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Just a couple of highlights. Weiss Homes built the roof with pitch in 2 areas that did not agree to the CAD's they provided at closing. When this was discovered and questioned they chose to lie about the error saying the CAD's were wrong. They weren't "wrong" at closing and they weren't "wrong" on the job site. Somehow the crew "knew" the CAD's were"wrong" and built them "right"?
Weiss Homes didn't install the insulation they promised according to the contract. This was discovered after the siding had commenced. When brought to their attention they said "you'll get it". When asked how, they said "we will not remove any material already installed" and "we don't have to tell you how we are going to do this". During the course of the case, an investigation uncovered other homes that were similarly under-insulated according to their contracts with Weiss Homes.
The owner, David Hill Weiss, and his wife/general counsel for the company, Rita Shell Weiss, would not take calls or allow messages to be taken by their staff from the homeowners. In fact, they instructed all staff not to speak with them and to inform the homeowners they will only accept written communication, which was also in violation of their contract. Rather than discuss resolutions with their customer, they chose to themselves and wondered why a draw check was then canceled. Rather than call, they simply filed a lien against the property for more than $100, 000 of work they had not even performed when they filed the lien.
They ceased construction during the winter, leaving the house partially uninsulated, and with most of the siding not installed. They claimed they were "locked out of the house". Yet, they never requested permission to access the property. They chose to hide behind attorneys. A lawsuit was the only way to combat the lien filed by Weiss Homes. Trial by jury convened in Berrien County, MI civil court with Judge Dewayne in may 2009. Weiss Homes was found guilty of breach of contract and fraud. They were also awarded $0 for their lien. Weiss Homes was represented by Philip Edward Kalamaros of Hunt, Suedohff, Kalamaros, LLP. Weiss Homes has not payed the judgment ordered by the jury and signed by the judge, although the due date for payment has passed.
Good point John Travis. One can't say with certainty that happy3 and mary M are falsifying, but it does seem rather odd that someone who has bought a home and is perfectly happy (almost giddy) about it would stumble onto this post. Only someone with concerns or someone considering a purchase would be searching the internet and find this post. Oh, yeah...there is also someweiss, I mean, someone who only stands to gain by posting "happy ads". Shameful! At least my post is an honest attempt to share a truthful experience.
Consider the fact that the state of Michigan is currently investigating a complaint against Weiss Homes. Moreover, this complaint appears to be on the verge of a formal action filed to which a hearing will be held to determine the ultimate merits of the complaint. Suffice it to say that the old Weiss builder and the new Weiss builder may yet want to reconsider the way they deal with the public. This house of cards has a lot more to lose than any one buyer they have mistreated. History shows time and again that pride comes before a fall. Have they learned their lesson? Have they tried to right their wrongs? Not yet.
To FrankR409...I am glad you feel your experience went well and give big credit to Weiss Homes. Keep in mind, your home was still built by a company that has been caught in breach of their construction contract and was found guilty of fraud.
Are you sure you want to sound as if you would recommend them? Maybe you just aren't AWARE of anything that went wrong. Considering the complexity of building a home, mistakes would be easy to hide if one wanted to do so.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
zibby i agree with you. i like you have large water bills, streets unfinished. in fact of the unfinished streets i blew a tire and had to go buy 4 brand new ones instead. i read wiess's report on where the money is going. in thier report it said they spent over $7000 on mowing the lawn and watering it and maintence in front of the subdivision and also around the pond. i live on the pond i mow my section of the pond not weiss. as for watering or maintence to the pond thats a joke. the pond has only worked for half the year and now its a home for insects. and now they want us to pay another spedcial assessment fee of $237.50. my ### thier gonna get this one, david wiess is con artist. and i regret ever having a house built by them. i am WARNING anyone don't have wiess home build your house. and also i've had to replace or fix many things in my home already because it was cheaply made or it just broke. so once again to everyone out there " WARNING" stay away from wiess homes. david wiess will RIP U OFF.
Having built with Weiss I would say I know a thing or two. Watch out for special assessments on top of your Homeowners Dues, larger than normal water bills, unfinished streets that aren't plowed in the winter. Weiss Homes and the Homeowners Associations are very hard to talk to, you have to go through their lawyers. That's a family friendly business...hah!
does anyone know the citation for this case against weiss? my husband and i built a home with weiss in 2007, and while the process was initially wonderful, after closing everything changed. we have had nothing but problems since, and weiss has been difficult to work with. for example, 6 months after we moved in, weiss replatted our lot (without our knowledge or consent) and marketed part of our lot for sale. when we learned of this, we were obviously livid, but weiss dragged their feet for over a year and was totally nonresponsive to this issue. it wasn't until we got an attorney involved that they finally agreed to talk. we also have had heating problems and are concerned that we may be victims of the underinsulation problems others have faced. although we maintain our home very well, we have had many things break (like our sink disposal) and have had to replace many things out of pocket, only to learn from the professionals that the item installed by weiss was the absolute bottom of the line possible (we replaced our disposal with the cheapest one we could find at lowe's, which interestingly was several notches up from the one weiss installed)-- it made us wonder where weiss was getting its items since we couldn't even find such poor quality products in the stores!). like so many, we were first time homebuyers lured in by the low cost, speed of the process, and seeming ease of building a home. we should have known it was too good to be true. our home is nice and we don't regret the product, but we very much regret getting involved with weiss. we will never build with them again and are certain to warn others of our experience.
To the happy homeowners...have you had your insulation checked to see if you are under-insulated. You might want to do that. It sounds to me like a habbit of Weiss Homes. I'm neutral in this and stumbled upon this site researching court cases in the construction industry for an assignment in my Business Law case. If I were a happy home owner of a Weise Home, I wouldn't stay that way blindly. I've learned through my 44 years in this world that some businesses, especially where home building is concerned, will take shortcuts to save money wherever they can - and keep the difference in cost for themselves. If you have checked it out for yourselve and are still happy...more power to ya!
Just a thought...
Well John Travis, I am not an employee of Weiss homes, and I am not a plant. Just a happy homeowner. I would say that my transaction with Weiss went as well as anything I have ever bought, considering the complexity of building a home, that is a big credit to Weiss.
To brothers_keeper, I stubled on this website the same way the other happy homeowners found it, we used Google. I heard something from a friend of mine about some lawsuit involving the company and wanted more information and here I am. You asked in your comment what people have to gain by posting a positive experience with Weiss, and to that I can only say that it is to point out the truth, which is the Wiess builds a darned good home for the money.
happy3 and Mary M obviously are Weiss Homes' employees or plants. Why would Mary M sound like a commercial or one of Weiss Homes' ads? Too funny, but I have NEVER met anyone who bought a Weiss Homes' home without at least one significant complaint against Weiss Homes.
My husband and I recently signed papers to build a new Weiss Home. We are very impressed with the experience that we have had so far! The staff at Weiss Homes has been so helpful, and in our opinion, they have this whole process down to a tee! The Community Manager was not only very knowledgeable of the whole construction process and the products and options that are offered, but he was also very patient and helpful when we were making our decisions. He was always available (and still is always available) for any questions that have come up. All of the staff that we have had the opportunity to meet and work with have been great and we appreciate the time that everyone has given to us! Weiss Homes really has a great team and the way they all seem to work together is amazing! I love the design studio, too! We had a great time picking everything out and were thrilled that everything was in one place! We didn't have to go to several stores to pick out carpet, appliances, siding, etc. What a wonderful way to make it easier on everyone! We look forward to the rest of the building process going as smooth as this initial part has. We are very excited and can't wait to move in!
We would not change a thing about our new Weiss home. Our home has a perfect floorplan and flow. The sunroom was the best addition we made to our home. Everyone loves it. We'd happily build with Weiss Homes again. We had a great experience.
We want to thank ALL the wonderful people at Weiss Homes who went above and beyond to see that we were able to move into a beautiful home in a wonderful community!
We are reminded of our favorite movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." In the movie, George Bailey runs a Building and Loan Company, which offers people the chance to be homeowners. That's the way we feel about you, you have given us the opportunity to live in a great home!
We Love our Weiss Home home and look forward to meeting others in our community.
I don't need a judge and jury to tell me that Weiss / Weiss Homes commits fraud. Just ask around. MANY homeowners have been burned by Weiss Homes. The stories of the Weiss tactics are straight out of an insane asylum. Once Rita Weiss gets involved, your life will never be same as she is a "nut case".