Jacobsen Homes - Custom Home Center - Ocala, FL REFUSES TO STAND BEHIND THEIR WARRANTY Ocala Florida

We purchased our home in 2009.  It is a modular home.  Shortly after we moved in, we realized that there were major problems with the floors.  In the livingroom, there was a floor joist that was warped causing a large area of the floor to be raised and uneven with the rest of the floor. We contacted Custom Homes and their solution was to send someone to put blocks and wood shims under our livingroom floor. While this might be a good solution for a 100 year old historic home, it is not a solution for a brand new home that we may have to sell one day and would never pass an individuals inspection.  Then we noticed that the floors in the other rooms had so much movement when you walked across them (I only weigh 120 lbs) that the furniture that is sitting in the room next to the wall would rock so hard that it would beat against the wall.  We again contacted the company thinking that since they had a 5 year warranty on the floors, it wouldn't be a problem for something to be done. After numerous threats to sue and many, many months later, they finally sent someone to look at the issue.  They agreed that they could indeed see the problem.  They sent us a drawing, supposedly made by their engineer showing an elaborate block addition that would go under our house, that would solve the floor movement issues, and that would look normal, like it was part of the original foundation structure.  We agreed that this was fine.  One day two guys arrived with a small trailer and a few blocks and some wood on the trailer. They said they were there to "block up some places under the house".  When I showed the guys the engineers drawing, they said they had never seen that and most definitely were not qualified to do that work and didn't have the materials either.  We told them that there must be some misunderstanding and sent them away until we could speak to the owner of Custom Homes (Will Petenbrink).  We never heard from them again even though we called and emailed.  Had I not been home at the time they arrived, we would have ended up with a complete mess of blocks and boards under our floors, not to mention the possibility as they jacked up on our floors underneath what would have happened to our tile and wood floors inside.

When we moved in initially, luckily I thought to check all of the plumbing fittings under each sink inside the house to make sure they were tight before turning on the water.  They were all loose, barely connected and running any water would have caused water leaks and floods.

A month after we moved in, my husband happened to be outside near the side of the house where my shower is located while I was in the shower.  Water was squirting out of the side of the house between the bottom of the siding where it meets the foundation.  Upon inspection it was found that the shower drain had never been hooked up and had been draining under the house, into the insulation for a month.

A year after we moved in, we found that the drain line to our utility room sink had never been hooked up and the water had been draining under the house for a year.

There is still a leak around my shower doors, it has stained the wall and baseboard and I fear could be causing mold where I can't see it. This was noticed and mentioned when the men came to look at the floor issue, but they never followed up to do anything about it.

There was a huge Jekyll and Hyde attitude at the company when we first purchased the home. While we were looking and deciding on a floorplan, the owner (Will Petenbrink) was most helpful and cordial.  Literally, on the day that we handed him the down payment check and signed the contract, his entire attitude changed dramatically.  After that day, he wasn't interested in talking to us, he didn't take care of our problems with the house and wouldn't return our calls or emails.  As for the actual manufacturer, they are located in Safety Harbor, Florida and both the service manager and the owner are 2 of the nastiest people I have ever dealt with.  They are extremely rude and obnoxious and during one of my talks with the service manager, he point blank told me "go ahead and sue, but if you're going to go that route, we're not doing anything for you, we're done with you". 

We were told a Jacobsen Home was of quality construction, backed by a great guarantee and that we would be taken care of in case of any issues or problems with our home.  We spent our life savings as a down payment on a home that is embarrassing to entertain in since I am always aware of the furniture beating the walls when company walks across a room.