never got an answer to my emailed offer on 3/30/09. What would not help anyone, in my opinion, was the 3/24/09 Ryland Charleston Division offer to have a three way conference call between them, myself, and Joe Sabella, the Regional VP of Operations who works for Keith Bass (President of the South Region of Ryland Homes since 2008). The Ryland Charleston Division had not yet answered my 3/16/09 BBB complaint, and I strongly felt that I was only going to get "facile corporate words", as it says in the Cluetrain Manifesto, along with the "..no further action will be taken with regard to this complaint." that I later got from them in their 3/30/09 response to my BBB complaint. While I may not have a legal claim, I feel I have a legitimate ethical claim with Ryland Homes in wasting so much of our valuable time while stressing us over 13 months.

As a Ryland Homes "customer/partner" now who has forgiven Ryland, I'm also concerned about Ryland keeping a good reputation, because the quicker they sell all of the lots/homes in the "now on sale" final phase of my tract the more my property value will go up from its current depressed value. Improved quality controls of all kinds could help avoid much of the negative word of mouth about Ryland that is on the Internet (DISCLAIMER - I have not verified the total truthfulness of the following complaints about Ryland or other builders). Negatives like Fecamacho of Orlando Florida's 4/21/08 posting on Ripp-Off Report.com saying Ryland used high pressure sales tactics, and that he "..found problem after problem during the building process..". Negatives like "Amomymos" of Indianapolis, Indiana's 8/26/08 posting on Rip-Off Report.com saying there were so many problems with their new Ryland home that "we are contacting a Lawyer to see what our right are to have them buy our home back!!!" "Amomymos" may succeed, since here is a 7/11/09 Dallas Morning News online article regarding a poorly built Ryland house. Ryland Homes did buy the house back after attorneys got involved. Keep in mind, many other builders/developers are complained about on ConsumerAffairs.com, so it's not just Ryland.

Our house, over 13 months, had all things fixed except for an "undiscovered from the start" plumbing problem that we paid about $70 for after the first 13 months was up. Even though it was a slow and hidden "not seated properly" toilet leak, Ryland said that they have to cut off fixing problems at some point in time. True, but it seemed "cold" to us after all that we'd been through. To be fair to Ryland, here are some of the unique factors( but not excuses) affecting our negative customer experience, as I see them:

1. My house was left to near last in 2007 at my request, as a Ryland manager agreed to put off the start of my house for about 5 months, so my first local builder was overwhelmed with many other homes (and homeowners) that started before mine, 2. That same builder who, I believe, got a raw deal, needed better organizational skills IMO, and needed to be trained better to eventually return customer emails and phone calls no matter how busy he got, 3. IMO, local tract builders don't have enough power to quickly replace poorly performing sub's on their own, 4. All the homes in my tract were newly designed homes that Ryland had never built before.

These things, and others, spur me on to make many constructive suggestions. The biggest one is that all tract home builder upper management should give the local, on-site builders more power to be able to terminate subcontractors who continually cause follow up problems for the customers and the local builders. It wastes everyone's time. Replace those ASAP with new, more "quality from the start" sub's that are located in the nearest local market vs. further away. The short term "cheapest" subcontractor may wind up "costing" more in the long term when it come to "word of mouth" advertising. I have a friend in NY that will now, never buy a new tract home when he's ready to move down here. He's telling others. Some other suggestions are in:"Ryland Homes Sales Policies (Problems & Kudos)" = Better disclosure of "upgrades" in model homes. "Ryland's Verbal vs. Written Sales Incentives" = Better disclosure of incentive details in writing. "Ryland Homes Air Filter Constructive Suggestion" = After construction, change clogged air filter with a new and better one.

I gave my not so good "customer satisfaction" feedback to Ryland Homes through their survey company, Eliant who they started using after being with J.D. Powers who gave Ryland's Charleston Division an "About average" rating in 2008 for 5 of 10 categories. I heard nothing back except that "three way conference call" offer I described above that I would have preferred be a "three way email". I find it interesting that Bob Mirman, founder and CEO of Eliant, was quoted in this 4/06 BuilderOnline article entitled "Service Magic - You can't pull great customer service out of a hat—it requires constant diligence". He said: "..it makes no sense to promise a defect-free home. Especially when you consider that even consumers who purchased homes from the top 20 ranked builders in the J.D. Power survey still had, on average, 10 problems per home. You are better off making promises that you can keep, such as a realistic closing date, how long it will take you to respond to warranty requests, or that you will repair every item listed on presettlement walk-throughs. Keep in mind that the second most important factor in the weighting that J.D. Power uses to compute scores is home readiness." "Home readiness" does not mean having about 60 things wrong on my initial "Punch List", and my expectations would have been met if I got some things fixed quicker, and I only had about 25 things wrong during the first year warranty instead of over 100!

While I have Christian forgiveness for Ryland Homes, here are my three, mostly unselfish, requests that I hope will result in a "Win - Win - Win" (Ryland Wins with more & happier customers - My Community Wins with fountains - My Wife and I Win by helping others):

1. Preferably, a face to face meeting with Chad Dreier (COB of Ryland), as I want to humbly suggest to Mr. Dreier my many improvements for customer service and customer relations that may affect Ryland's "cost to build" budget in the short run, but more than make up for that in the long run with increased sales based on good "word of mouth" online and offline advertising. Chad Dreier is on record as saying he wants Ryland to be more "Customer friendly", but he probably doesn't know what is going on "where the rubber meets the road" in every local Ryland development.

2. I believe that Ryland would sell more homes in the Creekhaven development if there were fountains in every pond. In fact, word has it around the tract, that prospects are now going away saying that all other tracts in the Prince Creek Development have fountains except for Ryland. So, I am requesting that Ryland buy and install in a minimum of 5 fountains (one for each pond) which would cost about $10,000, in total, according to a quote my neighbor got.

3. I am requesting that Ryland give my "Punch List person" neighbor a full time job with benefits when the market dictates the need. He works part time now for Ryland without benefits, and was our ultimate "diffuser #1" (peacemaker), when so many things were going wrong. We would have gone "nuts" without him. If possible, put full time/employed people like him in every small tract, who live in the tract and are neighbors instead of just an independent contractor working part time. A neighbor is more conveniently located and feels more long term "accountable" than any sub, and usually more friendly."

1/13/09 UPDATE: On 1/12/09, I had Father Andrew of St. Michael's Catholic Church do and "Exorcism" (NO, JUST KIDDING - Big Smiley Face!) on my almost one year old new Ryland Homes house. In fact, what he did do is called the "Blessing of the Home". My wife and I now feel much better about our new home, as maybe there were "evil spirits" that caused the over 100 things wrong with our Ryland Homes new house. All kidding aside, "It can't hurt!" as they say to have "Christus Mansionem Benedicat (Christ bless this house)."

1/13/09 UPDATE = I have NOT HEARD BACK yet from any of these managers regarding my humble requests. I will keep updating this last Ryland Homes blog post until I do hear back with a "yes", "no", "maybe" to all or part of my requests.

1/16/09 UPDATE = I am still being ignored as to my requests. But, I recently sent an email to all of the managers asking that they tell me when my 1 year Warranty started and will end. In getting back a response from one of them, another one of them sent me, by mistake, I'm sure, a copy of an email that I don't think I was supposed to see. It said something to the effect that the Divisional Mgr. "advised" that only one manager under him respond to me, because of my "tone" in my "communications". I am at a loss as to what that exactly means?

2/27/09 UPDATE = Chad Dreier (Ryland CEO) is retiring on 5/29/09, and becoming the Chairman of the Board!

6/25/09 UPDATE = Besides wanting to help Ryland Homes and all tract home builders, I also want to help tract home buyers have an enjoyable first year in their new home. Before closing escrow and giving the builder their money, they should take this 7/16/08 advice given by someone nicknamed "tamcim72" on the City-Data.com forum. She is overall happy with her Ryland tract home, but gives this VERY IMPORTANT ADVICE to someone about to close on a Ryland home: "My advice is:

-it's much easier to have things fixed b/f sale after you buy you have to schedule all times for contractors to come b/c before they have a key and come whenever.

-make sure you have a lot of time, don't feel rushed w/ kids or anything. If you can visit before hand and make notes.

-bring a roll of blue tape

-buy a "square" (the triangle thing to make sure corners are 90') and test every corner

-bring a large level (hubby uses atleast a 4') level every thing

-the long level works good b/c you can lay it on drywall to see the bumbs and dips that you won't see until you paint (painting voids your drywall warranty I believe)

-definitely have a private home inspection b/f 1 year warranty walkthru (didn't and wished I had)"

A previous post in that forum had a link to an electric company's "PrintChklist" that details most of the things that tract home buyers need to inspect before closing escrow. I wish I had that list and the advice above on 1/18/08! That said, the COE was delayed by Ryland to the point where my wife and I had to take the verbal word of our builder that all problems found by us before COE would be fixed by our move in date of 2/3/08 - they were'nt (Original estimated completion date = 12/15/07, Actual "Close of Escrow" delayed by Ryland = 1/18/08, Move In date = 2/3/08). So, unless we wanted to pay a lot in storage fees and motel fees after the COE on our previous home in TX, we did not want to put off COE anymore than Ryland had already done.

Also, Ryland, and probably other tract home builders, have a "Substatial Completion" clause in their "Agreement of Sale" that basically says they can deliver an unfinished house (e.g. = "exterior concrete, driveways, final grading and exterior painting") as long as the house has an "occupancy permit" issued by "the local building authority", or "when the Home is otherwise habitable". Ryland decides when the house is "habitable"! Ryland's "Settlement" clause says: "If we agree to allow You to postpone Settlement, You agree to pay Us an amount equal to one-thirteenth of 1% of the Purchase Price for each day that Settlement is postponed." So, while Ryland agrees to "complete unfinished work" ASAP, they decide what "ASAP" actually means! We got many excuses why some things took so long. The warped exterior siding on both sides of our house took over 9 months to fix.

7/13/09 UPDATE = No response from my 7/6/09 certified and signed for letter to Chad Dreier so far. Also, ConsumerAffairs.com has this 7/10/09 "Consumers Trust Online "Word Of Mouth" Most" article that points out the conclusion of a new Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey. It says: "Companies spend billions of dollars each year producing slick advertisements, when just a few happy customers raving about their product or service on the Internet might do them a lot more good, for a lot less money. It seems there's nothing like word of mouth to move a product." Word of mouth advertising, online or offline, can be positive or negative for all tract home builders. I want it to be more positive, as the home building industry is important to growth in America.

7/16/09 UPDATE = Now I know one possible reason why I have not heard back from Chad Dreier or Larry Nicholson (both members of the Board of Directors) to my 7/6/09 certified and signed for letter to Chad Dreier. I don't know if the allegations are true, but here is a 7/16/09 CNN Money article entitled "Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP and Milberg LLP Announce the Filing of a Stockholder Derivation Action on Behalf of The Ryland Group, Inc. Alleging Breaches of Fiduciary Duties by Directors". In this, it says: "As detailed in the complaint, a report by the Office of Inspector General for the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) indicated that Ryland was in violation of HUD monitoring requirements and even then, Defendants failed to implement an appropriate quality control plan. To the contrary, according to the complaint, Defendants breached their fiduciary duties to Ryland by fostering and encouraging a reckless business and lending environment at Ryland. According to the complaint, Defendants violated their obligations to provide quality loans to qualified and creditworthy borrowers, in order to inflate short term results and to overcompensate top executives." I hope the charges aren't true, as my Ryland Homes, Creekhaven tract may be indirectly negatively affected.

8/18/09 UPDATE = I am thankful that I did not have the extreme problems with my builder that others did. Mine was poor home readiness due to an emphasis on maximizing profits in this down economy. Here is an interesting 8/11/09 article from SmartMoney.com entitled "10 Things Home Builders Won't Tell You".

9/23/09 UPDATE = I got a comment from someone unhappy with Ryland in another state by the screen name of "nola.crescent". If you read this, I did not respond because your contact info was not in your profile as you stated it was. Please send another comment with your email address, and I won't publish the private details you give me in any comments. In the meantime, keep the faith, as it is my opinion that President Obama believes that all CEO's should be compensated on long term thinking vs. short which should help all CEO's to be more concerned about true customer satisfaction when legitimate customer concerns happen.

My New Home Aftermarket Great Contractors - J.S. Elite Flooring - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-28T14:44:50-05:00

J. S. Elite Flooring's new building doesn't have a sign up yet, and it is actually longer than this photo shows (I don't have a wide angle lens). It will have a great big showroom to feature their new Granite Countertops, along with their Carpet & Rugs, Ceramic, Natural Stone & Porcelain Tile, Hardwood Flooring, Laminate Flooring, Vinyl Flooring, and many other flooring related products. They now cover the Myrtle Beach and Charleston, SC areas. Click on the name of the company above for contact information.

I found J.S. Elite Flooring through a referral from a friend's son who knew the owner, Jeff Schassler, and I can't say enough about their great prices (I shopped them extensively), quality installers (it's done right the first time), and dedication to pleasing their customers (great selection & patience with interior design suggestions and with customer changes of mind). My wife and I can testify about all of these, as we just changed our mind on our backsplash tile when we saw what the manufacturer delivered to J. S. Elite. Immediately R. T. Bayles said to us (without having to ask), "You can come into our showroom and pick something else out." Cassandra Carlson has been great in helping with interior design selections from the start.

I usually don't promote the sellers I deal with but J. S. Elite Flooring fits my Brokerblogger slogan of "My views on bringing loyal, long term buyers together with ethical and value driven sellers."

My Ryland Homes Good Contractors - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-26T15:07:38-05:00

Before you read this post, please keep in mind that my wife and I did not enjoy our first year of Ryland Home ownership. See "My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes!" to get a better overview of our Ryland Home complaint to the BBB, and links to the over 100 Ryland Home problems that were all eventually fixed after 13 months of having much of our time wasted.

So, any new homes builder is only as good as all the contractors and subcontractors that work on the houses they sell. Yes, there can be some repair work after a customer moves in. But, it should be kept to a minimum with a detailed builder inspection (before the owner moves in), and certainly getting it right on the second time around, without having to inconvenience the customer with a third come back (unless something new is discovered).

In any case, the contractors for Ryland Homes that stand out as good and professional are:

1. Their "Punch List" person, Mike. He has always showed up on time, completed his quality work in a timely fashion, and has represented Ryland well, since he used to be a builder himself. He stays until the job is done right. His communication skills set him apart from most people working for any builder. I believe this because I have bought other homes from track builders who have not had the benefit of a quality, experienced person like Mike Sipio who can explain why he uses certain products, or does his repairs in a certain way that will make the repair last. The fact that he is a Ryland Home owner is another big plus for Ryland and their customers, as he has first hand experience with a Ryland Home himself.

2. Ryland's landscape contractor was great at bulldozing my backyard to re-grade it so the 10 foot flooding area that was away from my house, and in the back yard, was regraded properly the first time.

3. Ryland's Aristokraft Cabinet people are very cooperative in replacing any doors or draws that have minor defects in them.

4. Ryland's fiberglass tub repair people are great at fixing minor nicks and gouges in tubs and showers.

5. Ryland's marble composite vanity countertop person is great at filling in holes, getting out swirls, and taking off glue from vanity countertops.

Ryland Homes Air Filter Constructive Suggestion - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-19T08:45:54-05:00

The caption to the side of the photo of a low cost, fiberglass, Ryland Homes initial HVAC air filter above says: "THE WORST AIR FILTER" on the "AMERICAN ALLERGY SUPPLY HOME PAGE" entitled "Pleated Air Filter Testing Using Dylos Air Monitor Laser Particle Counter". That photo is near the bottom of that page, and a little further down it says "FIBERGLASS PRICE 50 CENTS The Worst Air Filter".

Now, granted, while American Allergy Supply is trying to promote their own high end home air filtering devices, I really don't believe that their statistics are too far off. Why, because my wife and I experienced some terrible night's sleep with much dust being recirculated into our faces at night in our new Ryland home. Our noses were stuffed more than expected (all new homes give off chemicals from carpets, etc. that can cause stuffiness) until we put a pleated MERV10 air filter in on a temporary basis until we go to MERVE 8 to be less air flow restrictive. Then, our noses were still stuffed like in our other previous new homes, but much less than before. I then bought new air directing register vents that directed the air away from our faces at night. That helped, too.

12/09/08 UPDATE: Before you continue reading the second page of this post, I wanted to let you know that in a 12/09/08 press release from Ryland's Jacksonville, Florida public relations firm, it says that the Ryland Homes there have "14-SEER HVAC systems" while the South Carolina Ryland homes only have 13 SEER. But, most importantly, it says that in Jacksonville, Florida, Ryland puts "4-inch hospital-quality air filters", while in South Carolina they put the cheapest 1 inch fiberglass air filter, and sometimes don't even change it out (as mine wasn't) after all the construction dust, etc. accumulated from building the house! Ryland's Florida homes also come with programmable thermostats which is an extra expense option in SC. See the "About Ryland Homes" section two paragraphs down after the press release, "Ryland Homes Jacksonville Division President accepts “Good Neighbor Award”. Maybe the Ryland Division Presidentin Charleston, SC needs to be more like the Ryland Division President in Jacksonville, FL in many ways?

Here is what happened, in our opinion (See Next Page!)

When the HVAC units and air filters are put in, Ryland Homes (and probably many other builders) still can have a lot of dust particle creating work to do on the house on top of all the dust generated by previous construction work. Our inexpensive (and very poor filtering) fiberglass filter from Ryland Homes (An Analysis of the Effectiveness of Air Filters on HVAC Systems says "A very low-cost disposable fiberglass furnace filter may have a MERV rating of 1 to 4 - pretty low.") was so overloaded with dirt and dust when I changed it from our hallway ceiling soon after moving in, that much dust fell on to me and onto our floor. When I brought it outside to dispose of it, it continued to spew dust into the wind in an open construction disposal bin for quite some time.

It is our strong constructive suggestion that Ryland and other builders use a medium MERV (ranges from 1 to 16 MERV) pleated air filter to initially clean most of the air particles from the construction dust when they deliver the home, and then give (or strongly suggest to buy) another air filter withing 2 months after moving in. This may cost the builder a bit more (fiberglass = about $50 cents? VS. pleated Arm & Hammer MERV 10 = $7.97 at Home Depot), but it would be a great "buyer benefit" marketing tool to help sell new homes, in my opinion.

My wife and I are sleeping better now that the air flow is away from our faces all night, and the Arm & Hammer MERV 10 air filter has filtered most of the dust particles that were formerly being recirculated. We will drop down to a MERV 8 Arm & Hammer because of what the American Home Supply home page says: "1 inch pleated air filters you buy at the hardware store should not be used in residential applications because they restrict air flow in most homes. They will eventually clog and ruin the air conditioning compressor if you forget to change them." The key is to NOT FORGET TO CHANGE THEM!

We will stay with Arm & Hammer because of what their 2 pages of information says: "Low airflow resistance for better equipment operation and to help save energy." I believe this as I put my hand in the way of the air flow coming out of the register before and after the switch to the MERV 10, and the air flow seemed the same or better to me. We are not sure if it is helping with chemical "odor control" as advertised, but we like the possibility of that benefit.

Please keep in mind what this web page says below "The Definition of Air Filter MERV and what MERV means when buying an air filter" at "Air filter density and reduction in airflow:" = "some air filters may be so dense that the cubic feet per minute of air that can pass through them is reduced drastically. Check with your air conditioner or heating system installer or service technician to review the intended air flow rate (in cubic feet per minute) of your system and on the effects of installing a better, more efficient but slower-air-passing filter. An HVAC technician and some home inspectors have equipment that can easily measure the air flow rate at a given point in the system."

Before you finish reading this post, please keep in mind that my wife and I did not enjoy our first year of Ryland Home ownership. See "My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes!" to get a better overview of our Ryland Home complaint to the BBB, and links to the over 100 Ryland Home problems that were all eventually fixed after 13 months of having much of our time wasted.

Corporate Assigned Power vs. Responsibility - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-15T08:43:12-05:00

Since this topic can relate to most medium to large corporations, in my opinion, I am not singling out Ryland Homes or limiting this post's topic to the new home building industry.

The totem pole depicted above shows the image at the top having wings. You could analogize this to the corporate "golden parachute" concept in that it is too easy for the people at the top of the corporate totem pole to blame the people at the bottom. Why? Because, many times the people at the bottom who deal directly with the customers don't have the power or authority to make improvement changes, but they do appear to have the most responsibility to make customers happy.

In the new home building industry, I believe that the most important people to the consumer are the sub-contractors and "sub's" of the sub-contractors who actually work on your house. If any builder is in a cost cutting mode determined by say a Chief Financial Office at the top, then it may be hard for the person dealing directly with the customer to get that CFO, or managers underneath the CFO, to give the OK to even look for a better sub-contractor. Why? Because, some "customer irritating" sub-contractors provide the lowest cost to the builder. They do eventually fix the problems they cause for the new home owner ( See "My Ryland Homes Initial Repairs "Punch List"), but while the builder doesn't get charged for the fixing, the customer is inconvenienced, and his time is wasted, at the very time he's dealing with many other challenges related to his move! This was partially my point in "New Home Builders Deliver "Cleaner Upper" Homes". I did not mention in that post two Ryland Homes sub-contractors who did a poor job, at first, on my foyer wood floor, and my Silestone Kitchen counter tops.

Requests for customer product and service satisfaction feedback are often sent out too soon. New home owners are very busy, and the best test is the "test of time". Opinions of customers can change over time, especially if the repairs are not long lasting. There is also the dilemma for the customer that if he says anything that even appears to be negative about the specific people that represent the builder, those comments will be the perfect excuse to blame those people at the bottom of the totem pole. Therefore, there should be the option of total anonymity in giving feedback, with plenty of space to comment on each line item of the feedback form.

Now, in some cases it may be the fault of the employees of the builder who deal directly with the customer, but more often, in my opinion, it is the sub-contractors and their "sub's" that cause problems, complaints, and waste the time of the customer. Builders know very well that "time is money", so it would be a great opportunity for any builder to think a little more long term, invest a little more money upfront, and have the probability of more positive word of mouth advertising from their customers.

I think the saddest thing is for customers to give good reviews and feedback on their buying experience (of any kind), when the whole truth is not as positive. But, just wanting to be "nice", fear of being misunderstood, fear of a possible "kill the messenger" mentality with some kind of retaliation by anyone involved in the selling process can cause the customer to not tell "the whole truth" as they see it. It is a shame, since sometimes the customer may just need to be educated about something, and some specific item negative misperceptions may be changed into positive, or at least, neutral ones.

My Ryland Homes Follow Up "Warranty Service Requests" - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-14T07:24:56-05:00

The photo above shows the area in my backyard on the far left before the trees that got flooded in a heavy rain. It happened soon after our Pre-Settlement Walk-through with Ryland Homes, so I asked to have it fixed in my first "Warranty Service Request" on 1/23/08. These "WSR's" are repair items discovered after My Ryland Homes Initial Repairs "Punch List".

Carolina Landscaping Group came in with a "bobcat" and regraded a good size area of my back and side yard with the water now (hopefully) flowing out into the woods behind my back yard. Kudos to Ryland for having that sub-contractor, but there are other sub-contractors that I will elaborate on later that were less than desirable, in our opinion.

Here are my three "Warranty Service Requests" as of 2/14/08:

1/23/08= On 1/22/08 we met with Mike from Ryland's landscaping contractor (Carolina Landscaping Group), and noted the following to be done by Monday, 1/28/08.

On a previous day when it was raining, we noticed, as well as Mike noticing, that there was a good amount of flooding in the left rear portion (as you look at our house from the street) of our back yard. Mike said he will re-grade that entire section so that the water flows back to the treed area behind our house. Mike said the back yard also needs more dirt to be put under the sod in a larger area of the back yard near the flooded portion so that the grading is more conducive to water flow to the sides, and then away from the house. New sod will then be placed over that new additional soil area. Evidence of free standing water was also noted along most of the left hand side of the house near the property line from the center of the house on back. Grading will be adjusted there too, to get quicker flowing water. = GOOD FIX APPEARS TO HAVE WORKED WELL AS OBSERVED IN THE LAST DOWNPOUR OF RAIN.

All zones for the sprinkler system were turned on and tested. Some sprinkler heads need adjusting as they are "bent over" and not providing proper coverage. One "rotor" head in the back is spraying too far, and will be adjusted down. Another sprinkler head on the front left corner of house needs moving away from the gutter downspout, as the coverage is now being blocked by that downspout. All sprinkler heads will be checked for damage, as the sprinklers came on the day before when it was 24 degrees out, and all the water froze into ice around the entire house.'

Lastly, Mike said that we were shorted three 7 gallon "Ligustrum" plants in the front, and they will be brought in and planted at no charge to us. DONE WELL!

1/25/08 = Yesterday, the utility sink in the garage began leaking out of the bottom drain area. We have shut off the water, but need to have this fixed ASAP, as contractors use this sink to wash up. = BROKEN PART FOUND AND FIXED QUICKLY!

Due to the fact that two framers were called out to inspect the wood frame 2 X 4's on both sides of the house (due to hardi-plank buckling on the outside of both sides of the house), the "blown in" insulation in the attic was compressed down and moved around to the point that I can see the ceiling of rooms in some areas. Please have more insulation blown in to insure proper insulation of the attic once the framers come back to be told exactly where to look on the outside of the sides of the house, so they can determine where to put additional 2 X 4 bracing to eliminate the buckled areas. This "Buckled Hardi-Plank" issue was part of the original 67 repair items given to Dave for "production repair" follow up. = RYLAND HAS AGREED TO BLOW MORE INSULATION IN SHALLOW AREAS, ONCE THE FRAMERS COME BACK OUT. (UPDATE - On 4/9/08 framers came out unexpectedly, and I told builder in an email to have them come the following week.) More insulation was finally put in on 10/31/08 after the warped hardi-plank was fixed.

2/9/08 = 1. When the "stand alone shower" people come out to switch out the rollers, and/or glass door for the master bedroom shower, please have them reverse the doors in our second bath tub/shower, as the handles to open the glass doors on the inside are located on the door that leads to the toilet. I think the hardware and the doors can be easily switched around so that the handles on the inside are for the door that leads to the floor in front of the toilet. Please reverse the doors on the "stand alone shower" in the master bath too. = NOT DONE AS OF 4/18/08, BUT I LEARNED THAT THE DOORS CAN'T BE REVERSED DUE TO WATER FROM SHOWER HEAD COMING THROUGH. ADDITIONAL METAL HANDLES NEED TO BE INSTALLED ON BOTH SHOWER DOORS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. These were finally put in many months later.

2. While we had the guy who fixes the plastic drains in the vanity sinks out once before, please send him again with a replacement for the drain plug in the secondary bath as it is scratched up compared to the ones in the master bath. He said to my wife that that is the way they all are, and that is not true, as the master vanity drain plugs are fine. =DONE end of 3/08.

3. Please replace the threshold at the bottom of the front door as it has a big mark in it. = DONE end of 3/08.

4. Please power wash the front driveway/walkway so that the chucks of cement missing from many areas can be easily seen for the punch list person to do his cement repairs. The rear cement patio does not have to be power washed to get the big stain off of it, as I will be doing a brick stencil stain coating over it. = NEVER DONE with my OK, as cement repair was done at the end of 3/08.

5. I ordinarily would not ask for another good cleaning of our house, but two things have happened that has made most of my window blinds, floor, kitchen counter dusty and dirty. When Creative Countertops replaced the Silestone countertops they had to drill a hole in the faucet area. That dust was minimal, but yesterday Builder's Wholesale Flooring ripped out the entire Foyer wood floor and dust and dirt went everywhere. The plastic curtain that they put up did not stay taped down and the draft coming through the opened front door found its way under and around that thin plastic "drop cloth" curtain. = NOT DONE AS OF 3/29/08, BUT I PREFER TO WAIT UNTIL ALL OUR MOVING BOXES ARE OFF THE FLOORS. I requested week of 4/21/08 for this to be done and it was.

2/11/08 WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST:

1. The electric eye mechanism for the garage door has exposed wires that need to have a twist on caps at both sides of the garage door. = DONE BY PUNCH LIST PERSON.

2. Front Door dead bolt lock does not close completely, and the back door to the Lanai needs some dead bolt lock adjustment as it is hard to close properly and easily. = FRONT DOOR IS ONLY DOOR THAT NEEDED TO BE FIXED AND IT WAS DONE BY PUNCH LIST PERSON.

3. When the person who filled the holes in the master bath vanity countertop comes back to buff out the repair, please have him buff out the swirls and streaks on the top of the secondary bath vanity countertop. = DONE AS OF 2/21/08

4. On the inside bottom corners of the Lanai screen frame, there is some "pushed in trim" that needs repair. = DONE at end of 3/08

Again, all Ryland emloyees (vs. all sub-contractors) are doing everything possible within their powerto make us, a Ryland customer, happy. In my next post I'll discuss my opinions on how employees at the "low end of the totem pole" in any medium to large corporation usually don't have a lot of power to make changes, while often times having a lot of responsibility to make the customers happy.

ALL FUTURE NEW WARRANTY SERVICE REQUESTS AFTER 2/14/08 ARE SHOWN ON THE NEXT PAGE.

2/12/08 UPDATE:
Regarding:
"5. I ordinarily would not ask for another good cleaning of our house, but two things have happened that has made most of my window blinds, floor, kitchen counter dusty and dirty. When Creative Countertops replaced the Silestone countertops they had to drill a hole in the faucet area. That dust was minimal, but yesterday Builder's Wholesale Carpet (Ryland's Flooring contractor) ripped out the entire Foyer wood floor and dust and dirt went everywhere. The plastic curtain that they put up did not stay taped down and the draft coming through the opened front door found its way under and around that thin plastic "drop cloth" curtain." = I WOULD PREFER TO WAIT UNTIL ALL OUR MOVING BOXES (over 100 in total) ARE OFF THE FLOORS, AS WE ARE MOVING THEM AROUND TO STORE WHAT'S INSIDE (It was done the week of 4/21/08.)

One last note on item # 48 on initial punch list: "Lanai French Door Glass on right will be completely replaced." The glass in the door is damaged and not the door itself, as discovered by the builder. = On 2/20/08 the window and door glass contractor came out and he took out the damaged glass in the Lanai French Door only to discover that the glass replacement was the wrong size. It was put back, and after an hour was spent on it, I was told that they would call me when the right size glass was in. (UPDATE - At end of 3/08 it was DONE.)

2/21/08 WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST:

NEW ITEM - The front door lever handle on the inside was never switched to a door lever that opens to the left when the door was switched to open in that direction to not hide the light switches when entering. The lever is upside down now compared to all the other door levers in the house, so please give me a door lever for a door that opens to the left as you enter our house. Thanks. (DONE as of 4/11/08.)

1. The last two times the wind got above 25 mph to only 35 mph (see early morning of 2/18/08 showing the thunderstorms we had last night on WeatherUnderground.com history page - http://tinyurl.com/ywc2mm), there was a loud whistling howl inside our house. I'm guessing when I say that it is a problem with the baffles. But, in all the homes we ever lived in, there has never been a "banshee" howl noise like this. I'm hoping that the next time it gets windy over 25 mph, that the punch list person could at least try to find the source of the loud noise. (UPDATE - Discovery that noise goes away when front door opens has led to the belief that the wind in being trapped in the entryway and going up through the holes in the soffit around the can lights. The puch list person caulked those holes up in an effort to start a process of elimination. It has seemed to have fixed the problem by 5/14/08, since there were 25 mph winds and no noise.)

2. Please ask Jeremy to look at the Cypress Model home in our tract, as the border around the inside of the front patio has the expansion gasket hidden better than the parging done on the other model homes. That is the way we'd like our front porch to look. Thank Jeremy for the suggestion to look at the models before we approved the parging that he offered to do, as we did not like the way that looked. = Besides"parging" by Ryland with the wrong color, my punch list person has offered to enclose the entire border where the black expansion gasket is now seen with the right color parging. This is strictly a cosmetic thing, and will cost me $75 to have it done properly.

2/23/08 WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST:

1. The last time Jeremy was over, I showed him the 8" (approx.) "saw blade" looking cut in the center of our front porch, and Jeremy's response was that all Ryland's contractors use covers on their saw blades. My wife and I have discussed when that "saw blade" looking cut in the center of our front porch happened. Here is our firm opinion. Since we are both detailed oriented we would have seen that cut earlier on when our contractors were here. Also, our flooring and cabinet contractors used the grass area with an extension cord to our outside electric outlet, and their truck to cut what they had to.

We are certain that when Ryland's contractor came out with only one guy to do the entire job from 9 AM to 7 PM that for his convenience, he was cutting the Bruce Hardwood on our front porch to be near the Foyer. I remember seeing it there. Since that was the last major job requiring the use of a saw blade, and we hadn't noticed it before that, we are certain that that is when it happened.

Jeremy said that he would have Mike look at it and try to fix it in any case, but I wanted to let Ryland know of our continuing displeasure with that Ryland contractor. My wife and I feel sorry for the poor guy who did that very hard job of scraping up the linoleum base under their first Foyer wood floor all by himself, but the manager said to me when I called around noon that he didn't know that there was only one guy doing the work. After that, there were two other guys from his company that came over and did nothing but supervise for an hour or so. We think that the young guy doing the work was very tired and made that "saw blade" mistake in the late afternoon. (UPDATE - By the end of 3/08, the punch list person filled in the deepest parts, and smoothed over the rest of the cut as best as possible.)

2. My wife told me this morning that she was getting concerned about a low sounding "drip - drip" noise (the drip sound is at 2 second intervals) coming from the back of our house and sounding the loudest in the far South East corner of the Master Bedroom. It may not be a leak in the attic, since after about 3 good rains, a wet spot in the ceiling of the MB should be showing, I think. Even though the insulated walls, and the double pane windows should not allow a "drip - drip" outside noise to come in, I looked for an explanation outside our house. It was too dark at 4 AM to see out from the MB window, so I went out on to the Lanai and the Heat Pump was on, so I could not hear the "drip - drip" noise. But, I noticed that there was a downspout coming down the South East corner of the outside of the house right where the noise was coming from. So, while I've never heard of a downspout causing a noise like that (the drip noise sounds like the water is hitting something solid) maybe that is the source of the drip noise? In any case I wanted to put on record that when it rains (my wife heard it during the last rain, too), there is a "leak in the roof" sounding drip noise where I mentioned. (UPDATE - While no other house we've owned with downspouts has ever made this noise, I've learned that all new houses now do. I attribute it to more cheaply made gutters and downspouts. My builder bought a "fold out" extension for the downspout a few weeks later and that solved the problem.)

2/28/08 WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST:

1. When Joseph (Joey) comes back to install the two clip/door pulls on our Master Shower doors, please have him cut the excess gasket that hangs down about an inch on one of the clips that is there now. (Punch list person did it at end of 3/08.)

2. When Richard or Mark comes back from Coastal Cabinets to replace the last two cabinet doors, please have him adjust one small draw in the Master Bath, as it is not opening and closing properly. DONE as of the middle of 3/08.

3/4/08 WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST:

1. Mike said that he did not have the kind of paint necessary to touch up both toilet seats and covers in both baths. He suggested that we do a WSR. So, we can live with the small nick in the Master Bath toilet cover, but the secondary bath toilet seat and cover need replacement. (It is my opinion that due to Ryland Homes cost cutting efforts in this poor Real Estate market the toilet seat cover was done by touching it up with paint. However, it looks fine and was done by the end of 3/08.)

2. When Richard or Mark comes back from Coastal Cabinets to adjust one small draw in the Master Bath, as it is not opening and closing properly, there is one more small draw that has never been replaced before that does need replacing. (UPDATE - second draw was adjusted and not replaced by the middle of 3/08.)

Also, I know it is a small thing, but please have Jeremy try to get Joey from the shower glass door company to come by with the two clips and cut the black gasket on another clip. (UPDATE - punch list person cut the black gasket and no clips by 4/26/08.)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 3/7/08

1. When the punch list person comes back to install the front door threshold plate and door lever, and finish the touch up painting (green paint for front door, white paint for aluminum frame on Lanai), please leave a small can of green paint ("collette woods")with me, as this was not in the "touch up kit" that was left for me to use. (Given to me by 4/11/08.)

2. There is an open electrical "knock out box" inside our center island in the Kitchen. Our electrician tells us that since this is not "to code" and is a potential electrical hazard, that we should ask for a "K/O seal". We think it is 1/2" in size, but we are not sure. (DONE by the end of 3/08.)

The only thing not on the list is that "overly bouncy" spring tension problem in the breakfast nook window facing the Lanai. A rep from Silverline will come out to see if he can fix it on Thursday, 3/27/08 in the AM. (UPDATE - the rep said the window was improperly manufactured with too much spring tension as we discovered by comparing it to a similar window. New spring tension weights installed on 4/25/08 - SEE 5/14/08 WSR.)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 4/15/08

1. Please put more pine needle mulch all along the left side of the house that had the drainage problem. Much of the original mulch was moved or scattered and it is very thin now. On the left front side of the house, some shrubs were moved and added at my request and it is very thin there, too. The back of the house has bare spots also. (Done on 4/25/08)

2. Also on the left front side of the house, I had a downspout drainage problem causing the water from the roof to dig a hole where the downspout meets the "tray" that guides the water away from the house. So, I bought an additional "tray" from Home Depot to fix the problem.

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 4/18/08

1. Please have the company that does the screens and the screen door for the Lanai come out to look at the holes in the door area that are big enough to let wasps into our Lanai. We have had 4 or 5 wasps get into our Lanai recently and we are now using our Lanai more often. We feel the door needs to be fixed somehow, or have it replaced with a new door, as the screen is not serving the purpose for which it was intended. That is to keep out bugs larger than the very small "noseeum bugs". (4/29/08 - Punch list person filled holes in screen door with clear caulking and I bought door sweep for the bottom of that door.)

2. Please have the people who install the garage doors come out to inspect the noises and jerky motion of the chain driven garage door opener. From having these kind most of my life, I believe that it needs an adjustment to work more smoothly and with less noise. (At the end of April it was discovered that the garage door was never lubricated or adjusted! Also, the outside handles and strappings on the outside of the door that we paid for were never put on until 3 months after close of escrow.) This was done at the end of April.

3. We had a closet organizer contractor in to give an estimate on wooden closet organizers, and he said that our design center option of extra wire shelving in the master closet was sagging in one spot due to the fact that a vertical support was missing. He said that the span of the horizontal wire shelf was too long to support the kind of normal weight you would put on the shelf. So, please have the people who supply your wire shelving come out to look at the situation, and hopefully provide one more vertical support to the long span of wire shelf. (At the end of April a bracket from a wire rack we took down was used by the punch list person to solve the problem.)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 4/29/08

1. Please install a door stopper on the door leading to the master bath. The door is hitting the towel rack and not reaching the door stopper on the base board. Done

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 5/2/08

1. There is a very tall tree about 50 feet from the back of our house that in the opinion of Mike from Southern Landscaping and Jeremy was hit by lightning due to the fact that it is missing bark in a couple of places about 60 % up the tree. The top of the tree does not look healthy like the other trees surrounding it. Jeremy said he would get someone who is an expert on Southern Pine trees to look at it to see if it could fall down in strong winds and possibly damage our house. If there is a good possibility that it could fall, we would appreciate it being removed. Done in 3 weeks.

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 5/14/08

1. On our front porch, at the top of one of the structural posts, the caulking has all separated. Please re-caulk. Done

2. I have already called Jake from Silverline windows, and he is checking into what tension spring balance would be appropriate to fix the same window that he replaced the spring balance in already. That window is now not staying all the way up when you open it. It falls down about 8 inches from the top fairly quickly when you open it all the way. I'm hoping that there is a spring balance that is stronger than the one in there now, but not as strong as the one that was replaced. Jake said he was going to a company meeting this week where there are people who would know what to do. Done

3. I have already called Mike from Southern Landscaping to come the week of 5/19/08 to take out the dead patches of grass and replace them with new centipede sod. Done

4. Along the side, and at the bottom of the door leading from the garage to the laundry room there is a gap (about 2 inches long) that needs additional weatherstripping. In the late afternoon when the sun is coming through the garage door windows, you can see this gap very clearly. Done

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 6/9/08

1. Please have the plumber look at our master bath shower "hot/cold" handle to see if the looseness that occurs in going from one direction to the other can be fixed. Done

2. The molding on the floor that is under the door from the garage to the laundry room needs painting. Done

3. Paint is needed on the outside of the house in between the breakfast nook windows. Done

4. Please have the gutter company come out to see if anything can be done about the increased loud drip noises coming from the the downspout located by the corner of the master bedroom. When it was foggy on the morning of 6/6/08, I had to put a temporary sponge at the bottom of the downspout in order to try to soften the noise of the heavy fog condensation run off. My neighbors on lots 75 and 73 do not have these drip noises (I went over to their downspouts when mine was making the dripping noises), so maybe my drip noises are due to the angle of the downspout? Or, maybe something is clogging the gutter flow of water just before the downspout entrance above? A collapseable extension on the downspout fixed the noise.

5. One of the small towel racks in the master bath comes off the bracket when you pull the towel off. This does not happen with the other small towel racks. Please find what is causing this. Done

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 6/24/08

1. The master bath towel holder (the long one) has a bar across that pops out too easily when getting the bath towel. Please have someone reposition one end bracket closer to the other so that the bar does not come out. Done

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 7/12/08

First = Door frame edges unpainted (raw wood exposed) as follows:

1. Front bdrm. entry doorway
     A. Outside right edge - hinged side
     B. Inside right edge - hinged side
2. Front bdrm. inside closet - hinged side
3. Front bathroom - hinged side
4. Coat closet - inside on hinged side
5. Both interior laundry room doors - hinged sides
6. Exterior door leading from garage to laundry room on hinged side edge unpainted, and large separation/hole down edge between door & drywall
7. Kitchen pantry - interior - both sides
8. Master shower area = inside small linen closet both sides; hinged side on exterior
9. Master shower area = inside large linen closet both sides
10. Master closet - inside - hinged side (ALL WERE DONE)

Second = Looking from the street, on the right hand side of my house about half way to the back, there is a sprinkler head (not a rotor) that keeps getting stuck in the "up position". Please replace. (FIXED VS. REPLACED)

Third = There is a "buzz/humm" noise coming through both intake vents in the main hallway every time the HVAC unit comes on. I think the noise is coming from the HVAC unit in the attic.  HVAC filter replaced, so fixed.

Fourth = One of the intake vents in the main hallway is not closing all the way. There is a "bang" noise that occurs each time the A/C comes on from the air filter being sucked upward due to the larger than necessary space where it is positioned. The other intake vent works fine, so I'm hoping the problem one can be fixed. (HVAC filter was making the noise, so foam tape around the perimiter fixed the noise)

Fifth = Recently there were property line stakes put on both sides of the rear of my backyard. I assume this is in preparation of the pond going in behind my house. My wife and I are asking that when the the trees and land behind our backyard is removed that a tarp or thick paint drop cloth be put over the entire screened in Lanai area so that dust and dirt don't get all over our screen and Lanai area. (no promises on this request)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 7/20/08 (IN THE WALL LEAK!)

About 4 PM on Sunday, 7/20/08, we discovered a wet carpet that was on the floor of our main home office in a secondary bedroom in our Ryland home. The minor water damage was inside the wall and near an outside wall that had a drain pipe within from our A/C unit in the attic. I left a phone message forRyland's builder in our tract. I called a part time worker for Ryland who lived in our tract on Monday, 7/21/08 at about 7:30 AM, as I knew he started his day early. He came right over from his house, and reviewed the damage. The builder arrived at about 8 AM and he discovered a broken A/C drain pipe that was located outside that room by using his hands to easily move and remove that drain pipe. The water damage was minimized due to the fact that it was only condensation from the A/c unit, and not a broker water pipe. That same builder determined that a small portion of the inside drywall, some 2X4 structural pieces of wood, the OSB plywood, and the exterior hardi-plank of the house had to be removed along with all the carpeting/padding in the room due to about 8 feet X 2 1/2 feet of carpet and padding being wet. Also on Monday, 7/21/08, an industrial sized dehumidifier was brought in for a day and a half to dry the concrete slab and anything else around the wet areas. I emailed the builder's boss who immediately approved about $1,692 in restoration costs, once he came and saw the water damage to the small portion of the rug/padding. He insisted upon not trying to match the color of our carpet to the "new dye lot" color of the replacement carpet, so we got all new carpet and padding from our aftermarket carpet supplier who originally installed the carpet in that room six months ago.

On Wednesday, 7/23/08, my wife and I moved all the files from a horizontal file cabinet and put them in cardboard file boxes. We spent the AM moving all small items out of the home office, so that on Friday the larger furniture could be moved back into the room. The framers were supposed to come by 1 PM to avoid any possible rain that was forcasted at 30% chance by 3 PM. By 3 PM the outside of my house was not even started to be closed up, and my call to the builder about this was not returned by then, as he was very busy with other homeowners. I tracked the builder down in the tract and he got them over to my house in 30 minutes.

On Thursday, 7/24/08, the part time Ryland contractor/neighbor finished off the inside dry wall and left the painting until the new carpet was installed the next day due to the possibility of baseboard damage by the carpet layers.

On Friday, 7/24/08, the new carpet was installed with a minor "dye lot" problem not matching the same carpeting that was installed in a different room. This we could do nothing about, and it did not bother us much as we would be the only ones to notice a slight difference in rug color from one room to another. That same part time contractor/neighbor then finished the painting and the desk and file cabinets got put back into the home office. The rest of that day and Saturday AM was spent by us putting all the files and office equipment back in the home office.

While the entire incident was frustrating and annoying, Ryland did complete the fix in less than a week to our satisfaction. There was minor mold discovered during the incident, and it was treated, and determined to not be a major problem by a specialized company that deals with all kinds of mold.

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 7/31/08

1. I just spoke to Mike Murphy of Carolina Landscape who originally (1/18/08) never told us when we complained about the six, bad looking, Indian Hawthorn (Snow White) plants in front of our house (within the 30 day guarantee) that the problem is deer eating the leaves. He just said at that time that these plants were getting too much water (we reduced watering), and to wait until after the winter is over and they should look better with proper fertilizing (which we did). These plants were without lower leaves on 1/18/08 when we first saw them, as the leaves were turning brown and falling off. They still have no lower leaves, and look sparce. Mike said that his man, Chris, sprayed these plants with Bobex (deer repellent) on 7/29/08, and that spraying will last for 3 months. We will buy Bobex at the John Deer store and spray again on 10/28/08. But, we want it on record that if this Bobex doesn't work, we want those six plants replaced. According to the owner of a local nursery these plants have a tough time doing well in the soil conditions in our area. Our neighbor has the same problem with these plants. (Ryland said that as long as the plants are not totally dead, they will not replace them. Plus the Bobex appears to have brought more leaves to the botom of the plants, but they still look bad overall. We finally accepted the "Ryland hard line" on this, and gave up trying to get better looking plants out front.)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 8/4/08

1. Please replace a cracked tile in my secondary bathroom. (Done on 9/2/08)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 8/11/08

1. There are 3 or 4 wood planks in our family room discolored and rough to the touch above a repaired hole in the concrete slab. This is probably due to a moisture barrier failure in the slab, since the plastic moisture barrier was broken when the hole was dug. This hole was there to correct a builder error in leaving out an electrical line to the center island in our kitchen. Please replace the affected wood planks, and insure that moisture will no longer come through in that area. (Done with a moisture barrier sealant generously applied around the entire hole, and color matched new wood planks installed within 2 weeks)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 9/6/08

1. A different ceramic tile in the secondary bathroom now has a crack in it. Ryland's contractor just replaced the first cracked tile on 9/2/08, and the new cracked tile happened only 4 days after the first one was replaced. Please have them come out again ASAP and fix this new cracked tile. I will again let them use another one of the extra original tiles, so that the color matches. (Done.)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 9/16/08

1. The wall and ceiling paint is bubbling in the master closet. It may be a leak in the roof, so please take a look at it and repair it ASAP. (Poor paint job was repainted by 10/1/08.)

2. The front door frame on the outside has areas where the raw wood is showing through. Please paint these areas. (Poor paint job was repainted by 10/1/08.)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 10/20/08

1. The new builder for our tract just told me to put in a WSR for this. Early this morning a fairly big construction truck (from the sound of the engine and transmission gears) hit my mail box and damaged it. The metal box is dented in and the wood pole that the box rests on is damaged. (He had it fixed by noon the next day!)

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 10/24/08

1. (This request is actually an uncompleted item from our original "punch list" on 1/18/08). The exterior hardi-plank has many separations and minor buckling on the upper sides of the house. It cosmetically looks worse than our neighbors smaller buckling situations. We met with the Hardi-Plank rep on 1/21/08, and the reassurance letter from the rep that we were promised never came. The framers said they did not find where buckling was located from the inside of our attic, so our initial builder said he would bring them out again and show them exactly where the problem areas are. An attempt was made to bring the framers out again, but the date scheduled was not good for us. So, I emailed our initial builder to pick another date. He said he never got my email, and the framers showed up on that same bad day for us. We sent them away. Our initial builder said he would fix the problem before our one year warranty was up. UPDATE = Finally, on 10/30/08, 9 months later, many "more than originally planned" 2X4's, 2X6's, and 2X12's were put on both upper left and right insides of our attic by new framers as "back braces". Some should have been there from the start. These helped to provide a more even backing for the exterior hardi-plank. Both the Horry County Building Inspector and my own building inspector that I hired originally did not catch these structural supports missing even though they were in the building plans for our house! This information came from our new builder, who quickly spotted the cause of the problem, recognized it as the same problem as another home owner down our street, and had it fixed in a few days. He had about one third of the hardi-plank removed on each upper side of the house, and replaced those with new hardi-plank along with additional Tyvek insulation. Both entire sides of the house were painted with two new coats of paint. Additional insulation was blown in the entire attic area to fix the "stepped on" (during the repair) blown insulation that was there first. The net effect was extra attic insulation and wood bracing for both upper sides of the house, that should make the upper sides of our house even stronger than originally intended. I praised the new builder.

2. From 1/25/08= Due to the fact that two framers were called out to inspect the wood frame 2 X 4's on both sides of the house (due to hardi-plank buckling on the outside of both sides of the house), the "blown in" insulation in the attic was compressed down and moved around to the point that I can see the ceiling of rooms in some areas. Please have more insulation blown in to insure proper insulation of the attic once the framers come back to be told exactly where to look on the outside of the sides of the house, so they can determine where to put additional 2 X 4 bracing ("back braces") to eliminate the buckled areas. OUR ORIGINAL BUILDER AGREED TO BLOW MORE INSULATION IN SHALLOW AREAS, ONCE THE BUCKLING IS FIXED. Done on 1/31/08.

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 11/23/08

1. On Friday, 11/21/08 in the late afternoon I found my sprinklers watering my lawn when they are set to come on at 4 am. I checked the sprinkler controller and found that all the date and time settings were way off (year 2000?), but the days of the week and the times allotted for each zone were still in tact. Inside my house there was no evidence of a power outage or electrical short of any kind. I have installed a 9 volt battery, and I check the circuit breaker in the metal box above the sprinkler controller box. The only thing that I saw was that the "on" and "off" wording in the circuit breaker box was upside down. Please have someone come out to look at both boxes and try to figure out why this happened so I can prevent it from happening in the future. (On 12/5/08 my new builder said I should not have the same problem of an "outside short" now that I have installed a Lithium 9 volt battery. Time will tell.)

2. Our stainless steel sink in the kitchen has a "sound shield" (according to the mfr. we called) that is now peeling off where it was glued on. Please have someone come out and re-glue it back on. (On 12/5/08, new builder tried to glue it back with "roof leak stop" cement. While he did a great job of not getting any "black stuff" all over our kitchen, the proper glue will be needed to, hopfully, permanently fix this.) = (On 12/16/08, a new SS kitchen sink was installed after discovering that the replacement Moen LSB1- #25 SS sink had the beginnings of the same "sound shield" peeling off problem! The two repair men put silicone sealant around the outside of the new sink's sound shield, and I hope the middle of the sound shield won't eventually come lose.)

3. The phone wire/cable that was formerly attached to the side of the house (I think) is now not attached. There are two holes in the hardi-plank where there was none before, and I think that these are where two brackets were that attached the wire/cable to the house before the painters re-painted the entire side of our house. Please fill in the holes and secure the wire/cable so that the wind does not blow it around and hit the hardi-plank. (On 12/5/08, the new builder educated me to the fact that the local telephone company will come out for free and adhere their cable to our house. The holes in the hardi-plank were a mystery to us, and threrefore I must caulk the holes myself.)

4. Please have someone check the "wobbliness" of the custom wood ladder that was built to access the garage attic storage area. It appears to have loosened up more that it originally was after 10 months of use. (On 12/5/08, the new builder informed me that I was mistaken that Ryland built this ladder. Ryland only added "leveling pieces of wood" for better stability at the bottom. Therefore, if I feel there is a safety problem with the ladder itself, and not how it was attached, I was give the mfr's name and toll free number to call them myself.)

5. I have not used the secondary bathroom's tub, and there are two small marks on the floor. Please inspect and repair. (On 12/5/08 the new builder told me that this type of repair needed to be caught at my "final walkthrough" on 1/17/08, as stated in the "Warranty Service Manual", and therefore it is NOT warrantable now.)

6. The upper white flashing on my front roof line was fixed with nails (thank you) while I was away. But, there is dirt or grease now on the area where it was nailed in. Please clean. (On 12/5/08, the new builder got a tall ladder and went up to clean with elbow grease only, and as best he could, the grease/dirt left by the Ryland repair person. He offered to come back and clean it better, but we decided to err on the side of reasonableness, and said we were OK with it the way it was.)

7. The wood molding on the bottom left of my garage door opening is cracked and needs minor paint touch up. Please repair. (On 12/5/08 the new builder put a nail into the cracked wood molding to secure it, and told me that the warranty manual says that it now isn't warrantable, since there should be "no touch up painting done" after our 1/18/09 Close of Escrow!) Since it is a minor touch up paint job that we had missed for 10 months, we didn't complain.

WARRANTY SERVICE REQUEST - 11/26/08

1. The last time Ryland's contractor was out to fix the broken ceramic tiles in our secondary small bathroom (the tiles are still fine), they did an "acid wash" of the grout due to the coloration differences of two different grout applications in fixing the ceramic tiles on two different occasions. My wife and I were not happy with the "acid wash" results after it had dried, but we originally were going to "live with it" due to the dust/dirt created when taking out established grout. Now, even though we had sealed the grout, there are very noticeable, long cracks in the grout that need repair. We are asking that the entire small floor be re-grouted with one even color of grout while the cracks are repaired. (On 12/05/08 the new builder said it is not warrantable, because on page 150 of Section IV of the Warranty Manual, it says that there is "one grout fix only". I said I think this is the first time that I've asked for the "grout only" to be fixed in this room. He then said he would check it out and, if so, he would have it repaired. As it turns out, it is a warrantable repair, and I've been offered to have it fixed by the same Ryland subcontractor who fixed the broken ceramic tiles in that room.) (As of 1/11/09, I have put off getting this fixed for my own personal reasons.)

2. In the master bedroom there is one window that has noticeable lumps around some of the wall surrounding it. Other window walls are smooth around the perimeter. Please have someone come and sand the rough areas down and re-paint with the bone white color paint. (Finished on 12/16/08).

These next items were never sent in "officially" as WSR's, as the new builder agreed to fix the "hollow sound" coming from the kitchen center island Silestone countertop. A structural support will be installed after removal of that countertop. (Done on Tuesday, 12/16/08, but damage to the veneer siding caused by the removal of the silicone glue from the Silestone to the wood was noticed. New overlapping panels will be installed to cover these cosmetic defects on each end of our center island.) Also, a door under the kitchen sink had a screw that needed moving along with the entire door. (This was repaired on 12/16/08.)

1/11/09 = While there will be some "nail pops" and foundation cracks that need repairing before our one year warranty is up, I am finishing this post, as I am dog tired of keeping this lengthy "Online Journal" ("Blog Post")!

My Ryland Homes Initial Repairs "Punch List" - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-12T11:35:02-05:00

The "sea of blue tape" that points out areas needing attention which I mentioned in "New Home Builders Deliver "Cleaner Upper" Homes " is partially shown above (click on photo to enlarge). Please keep in mind that my wife and I are happy with our lot location and Ryland in general, as the Ryland employees that we deal directly with have all tried their best to make us happy. But, I want to help Ryland Homes by noting, constructively, areas for improvement like less things needing attention before delivery. The specific problems of the Silestone Kitchen countertop that was removed for a week while we were living in the house are detailed in item #6.

Today, 1/12/08, here is our updated "Punch List" with "DONE" notes put together around our "close of escrow" on 1/18/08:

1. The exterior hardi-plank has many separations and minor buckling on the upper sides of the house. It cosmetically looks worse than our neighbors smaller buckling situations. We met with the Hardi-Plank rep on 1/21/08, and the reassurance letter from the rep that we were promised never came. The framers said they did not find where buckling was located from the inside of our attic, so our initial builder said he would bring them out again and show them exactly where the problem areas are. An attempt was made to bring the framers out again, but the date scheduled was not good for us. So, I emailed our initial builder to pick another date. He said he never got my email, and the framers showed up on that same bad day for us. We sent them away. Our initial builder said he would fix the problem before our one year warranty was up. * FINAL UPDATE = Finally, on 10/30/08 9 months later, extra 2X4's, 2X6's, and 2X12's were put on both left and right insides of our attic by new framers as "back braces". This solution came from our new builder, who quickly spotted the problem, and had it fixed in a few days. He had about one third of the hardi-plank removed and replaced with new hardi-plank along with additional Tyvek insulation. Both entire sides of the house were painted with two coats of paint. Additional insulation was blown in the entire attic area to fix the "stepped on" blown insulation that was there. The net effect was extra attic insulation and wood bracing for both sides of the house.

2. The flashings along the roof have many gaps that could let rain in. (Previous flashings fixed, but a newly discovered problem is on the front inside porch near the "right inside corner ") = DONE

3. The "pull down stairs" from the garage ceiling is very wobbly when climbing, and presents an injury/safety hazard. The base of it rests only on the corners of the side braces, and the middle needs reinforcing to prevent "side to side" wobbliness. (DONE by great "PUNCH LIST" person)

4. There is gutter and downspout missing from the front of the house right above where the front porch steps are located. Rain would pour down on people on the right hand side of the steps as you enter. (DONE)

5. Even though we have two vanity sinks in the master bedroom, and paid $200 to have the upgrade of "Eva Chrome Accessories" in the full bath, there is only one (on the left hand sink) chrome hand towel ring. This is not functional or convenient. (DONE)

6. There are numerous cosmetic details noted with "blue tape" that need to be fixed with the Kitchen Counter Silestone. Corner joints are out of alignment, with too thick of a seam, glue is on many spots, and there are many uneven spots on the bullnose surfaces. ( All Silestone countertops to be removed and replaced with new ones. All Silestone backsplashes to the left and right of stove are to be permanently removed. Underneath of bar area countertop needs painting, as noted previously by blue tape. ) NEVER RECEIVED DOCUMENTATION ! ( BUT DONE A WEEK LATER WITH THE CENTER ISLAND STILL NEEDING BUFFING WHICH WAS DONE IN CONTRACTOR'S TRUCK. OLD, SCRATCHED STAINLESS STEEL SINK WAS BROUGHT BACK EVEN THOUGH THAT CHANGE WAS IN WRITING - A NEW SINK WAS BROUGHT BACK AND INSTALLED FEW DAYS LATER.)

7. Heat Pump has frost all around the outside, and probably just needs more refrigerant. (DONE)

8. Shorten cord on pull down stairs in the secondary bedroom. (DONE)

9. "Water Valve Shut Off" compartment box in the front of the house needs all mud cleaned out of it. (Done by punch list person at the end of 3/08.)

10. Shower enclosure doors in the master bath need adjusting and alignment. Plus, the fiberglass has a nick on the upper right hand side that needs repair. Shower stall needs rust stains removed. ( Shower enclosure doors in MB still need adjusting. Scratch marks from cleaning and polishing on upper left need buffing, but nick removed and stains should be removed by now.) - On my 2/9/08 W.S.Request I said "1. When the "stand alone shower" people come out to switch out the rollers, and/or glass door for the master bedroom shower, please have them reverse the doors in our second bath tub/shower, as the handles to open the glass doors on the inside are located on the door that leads to the toilet. I think the hardware and the doors can be easily switched around so that the handles on the inside are for the door that leads to the floor in front of the toilet." Please add to that, a repair of two small nicks in the secondary bath tub floor. I thought they were dirt, but are not. = TWO DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS INVOLVED HERE, AND THE SCRATCHING NOISE IS NOW FINALLY FIXED ON 2/21/08. THAT SAME GOOD RYLAND CONTRACTOR MAY BE ABLE TO FIX THE "REVERSAL OF THE SHOWER DOORS PROBLEM WITH EXTRA "HANDLE HARDWARE". "Handle Hardware finally installed in June of 08.

11. Many interior door hinge pins need tapping down to be flush. (DONE)

12. Some windows don't open, close, and lock properly, as noted by "blue tape". ("On order" and documentation never came, SIX windows are not replaced, and the wrong size French Door glass was brought to us. But, by the end of 3/08, 5 of the 6 widows were replaced and the sixth was too hard to get at due to a heavy desk being in front of it. The person replacing the windows appeared to us to not want to be doing the work and we had to watch everything he did. Clear caulking was smeared on two of the new windows during installation, and we had to tell him and his helper to clean that up on the outside of those windows. We were told that a window that had a spring tension problem would only be the same if it were to be replaced, and that it would be "too much work". A manufacturer's rep for the window came out later and admitted it was a faulty spring tension problem that could be fixed with new spring tension balance weights. We don't want that subcontractor back in our house, so we are living with another newly discovered, minorly flawed window because of that.

13. French Doors to Lanai need moldings, holes drilled into threshold for "locking bolts", and painted to get rid of "dripping stains" at top of both doors. (DONE)

14. Numerous Kitchen Cabinetry repair issues of rough edges, wood imperfections, alignment issues, etc. that are noted by blue tape. ("On order" and documentation delivered.) - DONE.

15. Drill hole in cabinetry above microwave oven location, so three pronged cord can fit through to special outlet. (DONE)

16. All three ceramic tiled floors need to be re-grouted, and damaged or uneven tiles replaced. (Still being worked on.) (NOT SURE IF ALL ARE DONE AS SOME MORE TILES NEED TO BE INSPECTED - I'M FORGETTING ABOUT IT BECAUSE WE DON'T LIKE THE FLOORING SUBCONTRACTOR'S WORK.)

17. Numerous touch up painting needs to be done as noted by blue tape. - (All DONE by the end of 3/08.)

18. Master Bath Shower Head plate needs to be flush against wall. (DONE)

19. Secondary Bath Room lighting fixture needs to be centered and hole repaired in drywall from that move. (DONE)

20. Secondary Bath Room towel ring needs to be moved to the wall to the right of the sink. (DONE)

21. Utility Room has white electrical cover plate on the left as you come in from the garage that needs to be removed, and the drywall hole repaired. (DONE)

22. Reinstall light fixture over right sink in Master Bath to make flush to wall, and position the center plate within to be flush. (DONE)

23. Master Bath towel rings to be relocated per our discussion. (DONE)

24. Lawn in back yard has small patches missing where sod did not cover. Sod in is winter condition, and may need help come spring. (Extra patches of sod put down in the Spring).

25. Repaint base all around the house. (DONE)

26. Repair jagged edges and concrete all around the base of the house. (DONE)

27. Repair Foyer ceiling where "paint chips" are missing. (DONE)

28. Repair jagged edges on garage drywall. (DONE by my contractor putting wood trim all around.)

29. Roof stacks painted as they are white now while neighbors are a dark color. (DONE)

30. Water stains on outside rear steps and outside concrete patio in back need cleaning and the source of the water stains detected. (Pressure washing NOT NECESSARY AS I AM HAVING IT STENCIL STAINED)

31. Front porch and driveway concrete gouges need repair. (Punch list person did by the end of 3/08.)

32. Wood steps and landing leading from garage into Utility Room need painting with a beige color. (DONE)

33. Overall clean up of paint smears and dirt needed on all doors, walls, hardware, windows, etc. (Completion of clean up still needs to be done due to FOYER WOOD FLOOR REMOVAL DUST/DIRT BLOWING IN ON VERY WINDY DAY - 2/8/08. I told Ryland that only the portions of the house that got dirt and dust from the Foyer wood floor removal need cleaning by their clean up crew. I also said that there are still too many moving boxes unopened on the floors, so please hold off on this until we get unpacked). UPDATE: I got the cleaning done by the week of 4/21/08).

34. Fiberglass utility sink in garage needs cleaning AND LEAK REPAIRED. (DONE)

ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/17/08:

35. Molding around left panel of French Doors to the Lanie needs painting. (DONE BY CLEANING)

36. SS sink was newly discovered to have many scratches, so that needs replacing. (DONE)

37. Handles/bars/framing on MB and 2nd Bath shower sliding door needs cleaning on the inside. - DONE

38. Newly discovered "high ceramic tile" needs replacement in second bath. (DONE)

39. In second bath baseboard/beam to be squared. (DONE)

40. Right front foundation, outside corner, needs cleaning or painting. (DONE)

41. Lanai flashing on inside/upper center needs flattening. (DONE)

42. Lanai ceiling has obvious holes around can light. (DONE)

43. Lanai inner molding door frame on the outside needs painting. Also, on the bottom left and right corners of the inside of the screen frame, there are "pushed in" frame moldings. PAINTED AS OF THE END OF 3/08.

44. Family Room crown molding seam by TV area needs caulking and painting. (DONE)

45. Front porch ceiling has obvious holes around can light. (DONE)

46. Replace den window due to hole in framing on upper left section. Other window replacements due to various reasons previously noted by blue tape. Documentation to come. - NEVER GOT DOCUMENTATION AND ONE ATTEMPT AROUND 2/20/08 WAS MADE THAT I RESCHEDULED DUE TO OTHER CONTRACTOR JOBS GOING ON. I WAS NEVER TOLD WHEN THEY WOULD COME UNTIL THE LAST FEW DAYS BEFORE. NOW, ALL MY OFFICE DESK WILL HAVE TO BE MOVED WITH EVERYTHING ON IT TO GET AT ONE OF THE SIX WINDOWS. WHEN I BROUGHT THIS UP THE THE RYLAND WINDOW CONTRACTOR, HE SAID ABRUPTLY "YOUR GOING TO HAVE TO MOVE YOUR DESK". WOW, SIX DAMAGED WINDOWS WEREN'T CAUGHT BY RYLAND BEFORE I MOVED IN, AND NOW I'M BEING INCONVENIENCED WITH NO EMPATHY FOR THE CUSTOMER. LUCKILY, THE PUNCH LIST PERSON WAS THERE TO OFFER HELP AND DIFFUSE THE SITUATION. By the end of 3/08, 5 of the 6 widows were replaced and the sixth was too hard to get at due to a heavy desk being in front of it. The person replacing the windows appeared to us to not want to be doing the work and we had to watch everything he did. Clear caulking was smeared on two of the new windows during installation, and we had to tell him and his helper to clean that up on the outside of those windows. We were told that a window that had a spring tension problem would only be the same if it were to be replaced, and that it would be "too much work". A manufacturer's rep for the window came out later and admitted it was a faulty spring tension problem that could be fixed with new spring tension balance weights. We don't want that subcontractor back in our house, so we are living with another newly discovered, minorly flawed window because of that.

47. Foyer wood plank too high near front door in two spots. On 1/23/08 "hollow sounding" areas of the Foyer floor were discovered. Glue not keeping the planks of wood down properly. = OVER 20 HOLES DRILLED WITH GLUE IN THEM INSTALLED ON 2/8/08, BUT BUILDER WAS NOT HAPPY WITH THE JOB, SO HE ORDERED A WHOLE NEW FOYER WOOD FLOOR. MUCH DUST CAME INTO MY LIVING ROOM AND KITCHEN DUE TO THE THIN PLASTIC DROP CLOTH NOT WORKING 20 % OF THE TIME. BASE VINYL FLOOR HAD TO BE SCRAPED UP SO NEW FLOOR COULD BE PUT ON THE SLAB. MUCH INCONVENIENCE FOR A WHOLE DAY, SINCE ONLY ONE PERSON WORKED ON IT. (DONE)

48. Lanai French Door Glass on right will be completely replaced. = ON 2/20/08 THE GLASS CONTRACTOR FOR RYLAND BROUGHT OVER THE WRONG SIZE REPLACEMENT GLASS THAT WAS DISCOVERED ONLY AFTER THE DAMAGED GLASS WAS ALL TAKEN OUT. (This is same problem as noted in item # 46.)

49. Flooding problem in back left yard needs re-grading so that rain water flows out to the woods behind Lot #74. Soil will be placed underneath sod in certain areas of the back yard in order to elevate entire back yard (as neighbor's back yard sod is elevated. ON 1/24/08 GREAT LANDSCAPING SUBCONTRACTOR REGRADED BACK AND SIDE AND MAJOR FLOOD AREA NOW GONE.

----------
NEWLY DISCOVERED ON 1/18/08 ITEMS # 50-52.

We are looking forward to most of these repair issues being properly fixed before we occupy the house on 2/3/08. That allows for 15 days more to have most, if not all, things fixed. (UPDATE - Almost nothing was done while we were away!)

ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/18/08:

50. No power to three electrical outlet plugs in Breakfast Nook NE corner (above new countertop and on wall below window). (CAUSED BY MY OWN "EXTRA CABINETS" PERSON - (DONE)

51. No light switch to outdoor garage lanterns, and only one of two can lights working on porch ceiling as you walk out front door. (Light switch found in garage, so this was never a problem, and my own electrician fixed the can light - DONE)

52. Painting needed on 2 X 6 board across the top of the inside of the garage door, and extra drywall needed to enclose two portions of garage wall on either side of the garage door. (DONE)

ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/19/08:

53. 4 Entire outlets in Breakfast Nook do not work (two on back walls and two by new countertop area. (THIS IS DONE AND WAS A DUPLICATE REPAIR NOTE TO # 50)

54. Only one of two can lights working on ceiling of porch near front door. THIS IS A DUPLICATE TO #51 & DELETED AS MY OWN ELECTRICIAN FIXED IT.

55. Bedroom closet facing front street needs door stopper to prevent door handle from hitting window molding. (DONE)

56. Can lights in Kitchen provide different height extensions for bulbs and need adjustment, since one bulb could not be unscrewed easily. (DONE)

57. Adjust Foyer electrical switch tension (too tight) by front door. (I REPLACED SWITCH WITH A "DECOR" TYPE SWITCH, SO IT IS FIXED)

58. Please "ACID WASH" all three ceramic tiled floors installed by Ryland to properly clean grout and ceramic surface area. (NOT NECESSARY SO NEVER DONE.)

59. Almost all YALE DOOR LEVERS have too much "play" in them and need adjusting. (YALE SAYS THIS IS NORMAL.)

ITEMS NEWLY DETECTED ON 1/20/08:

60. Leveling of the living room concrete slab floor, so that my wood floor can be installed properly. This will be done by my own flooring company on Monday, 1/21/08 so that wood floor install only loses one day. - DONE AND RYLAND DID REIMBURSE ME THE $270 IT COST ME TO GET IT DONE QUICKLY,AND I BELIEVE WITH MORE QUALITY, SINCE I HAVE VERY LITTLE CONFIDENCE IN RYLAND'S FLOORING CONTRACTOR.

61. Three screws missing from porch railing on right as you enter (by steps). - ALL DONE by the end of 3/08.

62. Buff sink top to remove scratches and swirls on second bathroom vanity countertop. - DONE

63. Faucet downspout fell apart when pulled up to get closed position in second bathroom. (DONE)

64. Chrome sink plug scratched and discolored in second bathroom. (PLASTIC vs. CHROME SINK PLUG NEEDS REPLACING, SINCE WE WERE TOLD IT CAN'T BE CLEANED) - DONE

65. Chrome sink plug scratched and discolored in both master bath vanity sinks. (PLASTIC vs. CHROME SINK PLUG NEEDS REPLACING, SINCE WE WERE TOLD IT CAN'T BE CLEANED) - (DONE)

66. Buff sink top to remove scratches and swirls on master bath vanity countertop. - DONE ON 2/21/08

67. Nails in garage attic sticking out two inches or more need bending back on 2 X 4 where insulation notice was posted. (DONE)

SINCE THERE IS DUPLICATION AND SOME THINGS NOT NEEDING ATTENTION IN THIS LIST, THERE ARE ONLY ABOUT 60 vs. 67 ITEMS IN TOTAL!

All comments welcomed regarding this list, THANKS.

PS - Before you finish reading this post, please keep in mind that my wife and I did not enjoy our first year of Ryland Home ownership. See "My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes!" to get a better overview of our Ryland Home complaint to the BBB, and links to the over 100 Ryland Home problems that were all eventually fixed after 13 months of having much of our time wasted.

New Home Builders Deliver "Cleaner Upper" Homes - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-12T09:37:40-05:00

While there has always been a clean up challenge for every new home builder, it is my opinion that limited resources due to cost cutting has caused my new Ryland Homes house to be delivered with many clean up issues that should have been addressed before our move in date (Original estimated completion date = 12/15/07, Actual "Close of Escrow" delayed by Ryland = 1/18/08, Move In date = 2/3/08) . The photo above (click on to enlarge) shows a note placed by my wife that says: "Glue inside & on edge of sink from before we closed on house."

While Ryland Homes has been great about cleaning things up, and we are happy with our lot location and Ryland in general, there have been so many things to clean and touch up that from 1/18/08 to today, 2/12/07, there are still many things like shower/tub framing, etc. that still have "blue tape" noting where the cleaning and touch up need to be done. Cleaning products like "Goof Off", Fantastic, Low Odor Mineral Oil, razor scrapers, "Solid Surface Cleaner and Polish" for vanity areas, etc. are all being used to get glue from tape, cement, "mud", paint, etc. off the inside and outside of our new home.

Potential buyers of new homes look at model homes that don't have clean up or touch up paint issues, and for most prospects that sets their expectations of how their new home will be delivered. While I have had previous new homes that needed clean up and touch up paint, my wife and I started off living in a "sea of blue tape", and we are still finding more things to touch up and clean as we live in our new Ryland home. Some may think this should be expected, but it's the amount of things needing attention OVERALL that has disappointed us. See my next blog post for specifics.

Admittedly, we are detail oriented, and this can cause us to try to find more things quicker to clean up and touch up. Also, some people don't care if little nicks and scratches, little pieces of glue/"mud", paint on door hardware and tile floors, etc. are ever cleaned up, but we do. But, what a marketing opportunity for some new home builder to make it a point to deliver homes the way they deliver their model homes. While it may cost more money up front and delay delivery a bit, the word of mouth advertising would be worth it, in my opinion.

Before you finish reading this post, please keep in mind that my wife and I did not enjoy our first year of Ryland Home ownership. See "My Last Ryland Homes Blog Post & My Attempt To Help Ryland Homes!" to get a better overview of our Ryland Home complaint to the BBB, and links to the over 100 Ryland Home problems that were all eventually fixed after 13 months of having much of our time wasted.

Ryland Homes (and All Builders) Price Reduction Problem - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-07T16:54:40-05:00

I got a quick answer to my request for a refund of $9,000 (See "Will Ryland Homes "Price Protection" Continue?" from a manager at Ryland Homes. He said: "We did just lower our price's of our homes here to try and generate more sales and traffic. Per our contract, we reserve the right to change our pricing and marketing strategies as we deem necessary. I do understand your concern but please keep in mind, once things begin to pick up, we will once again begin to raise pricing on our homes. With all this in mind, Ryland will not be refunding any of the difference in your base price and our new base price."

While this is NOT what I wanted to hear, I was given a quick answer, and I now know that there may be legal a problem for any builder to give a "refund/rebate" to their "already closed escrow" customers. However, the possibility of any new home buyer having the value of their recently purchased new home going down thousands of dollars due to a price reduction soon after close of escrow is a real problem right now for both the buyer and the seller.

In my area of the United States, this 1/23/08 article "Fall in MB Home Prices Forecast" says that a 2008 report from PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. is predicting that there is a 56% chance that prices will be lower in two years. So what is a new home buyer, and a new home seller to do? If you are a buyer, you may want to offer a lower price for a new or resale home no matter what the asking price is. If you are a seller you may want to offer some big incentives that mean real savings. Resale home sellers may want to take their home off the market, or be ready to accept a much lower price depending on the local market you are in.

On top of the pricing quandary, there is the possibility of cost cutting going on at all new home builders. This could affect how the new home is delivered. It could be a matter of how many legitimate structural and cosmetic complaints the new home buyer has, or just less variety and lower cost materials being used. This 1/28/08 Indianapolis Indiana article "Battered builders retrench" says: "California-based Ryland Homes has cut about 20 percent of its work force the last two years, and now employs 75 locally." This 1/3/08 article "Lowly Faucet Gets A Whack As Home Builders Take Ax To Costs" says: "The savings potential goes beyond simply substituting lower-quality kitchen cabinets or cheaper carpet. Limited the number of faucet styles, for example, lets builders order earlier and negotiate bigger bulk discounts from suppliers."

I'll be blogging about my Ryland Homes new home buying experience soon, as it relates to how my new home was delivered at the time I closed escrow, and how over 60 repair items (mostly cosmetic, but some structural) are being handled.

1/9/08 Update: A good friend of mine who is about to buy a new home in the Myrtle Beach area of SC does not like having no price protection after he closes escrow. So, he has decided to offer a builder, other than Ryland Homes, a price even lower than the newly lowered price set on a "quick move in" home. He feels that he has the most price protection that way.

Will Ryland Homes "Price Protection" Continue? - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-02-01T05:31:16-05:00

What difference does it make to the Ryland new home customer if Ryland Homes reduces the price he's agreed to pay before he closes escrow (as depicted in unfinished house photo above) or just after? None! (2/7/08 Update: It may make a big legal difference to any new home builder though, as a title insurance officer in Tx. recently informed me. Since the home's loan, especially if there is one from Ryland's own lending division, is based on the original selling price. Therefore, a post COE refund/rebate could present problems for the home builder with all the "sub-prime" lending allegations going around . Instead of Ryland being the "good guy" in wanting to do the "right thing" by its recent home buyers, they could be incorrectly perceived as the "bad guy" who interferred with the loan amount to "value/original selling price" relationship!) The customer still wants what Dana Rogers (VP of Sales and Marketing for the Las Vegas area) said is most important in this 1/19/08 article: " 'We asked hundreds of customers what was most important to them and they said they wanted assurances they were getting a great value and that they would be protected in the event of price or rate adjustments,..' ".

Well, Ryland Homes just reduced the base price of my new home by $9,000 within 18 days of my closed escrow, and I sent off this e-mail to Don McDonough and Pat Recio, with copies to Chad Dreier (Chairman of Ryland Group), Gordon Milne (CFO of Ryland Group), LT Nichol, and Eric Elder. These are all Ryland managers who should have some say in repeating the price protection that may have been given Ryland homeowners in my development who had already closed escrow , sometime around May of 2007. (2/7/08 Update: There's now, all of a sudden, seems to be a possibility that I misunderstood some of the many people that I spoke to in my development. The rebate or refund may not have happened at all, and there may only have been a downward price adjustment BEFORE they closed escrow. I will do more research on this.)

I said something like this: "My wife and I are closing on a new style house in S.C. on 1/18/08. We are Ryland Home fans, because when I found out from a current Ryland home owner that had already moved in that Ryland (without the homeowners having to ask) gave back the difference between the new lower sales price and their (already paid) higher price, I knew that Ryland had INTEGRITY (Merriam Webster's Most Looked Up Word for 2005 = http://www.m-w.com/info/05words.htm). We are counting on that same kind of INTEGRITY, as we close escrow next month with Ryland at possibly a little higher price than market value...... I am sending this to you (Gordon Milne), because I read what you said in this 12/20/07 article, "The Current State of the Real Estate New Construction Market": "There is definitely a lot of discounting going on in some cities, Milne says, adding that many builders are offering 5 percent to 20 percent in incentives and price cuts, depending on the community." It goes on to say, "It's hand-to-hand combat out in the field, Milne says. We look at the competition down the street, what they're doing, and we've got to match it."
Please let us know ASAP if my wife and I will be getting a check back for at least the $9,000 difference in base price. If the upgrade/option pricing that we paid has been reduced, there is no way for us to know, but I'm sure Ryland's integrity will make sure that Ryland's recent customers have price reduction protection on everything that they just paid to Ryland Homes."

Time will tell, and I will report the results either way. What is interesting is that Ryland Group Inc. is now on a general upswing curve with its stock price, as shown with this (RYL) 1 Year Stock Chart . One of the best ways to continue that upswing, in my professional marketing opinion, would be to continue to give "Price Protection" to their customers even up to 6 months after Ryland Homes has the customer's money. (2/7/08 Update: It may hint of illegalities though - but, in my opinion, it would come down to the intent of the new home builder, and I really believe that if Ryland or any builder did do a "refund/rebate" that their intent would only be to have satisfied customers. However, I am not an attorney, and I know it is hard to prove "intent".) "Refunds/Rebates" would assure "great value", and increase sales, I believe. Online POSITIVE "WORD OF MOUTH" ADVERTISING, as well as Ryland customers talking to Ryland prospects would definitely happen (as it did with me).

See: "My Ryland Homes New Home Buying Experience "

Praise For Ryland Homes Homeowner's Insurance - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-01-27T06:16:09-05:00

If the "wind and hail" of a hurricane came along and replaced your house with a pile of sand from the beach (as simulated in the photo above), you would need a good homeowner's insurance policy. The problem is that it can cost a lot of money if you are in Zone 1 or 2 of the "Windpool" as determined by the South Carolina Wind and Hail Underwriting Association.

Ryland Homes passes on their buying power to their new home buyers by having a relationship with Balboa Insurance Company. Even though my wife and I are located within Zone 2 of the S.C. "Windpool", our Homeowner's Insurance policy is only $958 per year which includes "wind and hail" insurance. We got this insurance as a result of a contingency by Ryland Homes that we had to buy homeowner's insurance through them if we wanted up to $3,000 in non-recurring closing costs, and $10,000 in free upgrade options on our new Ryand Home.

When sellers pass on their buying power on anything which results in saving for the consumer, this is a "win-win" situation. Of course, those savings are not passed on when it comes to the pricing of those upgrade options. When I comparison shopped some of them, they were very high priced by Ryland Homes (as they are with all new home builders). But, you do have the convenience of having them in your new home when you close escrow vs. having to deal with them afterwards. The plus side to doing the upgrades afterwards is that your property taxes will be lower, since they are based on the selling price you pay a builder. The downside is that you should contact your homeowner's insurance company to make sure you are not under-insured.

Ryland's Verbal vs. Written Sales Incentives - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-01-22T06:45:19-05:00

The photo is of a graphical depiction of a park that will be built close to the Ryland development they are selling. It is an "in writing snapshot" of future plans by the developer to build a "buyer benefit" for all the new home builders in the development. This is what new home buyers need to have a visual, permanent record of what they are being verbally told should happen eventually.

However, when it comes to sales incentives like Ryland Homes paying up to $3,000 in "non-recurring closing costs" (Ryland's definition of what "non-recurring" does not include should be in writing), and $10,000 in free Ryland upgrades, there are no written documents (online or on paper) that state the details and contingencies of those incentives to get them when someone buys a Ryland home. This places a burden on the Ryland sales agents that have to remember to verbally tell all prospective buyers all the contingencies that materially affect that incentive offering in a clear, conspicuous, comprehensive, comprehendable, and upfront way. Hopefully, no buyer or seller wants any "misunderstandings", and last minute surprises.

I strongly suggest that Ryland Homes insure that they have proof that they are following FTC guidelines about "Advertising" by putting these details and contingencies on their web site, so that they can be easily changed, as the incentive dates and details evolve. The only thing on Ryland's web site about these things related to Ryland's in house financing incentive of a lower rate when I put a deposit down on my Ryland home, and I did not use Ryland financing when I bought.

Ryland Homes Sales Policies (Problems & Kudos) - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-01-20T07:01:28-05:00

Most of what you see in the photo above of a Ryland Homes model home (as well as with most builder's model homes) is an upgrade, like the wood floor, backsplash, kitchen sink faucet, kitchen cabinetry, and pendant lights. Yet, there is no way for the prospective buyer to know these material facts. Some builders put a sheet of paper on an acrylic stand in every room that tells exactly what is an upgrade for each room. Home buyers want to know what will be the approximate TOTAL COST of their prospective home, so they don't want to be unintentionally misled and have their expectations set improperly.

The Ryland sales reps are not always available to deliniate an upgrade from something standard that comes with the base price of the home. It should not be their responsibility anyway. Model homes are a form of advertising, and the FTC says that advertising must have clear, conspicuous, comprehensive, and comprehendable disclosure about the "material facts" of the offering.

The Federal Trade Commission has a "FTC Policy Statement On Deception" regarding their "enforcement policy against deceptive acts or practices." Notice, this is NOT just for the more traditional forms of "advertising". The summary goes on to say "First, there must be a representation, omission or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer."

Now, as far as kudos goes, Ryland has a wise sales policy that greatly helped in my decision to buy a Ryland home (See Next Page).

When I first looked at Ryland Homes, I talked to some of the people already living in the development. The most important thing I found out is that a recent $29,000 price reduction on my style of home (different styles had different amounts of lowered pricing) was refunded to the current homeowners at the appropriate amounts for each style in the form of "cash back" after they had closed escrow on their homes. This was a sales policy that, if continued, would be "Price Protection" for me, if there were more price reductions after I bought. 2/7/08 UPDATE: There now seems to be a possibility that I misunderstood some of the many people that I spoke to in my development. The rebate or refund may not have happened at all, and there may only have been a downward price adjustment BEFORE they closed escrow. A title insurance officer in Tx. recently informed me of this: since the home's loan, if there is one, can be based on the original selling price, a refund/rebate could present problems for the home builder with all the "sub-prime" lending allegations going around .

I find it interesting that Dana Rogers, vice president of sales and marketing, Ryland Homes Las Vegas just instituted "Purchase Power Advantage" for an upcoming 1/25/08 to 1/27/08 National Sales Event. She says: "If prices decline before settlement, the home builder will adjust the price to reflect the lower cost." Why limit it to only "BEFORE SETTLEMENT"? Can you imagine someone moving in to their new Ryland home only to find that they paid around $30,000 more than what the base price of their style home costs future owners? At least Ms. Rogers recognized a portion of a major concern of all new home buyers.

My suggestion to Ryland is set a time limit for the "price protection" of say four months, but extend it beyond the closing or settlement date. Anyway, I can only hope that the "current owner price protection" that Ryand gave in my tract in April of 2007, will be repeated in the future. In any case, kudos to Ryland for addressing part of a major consumer concern in this "buyer's market" that all home sellers are dealing with right now.

My Ryland Homes New Home Buying Experience - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2008-01-19T05:34:17-05:00

Since I just closed escrow yesterday on my new Ryland Home, this series of blog posts will be an ongoing dialog of whether Ryland Homes can withstand the "Test of Time", when it comes to "Appropriate Workmanship Standards and Specifications" concerns (See "IMPORTANT FINAL RYLAND HOMES BLOG POST"). But first, let me say that I will do my best to be objective vs. subjective, and to keep in mind that my intent is to help Ryland Homes, since the more homes they sell in my new neighborhood the better it is for me. Also, I want to make it clear that if I have to use tough love and constructive criticism, as well as praise and kudos, it will be done with research first and comprehensive attention to detail.

Today's post is intended to say that dealing with any new builder is a challenge that requires an INFORMED CONSUMER who has done his homework, and has set his own expectations properly. I say this because I personally know people who have bought a Toll Brothers luxury home for over one million dollars, and another who bought a Beazer Home for a little less than my Ryland Home. Both had similar mutual communication, buyer expectation, and "appropriate workmanship standards and specifications" concerns. They also had some praise for their builders.

On the second page of this first post will be a short background leading up to my purchase of a new home from Ryland Group Inc. (RYL - stock symbol), which owns Ryland Homes. Notice how R. Chad Dreier (CEO) says: "Our constant aim is to deliver quality, value and an enjoyable customer experience with every home we build." The upcoming "test of time" will uncover if what Mr. Dreier says is just disingenuous "corporate speak" or the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

All new home builders are going to have to learn and adjust to the "Age of Information", and what is said in the "Cluetrain Manifesto". The beginning of it goes: "A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and getting smarter faster than most companies."

Here are the events leading up to my Ryland Homes new home purchase in a "buyer's market" with cost cutting going on with most builders during this Real Estate downturn time.

Earlier this year, my wife and I narrowly escaped being caught up in the Levitt and Sons bankruptcy nightmare. The story starts with my 4/15/07 blog post entitled "Levitt and Sons Marketing Problems ". While my ordeal ended getting back $500 more than my deposit, many would-be Levitt and Sons home buyers are left out in the cold with the possibility of losing some or all of their deposits. See New York Times: "With Builder in Bankruptcy, Buyers Are Left Out Options".

I felt strongly that there wasn't proper upfront written disclosure and disclaimers by Levitt and Sons regarding the saleable status of my chosen lot for my house, to the point where I felt I should not have even been offered Lot #201. This bad experience made me overly sensitive to upfront disclosure of material contingencies of any kind relating to any builders' products or services.

I will go into more detail of my initial experience with Ryland Homes in my next post. Like life itself, it was a combination of "the good, the bad, and the ugly."

Setting Realistic, Deliverable, and Measurable Expectations - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2007-07-21T08:12:52-04:00

If there is one thing that a "broker" or "intermediary" has to do well, it is making sure that buyer and seller expectations are set properly.

If you are on the buying end of a transaction, "Customer Satisfaction equals the Perceived Value the customer receives from the product or service minus the Cost to the customer for that product or service." according to D. Brown Management. "Perceived" is the keyword, and "Setting Proper Expectations" is key to the evaluation of "Value Received". The definition of the word "Perceived" says: "to attain awareness or understanding of".

So how do you attain "awareness & understanding"? It is done through Open, Honest, Upfront, and Good (O'HUG) Communication combined with empathy for the other party which is imperative in having all go smoothly. Good communication, by the way, should be clear, conspicuous, comprehensive, and most importantly, completely comprehended!

If you are on the selling end of a transaction, you should get the same kind of good communication from the buyer on payment terms, as well as feedback on perceived value delivered and measured from buyer expectations. Here is why:

In "Setting Expectations, Maybe The Greatest Business Building Tip Of Them All", Jim Logan says: "Setting expectations with employees, suppliers, customers, and business partners is critical to building trust and earning respect. Trust and respect leads to a great reputation." It is my belief that in the past (before the Internet) that many sellers (on-line or off-line) didn't care about "a great reputation" with any one buyer, since they counted on that one buyer not being able to affect their reputation on a wide scale. The Internet has changed all that, but some sellers and buyers have not gotten the message yet (see the . Buyers need to realize that they have a reputation, too, and it can be spread all over the Internet in the form of on-line seller responses (explanations of buyer trickery, or to correct unrealistic buyer expectations, etc.) to complaints from buyers.

The Cluetrain Manifesto (which everyone should read) says: "Networked markets are beginning to self-organize faster than the companies that have traditionally served them. Thanks to the web, markets are becoming better informed, smarter, and more demanding of qualities missing from most business organizations." One of those "qualities missing" is "Setting Realistic, Deliverable, Measurable Expectations".

If setting buyer expectations by sellers is NOT done properly in today's connected, networked world of the Internet, then Andy Beal (as well as Todd Malicoat (aka "Stuntdubl"), Lee Odden and others) have some tips on "On-line Reputation Monitoring & Management". If setting seller expectations by buyers is NOT done properly, then possible legal ramifications could ensue.

Levitt Corporation's Seasons at Prince Creek West Clubhouse Plans - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2007-07-13T08:20:46-04:00

6/21/09 UPDATE: Seasons Clubhouse had a grand opening on 6/20/09. To see it, here is a map.

On 6/15/07 I was e-mailed by a Levitt Real Estate agent this information: "..., please check the Sun News June 28 for press release re grand clubhouse Groundbreaking celebration." I just did a search on the Sun News (MyrtleBeachOnline.com) and could not find the announcement. But, that doesn't mean that it didn't run, or that the groundbreaking ceremonies didn't happen. (See "Levitt's 'Seasons at Prince Creek West' Still Has No Clubhouse")

I hope the groundbreaking ceremonies did happen, but even if they did, it doesn't mean that the building will be finished and usable in 6 months (January, 2008). I hope that it does happen, as the people who bought into that development early on were promised these "Amenities and Activities", and they are still waiting for them.

This Levitt news release of 1/23/06 says: "Levitt Corporation Expands Homebuilding Into South Carolina; Subsidiary Levitt and Sons Opens its First Active-Adult Community in South Carolina, 'Seasons' at Prince Creek West." So, it now is almost a year and a half later and still no Clubhouse, even though this photo of a street full of model homes (courtesy of "LivingChoices.com") shows a very similar street to where the Levitt "Prince Creek West" buyers are now living.

The image of the proposed Seasons at Prince Creek West Clubhouse in this blog post came from the official 1/23/06 "Levitt Corporation News Release" (the images appear to change from time to time, so the Clubhouse image may not show when you look). The Clubhouse image sure looks nice, though, and I'd bet that the people who buy into this development will enjoy it. I'd also bet that the Levitt Realtors that sell the properties really want to see the Clubhouse completed, too.

So, I wish Levitt Corporation well, as it has a well documented and famous history. Maybe, the information in this 7/12/07 BFC Financial Corporation Press Release will help. It says: "BFC Financial
Corporation (NYSE: BFF) ("BFC" or "the Company"), announced today that it sold 10,000,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock at a price of $3.40 per share for settlement on July 17, 2007. The shares sold by the Company are expected to raise net proceeds of approximately $32 million after underwriting discounts and commissions." It goes on to say: "The Company intends to use the proceeds of the offering to support Levitt Corporation either as a result of the proposed merger with Levitt or, if the merger is not consummated, in connection with Levitt's previously-announced intention to pursue a rights offering and for general corporate purposes."

Levitt's "Seasons at Prince Creek West" Still Has No Clubhouse - Brokerblogger

Brokerblogger — 2007-06-13T15:22:39-04:00

6/21/09 UPDATE: Seasons Clubhouse had a grand opening on 6/20/09. To see it, here is a map.

Is it the Levitt and Sons, "Seasons at Prince Creek West" Clubhouse, or is it a "Flying Saucer"? It is neither, as it is a building of some sort near the Atlantic Ocean in that general area of S.C..

Here is what I said in my last post entitled: "Can Levitt & Sons Builder's Word Be Trusted?" about what it says in LevittandSons.com:

When Levitt & Sons "Seasons at Prince Creek West" first went on sale in about mid 2006, the agents were telling the first home buyers (as well as myself in the last week of March, 2007) that Levitt and Sons, LLC was going to have the following "Amenities and Activities":

"27,000 sq. ft Clubhouse Center
Multipurpose ballroom with stage and dance floor
Media room
Card rooms
Billiards room
Arts and crafts center
Learning Center for computer use and computer training courses
Spacious outdoor sun deck with pool and spa
Indoor pool heated year round
Lighted tennis courts
State-of-the-art fitness center"

When I was there the last week in March, 2007, and the third week of April, 2007 there didn't seem to be much progress going on with the start of the 27,000 Sq. ft. Clubhouse Center that anyone should be able to see from the entrance way into Seasons.

I was just there again at the beginning of June, and there is no progress that I could see from outside the guarded entry way. The Clubhouse, when eventually built, should be able to be seen from TPC Blvd. which runs right in front of the front entrance of Levitt's "Seasons at Prince Creek West", and very close to the future location of the Clubhouse.

When will that Clubhouse facility investment be made by Levitt & Sons LLC?

See 7/13/07: "Levitt Corporation's Seasons at Prince Creek West Clubhouse Plans"

My first post on Levitt and Sons, LLC was: "Levitt and Sons Marketing Problems"