The story begins with my husband and I stumbling across a spec home already built by Brandl Anderson, the home is a split level home that was everything we were looking for and only 26 miles from Minneapolis. I instantly loved that it was a corner lot with plenty of backyard room for our dogs to run and play. My husband and I purchased the home and when we went through our final walk-through everything was great, Chuck the site manager was great, he made note of things and helped us find areas needing repair. My husband and I thought, great....this is our dream starter home and everything was going smoothly untill three months after we took ownership of the home.
A squeek developed in the main bathtub, so whenever someone took a shower and stepped on that one spot, the tub would bellow a loud squeeking noise, like you'd hear at grandma's house! I made note of it and planned to call Brandl Anderson about it; then the stucco material on the outside of the home began peeling off. I called Brandl Anderson, they noted it and said they would send someone out; three weeks later we came home and the outside was freshly plastered. I received a call that the plumber would be out to look at the tub; when the plumber came out he informed me it was a subfloor issue. I called Brandl Anderson and they sent out a subflooring contractor, who then told me after being there all of five minutes that it was definitely a plumbing issue. After much anger and frustration, I called Brandl Anderson yet again to inform them of the issue, a month or so later they called and said they would have both the plumber and subfloor guy meet at my home, by this time it was July and my husband was home for 10 days, the meeting happened to fall on this particular week and he had to meet with the two contractors. Both contractors blamed each other and after several minutes agreed that expanding foam under the tub would be the best way to go. However, neither contractor had the foam, my husband had a small container with expanding foam used to insulate windows leftover, so he offered his foam. We waited the required amount of time and yet the foam did not fix the issue. I called Brandl yet again and explained my dismay at the unproductive meeting and asked they send a contractor to fix the issue. About three weeks later, they sent out Tub Doctor, the contractor from Tub Doctor said he did not know why they didn't call him out sooner, he was there for 30 minutes, put some more foam in the correct areas and said if I had any further problems to call him directly. FINALLY, relief, the tub was fixed.
Over the course of a year and a half the stucco has been falling off our home, the worst months are spring and fall. The builder continually blames us (the homeowner) even though we put rock around our home to prevent water from sitting up against the house, like we were advised initially. We have installed gutters to prevent this problem and continually the builder finds new excuses to avoid fixing the problem. Now, it's August, I have been in consistent contact with the builder since April regarding this issue as I refuse to live with this. I have met with several contractors both builder provided and independent regarding this issue. I had a meeting with Adam from Metro Home Waterproofing who is the job supervisor to discuss the supposed landscape issue Brandl Anderson says we have around our home and he told me directly that our landscaping is fine. He informed me that Brandl Anderson was told 3 years ago to install a second drain tile and drip edge as the area the homes are built on is clay and retains water easily. Brandl Anderson refuses to install a second drain tile and drip edge and continues to put me off; secondly, my neighbor is having the same problem and was having this problem before the rock edging as well and I was informed that other people in the neighborhood have had this problem and were able to get it fixed. Now I know the housing market is bad right now and the builders are suffering, but that is no reason to try to duck out of poor products and poor workmanship. Sean who is Brandl Anderson's site manager informed me that he has never seen this product before as they no longer use it on their newer homes.
Now, another problem that has developed is water in my basement; after meeting with Adam the siding/ waterproofing contractor and Scottie the foundation guy, both of which said they didn't install the foundation in my home, have no idea what is causing water to come up through the cement floor and run across my cement basement (luckily unfinished). After twenty minutes of scratching their heads and looking at the sump pump, Scottie discovered that no holes were ever put in the sump pump catch basket, so basically water has been compiling under my home for over 1.5 yrs. Brandl Anderson has been slowly willing to fix this issue, because they know they screwed up; however they have not ever attempted to compromise or work with me regarding this stucco issue.
When I asked the office manager to set up a meeting with Mr. Anderson and Mr. Brandl, she responded with "Mr Anderson and Mr Brandl have no interest in meeting with you or speaking with you regarding your home issues" (P. Cowart, Brandl Anderson Homes). What kind of company tells their customer's that problems are their fault? What kind of company won't even agree to meet with the customer in-person or by phone?
The reason behind this blog is to educate other potential home buyers and/or make some noise by speaking my mind about this company. I may be stuck in a home that has been nothing but nightmares for me, and Brandl Anderson may just think I will get tired and go away; I am here to speak my mind and show them how wrong they are!
Siding Product Issue
Builder Mistakes
6/26/08, water in our basement because the builder didn't properly inspect the sump pump to be sure it was working.
17 comments:
I am not a lawyer, just a victim of construction and real estate fraud.
Please understand that though the laws are clear about bad construction or illegal behavior, the enforcement is near non-existent. In general this industry (construction and real estate) use time as a method to diminish or eliminate any claim. Their are very strict rules as to the time frame for which you can get remedy.
Since most home owners do not have money for the legal fight, or builders have placed mandatory binding arbitration in the contracts, most disputes are in their favor. Dragging this out or ignoring is a tactic to eliminate your claim.
I personally would use items such as certified mail or better yet serving them with papers to place the notice of a time stamp.
Second find all sources of free or low cost help to solve this. Do not take "NO" or "NOT my ISSUE" as an answer from anyone, (Government sources, the builder or the realtor). Ask for any reference to what you can do from every contact you make.
Be insitant and demanding, because the sources especially the government ones will try to brush you off.
The item you noted about the sump may be out of code and require code enforcement by the city or better yet the state of MN.
In some cases from what I understand, construction outside of code is a criminal action.
Lastly, this will be tough, be persistant place the onus on them (everyone you speak to) there are requirements for all the sources to follow. You purchased a house that is to be up to code and to have minimal levels of quality, standards and workmanship. I believe you have paid for it from the builder, realtor, city and state, and the law is meant to support this.
I believe it may be helpful to use the fact that you are a wife of man serving in Iraq and you are asking for help.
My opinion and not to be taken as legal advise for what you need to do.
Ask for sources (government, free legal help)and more references, do not take no for an answer, be ulimately insistant and lastly find out what the law requires and do it by placing time stamps on notifications and the such.
Do seek out legal help.
This will take much time.
God Bless and Good Luck
It is my opinion that Brandl Anderson does not build the quality of home you see in their Model Home. I represented a customer who purchased a Brandl Anderson home. The issues they encountered were many including a switch in the basic build structure, a lessor quality window than shown in the model, drainage problems and a very large heating/venting problem to name a few. Warranty response from the office was non-existent, again with Mr. Brandl and Mr. Anderson refusing to acknowledge problems or meet with the my customer for many months. They refused to return my calls and even made comments that they preferred not to have me present at meetings - not wanting a Realtor present. Biting the hand that feeds them I might add! It was very unpleasant for over a year and as a real estate professional I would not recommend them as a Builder to anyone!
Anonymous said,
I as well have had many issues with BA. They are a horrible builder, I too have contacted many outside resources to correct issues with my home with no success. The builders association is there to protect the builder not the buyer, city inspectors are a absolute joke, when i pointed out to them that they didnt inspect up to code(read them word for word out of the code book) they hung up on me. I know that every builder has there issues, but BA is outragous. Customer service is not in there vocabulary. Mr Anderson told me that "I bought a Prius not a Cadillac", that comes from the owner himself, ohh yea after closing on my house i was informed by the city that i had to put a $8,000 retainig wall in to pass landscaping inspection, BA "not my problem". I have personally gone out of my way to put BA out of buisness, please check with the BBB before you buy, wish is did, would have seen they are not registerd with them and i know why. Have not met a homeowner that would ever build with these clowns again, just wish they was a legal way to tell the world about these jokers. Who ever created this site... Im your biggest fan!!!
I agree with everyone. These people are a complete joke. I've been trying to get them to fix the concrete pad in our garage since day one. That was over three years ago. Now they are willing fix part of it, but none of the damage caused by their error. Fine Line, who did all the concrete, have no clue how to do their job. Our basement is so bad, that when we put a floor in down there, we will have to raise the entire floor just to get everything level. Do not even consider building with this company they are the worst. Their contractors are a joke too, except the local plumbers they used, they actually have come out for service. They were fast, polite, and got it right. I feel bad for everyone that built with this company.
My husband and I are also having major issues with our BA house we purchased 3 years ago. They hired a roofing company that did a horrible job which left us with water damage in our bonus room, bed room and formal dining room. Our hardwood floors had standing water on them for weeks before they did anything about it – let alone, they refused to do anything in a timely manner which lead to mold growing in our drywall. Our hardwood floors are ruined from this water and they have tried to mask the problem by having the floor company come out and “fix” the issue – 3 times!!! Now they refuse to do anything more and we are left with dull looking floors, cracks and a swell in our floor boards. DO NOT PURCHASE A HOME FROM THEM!!!
We're going on eight months with our BA home and they've been very accommodating and responsive to service requests. Others in our neighborhood have been very pleased with their builds.
Neighbors who have built with other, big-name nationals, and at upwards of $1.5M, have complaints about their builders, too. One neighbor is going on 18 months waiting for his second full front stoop/patio replacement. Guess what? Crap happens and you're not buying a Prius, Cadillac or Ferrari. Brandl and every other builder in their price point uses the same class of subs. Some of these complaints sound like you had really piss-poor real estate representation. If your agent was worth his or her salt, they'd be by your side through these issues.
Standing water on the hardwood for weeks? Ever heard of a mop? If you're dumb enough to let the water stand until repairs are effected, you should probably consider renting.
You had to pay $8K for a landscaping inspection? You're dang right that's not a builder's responsibility. They do a FINAL GRADE per city direction. Anything after that is either because you chose to not ask about changes or chose to ignore BA's advice.
Honestly, if you're going to go on the Internet and make claims, have some facts and context.
I built with BA 15 years ago. 2nd house I have built and the experience was consistent with the others on this blog. They cut down the tree that was the main reason for the lot purchase. Not 1 word was said to me, I show up tree is gone. That should have been the warning sign.....
Where do I start on the house, crooked floors, leaking basement, bad cement, delays in the build not caused by weather, and a house that I was disappointed in after completed.
When I was building my house I expected there would be problems, Chris and Dave need to understand that its how you respond that brings loyalty and a good customer experience. The approach to resolve matters is consistent, wait until the customer gets beyond frustration and then try and put forth some sort of resolution.
15 years later it is very clear which houses were built by BA and which weren't.
Our BA home seems like it's literally falling apart. The dishwasher outlet was smoking due to improper installation, the stucco siding is falling off due to the necessary mesh never actually being installed, our shower leaked causing water damage and their "fix" was to use non plumbing grade clear sealant which now has mold underneath, our roof has a class action lawsuit against the supplier, the grade of our yard is so horrible that it floods every time it rains, we have multiple lights that continually burn out due to power surges... and that's just a partial list. They don't respond to any complaints. I'm guessing that the Oct posting person actually works for BA. I haven't met a single happy BA homeowner in our neighborhood.
In November 2001, I was in tears at the closing of our Brandl Anderson home in Eden Prairie. We argued with Brandl Anderson rep, Cammy, for 3 hours about fixing huge problems with the home before we would sign the papers. It is now 12 years later and we are remodeling. The problems with the house are making remodeling difficult because contractors keep finding issues where the home was never built to code---numerous issues. For example, the shower had plywood behind it, not cement board. The vapor barrier was never tuck taped making it just as bad as not having a vapor barrier. The shower plumbing didn't have an access panel making it necessary to open up a wall, and on and on. Don't build with Brandl Anderson!
Update on my Brandl Anderson home in the comment above. Went to replace the cheap, crappy tile around my soaking tub. Upon demo of the tile, there was a huge 5-foot long, 9-inch wide gap behind the tile where there was absolutely no drywall! The tile was held together only by the grout and lots of caulk. There was, of course, mold on the studs behind this huge gap.
Our water heater went out and leaked in the basement. Even though the water heater is less than 12 inches from the floor drain, the water went everywhere but down the drain, flooding a large portion of the basement, ruining woodwork and ceramic tile in the finished bathroom about 10 feet away. There is a round lip of concrete around the floor drain insuring that water will not go down it until the entire basement floods.
I could go on and on about all the things wrong with this Brandl Anderson home.
September 10, 2013 blogger. What neighborhood do you live in . Thx.
July 1 2013 blogger. Which neighborhood do you live in. Thx.
We too have had problems with our BA home which was built in 2010. After months of attempting to talk to someone or resolve it, we ended up taking them to small claims court. Unfortunately, though the judge agreed with us, we were told we had to take it to the warranty company. Looking up the warranty company showed they were out of business and were pretty shady at best. So we are just screwed.
Our sheetrock is wavy, our woodwork is poorly done and the painter we had to hire ($3,000) had to do repairs before he could paint.
We have had water in our basement twice, and despite tons of rain, our sump pump has never gone on. I'm not sure we even have one. As part of our purchase agreement, BA convinced our realtor that we did not need to have an inspection, so who knows how many things are wrong with this place?
I could (and will when I have more time) go on and on with the problems in our house. Good luck to anyone who buys a BA house!
Hi i am wondering if you ever got your things fixed
We are having major issues with this company. It started with the meeting of the salesman misinformation and untruths to the horrible workmanship.
The siding installers do not know what they are doing. There is a certification that can be gotten called VSI, and that sub is not certified. I brought this up and was told "they have been siding for a long time", but that does not mean they do it correct. They don't.
I could keep going for hours, but after my BBB review I am tired and upset about my purchase.
I will be back later.
BA, horrible builder. We used them in 2012
If you are considering them don't do it.
This was not our first new home so we know there will be issues with any builder.
But with BA its the insane amount of problems and the hassle involved to try and get problems resolved, it made buying a new home a bad experience.
List of problems:
crack silestone counter top
Pitted cracked front side walk " replaced on our own dime"
Pitted cracked garage floor BA wont fix
Broken window
Shingles flying off
Vent on dryer froze open freezing dryer.
Siding fixed over a dozen times.
painter cut siding to try to match paint on garage door.Had to fix siding AGAIN.
Painted garage door twice and finally replaced it we had to paint it to have it correct.
Many drywall issues
Warped kitchen cabinet doors
Electric outlets falling out
Trim work needed fixing three times.
Crown molding not attached on kitchen cabinets falling off.
Doors not fitted correctly.
Lot was final graded with clay and rock had to bring in my own black dirt.
I am sure there is more I am forgetting. I have over 200 emails detailing all the issues.
Now after two years the hickory floor expanded to the point it pushed out the patio door a inch and a half and the floor cracked.
They replaced the floor by the door and it does not match.
Surprise!
The remaining floor is cupped.
BA response?
Use your warranty.
BA.....don't do it
I am facing so many issues with my new construction home. I live in lakeville and I have requested for a meeting with the owners. Let's see what reply I get.
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