K Hovnanian review: poor workmanship

As a new and first time K Hovnanian home owner I am deeply disappointed in the quality of construction and Home Owner services K. Hovnanian Companies provides. Living in my current home for less than two years I have already spent more in repairs on my new home than I had in the previous six years living in my 25 year old condo. If I was suffering alone, I might consider it as a case of bad luck. But in the time period I purchased my home in Meadow Creek Estates in Manalapan, NJ, there were thirty home sites available for purchase. Out of those thirty homes that were built and sold to home buyers, I know of at least six newly constructed homes that have had problems similar to mine in the same time period. That is a 20% failure rate, a statistic I am sure no one can be proud of. The issues that have arisen relate to poor quality of construction and poor quality of appliances installed and a complete lack responsibility from K Hovnanian for each.
The questionable quality of construction became evident recently when my roof started leaking water after a mild rain shower. Further inspection revealed 80% of the shingles along the ridge vent were missing and the leak was due to the missing shingles. The roofing expert I contracted explained that the shingles were probably lost in the mild windy conditions we experience in New Jersey because the wrong size nails were used to attach the shingles to the roof along the ridge vent. The shingles along the ridge vent have extra padding underneath and thus a longer nail is required to secure the shingle to the plywood underneath than that used in other parts of the roof. After addressing the problem with K Hovnanian Home Services, I was told a change in nail size is not required and K Hovnanian would not stand up for the quality of construction it has provided, nor would it help with the repairs. Additionally, the Home Services Representative said the missing shingles were due to Hurricane Sandy (October 2012). How he could conclude that I do not know since the leaking only started in September 2013, one year after hurricane Sandy. Logically, to lose 80% of the shingles in only one area of the roof and not any other is more indicative of using the wrong size nail to attach the shingles to the roof than it is of losing shingles due to wind conditions since, I would imagine, wind affects the entire roof equally. This fundamental lack of understanding in shingle installation begs the question what other short cuts were made in the construction. I was planning to install solar panels on the roof next summer, but now, uncertainty in the quality of construction forces me to reconsider that option. Additionally, having lived in Florida for 10 years, seeing hurricanes for many years, I never lost a shingle. Is the quality of construction in New Jersey that sub-standard or is that my house in Florida was not a KHOV home but rather a Pulte Home. Being the largest builder of homes in New Jersey, I would expect KHOV to demonstrate better quality standards than what I have seen.
In addition to quality of construction, the appliances installed during construction were of sub-standard quality. The water heater, for example, malfunctioned after only 12 months of operation resulting in $1300 in repair costs. The water heater in my condo, in contrast, has lasted for twenty five years without any problems or repairs. The repairman that fixed my water heater claimed to have fixed twenty of the same model water heaters in last two years, also installed in Meadow Creek and the KHOV community adjacent to us, The Four Seasons. When a known problem exists with these water heaters, why would you choose to install this equipment in a new home? This demonstrates a complete disregard to customer satisfaction. The limited liability warranty provided by KHOV dissolves KHOV of any liability of the appliance. But why should that be the case when I paid for it in the price of the home, but was not given a choice as to what equipment I wanted? The decision to install the AO Smith water heater was directed solely by KHOV. Clearly, the conclusion to be reached is that KHOV purchased and installed discounted appliances to increase its margins at the expense of its customers.
Customer satisfaction I know is valued at KHOV. For the first twelve months, I was routinely flooded by KHOV questionnaires regarding my satisfaction and the quality of construction. Enamored by the new home I consistently gave high ranking to KHOV in both satisfaction of the home as well as the service provided by KHOV Home Services division. I now see those rankings were wrong. Having lived here for less than two years, my feeling of dissatisfaction cannot be more strongly expressed.