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Report: #200285

Complaint Review: United-Bilt Homes - Fort Smith Arkansas

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  • Reported By: Sallisaw Oklahoma
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  • United-Bilt Homes 4916 Towson Ave Fort Smith, Arkansas U.S.A.

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We got approved for a united-bilt home in Nov. 2005 and got some help with our down-payment of 12,000 dollars. After we went looked at a newer home that was already built, we agreed that we liked it.

A couple of days later our son got badly hurt, and we went ahead and signed papers for the house. After we signed papers the salesman Terry insisted of going to the house, He took us to a house in the next town.

And that was the house that we just signed for.. He said it was 4 years old, and we later found out that it was over 25 years old. The neighbors across road had seen people in and out of the house for the 30 years she lived across from it.(Found out after we moved in)

Having no choice because of our son getting badly hurt by our current neighbors dog,(had to be life flighted to childrens hospital.) We went ahead and moved in.

So we are paying for a 25 years old + house as if it is a 4 year old home.

After a few days we relized that the septic was backed up and rain had been getting in it because there was a pipe that didnt even have a cap on it on the outside of house, and the lids on the septic tank doesnt even fit right.

The ceilings had fresh popcorn spray on them, and now we know why...To hide the seams of the sheetrock where it had been coming down. Now, it is showing thoughout the whole house..

Our son throw a toy and it hit the wall causing a small peice of sheetrock to fall, there is NO INSULATION in the walls, and our electric bill proves that.

It stays hot in the summer and cold in the winter, with the heater on in winter and A/C on 24/7 in the summer.. Sometimes I think it feels better outside.

Our living room does even have a light in it, the salesman told us that it was a new thing, to plug in a lamp on flip a switch for it to come on..

After moving in we have noticed several cracks in the walls and ceiling.

The kitchen floor is totaling unlevel. And even some of the door frames are unlevel and the doors will even shut right.

Our hot water tank leaks and all united bilt says to us is you bought the house as is..

The salesman told us that our payments would be about $350. but when we got our bill it is $509.19, they say the reason for that is interest.

Honestly,I Would rather live in a trailer than a united bilt home. Or even a travel trailer and thats pretty bad cause we are a family of 5..

United-Bilt is ridulous.. and a major rip-off.

Sabrina
Sallisaw, Oklahoma
U.S.A.

This report was posted on Ripoff Report on 07/10/2006 04:01 PM and is a permanent record located here: https://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/united-bilt-homes/fort-smith-arkansas-72901/united-bilt-homesunited-bilt-homes-ripoff-fort-smith-arkansas-200285. The posting time indicated is Arizona local time. Arizona does not observe daylight savings so the post time may be Mountain or Pacific depending on the time of year. Ripoff Report has an exclusive license to this report. It may not be copied without the written permission of Ripoff Report. READ: Foreign websites steal our content

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REBUTTALS & REPLIES:
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0Employee/Owner

#5 Consumer Comment

My home is wonderful!

AUTHOR: C. Spiers - (United States of America)

POSTED: Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Early August 2012, my husband and I went into the Fort Smith office and gathered information on a home. Lacey was very helpful and Terry provided us with valuable information for 2 new home buyers. After looking at the many home choices and blueprints, we chose the Madison.

Terry came out to our property later that week with his camera and within 15 days we were signing paperwork. 

Everyone was very helpful in answering all of our questions. The payment was coming out of my checking account so I made sure to ask every question I could possibly think of and write down those I thought of in the middle of the night or on weekends. 

Before we signed any paperwork, Terry and Rick (building manager) explained every small detail to us and made sure we understood everything. I have never built a home, have no plumbing, electrical, construction, insulation, sheetrock experience. What I thought were silly or insignificant questions, they were all answered professionally and in a language I understood.

Terry, Rick and all the sub-contractors knew that we were on a timeline. I was pregnant during this time due on Oct 26. They kept all the worries to a minimum. I can tell you all of the sub-contractors companies and each of their employees names, because they took their time to get to know us as a family. 

We spent the most time with Justin, Wayne, Jason and Shawn. They built our HOME! I was here almost everyday that they were here and when I wasn't, my husband or in-laws were. We got to know the 4 of them and they got to know us. We were sorry to see them be finished, but glad to move into our new home. 

We were handed our keys by Rick on October 19!!! We were so excited to be the proud owners of a place to raise our little boy and to call HOME! 

We started moving in immediately. Our precious little boy arrived on Oct 25th! 

I have told everyone I meet about our wonderful experience with United-Bilt Homes. My brother-in-law and his wife will be building a home soon through this company. 

If I ever have to build another home, IT WILL BE WITH UNITED-BILT HOMES!!!

Bottom-line, if it concerns money or your family, then you need to be very diligent about the details of everything you sign.

Thank you everyone at United-Bilt from down south in Shreaveport, LA to Fort Smith, AR to Springdale, AR.

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#4 Consumer Comment

Consumer protection

AUTHOR: BBBandBadBuilder - (USA)

POSTED: Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Based upon the rebuttal from United-Bilt homes:

The customer for this report wanted a new home.

United-Bilt homes said they did not qualify for financing because they did not own land to build on.  Per the rebuttal from United-Bilt they showed them a 4 year old home they could not afford.

Next they claimed they showed the customer an older home and that the customer confused the older home with the four year old home.  

I've noticed what United-Bilt puts in writing often contradicts their verbal agreements per the you tube video below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA-PJ8Vc-tQ

Be sure and click the Show more dropdown to compare their response to the Better Business Bureau  with what their Regional construction manager said in the video.

Please note that I am not privy to the facts of the foreclosure with the person that filed this complaint.  But there is definitely a pattern of wrong doing by this business based upon our experience and others that UBH has sold houses to.

I'll let you evaluate the honesty of United-Bilt homes.

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#3 UPDATE Employee

This report is misleading and inaccurate and does not tell the entire story

AUTHOR: Warranty Service - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Friday, September 12, 2008

Many of our customers buy shell homes and then they install the features into the home, including insulation, drywall, electrical fixtures, plumbing, septic tank, etc. In this case, the original buyer of this home evidently installed drywall without insulating the walls. When we foreclosed it and took it back, we did not bust out the walls to see if they were insulated. As is the practice with most banks and finance companies, we got the home cleaned up and offered it for sale "AS IS, WITH NO WARRANTIES"

These customers approached us October, 2005 to build a new home, but they did not qualify for financing because they did not own land to build on. We showed them a re-po home that was 4 years old, but the price of that home was out of their budget. So we took them to this older home, and they approved of the home and applied to buy it. We did not tell them it was only four years old - they have confused this home with the newer one we first showed them and which was out of their budget. That home was four years old. This home was older, and they were told that it was older.

When the customers applied to buy this home, they signed a proposal that stated, in large bold letters, that they were buying the home "AS IS, WITH NO WARRANTIES." Also, when they applied, they received from us a written estimate of what their monthly payment would be, and it was accurate, to the penny, of what their payment actually was. We did not at any time tell them their payment would be $350.

This transaction did not occur over one or two days - it was a three week period between the time they applied to buy this home and the date we actually signed a contract to sell it to them, along with a mortgage to pay for the home. During this three week time between application and contract, they had several opportunities to inspect the home, and had relatives come over too and inspect. None of them raised any signficant concerns about the home. The customers had not, during any of this time, signed any contracts with us, and we free to back out of the deal if they did not like the place.

When they signed the contract, it again contained a statement in large capital letters that they were buying the home "AS IS, WITH NO WARRANTIES." They also received a copy of this contract in full and a written notice that they had three days to rescind the sale, at no cost to them. This gave them three days to carefully read every scrap of paper they had signed, to inspect the home again if they wanted, and do anything else they chose, and get out of the contract if they weren't satisfied. They did not rescind it.

Also we gave them a disclosure that spelled out to the penny what their monthly payments would be, and it did not say $350. They did not make a $12,000 down payment on this home - the Keetoowah Band did that and took a mortgage also from these customers.

The customers took possession of the home in November, 2005, but did not make payments, though they continued to live in the home. In June, 2006, we sent them a letter containing a deed in lieu of foreclosure. We offered them $200 to deed the property back to us, at no cost to them. They refused to deed it back, preferring, it appears, to live in it but not pay for it. They made this Ripoff Report complaint one month AFTER we sent them the deed and offered to let them out of the mortgage obligation.

Since they would not pay, would not deed it back, and would not leave the home, we started foreclosure. Even though they have said in this Ripoff report that they would rather live in a trailer, they in fact hired a lawyer to fight the foreclosure. Anyone who wants to investigate this, it is a matter of public record, Sequoyah County, Oklahoma District Court Case Number CJ-2006-694.

They were not successful, the court ordered foreclosure, and we were the successful bidder at the foreclosure sale. After living in the home for over 1 year, making this complaint on the Ripoff report, and refusing to make payments on the home, these customers finally left. We cleaned up the home, and since we had now learned about the insulation issue, we had the walls insulated and other things repaired and then re-sold it.

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#2 Author of original report

Our down payment was provided by...

AUTHOR: Sabrina - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Our down paymnt was provided by the United Keetowah Band, Which is a branch off of Cherokee Nation tribe. We got the money for a down payment by agreeing that we would stay in the house for at least 5 years and then we wouldnt have to pay the money back to the keetowah tribe. (I dont know how this works, thats what I was told by the keetowah band)

Your right, they propabably didnt even deduct the amount from the house, they probably added it on.. We later reliezed that united bilt has NO down payments on their homes.

Yet, when the Keetowah said that they could give $9000.oo down, United bilt said that if we can get more that it would lower our payments on the house. THAT WAS A LIE.. They was given the limit of $1200.00 and we still got high payments.

He told us at first, the house payment would be about $300.00 than he said $350.00 a month not including taxes.. but yet our monthly payment ended up being over $500.00.

With our electric bill running about $300.00 a month. And gas prices are going sky high. My husband works and I stay home with the boys. I want to go to work, of course, after the boys are all in school.

If we move and get away from united bilt than we will mess up the contract with the keetowah tribe and we will not be able to get help from them for the next 5 years.

We have had very hard times since our son was hurt and we found out that we got badly ripped off on the house we wanted to raise our children in.

We had gotten so far behind on bills after the first of the year. Our electric and water was even shut off for about 2 weeks in 100 degree weather. If the house had insulation our bill wouldnt be sooo high. It costed $590. just to get it turned back on!

This might not be high to so people, but it is 2 us. We never have extra money for anything, including to fix our truck that has broken down.

Its hard for our family to keep up with our payments on the house, utility bills, the needs of our son due to the dog almost killing him, (he was attacked by our former neighbors pit bull dog) Our son sent almost 2 weeks in St. Francis hospital in Tulsa. The medical bills are over $75,000.00.

We was hoping that with all that are family had been though that getting to move into a new (but, really Old) would be a fresh start to starting over, Boy, was we wrong..

Cindy... I love that title, it makes me laugh ever time I think about it.. We have not been in very many houses and we really dont know what is new and is old..

I hope that more people will see the reports about united bilt, and not make the same mistake that we did.. They will tell you so many lies to get you in a home of theirs.

The other reports are under united bilt without the dash in bewteen the words. They are ridulous rip offs, too.

We are probably going to let the house go, suffer with bad credit and have to deal with not getting any benefits from keetowah for 5 more years. On top of everything else that we are having to deal with.

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#1 Consumer Suggestion

Darkness...the new Light?

AUTHOR: Cindy - (U.S.A.)

POSTED: Monday, July 17, 2006

That is nuts that the builder would try to excuse not having a light fixture as a new thing, as if it's some benefit to buyers. A switched outlet is nothing new, either. Talk about "peeing on my leg and telling me it's raining," a la Judge Judy.

Sounds like you may have been the victim of predatory lending. Some builders now have their own lending company, or a preferred lender, and two builders I know of in other states who've been fined for predatory lending are KB Home and Dominion Homes, both using their own financing. I believe lots of builders are doing the same things, they just haven't gotten the attention of the fed's yet, or it's not been in the news yet. Usually the fed's won't bother with small time offenders, either.

You mentioned a down payment that you got help with. There are builder financed down payment assistance programs that have been investigated by the IRS because they are really laundering money, it's not a charitable gift. The home buyer ends up paying for it. Increased foreclosures have been happening with these programs as a result.

According to an article in the Daily Oklahoman on June 26 2004, refinancing loans that were obtained through predatory lending may be possible, relieving the consumer somewhat. The article stated that participants are Legal Aid Services of Oklahoma, First Mortgage Co. LLC, and Fannie Mae. Contact information below:

?Tulsa Housing Authority, (918) 581-5907; Neighborhood Housing Services of Oklahoma City, 231-4663; Oklahoma City Housing Authority, 239-7551; Great Plains Improvement Foundation in Lawton, (580) 353-2364; Community Development Support Association in Enid, (580) 242-6131; Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City, 424-5243; Community Action Agency of Oklahoma City, 232-0199; Northeastern Homeownership Consortium of Oklahoma City, 235-1212; Little Dixie Community Action Agency in Hugo, (580) 326-5201; Housing Authority of the Choctaw Nation in Hugo, (580) 326-7521; Chickasaw Nation Division of Housing in Ada, (580) 421-8817; Housing Authority of the Western Delaware Trine in Anadarko, 247-2448; Ki-Bois Community Action Foundation in Stigler, (918) 967-9050.?

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