Almost a sucker in Vermillion

My relationship with Mattamy Homes ended before the “dream home” ever got built, AS I am only a Mattamy “Bridesmaid” – not Bride! Mattamy Homes have great curb appeal but Mattamy Homes representatives’ customer service leaves very much to be desired. I wanted to buy a home in Vermillion before it officially opened. I only had an opportunity to look at the available lots once before “Alison” (the NHR) informed me that she was going out of town in two days and the prices were going up $9,000 while she was away so if I wanted to take advantage of the price I would have to write an offer before she left town. Under pressure I entered into a contract to purchase. (I discovered later that the $9,000 price increase never happened!) Mattamy had purchased lots from the developer in Vermillion that another builder had opted out of due to topography issues. I had considered building with the other builder prior to deciding on a Mattamy Home and the builder disclosed the topography challenges. When I brought up that issue with Alison, she stated, “Oh, he’s just being a salesman!” My impression of the other builder’s representative was responsibly disclosing the known defect, as he should have; my impression of Alison’s reaction to my revelation about the topography challenges was that she was covering up an issue that should have been disclosed. I negotiated what I thought was a good deal with Alison, but my perception was shattered during my design center appointment. There I learned that some of the upgrades I told Alison I wanted – and that she priced for me – had not been properly priced. Namely, the buffet niche and upgraded laundry room like in the model. Alison was unfamiliar with Mattamy’s product and had given me inaccurate pricing information, and her unfamiliarity with the product resulted in additional charges of approximately $15,000 more than she had told me when we wrote the contract. I then had to start deleting upgrades from the home to stay within my budget. I told Alison when I wrote the contract that I would probably want to change lots. (I wrote the contract to lock in the base price and didn’t realize changing lots would be such a big deal. But it was. When Alison rewrote the contract she not only didn’t match up the options I had previously selected, but she changed prices of many of the upgrades. The new contract reflected a base price increase of $5,000 – she told me it was in the system that way and she couldn’t change it. Seeing that the price increase was only $5,000 I asked her why. She admitted then that the price had not been increased by the $9,000 she had previously told me, after all. My dealings with Alison were frustrating and I emphasized that I wanted a contract with prices that I could understand. She pushed back and told me that if I didn’t like it, she could just take the SOLD sign down and give me my money back. I told her I didn't want her to take the sign down - I wanted Mattamy to build me the home, and Mattamy needed to make it right (specific performance). Due to the challenges of this transaction, the Division President ("Bill") became involved in discussions. I was released from the first contract and assigned to another more seasoned NHR (“Dana”)in Mattamy's Skybrook Community, to rewrite the new contract on a different lot. During the appointment to execute the contract, Dana chastised me for having told Bill about some of the concerns I had expressed to him about things that had transpired. Before she would allow me to sign the new contract, Dana asked me, “How would you like it if I told your boss about something YOU did?” She said I would get more honey with bees than with vinegar!” She then proceeded to tell me about Mattamy’s (infamous) Survey. She told me she wanted all “6’s” – and that she wanted to EARN them. And that if she was ever doing something I didn’t like – or if I needed for her to do something differently, that I should let her know. (The problem was, she told me that after having just chastised me for telling her boss something she had done – and she held me hostage to listening to her before she would let me sign the contract.) Since I had already made most of my selections at the design center all I needed to do was finalize them. I received a message from the design center representative with a proposed date and time to finalize selections but they wanted me to come in during the middle of the day, and I could not due to my work schedule. I informed Dana and the design center representative that I was not available until 4:30 on any day, but even after having explained why I couldn’t come in the middle of the day, Dana pressed, asking me to come during my lunch hour. I explained that was impossible and they relented to the 4:30 time. Dana’s objection to the 4:30 time was unreasonable because the design center’s hours (as posted on Mattamy’s website and in the GEMS booklet I was provided after signing the contract) were until 6:00pm. Dana also insisted on being present at my design center appointment because (she said) she needed a refresher on the options. I told her I preferred to have the appointment alone, but she refused to give in and insisted on being present. In utter frustration over Dana’s blatant lack of regard for my wishes, I soon discovered while reviewing the Option Upgrade pricing sheet Dana had prepared that she was as unfamiliar with the Mattamy product as Alison had been. We went over the pricing list together and she took her time pricing the options for me, but even after a couple of passes back and forth, the “final” product she provided had multiple errors. (She charged me $1,500 for the fireplace that Alison had told her was standard in Vermillion. She charged me for both a Sunroom and an Extended Dining Area, after telling me that I couldn’t build both. She charged me for options in the 2nd floor plan that were only available in the first floor plan I had been considering. She had pulled the upgrades from the first contract, without giving consideration to whether the same upgrades were even available in the floor plan I had decided on. I discovered that the price Mattamy charges for upgrades are much higher than their competitors. They charged me $1,350 ($675 ech) for two garage door openers that another builder charges $425 (each) for. They charged me $670 for a single kitchen faucet. One of the complaints I read about Mattamy by a previous Mattamy home buyer was the constantly changing price lists. I experienced this as well, both in the base price adjustment, (before Vermillion even officially opened) as well as the upgrades. The confusion over plan specific upgrades and pricing wasn’t isolated to the NHR’s. As a concession for the “poor experience” I had received during the first contract, Bill offered me either a refrigerator ($2,000 allowance) or the buffet niche, just like the model’s. I accepted the buffet niche, which I later learned Mattamy retailed at approximately $12,000. Bill later admitted that he hadn’t been aware of the cost of the buffet niche when he gave me that choice. (He, along with Dana, obviously needed a refresher on Mattamy pricing.) One of my greatest frustrations with Dana was that she would not follow up with me by phone with answers to my questions. This was one of the frustrations I had expressed earlier in the process to Bill and the comment made its way back to Dana. Dana relied only on e-mails but that technology failed. In one instance, I was waiting on pricing for some of the upgrades and at the end of a business day, on a Friday, she sent me an email telling me she not been able to clarify the kind of cabinet I wanted. I had sent her information first thing in the morning so if she had questions she could have picked up the phone to call me. But she didn’t. (Yet she wanted me to rate her a “6”!) More than once, when I didn’t get a response from a Mattamy agent within a reasonable time I was told that they were “busy”. Mattamy’s financial representative actually told me (when she hadn’t returned my call all day) that she was “busy being a Vice President!” Dana used that “busy” line as well, telling me they were a big company and couldn’t’ always get back to me as soon as I’d like. She failed to keep me informed of the expected turnaround time on requests. Despite the frustrations I still wanted to have Mattamy build me a home. Armed with the base price of the floor plan I wanted to build and the retail price of most of the upgrades, minus concessions, I submitted an offer to Bill. He replied that after pricing the few remaining items he would get back to me with a counter-offer. He came back with a counter-offer that I ACCEPTED. But even after I accepted Bill’s offer, he refused to honor it because (he said) he had made a typo. Bill called me but I missed his call so informed him that I wanted to see what legal recourse I had. Not half an hour had lapsed before Mattamy’s “In-house Counsel” sent me a communication informing me to cease all communication with Bill and Mattamy representatives and to direct all communications to him, because I had gotten an attorney. I had NOT spoken with an attorney. But what would have been the problem if I had spoken with an attorney? Every good real estate agent tells buyers who are considering purchasing a home to have an attorney review the contract. Why should Mattamy be so opposed to my having wanted an attorney’s advice? Mattamy informed me that they are uncomfortable doing business with me and won’t sell me a home. They told me I was not welcomed in their model homes or to walk through homes under construction. Why? Because I accepted in good faith the offer the Division President had extended to me? Before he claimed he had made a typo! Even considering the “typo” in the concession amount Bill had extended to me, the bottom line was about the same as in other homes in the community. The price per square foot was actually a little higher than comps in the neighborhood, even considering the concession. And the percentage amount of the concessions was actually consistent with the percentage of the concessions I received in the contract on the first home. Whenever I expressed my concerns about Alison and Dana to Bill, he vigorously defended them, telling me (separately, about each of them) that they consistently receive high “Customer Satisfaction” reviews. I told him that, unfortunately, that had not been my experience. If Dana had received high reviews (based on my experience), it could have been because she had bullied the customers (say, “Uncle”) until they gave her the “6” she demanded! What was unsettling about this experience was that in “Letter from The President” in the GEMS booklet Bill emphasized the importance of the Mattamy Surveys and the constant feedback he wanted to solicit from Mattamy home buyer: “At Mattamy Homes we provide the “Best Home Buying Experience” to all our customers whether it be their first or fifth home.” …this group of professionals has but one simple goal – to honor our commitments to you – our home buyer. To ensure that we honor our commitments, Mattamy asks for your written feedback frequently before and after your home closing. I personally review each and every survey received, so please do not hesitate to tell me how we’re doing! We survey frequently, not to annoy, but because we understand the value of feedback. Brief surveys and occasional telephone calls (Dana?) provide us with an accurate sense of how we are doing. Really, Bill? Do you REALLY WANT TO KNOW?