After moving into our HistoryMaker home in August 2023, the entire experience has felt like we were…read moretaken advantage of.
From the beginning, there was intense pressure during the purchase process. The in-office realtor repeatedly pushed us to place a $5,000 deposit quickly or risk losing a $15,000 incentive. Meanwhile, the loan officer would not return calls or provide clear estimates of what our actual mortgage payment would be with interest, PMI, and taxes.
Initially we were told the payment would be around $2,700 per month, which was already outside our budget. I explained that this amount was too high for our family and that we would likely pass on the home. The loan officer said he would work on the numbers and get back to us. However, the pressure from the sales office continued, repeatedly reminding us that we would lose the incentive if we didn't move forward immediately. Because our family needed housing before school started, we reluctantly placed the deposit hoping the numbers would improve.
Only after the deposit was made did the loan officer call back and say the lowest payment estimate he could reach was about $2,500 per month, including interest, PMI, and estimated taxes. When we attempted to cancel, we were told we would lose $4,000 of our deposit because we had already signed the contract.
Unfortunately, the reality is that our actual mortgage payment is now close to $3,000 per month, which is significantly higher than what we were led to believe when making the decision to move forward.
During construction there were multiple issues. We went through two different general contractors and at one point the wrong brick was installed on the home, which delayed the move-in date. During the drywall phase, the entire house smelled like sewage.
After moving in, the problems became more concerning. The house began developing cracks throughout the walls and ceilings. Many of these issues appeared right up until the warranty period ended. Each time we reported them, we were told the cracks were "cosmetic" and not covered. For a long crack across our living room ceiling, the suggested repair was simply to caulk the crack and paint over it.
Recently, after replacing the carpet, we discovered a mound of construction debris left underneath the stairs, including drywall scraps, insulation pieces, wood, and other trash that was never cleaned out before the flooring was installed.
We are continuing to spend our own money correcting issues that should have been handled during construction. If we had been given the time to make a careful decision instead of being pressured into the purchase, we would not have chosen HistoryMaker Homes.