D R Horton, Torrey Homes Destroyed Property Values of Subdivision Atlanta Georgia

In 1998, I purchase a home in Sterling Lakes Subdivision located in Covington, GA that was being built and developed by Torrey Homes a division of D. R. Horton. The community was to be a lake community with a community pool and Torrey Homes was the acting Homeowners Association until the subdivision was to be completed and the HOA would be turned over to the homeowners. However, Torrey left the development before the completion of the subdivision, leaving the ownership of common area of the pool and pool house property undetermined and no transfer of the HOA was provided to the homeowners. The homeowners received no notification and the common areas were left to fall in disrepair.

The homeowners attempted to organize to create and HOA to resolve the issue but were told that the HOA would have to purchase the pool property from the developer. This after every homeowner had paid at the time of purchase for this property by paying their dues to the HOA and in the purchase price of their home that was supposed to be furnished with this community amenity. In addition, phase one development of the subdivision had home prices starting at $115,000 and up to $140,000. Torrey, however, upon pulling out of the project knowingly sold the other phases for development to a builder of homes priced starting at $70,000 which immediately destroyed the property values of the original phase one homeowners.

Furthermore, none of the new phases were subject to the covenants or by-laws of the original phase one HOA and while buyers of the new phases were promised access to the subdivisions common areas and the pool amenity, none of them were bound to be members of the HOA or bound to pay HOA dues for the maintenance of the pool and common areas.

As a result, those of us in the original phase one are stuck trying to fund the cost of maintaining an HOA to which only the original phase one homeowners must abide by the by-laws and covenants and pay dues and maintain the entire subdivision. The phase one owners have worked hard at trying to maintain their yards and homes while the lower price secondary phases remain unkempt and in disrepair because their are no covenants or by-laws to regulate them.

My home is on the most premium lot in the entire subdivision with a partially wood lot that is located on the two lakes within the subdivision. My home should easily have appreciated in value by this time, years later or should at a minimum have maintained it's value. However, it has not even though the property is well landscaped and the home maintained.

Furthermore, Torrey practiced deceptive pricing when selling homes in this subdivision I later found out when I attempted to sell my home for 18 months with serious offers at or near the original purchase price of my home. I had the home on the market during the hight of the market in 2002 and 2003 but still could get less than what I paid for the home in 1998. I discovered that Torrey had been adding to the selling price in order to make it appear as though some buyers actually had a down payment. I saw several sales for homes that were sold above their listing prices that allowed Torrey to sell homes unqualified buyers and inflate the home values artificially.

In fact, the country assessed the property tax rates based on the inflated prices and later discovered the home values were inaccurate and repriced the home values more in line with their actual market value rather than the inflated above listed price values.

All in all, Torrey did everything to line their pockets and their customers and homeowners be damned. Like many in this subdivision, this was my first home and I sank a considerable $35,000 down payment on my home and had immediate equity in my new home when I purchased it. As a result of Torrey's actions, it is now 10 years later and I have no equity nor do any of the original phase one homeowners who purchased their home from Torrey on the promise of a nice swim and lake community, which in the end, has never existed nor did Torrey ever intend that it should.

Our latest attempt to form a true HOA with control over the entire subdivision in order to bring the community up to standards of the covenants and to provide for the cost of the common facilities is now in the process of dissolving because we have no leverage to force the other phases into compliance or pay their dues all because Torrey never handed the original control of the HOA to the homeowners and the original homeowners as members of that HOA were excluded from having any representation or involvement in the future development of the subdivision.

My loss in my property values is clearly the result of damages caused by D. R. Horton and Torrey Homes. I would never ever trust this group again and advise anyone who is even thinking about a home in a D. R. Horton or Torrey Home development to just walk away and look elsewhere.

Timh
Covington, Georgia
U.S.A.

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