This review is applicable for DR Horton in the region of Mobile County, AL. Mobile office alleges that they are not affiliated with Baldwin County, AL.
At the time of writing this, I have already paid earnest money but not yet closed on the home.
To preface, I am an engineer who is ISO 9001 certified. I inspect Naval ships for a living.
What to expect from DR Horton:
1. Builder's Agent: Will promise you the moon with respect to what they will and will not fix in order to get an earnest money deposit. Will try to pressure you into signing by creating a false sense of urgency related to rates, home prices, and availability.
2. Construction Superintendent: Will gaslight you during the walkthrough for anything that is a moderate issue to fix. They are very good about fixing holes in gypsum board but very bad about taking corrective action on anything else. We have issues with door trim being easily 1/2" off the ground of the vinyl flooring. We have issues with twisted studs. We have issues with non-leveled flooring. Superintendent will repeatedly tell you they "can't fix it".
3. Higher Level Management: and I quote "we can sell this house to someone else next week if we need to"
4. Corrective Action: They will use caulk for everything that isn't Sheetrock. Expect them to not execute good faith effort to take corrective action. For example, my floors have gaps at shoe molding that are as high as 1/4". Rather than level the flooring, they caulked the shoe molding.
5. Gaslighting: "we aren't a custom home builder" is the standard response to justify poor craftsmanship. "Let's look at what they do in other houses" is a standard response to normalize poor craftsmanship. "There's nothing we can do" really means "we could do something but it's too much hassle"
6. Deficiency Adjudication: if you say there is a problem and the builder says there is not a problem, the builder decides if it is or is not a problem. Ensure that your position is backed up by the RWC they are contractually obligated to follow.
Recommendation:
1. Review the RWC warranty items before putting down earnest money. Absolutely unequivocally refuse to put any money down until you get a copy of the RWC. It can also be found online as a PDF. " THE LIMITED WARRANTY 10 YEAR WRITTEN WARRANTY FOR NEW HOMES". Under Section 9c of your purchase contract, it directs you to Section 14a, wherein they state that they will only correct things described in the RWC warranty and by code (2021 IBC for Alabama). If it is listed in the RWC, there is a contractual obligation to correct it. Make a checklist of stuff they are required to correct, and cite the RWC item (ie., Trim gaps shall not exceed 1/4" between trim and adjusted surfaces per RWC 4.11).
2. Bring out a home inspector that looks at both major items like HVAC and fit&finish items, like level floors. Insist that you are present during their inspection. No need to follow them around. But you need to be there to make sure you are satisfied with their inspection.
3. Curate your inspector's report. What I mean by that is **do not** directi the builder on how to fix an issue. Simply state what the issue is and leave it at that. If you tell them then what to do, then they will just do it and claim they did what you wanted them to do (ie., instead of stating that caulk is needed to fill a gap at the baseboard, state that the LVP is not in plane with the shoemolding.)
4. Do not be afraid to offend anyone. Your superintendent will disrespect you by lying to your face. Call him out. Your Builder Agent will disrespect you by trying to manipulate you into accepting/closing/etc. call them out. I promise you, no matter how nice they are to you they will not be doing you any favors. You aren't going to "lose" anything by shutting them down. They will jerk you around
5. Refuse to close until all major items are corrected. They will not correct anything beyond closing. If needed, bring out a 3rd party contractor that you trust to assess issues. They are hyper critical of DR Horton and there's not much they can say when a subject matter expert shuts them down.
6. Make sure you repeated maintain the position that they have not taken corrective action in good faith against the RWC. This will become very important when you dispute the earnest money payment with your bank. Ensure you have detailed emails and texts clearly stating that corrective action is not sufficient and make sure to specifically mention which RWC item is violated.
7. Do not be afraid to walk away. This is very important. If you don't like it, do not settle. Walk away.
Remember:
1. You are spending a LOT of money for this home. Plus the interest over 30 years. You are well-within your right to be picky.
2. A down payment of 26% with a traditional at 7% is equivalent to a 5.25% conventional. If you don't like the house, save for another year and beat the interest rate with a non-DR Horton provider. read more
