Issues with Van Metre

Friends,

We have had several issues with Van Metre. They have not followed through on 11-month inspection. I have written them several emails and now they are totally non-responsive.

I have talked to several of our neighbors and they are also very upset. I would like to know what are further steps in resolving open issues.

I would also like to know if there are other people who had issues with Van Metre.

I do not think Van Metre really deserves to be a builder in Loudoun County. It has been really really frustrating dealing with them.

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Rakesh

 

I have had several issues with Van Metre, including a water drainage issue. They are extremly slow in responding to my calls, letters and emails. I haven't been my house the full 11 months, but I am already starting the paper work for the inspection.

 

DON'T get me started. We've been dealing w/drainage issues for a while. They put in pipes from the gutter & sump pump drain under the patio to the edge of the yard. BUT now the patio looks like crap. HORRIBLE job. Still waiting for them to come back and fix it.

Not to mention that our patio & entire yard sank at least 4 inches from drainage issues they had behind our fence. But they won't fix it cause the patio "follows the grade of the lawn". Even though the whole thing settled significantly. Parts of the yard are unusable cause you can go from sitting on a chair to on your back in a second.

Those are a few of the issues.

 

It seems like multiple families have had problems with drainage. Our neighbors on Wingfoot have had to dig up their backyard on two sides to have additional pipes installed due to drainage problems. I believe they did bring this to VM's attention but as I understand, VM's solution was a "quick fix" which would not have resolved the problem sufficiently so they ended up hiring a private contractor to do the job right.

This is our 3rd VM property but we have noticed that there seem to be more issues here than we noted with other VM neighborhoods.

 

When our homes were built in late 99 -00, we had a lot of issues with our builder (NVHomes), so much so that we went to complain to the county. We got the county to refuse anymore building permits to them until they addressed the problems they had with current customers because so many customers had so many problems, some of which were pretty serious (like a backyard slope of 20" drop to 1" distance....). Maybe some sort of action like this could help you guys as well. Dont know.

DwArFlOrD

 

Just had to chime in here also - Had MAJOR drainage issues in the swale between my house and the neighbors.

One side is perfectly fine, the other is a mud pit. During my 11 month (July 04) I brought this to their attention. The VM rep basically brushed me off saying that "oh well a swale is supposed to keep some water in it ... " I'm like - 'Uh, not for 4 days it ain't!" The problem is exacerbated because my neighbors sump pump drains into the swale, as does my air condditioner condensation pipe.

I resolved it (in progress anyway) by calling Beverly Connor directly and complaining. Supposedly in September they will be back out to regrade the swale area - they had someone else (someone who wasn't just talking out of their "a") out who says that the land is settling so the swale is deeper than it should be. They're coming in Sept to avoid the (usual) heat of August - they'll have to resod the area and want to avoid doing it in Aug and having it die.

I'll let you all know how it turns out. I have managed to get them to address many of my homes issue by demonstrating a willingness to be the squeaky wheel (also known as "pain in the butt" LOL). At my one month they were refusing to replace my oven (long story), so I called AJ Van Metre himself. While I didn't get to him, I got to his secretary and explained that situation. It was amazing how quickly I got a response (and a new oven!). Its a shame that I had to go that route, but, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

I also live in an NV House (previously in a Van Metre house here.)
We had many problems that went unresolved with Van Metre, but were extremely pleased with NV customer service. I live in one of those sloped yards Dwarflord referred to, and NV Homes and the Developer took care of all of us.
There were some extenuating circumstances with the yards and a change in the county code that muddied things up, but in the end they did the right thing. I shudder to think of how Van Metre would have responded.
The only builder I'm aware of in Broadlands that had their building permit pulled was Van Metre, due to their refusal to adress issues with homes in the Sturman/Scara/Reamy/Kitchen Prim area.

 

pun intended, right?

 

I had a similar problem within my own backyard. I have 4 neighbors who's rain drainage goes into my backyard at a slight slope. It is supposed to just run through the yard and down the side into the street. The problem is that the slope in our yard was not enough to channel the water out and it would accumulate in our backyard and sit for days. We had NV come out and look at it (Fall 2000), he says ya, it hasnt rained in days and your yard is very wet and its not draining. The next day they had someone out to regrade the yard in some sections and landscapers to re-sod. I was very happy with this. To date it still drains as it should and the yard doesnt get nearly as sloppy wet as it used to be. Maybe you should buy an NV home....[]
J/K, we've had our issues too, but I think NV is overall, more responsive and caring to problems than what it sounds like Van Metre is.....[xx(]

DwArFlOrD

 

I have a wet spot in my backyard too...promised to fix it over a month ago...no fix yet.

If I knew I wouldn't ask

 

Peppermint, could you please let me know the phone # for AJ VanMetre. We have several issues with our new home and I don't seem to get proper response when I call folks in customer service.

 

Hi Kris,

I sent you an email through this bulletin board system with AG's info. Let me know if you don't get it.

Another option is to speak with Beverly Connor - she's the director of Van Metre customer care. Her direct # is 703-723-2803. She became one of my best friends particularly after I called AG. If you haven't talked with her, you could try her first and name drop AG Van Metre ...

Hope you get your problem resolved.

Robin

PS - They did come out in early Sept and remove sod/resurface swale/replant sod, so it appears that my swale issues are all resolved. *crosses fingers*

 

Kris, was your issues noted on your final inspection ? Or are they new issues after settlement ?

 

Has anyone ever had a settlement delayed because they used a different lender than Intercoastal? We want to use a different lender because we could get a better rate than Intercoastal and pay no points. Intercoastal is charging points (which eats up all the incentive) and our rate is higher. VanMetre is telling us that generally when people use a different lender there are problems and the closing does not happen on time. They then will charge a per diem which is a huge amount of money per day that you are late. Or some representatives have told us we will be in default which I guess means loose your deposit and then they sell your house for even more money since the prices have gone up. Every email I get from them or the lender has this doomsday scenerio and so now I am scared to death to go with another lender even though it will save me $140 a month in my payment. So I guess I want to know if others have had a bad experience with different lenders. We are using a local company not just someone we found on the internet. Should we just use Intercoastal to be safe? Is there anyone out there who used a different lender or knows of anyone who did and it turned out to be a diaster?
Thanks!

 

If you have an enough window between now and your settlement date (more than a month or two), I think you'll be fine with the other lender unless it's someone working out of a van. If it's a reputable lender they should be able to tell you if they can have your loan ready by the settlement date. If you want a peer review of your lender who is not intercoastal, just state the company name here. Intercoastal is a company started by Van Metre. And because of this relationship the loan process is a bit easier. I've used intercoastal last year and they are okay.

-Teak

 

We also used Intercoastal, and yes, they do cost a bit, but the closing went very easily. Of course, with the length of time it took to get the house (promised May, closed August) we could have gotten somebody else off the bat.

As it was, Intercoastal sell the loan almost on the day of the signing, and we refinanced with someone else 6 months later.



Neil Z.
Resident since 1999

 

We were going to use Progressive Mortgage. Anyone heard any horror stories about them? They have all the paperwork and say they are ready to close. It is Van Metre telling us that it will be a problem. They say "generally when people use a different lender they are very disapointed on settlement day. The lender will promise you the moon and then no deliver on settlement day". I have bought several other homes and refinanced and I have never had a lender not close on time but now Van Metre is scaring me.

 

Sounds like a scare tactic, if you ask me. If you are comfortable with the lender you have selected, and continue to follow-up to make sure everything is on track, I wouldn't worry about it.

Clearly, VM has an incentive to try to get you to use Intercoastal. If you have been diligent w/your other lender, I would take what they say with a grain of salt.

 

The problem isn't with your lender -- the problem lies with Van Metre. We borrowed from Bank of America, and they were completely on top of things. However, the Van Metre folks were slow in responding to and coordinating with Bank of America. Thus, our closing was pushed back one week and the actual closing took 2.5 hours.

 

I would also ask, specifically, what problems Van Metre has experienced with other lenders. "Very disappointed on settlement day" seems pretty vague to me. What are the hangups? Is the settlement check not ready? Not the right amount? Do they "forget" to show up? All of these things can be tracked/verified by you prior to closing.

If they cannot/will not give specific</u> examples, it would reinforce my opinion that this is nothing more than a scare tactic. Having experienced similar tactics from their customer service department, I am highly skeptical of everything they say.