MARICOPA, Ariz. — More residents who have purchased homes in new construction developments in Maricopa are coming forward and raising concerns about the quality of their homes.
12News first reported about issues being raised by residents last month and now, lawmakers are weighing in.
"It's five years. How long does it take for a house to settle?"
“I moved into this house March 6 of 2019," said Mary Silveira.
Mary Silveira has lived in her Maricopa home in the Homestead community built by D.R. Horton for over four years. You can add her to the list of Maricopa residents who say their experience with their new dream homes has been closer to a nightmare.
“It’s just frustrating. You’re spending all this time. You can’t enjoy your house because you’re worried about so many things going wrong all the time," Silveira said.
Silveira said during her final walk-through, she was asked to make a list of any flaws she found. The list was longer than she was prepared for.
“The piece of paper that you write down initially didn't have enough lines. So we had to get another piece of paper," Silveira said.
She said small items were fixed but the bigger issues were not, and they kept coming.
"The bathroom was the first one," Silveira said. "The water was coming out of the glass doors and it was coming out on the floor."
Silveira said on top of that, her driveway began heaving, the walkway into her house was slanted toward her door leading to water damage during rain, an uneven wall in her kitchen led to problems with her backsplash tile, and a large crack appeared across her ceiling.
The ceiling crack has been "fixed" twice already and has re-cracked every time.
"'I'm gonna fix it but I'm gonna tell you it's gonna happen again. The house has got to settle,'" Silveira recalls what she's been told. "It's five years. How long does it take for a house to settle?"
According to D.R. Horton, they have been in contact with Silveira and are scheduled to complete a drywall repair on Wednesday and will be back on July 11 to install.
“Why should we wait five years to get the stuff done?” Silveira said.
D.R. Horton provided 12News with the following emailed statement:
"D.R. Horton is committed to building quality homes and neighborhoods in the greater Phoenix area and across the United States. We encourage any Phoenix area homeowner with a concern to contact our local division at 480-791-1491," said Brent Davis, D.R. Horton's Phoenix East Division President.
City of Maricopa growing at rapid rate
Silveira, along with some residents at the nearby Meritage community called Province, have expressed frustration at the continuous building in Maricopa despite saying construction issues in their own communities have not been addressed.
Maricopa has a population of 64,000 people, a 42 percent increase since 2010.
According to city data, there are about 26,000 housing units with people currently living in them and nearly double that is in the works. There are about 47,000 units in some stage of development in Maricopa.
“They're handing out permits for new homes left and right," Silveira said.
Lawmakers respond to residents' complaints
12News brought the residents' complaints to two lawmakers who represent Maricopa - State Senator TJ Shope and State Representative Keith Seaman.
“Are you concerned that the building is continuing at a fairly rapid pace while many of the residents who have now purchased these homes are raising issues about quality?” asked 12News reporter Bianca Buono.
“Of course I'm concerned about that. It seems to me they should fix the whole before they go on to another one," Seaman said.
“This is probably the first time I've noticed the pace, especially in the last year or so, of homes being built, probably at the pace of what we saw in the mid 2000s," Shope said.
"[Residents] say they weren't delivered what they were promised. How do you respond to some of their complaints?” Buono asked.
"I obviously feel for these people. I mean, it's the largest investment most likely that you're ever going to make in your life," Shope said. "And you want to make sure that the product is right. Obviously it concerns I think anybody whenever they're not getting a product that is promised to them delivered to them.”
"What would your message to [residents] be?” Buono asked.
“I'm sorry. I don't apologize because it's not my fault. But I will be looking into it. Hopefully we'll get something, maybe I can talk to my colleagues this summer that next year during the term, and we can get something done," Seaman said.
Both lawmakers say they are open to looking into options to better protect buyers.
Experts say right now, if you're experiencing issues with your home or its builder, the best course of action is to file a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
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Get to know 12News
At 12News, we listen, we seek, we solve for all Arizonans. 12News is the Phoenix NBC affiliate owned by TEGNA Inc.
12News is built on a legacy of trust. We serve more than 4.6 million people every month on air, on our 12News app, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and 12News.com.
We are committed to serving all of the Valley's communities, because we live here, too.
12News is the Official Home of the Arizona Cardinals and the proud recipient of the 2018 Rocky Mountain Emmy Award for Overall Excellence.
Stay connected by downloading the 12News app, available on Google Play and the Apple Store. Catch up on any stories you missed on the show on the 12News Youtube channel. Read content curated for our Spanish-speaking audience on the Español page. Or see us on the 12News Plus app available on Roku or Amazon Fire.