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2 months ago
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Customers of America's biggest housebuilder have accused the company of leaving them with dirty and dangerous new homes which they are now desperate to sell.
DR Horton bills itself as 'America's Builder' having constructed more than one million new homes since it was founded in 1978.
But owners across the country claim the company has turned its back on complaints about major structural problems, leaks, and mold in their brand new homes.
The Texan company settled a $16 million lawsuit over construction defects brought by hundreds of homeowners in South Carolina last year, and it may not be the final litigation it faces.
'We already spent all the money to get the house and now we have to spend more money to get to hire a lawyer to try to do something,' said Isaac Ortiz from his home in Las Vegas.
Danielle Antonucci said families had been ruined 'financially, physically, and emotionally' by the trauma of living in their shoddily-built houses
She found that doors did not fit in their frames when she bought her Florida home in 2022
She has had to tear out ceiling panels and walls in a bid to tackle the mold in the home
'Everything was in bad condition,' he told AZfamily.com. 'Everything.'
Jayson Warren has been left with medical bills, as well as home repair bills, after his wife tumbled down the uneven staircase in their newbuild in San Antonio, Texas, in 2020.
'I could not look at that house and not see a time bomb,' he said. 'We got into the house, and we didn't make it more than 24 hours before there was an issue.
'It resulted in my wife going to a medical specialist,' he added. 'Like, you walk up and down stairs on autopilot. There's a reason all stairs in the country are built the same way.'
His family eventually moved out but others fear they have spent their money on 'dream homes' that are now unsellable.
PJ Skipper discovered defective air conditioning, bent nails, faulty plywood and hundreds of maggots when he moved into his DR Horton home in Locust Grove, Georgia, in 2019.
'I was like, man, this is turning out to be a house from hell,' he said.
And he says the company's reluctance to engage with his complaints has left him forced to pay for the repairs himself.
Nikole Willis says she was ignored when she raised the alarm about problems with her home
She claims a badly built storm water pond built has repeatedly flooded immediately
The pond was sold as an 'amenity', but the floods have made residents' lives a misery
And the stagnant water laps just feet from homes on the estate in Santee, South Carolina
'We're left as the homeowners pulling the bag,' he said. 'Most of the time, it has to come out of our pocket.
'Here in my neighborhood, a lot of people have sold their homes,' he added. 'They figured it's just best to sell and get out.
'I can say DR Horton have left a very bad taste in my mouth.'
Nikole Willis says she too was ignored when she raised the alarm about the constant flooding with stagnant water from the storm water pond built immediately next to her home in Santee, South Carolina.
'When the water got nasty they just quit coming,' she said.
'My fear is that DR Horton is just going to leave us stranded with this nightmare of an issue.
'I don't really respect DR Horton. I don't like being lied to; I don't like being ignored; I don't like that,' she added.
'They gave a lot of empty promises to the people in this neighborhood.'
The company made an effort to fix a host of problems reported by Danielle Antonucci after she moved into her Florida home in 2022 before dropping off the radar.
Jayson Warren (left) had to take his wife to hospital after she tumbled down the uneven staircase in their newbuild in San Antonio, Texas, in 2020, while Isaac Ortiz (right) saisd his Nevada home was filled with construction debris, and had leaks in the walls
She said ill-fitting doors, major structural problems and mold inside the walls from water damage has left the Sarasota home almost uninhabitable.
'You didn't give me the brand new house that I bought,' she said. 'I worry in three or four years, am I going to have a house full of mold in my walls?
'We share a tiny little bathroom. It's been over two years of fighting with them.'
And she is starting to realize how many fellow owners have gone through a similarly hellish experience.
'These stories are heartbreaking,' she said. 'They ruin families, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, all of that, it's devastating.'
And the homeowners' anger is fueled by the knowledge that county inspectors signing off on their faulty new homes.
'Almost 45 days ago, I submitted a complaint with the attorney general from Nevada,' Ortiz said. 'At this point, almost 45 days, I haven't heard back.'
Others are wondering what needs to be done to hold the Fortune 500 company to account.
'I do think the federal level potentially has some play when you start talking about the compounding effects,' Warren said.
A spokesperson for the company insisted it had no intention of walking away from its customers' problems.
PJ Skipper says his neighbors in Locust Grove, Georgia, are now desperate to sell their homes
A spokesman for the company insisted it would not walk away from its customers' problems.
'We take great pride in the quality of DR Horton homes and have helped more than 1,000,000 individuals and families across the United States achieve the dream of homeownership,' the spokesperson told AZfamily.
'Our team takes all homeowner concerns very seriously and is committed to customer satisfaction.
'We encourage any DR Horton homeowner with concerns about their home to contact us at CorporateCustomerCare@drhorton.com so we can work to resolve any issues.'
Dailymail.com has reached out to the company for comment.
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