Urbane Homes LLC

We contracted this "custom home builder" because they had the floorplan we were interested in. We were leery at first as they were unheard of, but contacted previous clients they provided us and they checked out. The BBB had nothing on them, we visited a home under construction and it was nice and seemed to be progressing well. We then looked over their construction contract. It is written very heavily to protect them and puts no constraints on their progress or requires them to properly warranty their work (realized this in retrospect). Construction began 5 weeks late due them being unable to secure a loan from THEIR bank. All the while we were kept in the dark. At the time, we were living in an apartment as we had sold our house and signed a lease on their assurances they could build the house in 4 months. We signed a 6 month lease to give ample allowance for delays. As it turned out, we were very nearly evicted at the end of 8 months, the limit of extension. (They knew this and used it to pressure us into accepting a very flawed house.)To begin, as stated, they started late. The excavation revealed a problem with an enormous amount of water from an unknown source. We were told by the builder that the plumber "had hit the water table when he dug the basement rough-in." He assured us that its no problem and that no mitigation is necessary except for the sump pump. One would expect a "professional" home builder to have consulted the proper experts to determine this. As construction continued, water continued to plague the build.Framing was delayed such that they had to have the finish carpenter frame the house which extended the delays as that was the first house the finish carpenters had framed. This house utilzes Extruded Polystyrene Foam panels in lieu of wood for the walls and there was confusion as to whether or not it should have house wrap on it. There were numerous holes in the EPS panels due to hammers or other protrusions that were found by us that are suspect as to whether or not they were repaired prior to insulation installation. I found one not repaired and had to plug it myself. Regarding the insulation, instead of ordering the correct unfaced batts, they used the faced batts and ripped the kraft paper off of it and in the process we ended up losing a portion of the fiberglass that was stuck to the paper, reducing our R value.When the house was nearly 75% complete, we found about 4 inches of standing water in the basement. The walls were up and the hardwood was on the way, and we had enough water to fill the 8 inches of rock below the basement floor and 4 inches above. Rough numbers put it at 1500 cubic feet of water. It turned out the builder had unplugged the sump pump. When asked, he said it must have been the rain leaking in from a broken window. Too much water to be rainfall, but assumed it was from the "high water table." He also blamed it on the house not being guttered and the final grading not yet being accomplished.We selected a vinyl siding color from a chip he had in his office. Once installed, it looked like a different color. We voiced this to the builder, but he assured us it was our selection, but that it may look different on the house because of natural light, more coverage, etc. For 2 weeks, everytime we saw him, he always commented on how much he liked the vinyl color. Hating the color as much as we did, we enlisted the assistance of a professional decorator to help to ease its shock. We chose "Adobe Cream" and it looked canary yellow. The decorator suggested we change the vinyl on the garage to a vinyl shake product of a different but complementary color. She met us at the house after we picked up samples the builder had obtanined. He said the charge to change the whole house vinyl is $2200 and $700 for just the garage. After seeing the sample wheel we chose the original vinyl from and what was on the house, it was obvious to the designer that it wasn't what we chose. It acually matched a "Natural Cream" from the color wheel of the shake product (a different manufacturer). I approached the builder and when confronted with this, he immediately admitted it. He said then that they "will do anything to make it right." Only the next day did we get an emaiil stating that they would only put what what we wanted and not a different color. (we had expressed, since the brick color we chose with the original vinyl color wasn't available and had to change, we would like a different color vinyl to match the new brick choice) He made this claim just out of spite. He then went on to side with his vinyl installer over us saying that we were "just being difficult and the colors were close enough). The roof is a nightmare. 9 days after we moved in, a hailstorm hit the house and 2 independent experts deemed the roof installation to be a mess. Incorrectly installed flashing, no ice and water in the valleys, shingles held on by 3 nails, etc. The hailstorm is a godsend as we are getting a proper roof. (The installer of the original roof showed up after the storm and offered if we would allow him to start that day, he would, "make it so that we don't have a deductable." That's illegal) During construction, there was a roof leak at the fireplace in the upstairs bedroom AFTER they offered that "the roofers were just here double-checking everything was okay."The flooring is a joke. It took 3 tries to get the hardwood down. We went with the recommendation of their flooring company's manager and the planks were incorrectly milled (inconsistent widths) such that you could stand a quarter on its end and roll it a portion of the length of the plank. They ripped it out and tried again only to have the same result. They then expected us to allow for a week delay while they decided who would pay for the tear out/reinstall. No. Its your problem, you deal with it, but we are going to get another floor started ASAP. After the insisted its their policy to wait, they relented and we picked out another manufacturer. The 3rd floor, while a completely different color and non-matching to the original color scheme we decided on (paint and cabinets), is down, but the install is fair to poor. We have gotten splinters off of the raised edges and there are gaps, lots of them. The carpet was installed with what can only be assumed is the cheapest pad available. When you walk, you feel the nails or staples holding it down underfoot. Currently, due to the high moisture content in the house, the hardwood is beginning to cup. This was a custom house from the beginning, but when when we selected lighting, from his "suppliers" he failed to order them. He expected to be able to go in and pull them off the shelf. When pressed, he claimed, "I've never had to order lights for a client." Really? A custom house that doesn't have custom lights? The "included" fixtures are the cheapest offered at the home improvement warehouse.Back to the water issue. We discussed, at length whether or not there was an exterior perimeter drain. We made it very clear before we even agreed to build that if we used this lot, the grade, higher in the backyard than the front, would have to allow for water to be moved from around the foundation. We were given assurances that the proper drains would be used. Believing that, I requested to be shown the exit for the perimeter drain. They said it drains to the interior drain tile that exits to the sump pump. They doubled the volume my sump pump has to handle. They offered to daylight the perimeter drain only to renig on it one day before closing. Now, we find that our sump pump runs at least 3 times per hour and water is draining from a crack between our driveway and the street. This was curious as the driveway is very steep. Prior to closing, we had a home inspection and the inspector found that the grading was not properly accomplished at several locations, the worst of which was at an egress window well. When brought up, they put some retaining blocks and a couple of wheelbarrows of dirt there. It failed miserably and we got water in the basement after rain. We have since found out from the grader and inspectors that it is obvious that there was never a finish grade done. The builder claims that it was, but the person he claims did it mantains they were told NOT TO.So, after having 3 plumbers, 2 geotechnical engineers (remember the water table claim), a geologist and the original excavator/grader, it is determined that this house was knowingly built on a natural spring with no non-mechanical mitigation installed and no finish grade. Both engineers agreed that the spring is likely located near or behind the 3 feet of rock under the driveway which is acting as a large holding reservior for the spring output. The geology supports this and is irrefutable. This builder, when presented with the engineers findings and geological data first said they would "do what the engineers say," but the next day folded his arms and claimed to not be responsible for site conditions. As the legal process begins there, this report will end under advisement of legal counsel.Other issues: No pulls on the cabinets/drawers that are self-closing (impossible to open without pulls). I had to buy and install them myself.No fireplace front. Just an insert with no doors or finish. We have to buy them to the tune of $750. They are 2 former site superintendents from a production homebuilder who have little to no oversight of their subcontractors. There is no such thing as deadlines, supervision, or quality control. They did little more than make phone calls to subs to schedule work that they had no oversight of.We currently live in a house that may end up with mold, structural movement and continuous moisture that has a steady stream of water filtering through the driveway. See attached pics and AVOID!!!