We closed on our Ammolite home in June of 2024 in the Seasons at Lakeside Forrest community in Tavares, FL. Everything prior to closing was great. Lizzy and Austin were great on the sales side, and Carl was fine on the builder side. The neighborhood is great, the people who live here are awesome. However, from the moment we closed on this home, it's been one thing after another. The build quality of these homes is TERRIBLE.
For starters, the day we closed we found the ceiling fan/vent in our hall bathroom to be hanging only halfway, and was mounted improperly using double sided tape. The air conditioning would not cool below 78 degrees, there were speckled paint spots all over the floors, etc. All good, the warranty came to address (eventually) and both were fixed.
Things continue to get worse. When we closed, the entire backyard grass of our home was completely dead. We were told at our final walk that it would be replaced in 30 days if it didn't grow back in. I spent $1500 to have irrigation put in, because they don't install, and the grass still never came back. They argued with me saying it was OUR fault that it died, even though it was already dead the day we closed. After months of going back and forth with the warranty people, sales people, and corporate, they finally, begrudgingly, replaced the grass. In November.
On top of all of this, we discovered a massive leak in October in our second floor bathroom coming through the bathroom vent/fan. When they came to repair, the man was annoyed that he had to be at our home, proceeded to make a huge mess in our bathroom and laundry room, and left it there, saying nothing.
Now, this morning, 3/2/25, we discover yet another leak between the first and second floors in the ceiling above our kitchen. When I called the "emergency" warranty line, which is supposed to be for leaks and other urgent issues, I was told someone would contact us in 3 days.
All this is to say that while the layouts of these homes are great, the craftsmanship is that of a home half the price, if that. They've come to address most of these issues, but the bigger point is none of these things should have been issues in the first place. This is not to mention the speckled paint that's still all over our floors, the bubbles and curves in the walls from poor drywall installation, outlets that pop breakers constantly from having simple things plugged in like a vacuum, crooked bricks on the front of the house, shoddy island installation around the dishwasher, shoddy caulking literally everywhere, loose faucets, improperly installed ceiling lights, hole in the wall behind standing sink in hall bathroom, loose toilets, uneven floor boards on the second floor causing furniture to rock, dips in the floor, and the list goes on. I have genuine fear and worry for the amount of money we're going to have to spend to continue to fix these inventible issues once the warranty expires.
I caution any prospective homeowners to Richmond American. We feel that we absolutely made a mistake purchasing this home because of the quality and constant warranty calls we've had to make in 8 months of living here. The worst part, is that when we contact warranty for support, they act like we are the ones who caused these issues, when in reality it's entirely because of their poor building standards. I understand with new homes, there are some things that get missed and need to be addressed, but at ~$500k, the number of issues we've encountered, and how we've been treated when looking to have these issues address is absolutely unacceptable. I would never purchase another home from this builder, and I would certainly never recommend them to anyone.
Nicholas Geth
-
September 02, 2023
So now that the warranty has expired, I figured I leave an honest opinion of my experience on the purchase and the fixes that I had to do both under warranty and under my own pocket.
First off the buying experience felt rushed with a focus on getting us in the house as fast as possible (By doing this mistake where made by Richmond on what was agreed to that we later had to fight for, I.E. Counter top was different that what was agreed to). I learned firsthand that a General contractor is only as good as the subcontractors that the company partners with. Since the house didn't come with any Lighting or Fans.. we opted to focus on the garage when we noticed a 4" hole in the ceiling when removing the tape. First sign of bad workmanship. Upon living in the house for only 2 weeks the entire plumbing of the home backed up with filth everywhere including the sinks. After a tech from warranty came out they discover the plumber had thrown a part of the flange when putting the toilet together in the piping which flooded my entire house. Because of the potential damage of the house they sent out a team to get the humidity out of the home. All of this would have been great but of course they recommend a course of action of not removing the vinyl plank since they didn't read any humidity. Not even within 1 month of them leaving the floor started to buckle and warp. During this time the plumbing team also needed to reset both toilets (They send out a 18 year old kid who didn't know what he was doing from the same company that destroyed my house to begin with :( .... ) Upon him setting the toilets with maybe 3 day's the toilets where leaking filth. I again had to contract my own labor to get the toilets corrected since the labor warranty was not honoring there side of the contract. Lastly I also asked the electrical team who did the house to come to the home on 2 seperate occasions to fix a light that was damaged on purchase of the home... Within 2 month of speaking with multiple people (No one ever showed up at the house). All in all this was not what I was hoping for as American contractors have proven no one cares about workmanship anymore.
Donnapooks C
-
October 05, 2018
This company is the worst! Please beware..they took my money as a deposit prior to getting me approved. I was then denied the loan by Carolyn their loan officer and they refused to give me my money back. I fought with them for over 2 months and just gave up after much frustration and stress that was not worth my time. They get your hopes up high just to steal you money and said your home will be built in 6 months which is all a lie. They are very unprofessional and corporate office never returns your call. The staff at the local Haines City office is the worst and overall the experience is not worth your time, money nor effort. Note: two 5 star reviews are done by their staff, Carolyn and Michelle which is illegal and just unethical. Very bad business office. I don't know how they still exist as a business.
Rajen Tanna
-
April 24, 2018
Beware! We were told that our home would be ready after 6 months after we gave our deposit , but it's nowhere close. it is almost impossible to a speak to a manager. If for any reason you have a problem who will you speak to? The corporate office in Colorado won't do a thing.
I would hate to see your family go through the problems that we are at Richmond American
Iris Rivera
-
January 15, 2021
Excellent and very pleasant. The Gallery is spectacular. From Marisol's welcome, her kindness and professionalism made us feel confident and very relaxed. Knowing our options and deciding on what we want to obtain for our home was very easy as if she knew us and also knew what we wanted from the beginning. Thanks Marisol!
Our Address
2822 Commerce Park Dr #100, Orlando, FL 32819, USA
We closed on our Ammolite home in June of 2024 in the Seasons at Lakeside Forrest community in Tavares, FL. Everything prior to closing was great. Lizzy and Austin were great on the sales side, and Carl was fine on the builder side. The neighborhood is great, the people who live here are awesome. However, from the moment we closed on this home, it's been one thing after another. The build quality of these homes is TERRIBLE. For starters, the day we closed we found the ceiling fan/vent in our hall bathroom to be hanging only halfway, and was mounted improperly using double sided tape. The air conditioning would not cool below 78 degrees, there were speckled paint spots all over the floors, etc. All good, the warranty came to address (eventually) and both were fixed. Things continue to get worse. When we closed, the entire backyard grass of our home was completely dead. We were told at our final walk that it would be replaced in 30 days if it didn't grow back in. I spent $1500 to have irrigation put in, because they don't install, and the grass still never came back. They argued with me saying it was OUR fault that it died, even though it was already dead the day we closed. After months of going back and forth with the warranty people, sales people, and corporate, they finally, begrudgingly, replaced the grass. In November. On top of all of this, we discovered a massive leak in October in our second floor bathroom coming through the bathroom vent/fan. When they came to repair, the man was annoyed that he had to be at our home, proceeded to make a huge mess in our bathroom and laundry room, and left it there, saying nothing. Now, this morning, 3/2/25, we discover yet another leak between the first and second floors in the ceiling above our kitchen. When I called the "emergency" warranty line, which is supposed to be for leaks and other urgent issues, I was told someone would contact us in 3 days. All this is to say that while the layouts of these homes are great, the craftsmanship is that of a home half the price, if that. They've come to address most of these issues, but the bigger point is none of these things should have been issues in the first place. This is not to mention the speckled paint that's still all over our floors, the bubbles and curves in the walls from poor drywall installation, outlets that pop breakers constantly from having simple things plugged in like a vacuum, crooked bricks on the front of the house, shoddy island installation around the dishwasher, shoddy caulking literally everywhere, loose faucets, improperly installed ceiling lights, hole in the wall behind standing sink in hall bathroom, loose toilets, uneven floor boards on the second floor causing furniture to rock, dips in the floor, and the list goes on. I have genuine fear and worry for the amount of money we're going to have to spend to continue to fix these inventible issues once the warranty expires. I caution any prospective homeowners to Richmond American. We feel that we absolutely made a mistake purchasing this home because of the quality and constant warranty calls we've had to make in 8 months of living here. The worst part, is that when we contact warranty for support, they act like we are the ones who caused these issues, when in reality it's entirely because of their poor building standards. I understand with new homes, there are some things that get missed and need to be addressed, but at ~$500k, the number of issues we've encountered, and how we've been treated when looking to have these issues address is absolutely unacceptable. I would never purchase another home from this builder, and I would certainly never recommend them to anyone.
So now that the warranty has expired, I figured I leave an honest opinion of my experience on the purchase and the fixes that I had to do both under warranty and under my own pocket. First off the buying experience felt rushed with a focus on getting us in the house as fast as possible (By doing this mistake where made by Richmond on what was agreed to that we later had to fight for, I.E. Counter top was different that what was agreed to). I learned firsthand that a General contractor is only as good as the subcontractors that the company partners with. Since the house didn't come with any Lighting or Fans.. we opted to focus on the garage when we noticed a 4" hole in the ceiling when removing the tape. First sign of bad workmanship. Upon living in the house for only 2 weeks the entire plumbing of the home backed up with filth everywhere including the sinks. After a tech from warranty came out they discover the plumber had thrown a part of the flange when putting the toilet together in the piping which flooded my entire house. Because of the potential damage of the house they sent out a team to get the humidity out of the home. All of this would have been great but of course they recommend a course of action of not removing the vinyl plank since they didn't read any humidity. Not even within 1 month of them leaving the floor started to buckle and warp. During this time the plumbing team also needed to reset both toilets (They send out a 18 year old kid who didn't know what he was doing from the same company that destroyed my house to begin with :( .... ) Upon him setting the toilets with maybe 3 day's the toilets where leaking filth. I again had to contract my own labor to get the toilets corrected since the labor warranty was not honoring there side of the contract. Lastly I also asked the electrical team who did the house to come to the home on 2 seperate occasions to fix a light that was damaged on purchase of the home... Within 2 month of speaking with multiple people (No one ever showed up at the house). All in all this was not what I was hoping for as American contractors have proven no one cares about workmanship anymore.
This company is the worst! Please beware..they took my money as a deposit prior to getting me approved. I was then denied the loan by Carolyn their loan officer and they refused to give me my money back. I fought with them for over 2 months and just gave up after much frustration and stress that was not worth my time. They get your hopes up high just to steal you money and said your home will be built in 6 months which is all a lie. They are very unprofessional and corporate office never returns your call. The staff at the local Haines City office is the worst and overall the experience is not worth your time, money nor effort. Note: two 5 star reviews are done by their staff, Carolyn and Michelle which is illegal and just unethical. Very bad business office. I don't know how they still exist as a business.
Beware! We were told that our home would be ready after 6 months after we gave our deposit , but it's nowhere close. it is almost impossible to a speak to a manager. If for any reason you have a problem who will you speak to? The corporate office in Colorado won't do a thing. I would hate to see your family go through the problems that we are at Richmond American
Excellent and very pleasant. The Gallery is spectacular. From Marisol's welcome, her kindness and professionalism made us feel confident and very relaxed. Knowing our options and deciding on what we want to obtain for our home was very easy as if she knew us and also knew what we wanted from the beginning. Thanks Marisol!