MSH Homes Inc

MSH Homes was hired to build our dream home in Chesapeake in 2016. Steve Hartman, owner of MSH Homes, came highly recommended by a friend who had previously used him to build their home. We initially felt comfortable with Steve and his willingness to build a custom home for us. His price was very competitive, which should have been our first clue. After about 6 months on a project that was projected to take 4-6 months to complete, we realized that the project was months behind schedule, and that we would be lucky to have a finished home within 12 months total time. The situation was made worse by the fact that the home we would be moving out of would need to be rented, and it was virtually impossible to time a renter with completions of a project where very little progress was being made, and where the was no end in sight. Thus begins our saga. Our home was finally completed after approximately 11+ months of construction, which as mentioned before was about 5 months past the estimated time. In addition, there were multiple problems with the home that Steve assured us would be taken care of after closing. The most pressing problem became a failed septic system. The system was installed by Renew the Bay, owned and operated by septic engineer Mike White. Our drain field failed as soon as the system was started. Septic effluent began to bubble up on the surface of the drain field, and eventually ended up creating puddles, which became mud pits, which became a swamp. The swamp is a wonderful medium with which to breed mosquitos, other insects, and frogs, which invade the house every night during the spring/summer/fall. Mike White has a trail of failed septic systems throughout the Chesapeake area, which at this point are too numerous to count. Steve worked closely with Mike and Renew the Bay, using them on several new construction projects throughout Great Bridge and Hickory. After we were shown the plan and location of the septic system, Mike and Steve claimed that they were unaware that our property was subject to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation rules, and decided at the last minute to redesign our system, while at the same time relocating the system as well. We later discovered that this was in fact a lie, and that they elected to design a system that was significantly cheaper than the original system we were shown, which was designed by Kim Harper. Not only that, originally it had been slated to be placed in the back yard, but was relocated to the front yard for some unknown and fictitious reason, which we later discovered was also due to cost. Needless to say, our system failed from the outset. To make matters worse, Steve and Mike tried to blame a tree removal company that we had hired to remove a large pine tree in our front yard. The tree had restricted the location of where we had to place the driveway relative to the drain field, such that a wayward vehicle would not accidentally drive over and damage the drain field. Mike and Steve tried to say that the tree company had damaged the drain field, despite the fact that the tree company had been given strict instructions to avoid that portion of the yard, and that my neighbor had observed the entire tree removal process while it was happening, and verified that they had come nowhere hear the drain field. The failed septic system was first detected in January of 2017, and yet now, in October of 2019, it has not been repaired or replaced by Steve Hartman, MSH Homes or Renew the Bay/Mike White. In fact, it is rumored that Mike White has left the state, but I cannot personally verify that fact. I do know that Renew the Bay has several active permits with Chesapeake Health Department that are awaiting installation, so theoretically, he could still be out there installing new systems for unsuspecting homeowners. Finally, when it seemed that we were not going to reach any kind of agreement with Steve Hartman on our own, we engaged legal counsel with attorney Albert Hartley, located in Great Bridge area of Chesapeake. After approximately 12 months and $15,000 in attorney fees, we were ultimately advised by Mr. Hartley (and a parade of his associate attorneys), to continue to wait for MSH to repair the drain field. This despite multiple plans by Mr. Hartley et al. to file suit, then delay filing suit, then plan to file, then delay again, then plan to file yet again, then delay filing, and on and on. After attempting to express our dissatisfaction with his advise, Mr. Hartley instead chose to cease representation for us in our case against MSH Homes. As would be suspected, we were extremely disappointed with not only the representation we received, but also the continued lack of action by Steve Hartman and MSH Homes. We found new representation with Pender and Coward’s Chesapeake office, and are now on our second lead attorney with them, due to the appointment of our first attorney to a judgeship in Chesapeake. Despite another $20,000+ in fees and 18 months time, we are no further along in our suit against MSH Homes than we were 30 days after moving into the home. Steve Hartman has, on multiple occasions, agreed in principle to repair the septic system, repair structural deficiencies of the home, and to otherwise follow through with actually finishing the project as per our contract with him. However, NOTHING has been completed. In fact, he has blamed US for not allowing him access to the property, which he cannot prove. Our only requirement for him to have access to the property was that we wanted to arrange our own expert to observe any action he or Renew the Bay took in repair of the septic system, so that we could have independent expert verification that a) it was not the tree service that damaged the drain field as they had claimed, and b) that work completed by them was done properly, so as to avoid further failure of the system. He continues to refuse to bring our septic system into compliance with Chesapeake City code. The system that was originally installed was approved using the daily per-bedroom capacity used in North Carolina, which is too small for the number of bedrooms in the home based on Virginia Code requirements. (Long story as to the details, but suffice it to say, it has to meet Virginia requirements if there is repair to a septic system, regardless of how it was originally installed. Ours was installed with a capacity of 120 gallons per day, when the Virginia Code requires 150 gallons per day. Again, this change was made for cost savings, and we were not notified or asked to approved the change by MSH or Renew the Bay.) When completing the grading of the yard, Steve decided that it was a good idea to bring in 30 truckloads of sand to do the job. His explanation was that sand was the only fill material that would work at that time year (it was a very wet winter at that point) in order to allow for drainage and drying of the soil. Not only that, the yard was graded by MSH so as to have septic effluent draining directly into the front yard to collect at the front door of the home, seeping into and contaminating the crawl space with partially treated human waste. After the fact, we were told by actual QUALIFIED grading contractors that sand was the LAST thing we wanted to use, as it HELD the water, and would not allow it to dry out unless it was graded appropriately with adequate drainage. We ended up with neither appropriate grading nor adequate drainage. However, we did have the benefit of living in a yard completely comprised of sand, with the wonderful experience of having sand tracked throughout the house every time we walked outside for almost 2 years, from the time of moving in until we were finally assured by our attorneys that we could start repairs on our own without damaging our case against MSH. What a joy to live with sand without even the benefit of the being at the beach! Steve’s plumber failed to connect the drain from the shower of the guest bathroom to the central drain system, so that the shower was draining directly into the crawl space onto the plastic vapor barrier, leaving thousands of gallons of water just sitting in what was supposed to be a sealed and conditioned crawl space. When Steve was notified of the oversight in drain plumbing, his response was “I find that hard to believe,” despite the fact that we had video evidence of the lack of a drain pipe, with water coming out of the drain! The HVAC system of the home was so poorly designed by Ampmor Electric that our master bedroom and the guest bedroom are generally >5 degrees warmer on hot days than the other 2 zones in the home, and yet the HVAC contractor does not seem to have a solution, nor an understanding of the problem that makes any logical sense, as to how to optimize the function of the system to remedy this situation. I have had 2 different HVAC contractors look at the system, and independently they both arrived at the same conclusion: that our system was completely inappropriately designed for our floorpan, and should be removed and replaced with an appropriate system. In fact, there are so many cracks along joints and the ceiling lines, to include the pain on all of the doors to kitchen cabinets that was caused by the uncontrolled humidity level in the home, that we are going to have to pay to have the entire interior of the home re-caulked and painted, also at our own expense. Even the wood flooring has started to warp and split along the grain of individual planks due to the uncontrolled humidity inside the house. Eventually, Ampmor Electric quit returning my calls and quit coming out to the house to further work on the system. They claim that my attic is too hot, and that there is direct sun on the line to the master bedroom and guest room, despite the fact that it is impossible for direct sun to make it to that part of the attic. Also, Ampmor cannot seem to figure out how to get the dehumidifier that I paid for to work properly. The last solution they came up with was to take air from inside the house, run it through the dehumidifier, and then vent it outside! That makes no sense at all! Why dehumidify the air in the first place, if we were going to just vent it back outside. All of these problems, and yet there has been no action by MSH Homes to remedy any of these situations. It has become such a joke to talk about the entire experience that we just shake our heads when talking to friends about our situation. It is unbelievable to me that a contractor can be allowed to essentially walk away from a situation like ours, after we have been sited by the Health Department for having a failed septic system, and we have literally no recourse as to how to hold him responsible for the literal toilet we are living in. Fortunately, we have since had the yard regraded, so as to have the septic effluent draining away from the house, and have made some other revisions made to the house to make it livable. In summary, I have described just a fraction of the issues we have had with our home built by Steve Hartman doing business as MSH Homes, Inc. PLEASE, beware if you choose to work with this company or this individual. I also would not recommend MSH Homes, Steve Hartman, Ampmor Electric or Renew the Bay/Mike White for anything, under any circumstances. Steve Hartman is not someone to be trusted, to be counted on to do competent work, to finish a job on time, or to do what is right to complete a job the right way. All we asked for in our dealings with him was for competent work to be completed, and for communication as to any issues that arose. He continually failed to meet time lines, lied directly to my face, and denied responsibility for problems. At one point, he accused my wife and I of “expecting perfection.” We only expected a quality job in constructing our home. My experience with Steve is that he has not been truthful, has not been forthcoming as to why something is not finished on schedule, and becomes angry and combative when the quality of his work is questioned. He frequently gave the explanation that “as soon as I close on another house, yours will be my top priority.” This was NEVER the case. Incidentally, if he is working on a project during hunting season, it is far more likely to find him in the woods tracking a deer than working on your project. Perhaps this explains why he was so far behind on our job! I do not recommend Steve Hartman or MSH Homes to build a dog house, let alone a house for people to live in. Engage him at your own risk. Good luck.

I called MSH three times and left messages for them to call me to set a time to walk through the project. MSH never returned my calls.

Steve and his crew did a great job from the planing and design phase to the completion of the house

We have lived in our home 9 months and I could not be happier with it. The quality is there!! Mr. Hartman and his team did an excellent job. I stopped by the house almost every day during the last month of construction and everyone I met was kind and allowed me to ask questions and see what they were doing. My home is just beautiful! There are details and touches included with this home that we could not find in other builders such as crown molding, engineered hardwood and tile, ceiling fans in every room and a water softening system. We were very impressed with what we received for the price of our home and I wouldn't hesitate to have them build a home for someone in my family. Love MSH Homes!

His team was professional and work completed in a timely manner. There were a few hiccups with electrical and painting, but Steve stayed on his team and promptly corrected each issue. I have had quite a few contractors at my house and I have to say, Steve Hartman is one of the best with which I have worked. He honored his contract and completed the punch list items. In fact, we had a large picture window with two side lights. He was supposed to replace the side lights with functioning windows but found that it could not be done without replacing the huge picture window as well. He replaced all three windows with no extra charge to us. I would not only use this contractor again, but I would recommend him to friends and family.

Very well.

I called MSH Homes and setup an appointment with Steve Hartman to come out and take a look at my job site. Prior to this, I had called several other contractors and had mixed results. Many contractors didn?t even return my call. One contractor went so far as to setup an appointment with me and then failed to show for the appointment. The fact that Steve took the time to answer my call, setup an appointment and then show up for the appointment was huge. For our first appointment, Steve called and told me that he would be a few minutes late. This may sound like a small courtesy but is a reflection of how Steve handled the job from start to finish ? professionally and in consideration of my time. Steve kept me informed and ?in the know? at all times. Before, during and to job completion, Steve kept a good line of communication open between me and him. I always knew what to expect next in the progression of my project. This kept us both on the same page and helped to avoid any misunderstandings throughout project progression. In a related note, Steve was easily accessible from job start to job completion. I never felt like I was playing phone tag or trying to chase him down. Steve made the entire process of completing the project very easy and smooth. He listened to my concerns and requests and addressed each one making sure everything that needed to be done in order to see the project to a successful completion got done. In addition, I feel as though he adequately manned the project. Every day that weather permitted something could have been done on the garage construction, something was done. I never felt like Steve started my project and then abandoned it half way through to go work on another project. Again, a ?small? thing making a big difference in my overall satisfaction. I feel like Steve is an honest hard working guy who won?t try to ?pull one over? on the client. He is more concerned about doing a good job and getting it done right than making a quick buck and then moving on to the next job. This is the kind of company that you want working on your next home improvement project. I would definitely recommend MSH Homes to friends and family and would use them again in the future.

MSH provided a well structured home built to a personalized floor plan suited to our family. It was easy to reach the builder at all times, and his crew was extremely professional. This was an outstanding experience and all of my friends get this companies name when I get asked of anyone who does remodeling or home improvements also. Thanks MSH Homes for doing a top quality job on a reasonable budget!

There was a small delay due to completing another job, but Steve came thru when we had to move our horses. All workers were polite and respectful of our property. They cleaned up at the end of each day. We had a need for a specific type of electric fencing and Steve did his research on how to properly install the fencing and showed us how to test and tension it. Plan on calling Steve when we have the money to replace the front porch wooden railings with vinyl. Would definitely use MSH Homes again.

There were some small issues that popped up from time to time, but Steve was quick to correct them and was very easy to work with. I would definitely use him again for other projects.

Everything has gone really well, and he is working with us to stay within a budget. We had some miscommuncations in the beginning, but I believe those have all been resolved.

very good, see first post for details.

I had a good experience with them. They were polite and straightforward.

It went very well and very fast. Steve came and gave my husband and I an estimate, but this entire job was done while my husband was away. Any questions I had were answered right away. All debris was hauled away. We are so very pleased with the outcome. We would most certainly hire him again

OBTAINED MSH HOMES INC. OWNED BY STEVEN HARTMAN.. TO BUILT AN 18 X 30 ADDITION TO BACK OF OUR HOME..THIS COMPANY HAS PREFORMED AN OUTSTANDING JOB. EVERYTHING WAS DONE AS REQUESTED..AND WENT ABOVE AND BEYOND IN QUALITY OF WORKMANSHIP. WAS GIVEN ON SITE APPRAISAL.. ESTIMATED TIME TO COMPLETE STRUCTURE WAS 2 TO 2 1/2 WEEKS.. ACTUAL JOB TOOK 1 WEEK TO COMPLETE..WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND STEVE AND HIS CREW FOR ANY JOBS.. EVERYONE WAS VERY PROFESSIONAL AND COURTEOUS..WE HAVE TAKEN PHOTOS FORM BEGINNING TO END OF CONSTRUCTION.. ANYONE WANTING TO VIEW OUR PHOTOS FEEL FREE TO EMAIL ME AT shadowgram3@msn.com ..

MSH company owner (STEVE) called, visited, quoted a competitive price, competitive timing, a minimal sub-contractor verbal guarantee and invited us to two of his spec homes to help us envision the quality of this work. We signed with MSH soon after and work began on the date promised. We are no nonsense people and were looking for a down to earth and practical builder that we could trust in our home and who could appreciate what we were looking for - quality, honesty and timing. Demo happened in less than a day and the rest of the work was honestly a blur - it happened so well and so quickly. The job was finished within the 3 weeks quoted (cumulatively only 13 days) - granted cabinets came in a week early. But what impressed me most about MSH was their responsiveness, timeliness, diligence and friendly demeanor. To boot, they received quality critique from me without objection, fixing anything (no matter how small) and ensuring my satisfaction. I will absolutely hire them again for our Master Bathroom and Recreational Room Addition soon!