LEVEL CONSTRUCTION & DEVMNT

After touring the model homes in Shadows of Ascension, we were so impressed with the quality of the homes we saw. Specifically, the Marbury II. It was beautiful right down to the final details. We found the perfect lot and our journey began. We are currently building a home with Level in Shadowbrook Lakes. The initial framing of the house was superb and everything we could have hoped for. Everything went great before the sheetrock was installed. Well, almost everything. The issues started with a floor outlet in the living room. It was put in the slab on the opposite side of the living room from the original plan. It was placed inches from the fireplace. The slab had to be jackhammered and it was eventually moved to the other side of the room. After the driveway was framed, signs went up that said "Don't Pour Driveway". A week later we discovered a 3 ft. deep trench around the front of the house. They had neglected to connect our home to the city sewer line. A few days after our ceiling was painted, the tape began separating on the sheetrock and nearly every seam became very visible. Our kitchen, living room and dining area had large, very visible cracks. We contacted customer relations and this issue was addressed. By addressed, I mean another coat of sheetrock mud was applied and this 2nd layer promptly cracked. It was "repaired" a 2nd time with an even thicker layer of mud and repainted. At our wits' end, we had the builder and his supervisor, along with customer relations meet us at the house. We were told by the builder that once we put blinds up, the seams would be less visible. We were told by his supervisor that our expectations may need to be checked. The ceiling issues were repaired a 3rd and 4th time, and as of today (4 days before we are due to close and move in), the sheetrock seams are so thick that the entire ceiling has a very lumpy appearance. I truly wish I could post photographs. We have once again been assured that Level will "do what they can to fix it". Our patio is another issue. The hardi siding on the patio, an area we plan to spend lots of time, is chipped, cracked and has holes and broken edges. It has such a thin coat of paint, in some areas you can see the original color of the unpainted siding. The individual siding pieces have been hung too closely together and the seams are buckling. Several pieces are hung uneven, and that too is very noticeable. We were previously told, it would be trimmed at the seams and caulked so that would be less noticeable. The plywood for the ceiling of the patio has been put up very uneven and we were 1st told that is just the nature of a plywood ceiling. After further complaints, were told it would be sanded to appear more even. That has not happened. Pieces are uneven by approximately 1/8 " and it is terribly visible. Each of the 4 pieces are secured at a different depth and it looks terrible, like a poor DIY job. The posts on the patio were left unpainted for weeks and developed large cracks. The posts were painted this week, but the cracks and a hole are still very visible. No caulking was done to fill these cracks. These posts look old and very substandard. Visiting the house one evening to see the newly installed wood flooring, we noticed several pools of water in the bedrooms surrounding a hall bathroom. Walking in to the bathroom, we discovered standing water on the bathroom floor. The next day, we reported the water spots to customer relations. She contacted the builder who told her someone left a window open and water got on the wood floor. She relayed this message and we immediately told her this was not true. There was no open window, there was water near the window, but the water was actually along the walls of the bathroom in both bedrooms. We were then told, there was a leak under one of the sinks. The wood floor in one of the rooms was severely damaged and was eventually replaced. There was also some sort of error with the plumbing lines in our kitchen island which contains the kitchen sink and dishwasher. They jackhammered a hole under the island and we have never gotten the actual details on what really happened there. Another issue that has troubled us: We were quoted a base price of our home. (For ease of explanation, I will use round figures although these were not the actual numbers.) The base price was $350,000. After upgrades were added, the sales price was raised to $365,000. We signed paperwork acknowledging the new sales price and agreed to it. We also paid $10,000 for part of the upgrades. Shortly before the appraisal, we were told the sales price of our house had been lowered to $355,000. Level and their preferred title company GMFS deducted the $10,000 we paid for upgrades and lowered the sales price, although we were still paying $365,000. It is interesting to note that the appraisal came in at $354,000...just under the "new" sales price. We have been unable to make sense of this as our upgrades have actually caused the value (sales price) of our house to go down. When we questioned this, we were told this is standard practice. We have consulted with DSLD builders and their title company and they repeatedly told us this is not how they do business. Our opinion, at this point, is they knew our house would never appraise for Level's sales price, so they found a creative way to lower the price so there would be no issues with the lender. Between the 2 of us, my husband and I have built 5 houses, and although there were minor cosmetic issues with each, we have never experienced anything like this. It is laughable. We are embarrassed to have friends or family see our house. This was supposed to be our dream home. We are currently in the middle of a nightmare. If you are thinking of building with Level, feel free to contact me at: candyrray@yahoo.com. I would love to show you the quality of the home you will be getting. Our home looks NOTHING like the model, whose qualityl we thought we purchased. Buyer beware!!!