Where do I start? I first posted to the Yelp Hakes Brothers Albuquerque page. Because more individuals are posting to the Las Cruces page, I transferred the complaint/review here.
We've lived in Legacy at Sierra Vista (Los Lunas) for a month. Nothing has been done to fix the list of items we provided to the builder's representative before going to closing. Based on so many other negative reviews and complaints filed against the company with the BBB, I'm having doubts that anything will be fixed. Thus, I gave them a 1 star only because Zero starts wasn't possible.
We first saw Hakes Brothers homes in Rio Rancho as that was the only way to see a completed home like what was being built in Los Lunas. We were shown 2 homes by a sales representative, in two different locations. The homes were near perfect - I looked everywhere to find something that had been overlooked and not fixed and couldn't see anything. Then we saw the Los Lunas model during the "grand opening." The model was immaculate. Thus, seeing these homes, we thought we couldn't go wrong. Oh, were we wrong.
The initial look at the home, a week before closing, was only for the "intro to the house and the warranties," but we started to take not of problems - and there were many. The following week, we had the final walk through. Each time we pointed something out, the response was "I didn't see that" or "I didn't know about that." I was like, "WTF?" You didn't see them because you didn't care, the company told you to ignore them, or you don't have enough help to do the construction manager's job effectively?" I'm betting it's the second and third options based on so many other homeowners' complaints.
So, we gave them our list: Gouges in the drywall; shoe sole impressions in the drywall on almost every wall; 50 cent piece size gouges in the bottom of the drywall in the arch going into the kitchen and under the kitchen island granite top; scrapes in the paint all over the house; torn weather stripping around the garage door (which we were told it was only folded in and not torn); gouges in the framing around the front door (allegedly caused by taking the refrigerator in and out, twice, since the first one mysterious broke); poor quality stucco covering the shoddy cement work on the foundation slab and the poor quality framing; missing grout in the hall bath tub tiles; grout that was like cement (that you just know is going to crack, break, and fall out sooner rather than later and the thin tiles will fall off - yes, thin tiles, almost like a veneer strip); gouges in the cabinets;, a missing piece of baseboard on the kitchen island; a broken window in the master bedroom that hadn't been replaced yet; and missing drawers under the master and hall bath sinks. Turns out, we're not the only ones on the block with missing vanity drawers.
Before move-in, the only thing that was done was the replacement of the broken window in the master bedroom and the tacking into place the small piece of molding at the bottom of the kitchen island - which they didn't even paint. Everything else on the list of "items needing to be fixed" hadn't been touched. A week after move-in, the construction manager said that he had our list and that he would get to it, when possible, because "the priority was getting the rest of the homes finished and ready for closing." In the meantime, I see the reminders, every day, and I think never, again, would I buy a home from this builder, or recommend the builder to anyone.
A month has gone by and nothing has been done. The construction manager said during the second week, here, that he would have someone in the development, next Monday through Thursday, and he'd get things done. Now, it's week 4 of living here and still nothing. And, the company's solution is to remove the construction manager because, someone with the company "allegedly" said, "the construction manager was in over his head, and it was all his fault." Um, no, that's not the problem, but thanks for throwing him under the bus. With the money being charged for these homes, the poor quality of home being turned over to the homeowners is unacceptable. In my neighborhood, apparently one owner has been here for several months, and nothing has been done to fix the issues in that house. We were told that that "homeowner was always complaining." My reaction was that if that was said about our neighbor, what was going to said about us? Bottom line, though, my sister is the primary owner. She is a 100% disabled Veteran. I am a 100% disabled Veteran, too, and I help my sister as much as possible, like look for things that she might overlook during a pre-closing walk-through. So, if the company didn't care about the quality of the homes it is building in Los Lunas, or the fact that two 100% disabled Veterans must deal with this crap, then, a reasonable person could conclude that the company doesn't care about any of their buyers. read more