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Homeowner continues battle with Lennar Homes, Inc.
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| Bennett points out flaws in her foundation back in Aug. Bennett said Lennar has yet to make arrangements to repair her foundation, which she believes is the cause of some of the problems in her house. |
By VALERIE JONES
It’s been more than a month since Jeryl Bennett gave representatives from Lennar Homes, Inc. 30 days to buy back her house or end up in court. Bennett said since then, nothing has been resolved.
Bennett is a resident of Hanover Forest subdivision near Interstate 45 in Spring and she has been fighting with her home builders Lennar since she purchased her home brand-new in 2004.
Bennett complained of numerous structural damages in her home and said that Lennar, along with the Texas Residential Construction Commission, refused to properly repair the damages, causing a significant drop in the worth of her home.
“My engineer said the only way this house will be secure is to fix the foundation,” Bennett said. “I have three proposals from different roofing companies. They said they wouldn’t touch this house until the bottom (foundation) is stable.”
Lennar regional president Don Luke and Daris Horn, Lennar customer care manager, met with Bennett at her home Sept. 19.
“My buyback letter stated that if I were to stay in this house, I wanted cable locks to secure the foundation and a transferrable lifetime warranty on my home,” Bennett said. “He (Luke) told me if that would make me happy, then he would meet those demands and would send me a letter saying so.”
Bennett received a letter from Lennar dated Sept. 26 with Lennar offering two options: a) Lennar will replace Bennett’s ceramic tile, repair corners of her foundation, make all framing repairs, scrap and re-patch areas of the foundation, provide on-site supervision during all repairs, provide Bennett with an alternate living allowance of $130/day during repairs, offer an extended warranty on repairs and a monetary amount to cover any out-of-pocket expenses or b) purchase Bennett’s home.
The letter states that Bennett, “has a lovely home that (Lennar) feels is very marketable and structurally sound.”
Bennett was not satisfied with the amount Lennar offered her to buy back her home, citing she purchased it at $134,000 and added equity and interest.
“I would expect $140,000 is what they should buy this house back for,” Bennett said. “This letter was a slap in the face.”
Bennett said she spoke with Horn Oct. 1 and said Horn told her if she was not happy with the options, Lennar would offer her another one.
“I told them I wasn’t accepting any of that offer because it wasn’t what we discussed,” she said. “I’m not trying to play hardball with Lennar, I just want to be safe.”
Bennett said she plans on finding an attorney and seeking litigation through a courtroom. She said she’s received so many emails from other homeowners with similar stories in areas all over Houston, including the Woodlands and Conroe, that she is going to set up a website that will help Lennar homeowners deal with structural defects.
“This will be an outlet for them to learn how to find help,” Bennett said. “I know how they feel because buying a home is a big investment.”
Bennett said she will continue to fight Lennar and is hopeful that her work will pay off in the end.
“I’m singing the same song over and over again. This should be a wake-up call for Lennar to do right by their consumers,” she said. “Even if I settle with Lennar tomorrow, I will still help people fight.”
Bennett’s email address is jreal@att.net.
Phone calls to Lennar Homes, Inc. were not returned as of press time.
Bennett is a resident of Hanover Forest subdivision near Interstate 45 in Spring and she has been fighting with her home builders Lennar since she purchased her home brand-new in 2004.
Bennett complained of numerous structural damages in her home and said that Lennar, along with the Texas Residential Construction Commission, refused to properly repair the damages, causing a significant drop in the worth of her home.
“My engineer said the only way this house will be secure is to fix the foundation,” Bennett said. “I have three proposals from different roofing companies. They said they wouldn’t touch this house until the bottom (foundation) is stable.”
Lennar regional president Don Luke and Daris Horn, Lennar customer care manager, met with Bennett at her home Sept. 19.
“My buyback letter stated that if I were to stay in this house, I wanted cable locks to secure the foundation and a transferrable lifetime warranty on my home,” Bennett said. “He (Luke) told me if that would make me happy, then he would meet those demands and would send me a letter saying so.”
Bennett received a letter from Lennar dated Sept. 26 with Lennar offering two options: a) Lennar will replace Bennett’s ceramic tile, repair corners of her foundation, make all framing repairs, scrap and re-patch areas of the foundation, provide on-site supervision during all repairs, provide Bennett with an alternate living allowance of $130/day during repairs, offer an extended warranty on repairs and a monetary amount to cover any out-of-pocket expenses or b) purchase Bennett’s home.
The letter states that Bennett, “has a lovely home that (Lennar) feels is very marketable and structurally sound.”
Bennett was not satisfied with the amount Lennar offered her to buy back her home, citing she purchased it at $134,000 and added equity and interest.
“I would expect $140,000 is what they should buy this house back for,” Bennett said. “This letter was a slap in the face.”
Bennett said she spoke with Horn Oct. 1 and said Horn told her if she was not happy with the options, Lennar would offer her another one.
“I told them I wasn’t accepting any of that offer because it wasn’t what we discussed,” she said. “I’m not trying to play hardball with Lennar, I just want to be safe.”
Bennett said she plans on finding an attorney and seeking litigation through a courtroom. She said she’s received so many emails from other homeowners with similar stories in areas all over Houston, including the Woodlands and Conroe, that she is going to set up a website that will help Lennar homeowners deal with structural defects.
“This will be an outlet for them to learn how to find help,” Bennett said. “I know how they feel because buying a home is a big investment.”
Bennett said she will continue to fight Lennar and is hopeful that her work will pay off in the end.
“I’m singing the same song over and over again. This should be a wake-up call for Lennar to do right by their consumers,” she said. “Even if I settle with Lennar tomorrow, I will still help people fight.”
Bennett’s email address is jreal@att.net.
Phone calls to Lennar Homes, Inc. were not returned as of press time.
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