Fortis Homes in North Carolina bad business practices, unfair ripoff fees

Do yourself a favor and DO NOT buy a Fortis home(part of the K. Hovnanian family of builders). It seems that since they are one of the few builders who build in the RTP area of North Carolina that offers decent square footage for the $, they also have the attitude that they can charge what they want -whenever they want.

An example of this is thier practice of charging $500 for any changes during the building process. It does not seem to matter if the change is 10 minutes after the contract is written or 2 months after contract. They also seem obligated to charge your $1000 to re-write a contract (as if the $500 fee was not enough). All of these fees are non-refundable and are not credited back to you under any circumstances.

In all fairness, I was aware of the fees before the charge, but because I could not discuss questions I had with the building manager before signing thier contract, I was not aware of other issues that prompted me to make a lot and elevation change. I made no other changes (options, etc) and in fact increased the purchase price of the home by $400. So basically they charged me $500 to spend more money with them.

I contacted the local sales manager as well as the regional sales manager (Mike Johnson) but they all refused to offer any assistance. The reason they gave for the charge was to cover administratiuve cost ($500 and $1000?? - I don't think so!!).

I plan on contacting their corporate offices (K. Hovnanian) to see if they are aware of this practice. I have purchased new homes before, but this is the first time that I have encountered this.

If Pulte is the builder that people complain the most about, with these practices, Fortis won't be far behind. So again, do yourself a favor - and DO NOT buy a Fortis home. Spend your money wisely and pay for a builder that is more concerned with you as a customer(and your satisfaction) than ripping you off by charging unfair fees.