Ryan Homes Sold Us the Lot From Hell Medina Ohio

My husband (he's my ex now) and I contracted for Ryan Homes to build us a home in Florida back in 1989. We spent a lot of time making a decision on what lot we wanted. Being the daughter of a builder in Arizona, I would never pay a lot premium because that expense is never fully recovered through property value increases. On resale your home is of the same value as similar homes built on non-premium lots.

As for our lot we selected from Ryan, only a few lots would accommodatde the floor plan we had choosen. They tried to talk us into a premium lot but we refused. I pointed out one lot that if the home was built with the garage on the right, the house would fit. We all met at the lot with the construction supervisor and it was confirmed that it would fit that way (we paid close attention to the set-backs required by the county). So with that information, we signed a contract (the contract specifically stated that the garage was to be on the right when looked at the street).

When the footing forms were in place but prior to the footings being poured, I was shocked to see that the garage was on the left....they had flipped the floor plan and the garage would be 3 feet into the setback. I immediately notified the contruction supervisor, our saleswoman and the head of the local Ryan office. All three assured me that everything was ok and that even if the house did go into the setback (I repeatedly told them that it would by a minimum of three feet and also reminded them that our contract specified the layout) they would just apply for a variance with the county. I was also told that the county approved such variances all the time.

I checked with the county and found that they as a rule approved these kinds of variances.

A week prior to closing date, I opened the morning paper to discover that the county was changing its stance because they were fed up with builders ignoring set backs and applying for variances to correct the problem. Ryan homes assured me that they would apply for the variance that day and all would be ok.

Lo and behold the county refused to even accept the variance request and told the builder to correct the problem or they would not issue a certificate of occupancy (required for us to close). Ryan Homes' district manager (I do not recall his name, it has been 15 years) called me and matter-of-factly informed me that we had three choices:

1) Pick another lot and they would build us another house (we had already arranged for our move, given our landlord notice, etc and to delay moving another 6 months would be extremely costly for us)

2) Ryan would tear down 3 feet of the garage so that the home would comply with the setbacks and we could close on schedule(who wants a garage that is three feet too short, especially when the garages were small to begin with?)

3) They would just cancel the contract and we could go elsewhere (same problems for us as in #1)

After discussing the whole mess with my husband, (now ex) we decided that we would not accept any of their offers. I notified Ryan that none of the choices was acceptable and that we wanted their model home for the same price as the home we were suppose to purchase. Ryan said they would check into it and get back to us. I received a call back about 15 mins later and was told we could have the model home for $36,000 more than the other house. He said the additional amount was necessary because of the all the upgrades in the model (screened in porch, jacuzzi tub in Master bath, solid oak cabinets etc, the model was worth at least this additional amount of money). He offered to throw in all the appliances and window coverings at no additional charge (I had no need for any of the appliances and had already ordered and paid for the window coverings I wanted). Again I told him I wanted the model for our original purchase price because I had told them 6 months prior that the house would not fit on the lot they way they had it. He said no way and hung up on me. Ryan refused our repeated calls.

NVR and the mortgage company (also owned by Ryan's parent company) also refused our calls. We quickly consulted the Air Force Base legal office (got an appointment for that same day) and the attorney informed us that we were "in the driver seat" since Ryan had not built the house per the contract and they could not deliver possession within the confines of the contract. Ryan was notified of our decision to sue unless we were allowed to purchase the model at the lower price.

We thought that the matter was resolved.....we were wrong. Within hours, our already approved mortgage was no longer approved (supposedly due to a significant change in income to debt ratio, yet there was no change, but remember the mortgage company, real estate company and builder were all owned by the same parent company) and now according to Ryan we were in breach of contract. I quickly started calling other mortgage companies and was able to find one that was willing to push through a VA loan within 10 days. The only thing that could hold it up would be getting a VA appraisal on the model home quickly. Now we were again in charge.

Within the 10 days our mortgage was funded and we closed on our new home...with all the extras. The model we had just bought from Ryan Homes was their only model. They opted not to build another one and they seemed to disappear. They completed several other homes that were sold and already started, but they did not start any new homes after that. There was one thing that tolds us that they were still around, and that was the original house they built for us. They opted to shortened the garage but it was so obvious when you looked at the house. From inside the garage is was even more evident. Ryan placed a for sale sign on the house and while lots of families looked at it, it was still unsold when we moved away from that neighborhood.

The lessons to be learned here are:

1) Never trust what you are told
2) Get it in writing if it is important to you
3) Make sure you know EVERY DETAIL your contract states, you may need to know your rights, the provisions and your responsibilities to keep from getting ripped off.
4) If you feel you have been ripped off and you have it in writing, stand your ground
5) Get a professonal opinion if you are not clear about things
6) Expect them to do ANYTHING, even if its illegal to get out of their self-made mess
7) If all else fails and you can prove you have a case...take them to court

Good Luck

I have been through a similar, yet not identical situation with Ryan homes and my lot. To put it simply, it was NOT what I was promised by the sales rep and Ryan refused to aklowkedge that they has assured my that I would recieve anyhting more than I did. If I were you I would DEMAND...

1. A full refund of the lot premium
2. Ryan homes pay for the installation of a total barrier behind you home in the form of some mature, 10-12 foot evergreens, work to be completed by a professional landscaper with all trees met with your approval prior to installation.

Basically, get your money back AND have Ryan put back what they took away, you may lose a few feet of yard, but replacing your privacy barrier will be well worth it. Trust me, Ryan deals with these types of situations all of the time and frequently , give you what you ask for if the demand is made loud enough. Also, go as high as you can in dealing with the brass at Ryan, head office is easy to locate.

Best of luck.

I have been through a similar, yet not identical situation with Ryan homes and my lot. To put it simply, it was NOT what I was promised by the sales rep and Ryan refused to aklowkedge that they has assured my that I would recieve anyhting more than I did. If I were you I would DEMAND...

1. A full refund of the lot premium
2. Ryan homes pay for the installation of a total barrier behind you home in the form of some mature, 10-12 foot evergreens, work to be completed by a professional landscaper with all trees met with your approval prior to installation.

Basically, get your money back AND have Ryan put back what they took away, you may lose a few feet of yard, but replacing your privacy barrier will be well worth it. Trust me, Ryan deals with these types of situations all of the time and frequently , give you what you ask for if the demand is made loud enough. Also, go as high as you can in dealing with the brass at Ryan, head office is easy to locate.

Best of luck.

I have been through a similar, yet not identical situation with Ryan homes and my lot. To put it simply, it was NOT what I was promised by the sales rep and Ryan refused to aklowkedge that they has assured my that I would recieve anyhting more than I did. If I were you I would DEMAND...

1. A full refund of the lot premium
2. Ryan homes pay for the installation of a total barrier behind you home in the form of some mature, 10-12 foot evergreens, work to be completed by a professional landscaper with all trees met with your approval prior to installation.

Basically, get your money back AND have Ryan put back what they took away, you may lose a few feet of yard, but replacing your privacy barrier will be well worth it. Trust me, Ryan deals with these types of situations all of the time and frequently , give you what you ask for if the demand is made loud enough. Also, go as high as you can in dealing with the brass at Ryan, head office is easy to locate.

Best of luck.

I have been through a similar, yet not identical situation with Ryan homes and my lot. To put it simply, it was NOT what I was promised by the sales rep and Ryan refused to aklowkedge that they has assured my that I would recieve anyhting more than I did. If I were you I would DEMAND...

1. A full refund of the lot premium
2. Ryan homes pay for the installation of a total barrier behind you home in the form of some mature, 10-12 foot evergreens, work to be completed by a professional landscaper with all trees met with your approval prior to installation.

Basically, get your money back AND have Ryan put back what they took away, you may lose a few feet of yard, but replacing your privacy barrier will be well worth it. Trust me, Ryan deals with these types of situations all of the time and frequently , give you what you ask for if the demand is made loud enough. Also, go as high as you can in dealing with the brass at Ryan, head office is easy to locate.

Best of luck.