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Van Metre Homes

Discussion in 'Homeowners Corner' started by mikec, Apr 27, 2005.

  1. mikec

    mikec New Member

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    Hello all,

    I'm considering purchasing a van metre home in Broadlands or Lansdowne. Can you all give me feedback on what you think of van metre homes, customer service, etc.. Also, what are the hoa fees?

    Thanks!!
     
  2. Thu

    Thu New Member

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    I like Van Metre as a builder. I would say the customer service is good. just Remember try to get all the things fixed on the walk thru fixed BEFORE u close. And as for problems that arise, I havent heard anything bad so far. For the HOA fees, i live in the Courtyard series where the yard maintenance is included. I pay 104.5 for that and 150 for the Openband fee.
     
  3. pamD

    pamD New Member

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    I have not been impressed by the customer service (we closed last summer and things got ugly when our sales rep left the company, but have improved a little), but I don't know that they are any worse than other builders. I'm sure that others will have their say on this topic.

    The construction quality is good for a cookie cutter operation, and there are a lot of standard features that you probably have to pay for elsewhere. But take that advice on getting things fixed before closing. That probably follows for any company.

    Base HOA fees (Parkside/Classic/Estate series) are currently $58.50 plus the $150 for openband service (incl. phone/digital cable/internet).


    Pam D.
     
  4. Zansu

    Zansu New Member

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    if you get everything in writing and hold them to it, they're pretty good. We got what would be extras in other homes included in our VM home. The biggest problem with ours was that it was built when unemployment around here was at 2% or less, so they didn't have skilled people doing some of the work. If you get through to VM (past the broadlands rep) the customer service gets better; but this is based on old data (we've been in 6 years). The leaky front door and brick front they never quite fixed were the biggest problem.
     
  5. Chsalas

    Chsalas Active Member

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    I disaggree, most of the VM customer service was below par. From Sells to closing, the only thing that VM had going for it was the Construction Manager. Other than that, you need to get everything in writting and hold them to the contract. Also, if you buy in a new community, you will be subject to Openband as your provider of internet, phone and televsion service. No exceptions. Openband is the provider and will continue to be the provider for the next 20+years.

    You can email offline and I can give you more details if you like.
     
  6. rharse

    rharse New Member

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    mikec,
    I'm going to be as kind a possible but it's tough for me. My experience so far has been bad, very bad. If I had known and seen what I now and see, I would never have bought the VM I live in. I bought it off an investor that never lived in the house and we closed within about 4 weeks of his closing. He made a killing; we got screwed. Yes, I should have done my due diligence; however, my biggest set of peeves would not have been addressed anyway. Here's a list of my gripes:
    1) the sod was laid down very poorly and now we have many bare patches and a very bumpy lot.
    2) several of the stairs to my basement are loose
    3) the floorboards have been glued in place (I assume) but the nails have completely missed the floor joists in many, many locations.
    4) the carpet at just about every transition is coming up; it was not tacked down properly
    5) the poorest job of drywall I have ever seen (everytime we paint a room I get more disgusted with the job these so-called professionals did)
    6) the washer shakes the entire house
    7) some of the racks in the closet were installed by not using a stud finder to drive in the screws but rather putting a series of several (at least 20) holes in a line until they hit the stud. The holes were not patched!

    I have tried to get VM to rectify the more egregious quality issues but have been told that since I am not the original buyer, I lose. Even though the house is less than 6 months old!
    My guess is that even if I had been the original buyer, these issues would be present but at least I'd have some recourse.

    Other issues that don't contribute to a quality built home that one pays lots (over $650K) for:
    1) the use of thermoply - this code seems to have changed and, hopefully, you'll get a house with OSB sheathing
    2) the use of steel 2x4s and spacing of more than 16 inch OC conributes to the shaking house when we wash clothes plus if I bump against a wall in my fmily room, the pictures in the dining room go askew (since I did not see the construction I don't know if they used any floor bracing)
    3) use of low grade paint (will be taken care of by painting)

    In short, although the home owners manual says that VM wants us to be "customers for life," I don't think we will.

    If I could go back 3 months and knowing what I know now, I probably would not have bought this house (or any mass-produced home since these guys are simply in it to build as many houses in as short a time period as they can). Quality does not seem to be on thier mind. What they do have going for them is location. We love the neighborhood, the other families, there are lots of kids, etc.

    Please take my thoughts with a grain of salt. If you are the original homeowner and watch the contruction very carefully, you might get a nice home. And you'll at least have some warranty recourse along the way.
     
  7. snoopy

    snoopy Senior Member

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    Our experience has been ..so far so good .... Please remember to pay/do a pre dry wall inspection along with final inspection before the closing. ( hard to see any major problems once dry wall is up ..we made a point of telling our sup that we would hire an inspector for pre dry wall way before pre dry wall insepection ! Our inspector was overall impressed with VM's work .. )
    We had several minors issues that were knocked off before settlement ... On our 60 day inspection ...we had less than ten items on our list and VM addressed it in one day .. ( had all the crews show up and address their areas ..while our sup was watching .. very impressed since I just stayed home one day to address all of the minor issues ) ...
    I believe service level had improved dramatically as far as I can tell since VM got each sup involved in the process and not just rely on customer service reps...
    Good luck with your house ... :)
     
  8. Carol Al-Ajroush

    Carol Al-Ajroush New Member

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    This is my third VM home so I guess you could say I am pleased! The issues cited by other participants re customer service are valid -- do your due diligence; get any items that need repaired or changed in writing, especially during the final walk through.

    I've preferred VM as I feel that I get the most for the money. Many items that would be upgrades or extras in other homes are standard in VM.

    Good luck and let us know what you ultimately decide!
     
  9. Zansu

    Zansu New Member

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    the question is (and I don't have the answer) Are they any worse than other builders in the area? It doesn't excuse them; but don't go from the frying pan to the fire.
     
  10. T8erman

    T8erman Well-Known Member

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    We are in our 2nd VM home and are mostly pleased. We have had no major issues with customer service (wife is tenacious). They responded in a timely fashion and work was completed to our satisfaction. We are pleased with the quality of the house. Even had 2 construction/contractor friends do walk-thrus and they found no problems.
     
  11. beahmer

    beahmer Member

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    Have to say I'm on the positive side also. Always said I would never build a house based on the horror stories I had heard, but must admit experience was not bad at all. Have been in a Courtyard home since Dec 1st last year. Were there issues- yes. Were they fixed - yes. A small handfull of items you are going to find with any builder. Customer service has been pretty quick to respond to any emails I have sent. And the guys that ran the job were quick to respond to calls.

    I've heard the horrors of some of the other area builders - many much worse than people write here so I'm happy to be getting the serivce I have.

    As far as the drywall discussion in an earlier post - no problems here so far. Actually quite impressed at how well it looks. Agree painting leaves a lot to be desired - but what do you expect when you use flat wall paint applied as quickly as possible.

    Take the advice and higher an inspector for pre drywall, and pre closing. It is well worth the money and while the number of items they found (in my case) was minimal - they were addressed by Van Metre quickly. My inspector also noted that VM usually does a better job than others.

    On the Openband comment (not to highjack the thread) I can't complain. Based on previous experience I would say my costs are inline with what I used to pay 3 different companies. And you do know it's what your getting when you sign the contract.

    Good luck!
     
  12. MD_boy

    MD_boy New Member

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  13. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    You are required to use Openband whether you live in Lansdowne or Broadlands (Southern Walk).
     
  14. vacliff

    vacliff "You shouldn't say that."

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    mikec-
    Another thing to consider is where you commute to. If you head east, Broadlands has 3 access points to the Greenway. In Lansdowne, you're stuck with the mess known as Route 7. Ugh.
     
  15. kat

    kat New Member

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    Well based on the link I am a bit surprised that Ryan Homes has a higher rating than Miller & Smith or VM. I have heard awful things
    about Ryan Homes. In general, I tend to like to support "local"
    builders rather than national. On the other hand, Pulte got
    very high rankings.
     
  16. Zansu

    Zansu New Member

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    well, you're required to pay for openband. whether you use it or not...[:eek:)]
     
  17. Zansu

    Zansu New Member

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    I agree. I wonder if it has to do with overextending and not being able to hire/train people. How many Ryan developments are there around here? I also believe that Ryan is one of the builders that uses central facilities to build stud walls and truckes them to the site, so they have a more stable construction crew for that aspect.
     
  18. beahmer

    beahmer Member

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    If you review the rankings closely it says - "The Rest" almost like it is a catch all. I wonder if there was really a rating done on these or they just plugged in the 2 dots.
     
  19. Wick

    Wick New Member

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    The rating is done by buyers. VM or JD Power mails the survey to all new buyers. I assume that some people actually fill them out.
     
  20. jwhite1347

    jwhite1347 New Member

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    I have a great VM home I am putting on the market soon in the overlook. Its on the "community announcement and events" forum here.
     

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