GOODYEAR, Ariz. — As Bobbie and Richard Miller walk through their Goodyear home, they point out the many flaws that need fixing. Holes in the wall, chipped tiles, and nails scattered in their backyard.
It's hard to believe the home is brand new. They moved into the new community, Vidrio at Estrella, built by Landsea, in February.
The Millers said a construction worker noticed an air conditioning drain was missing before they moved in but assured them it had been resolved.
On Sunday, a flaw with that drain led to severe water damage throughout their home. They said workers have found mold. Now, half of their house, including floorboards and walls, is torn up.
“It's just poor quality," said Bobbie Miller. “It was probably the first walkthrough. I was shocked at all the things that needed to be fixed.”
'There's no accountability'
The Millers went through the home with a Landsea employee before moving in and marked the many defects with tape. They thought the identified issues would be addressed when they moved in. That didn't happen.
Landsea has not returned 12News' repeated calls for comment.
Instead, Nicole McElhinney, the director of customer care for Landsea in Arizona, emailed the following sentence: "Homeowner satisfaction is one of our highest priorities at Landsea Homes and we look forward to working with these buyers to address their concerns."
“People have removed blue tape without fixing anything," Richard said.
In at least one case, workers painted over the tape completely. A taupe piece of painted tape now hangs in their backyard.
The Millers said they have repeatedly called Landsea and reported the issues.
In one case, they said an employee showed up to repair their broken backsplash tile but came without grout or tile.
“There’s no accountability. It’s not right," Bobbie said.
The Millers are not alone.
'I want it to look like your model home'
Yisel Greene and her family have lived in the community since March 2022.
“This was the worst decision ever," Greene said.
Before moving in, Greene created a punch list for Landsea. She pointed out problems with her kitchen cabinets, messy paintwork, and cracked drywall and door frames.
Over a year later, many of those problems still have not been addressed.
“I thought that if we bought a home, a brand new home, that we were going to come in, move in, everything was going to be perfect or close to perfect," Greene said. "All we had to do was furnish it and we're good. That, unfortunately, has not been the case.”
Greene said after moving in, her garage door nearly collapsed after the motor fell from the ceiling. It was repaired, but she said the garage door makes a loud cracking sound every time it opens.
Greene hired her own inspector to come in. His report revealed even more issues, including holes in the stucco, broken roof tiles, and showed some roof tiles were not sealed.
“I kept saying it over and over. I want it to look like your model home," Greene said. “People ask me, 'How's your house?' And I'm like, 'Horrible.'”
These residents feel stuck. No matter how many calls they make, they said the problems with their homes only seem to get worse. They said they are at the mercy of Landsea and hope by speaking out; they can get the help they've been asking for and the quality of home they were promised.
“I bought a new house. I wanted new," Greene said.
“It's a brand new home. It should be top-notch," Bobbie said.
Home inspector said to file a complaint
Cy Porter and his company, CyFy Home Inspections, specialize in new construction homes. He said in his experience, making a home perfect is not the builder's priority.
“They want the homeowner to pretty much find the issues and then make that complaint and then they'll come back later and fix it," Porter said. “They're more focused on closing the home than walking through slowly and making everything perfect.”
Porter said buyers should get an inspection of their home within 10 days of moving in and another at the one-year mark.
He said if problems are not getting addressed, file a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors.
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