ESSEX HOMES

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Fairly easy to work with. Quality materials. A few mistakes were made during the process but corrections were made.

We moved into our house in 2003 and within a couple of days had a gully-washer storm. The back yard, which is slightly sloped uphill, had not been sodded and guts in the soil were about a feet deep with water rising under the windows. My husband was outside in raingear and a shovel digging ditches to avert the water away from the house. We called the house builder - who was Premier/Essex at that time - and they had no solutions for us - really didn't want to know about it! County officials even came out in the pouring rain to see the problem and offered no solutions! When we finally sodded the yard, Essex, in hindsight, said that they should have put in some wales. Woodwork was not sanded before painting and has rough spots throughout the house. Door frames did not meet the door edge for proper closing and had to be reset. Because and quot;paddingand quot; was not placed over concrete before installing ceramic tile on bathroom floors, tiles cracked and flooring had to be redone. Carpet is buckling. The biggest problem was with the heating/cooling system - problems which started while the house was still under warranty! In our house we not only have a FROG but an additional bathroom and bedroom in the upper level. Essex was not smart enough to realize that a single zone HVAC system would not handle the heat in the FROG level of the house. In the summer it was always humid and very hot up there, even with the air conditioning on. Multiple times we called Essex about the problem - during the warranty period, and beyond. They sent their HVAC people out to look at the problem and the answer was always the same - there is nothing wrong. That was interesting as we had the motor in the outside unit replaced twice and it was about to burn up again because it was straining to push air. We finally got three other HVAC companies to look at the situation and give us estimates to remedy the situation. All three told us the same thing - the flexible tubes in the attic are constricted and not allowing air to circulate and that a two-zone system is needed to handle the FROG level. The solution: take out the flexible tubes, install rigid tubes and a two-zone system. Because Essex would not acknowledge the problem with the HVAC, and the problem persisted, we went ahead with the installation of a new two-zone system with an outside HVAC company. We had hoped that Essex would fix the problem. Since they did not, we then hoped they would at least partially reimburse us for the new system. They fought that idea and subsequently refused a reimbursement. We understand Essex has improved their building techniques - we hope so! A word of advice for all homebuyers - when you are looking at your choice of a house, be sure to go into the attic and look over the installation of the air ducts. There should be no crimps or folds and it should look orderly. Better yet, have someone other than the builder's HVAC person inspect the system. And, if the house has a FROG and other rooms in the upper level, opt for a two-zone system. Don't take the builder's word for anything - get an outside inspection and opinion before signing your name to that contract or deed.

I am a Realtor and have had 6 clients this year purchase a new Essex home and 1 resale. I feel confident in the quality, energy efficiency, and all over customer service from Essex when showing my clients what Essex has to offer in the housing market. They offer a wide range of pricing to fit home buyer's needs and standard features which are often upgrades for other local builders. The only negative experience was time of completion on 2 of the homes that were build jobs which Essex has now seemed to have corrected. I would definitely recommend Essex to prospective home buyers.