The contents of this website summarizes our experience in building a house with Richmond American Homes of Virginia. It also brings to light traits of Richmond American  not known to a new home buyer considering Richmond American Homes of Virginia as a builder.

 If you are considering Richmond American Homes, you may find this website helpful in selecting a new construction builder for your new home. 

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Richmond American Homes of Virginia!

An investment well placed or a gamble not worth considering?

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(Last updated on 22 February, 2002)

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The question above has to be on the mind of home buyers, after all, the most important investment most of us make is that of buying a house.   Answering that question becomes harder when the house is being built by a builder you really don't know much about.

We may be a limited few who have had bad luck with Richmond American Homes of VA, a toss of a coin you may say. The question is would this be a gamble you want to risk? Browse the website it may help you answer the question.

Our conclusions about Richmond American Homes of Virginia are as follows

Questionable business practices

No truth in advertisement

Unprofessional

Low quality workmanship and service

Richmond American Homes claims to be building Dreams, Quality, Value, and Future, based on our on-going 21 months experience with Richmond American, we conservatively disagree.

 

Dreams: nightmares in realizing the degree of their untruthfulness, incompetence, questionable business practices, and  offensive treatment.

Quality: leaky roof, drafty house, bulging floors, bulging walls, and excessively out of square corners.

Value: in the absence of quality, value does not exist. Cutting corners and replacing deficiencies with lower grade substitutes is cheating.

Future: immediate, filled with undue hardships; distant, no Richmond American in sight, for us or our friends.

 

Based on our experience with Richmond American Homes, the probabilities of deficiency in key characteristics of their product are listed below  

Description of Website Pages

characteristic %

General Examples of the Deficiency

Page Description
Structural 90%   Letters Written communications with Richmond American Homes.
Frame Gaps and cuts The Public view Links to BBB and other consumer groups in reference to Richmond American Homes
Sub-floor

Warped, sagging, bulging, and loose. Use of China Cabinets is not recommended, since the floors are so weak, when you walk next to them the Cabinet will sway causing its content to fall.

Documents Contractual documents used in purchasing a home from Richmond American Homes

Rigidity

Creaking and flapping sounds in the presence of moderate winds Pictures Pictures taken during the Construction, Reconstructions, and Repairs phases
Finish 90%   Videos Videos taken during  Construction, Reconstructions, and Repairs.
Walls
  1. Dry walls are only nailed along the edges with two nails at the middle stud, when you press against the walls they move noisily as they bang against the studs behind them.
  2. Walls are visibly bulged,  not plumb and straight, corners not square.
  3. Drywall and trim molding joints and seams are visible
Report Card A progress history and performance grades of some of the many deficient items, as well as a copy of our response to a J. D. Powers Survey.
Carpet Seams are visible to the naked eye. Feedback Your feedback and questions
Windows Windows will either be loose or bind as they are moved up or down.

For questions or feedback go to the Feedback page.

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Cleanliness
  1. Drywall mud in the windows channels
  2. Usage stains in the bathrooms
  3. Carpet stains
  4. Debris in the heating ducts
  5. Stains in front porch concrete
  6. Stains on doors
Landscaping Dead and/or infected lawn and plants.
 Efficiency 90%  

Draftiness

Main doors, fireplace, frame-foundation interface

Insulation

Missing and/or insufficient in basement and attic
Service 90%  

Quality

  1. 70% reoccurrence of repaired problems
  2. "Passing the Buck" from one department to the other
  3. Avoiding responsibility by claiming that deficiencies are "Normal"

Promptness

At the mercy of their vacation schedule. 15  months after settlement with unresolved pre-settlement issues.