In follow up to Robin A. review.. our correspondence with VIP homes:
Evelyn...
Dave and I have come to the conclusion that we need to terminate the Lot Purchase and Building Contract and addendums. We have decided not to send earnest monies due to the negotiation process, and the feedback of current homeowners.
Just so you know, we did not come to this conclusion lightly, as we love the house, we love the community/location, and we love the potential neighbors. It's heartbreaking for us to have to rescind. However, we don't feel it's a good partnership for us, as we did not love the nature of the past few days' interactions. As you're aware, I had to leave your office twice yesterday. As we mentioned, Dave and I have owned numerous homes, but have never built a home, and had obvious questions about the process, and felt they were met with some defensiveness or aggression. Plus the fact that your costs are constantly changing, one minute to the next. Our biggest questions, as communicated to you, are: (1) what is our finished home going to look like (finishes available), and (2) how much is our home going to cost. These questions are still not answered.
You reiterated several times that you're not like Toll Brothers. Albeit, you may offer a more sound product as far as structure, but when it comes to upgrades and customer service, we've found the experience to be disturbing. With Toll Brothers, you receive an options sheet with prices and specifics at point of interest, and you know what you're getting and how much it's going to cost BEFORE you make a financial and contractual commitment. This is not the case for us, and in our experience, not only is there not an options sheet, but the inconsistencies in the pricing from one minute to another is disconcerting. The price and size of our 4 car garage fluctuated numerous times in a 24 hour period (everywhere from $28k to $48k?!). In another instance, the front elevation "D" was introduced as "the same, or about the same" price as elevation C - ($14,900), only to find out an hour later, after returning from lunch, that it was DOUBLE ($28,000). We realize all builders are going to make much of their profit on upgrades, and VIP isn't any different, but when you're adamant about being different from Toll Brothers and your profit margin is nearly 300%, and you don't have a good grasp on your prices,, it gives us pause.
We've asked numerous times if we could see what we're getting in the design center, to no avail. Our concern is, what we want in tile, as seen in the model, is the highest upgrade, but we're only budgeted for a tier that's four or so levels below that. How do we know if we're going to like the tile for which we've been budgeted (which covers approximately 2/3 of our house), and if we don't like any of these choices, will we be able to financially absorb the difference in price to get the tile we want. We're not spending three quarters of a million dollars on a home in AZ to settle for anything. There are a lot of unknowns in this purchase, and there's no downside for you, but a staggering downside for us. Add to that the fact that we met a new Paseo family, and found that the $5/sq ft tile the homeowner selected at the flooring store he was sent to, was then quoted at $19/sq ft through your design center, so he elected to go with just the standard with the knowledge that he would be tearing it all out. So, now, after closing, he has ripped out the flooring, the countertops, the master shower, vanities, baseboard, etc, only to replace ALL this with what he really wants, but found unaffordable through the VIP pricing. In essence, this homeowner is paying for the demolition/removal and replacement of most everything except cabinets, just to get what he wants, and he's still coming out ahead.
Again, through months of house hunting, we ultimately found the Claymoore in Paseo to be the best fit for our family. Unfortunately we have extreme trepidation in purchasing through VIP, because as dreadful as the purchase process was, we have been forewarned, and fear the actual build and design process with Sarah will be financially, mentally and emotionally taxing as others have found. With this said, if you're unable to put our worries to rest by being transparent in our options and costs, then we believe pursuing a custom build or another home would be in our best interest, where we don't rely on you business practices of so many unknowns and inconsistencies.
If you have any questions, or, better yet, answers to our concerns, please let us know.
Sincerely,
David Alef and Robin
Stay tuned for her cursory reply. Text allotment exceeded, as is our disappointment and disgust in their customer service. read more