During the 90 day walkthrough, the construction manager stated that Richmond American Homes is acting on the letters and memos we have sent them and that they will restore our confidence in Richmond American by addressing the issues and concerns in a professional and timely manner. He also stated that the local community management is no longer with the company. It seems that the construction manager has misspoken, some work has to be completed and some has to be redone, some has to be started. As far as their attitude, it has not changed, they still promise, "Pass the buck," then partially deliver. It is evident that their attitude is "we will get to you when we can."

Richmond American Homes Of VA Inc.

Mr. Peter Thompson

President

3701 Pender Drive, Suite 200

Fairfax, VA 22030

January 21, 2001

Dear Mr. Thompson:

We are homeowners of a recently built Richmond American home. We bring to your attention our disappointment in Richmond American's product, business practices, quality, and treatment. We seek management's oversight in alleviating undue hardship placed upon us by what we consider as Richmond American's inability to perform and contemptible treatment. We expect a timely, accountable, and equitable response from Richmond American in addressing and rectifying complaints and problems as follows.

For your reference, please find a letter, with its attachments, originally meant to be sent to you immediately following the pre settlement walk through; the letter was not sent as we opted to give your local representatives further benefit of the doubt. For your information, the pre settlement occurred on 10/16/00 and the settlement on 10/23/00. Although Richmond American representatives entered our home without permission on 10/24/00, we overlooked that fact and allowed them access until 10/27/00, our move-in date, since almost none of the work identified on 10/16/00 was started.

The Overton III home we purchased is an example of inferior construction and shoddy workmanship, evidenced by a multitude of factors, a few of which are mentioned below:

1)      Bulging, sagging, and uneven floorboards underneath the carpet and vinyl on both floors.

2)      Broken Window in the Master Bedroom.

3)      Drafty all over, fireplace, front door, windows, etc….

4)      Large unsoded area.

5)      Squeaking floor, stairs and shaky walls and windows.

6)      Separating hardwood floor in the foyer.

7)      Binding front entrance door.

8)      Bulged, dimpled, curved, and unevenly painted walls and trims.

9)      Visible wall and trim joints.

10)   Inoperable windows in the Family room.

11)   Dead plants at the front of the house.

12)   Tree that is planted too close to the house.

13)   Defective stair rail, supposed to be changed; absolutely no feedback or action has been taken.

14)   Uneven shower enclosure and tub deck. Work started on 1/11/01 and is not completed yet.

Almost all of the above items were brought to the attention of the local representatives at the pre-settlement walk through. Some of the items were incompetently worked-on repeatedly, others were not worked on at all as Richmond American seemed to pick and choose what they wanted to attend to.

Communication with the superintendent of the community has been trying in more ways than one. We have been subject to street mannerism that is utterly unprofessional and unacceptable.  He constantly argues his way out of repairs and showers us with unfulfilled promises.  He seems to take no interest in being accountable for his work and responsibilities. We have heard all of the following far too many times: "That is the way it is, do not expect anything better than that," "call the subcontractor and deal with him directly," "put it on the 90 day list," "The office wants us to finish homes for settlements, we will get to yours as soon as we can."

Obviously, we take an exception to that approach. There is a minimum expectation of quality in material, workmanship, and services as advertised by Richmond American, as well as general business practice. Furthermore, the homeowners should not have to deal with the subcontractors on issues identified and raised prior to settlement, left with in-progress work for weeks, nor should they be placed at the bottom of the list.

We are tired of missed repair appointments that tax our work schedule and activities. We are tired of chasing Richmond American representatives in the subdivision to inquire as to when they will ever get to do the work. We are tired of being told that our pre-settlement walk through was mishandled due to the incompetence of the Richmond American representative who conducted it and are insulted by being lectured on what should have been included on the pre settlement list. We are told that many "blue tape repair", as defined by the Richmond American representative, should have been on the pre settlement walkthrough list.

Shifting the responsibility to the 90 day crew while we endure below standard workmanship on matters that were brought to Richmond American's attention either at the pre-drywall walkthrough or the pre-settlement walkthrough is unacceptable and raises questions about Richmond American's business practices.

Prior to signing the contract on this home, the community sales manager stated that before a Richmond American home is released for a pre-settlement walk through, the construction vice president inspects the site and authorizes the release. Given what we know now, one or all of the following apply:

1)  A sales line used to falsely advertise Richmond American's commitment to quality

2)  Richmond American has very low quality standards

3)  Construction vice president has not done his job

Each of the above raises questions about the business practices employed and point to lack of quality and commitment to customer satisfaction.

I used to come by the house two times daily as it was being built. I hardly saw the superintendent at our site. He was, however, always at another home site, at the sales manager’s parents. Mr. Thompson, is preferential treatment a Richmond American policy? Issues brought to his attention were not attended to, often times, completed work had to be torn in order to remedy a known defect. For example, bricks had to be torn in order to correct defective master bedroom windows, carpet had to be removed to correct for damaged stair step and warped floor board in the master bedroom, drywall in the laundry room had to be cut to relocate the dryer vent, etc…. Where is the supervision?

The house is drafty and is not insulated well, in the two months we have occupied the house the average utility bill is $425 per month. We are only two people and are out of the house most of the day, with the first zone heater temperature setting of 71 degrees for a total of six hours per day and at 62 degrees for the rest of the day, the second zone heater is only turned on prior to sleeping in order to raise the bedroom temperature from the sub sixties to the lower sixties. Only the master bedroom and bath registers are open on the second floor. Only the family room, kitchen, and library have their registers open on the first floor. The basement registers are closed. Wherever you are in the house there is a pronounced draft.

Mr. Thompson, we are not incurring increased expenses as a result of Richmond American's inability to perform. We are also not sustaining the undue hardship of tripping while walking on the floor of a new house, wounding our fingers on stair rail nails, nor are we tolerating any longer the sight of uneven corners, bulging walls, separating kitchen cabinets, swaying kitchen gourmet island, broken window, etc… The unaccountable, patronizing, and contemptible attitude of any Richmond American representative is absolutely not accepted any longer.

We are scheduled for the 90-day walk through on 30 January 2001, are we to expect a professional, accountable, and results oriented personnel, or is there none to be found at Richmond American.

We understand that the "Customer Service" department is in charge of the 90-day walk through and related work, we expect them to rise up to Richmond American's claim, negated so far, of customer satisfaction and quality. We expect the work and repairs that should have been performed prior to, and post, settlement be attended to and completed in addition to the 90-day work.

As owners of a Richmond American home, we have an interest in Richmond American's reputation as it affects the resale value of the house. However, we feel that Richmond American has fallen so short of their claims and general business practice and that the undue hardship and disappointment we have been subjected to is no longer worth the interest. We seek to reach a timely, equitable, accountable, and professional resolution from Richmond American. Don't you think it is about time that we are able to settle in our new home?

Mr. Thompson, we are very reasonable and equitable people and are only seeking reasonable and equitable ends.

Sincerely,