May 15, 2008
A Franklin County Ohio judge awarded Roman and Jennifer Costner $3 M in a dispute with Maronda Homes. Another judge ruled Maronda Homes has to pay the family’s almost $700,000 legal bill.
Court documents show the south side of the house wasn’t attached to the foundation and the wrong sized windows were installed leading to leaks then mold. The Costner’s $219,000 Reynoldsburg OH home was determined to be unlivable.
In Ohio, legal disputes are encouraged to be settled out of court. If they’re not, treble damages can be awarded. So $1M turns into $3M, just like that.
Was I shocked by this? No, Maronda homes do not have the most sterling reputation. Their quest to cut costs leads them to purchase the cheapest of the cheap in building materials. Most suppliers have good, better or best quality in supplies. Maronda seems to always find something cheaper than good.
What did shock me the people missing in action:
- Maronda Construction supervisors/inspectors
- City/County building inspectors
- Buyers home inspectors
I’d hate to say buyer beware for a new home, but in this case..
Back in my agent days, I’d get calls from builders looking for GL coverage. Out would come a ten page application. Why so much information? To find out who the subcontractors are. A house is only as good as the subcontractors who work on it. I’m guessing Maronda’s quest for lowering construction costs led to cheap subs. Keep that in mind the next time your looking for a contractor standing around outside of Home Depot.
[…] TIG of InsuranceYak.com warns that a “buyer beware” mentality is likely warranted in his Costner vs Maronda Homes […]
Hello, I have a maronda home I’m so upset my siding has come off my home eight times. I’m done, I’m so done. I would like to know who was the attorneys in this case. I need to contact them I’m tired and very angry.
I recently bought what I thought was a brand new home with no problems. Boy was I in for a shock! I had found out through neighbors that my house was on fire during the construction phase. The fire was never diclosed to me or my wife. To make it worse they left fire damaged wood in the house and spray painted over it and covered it up with plywood!! They told me that they never had to disclose of it because it was a new house!! How is that even right. They will not do anything to make it right either. They are the rudest company ever. I am here for the next 21 months I am a active duty Marine and thought that buying a new home was a great idea.
Sorry to hear about your fire damaged house.
Yup, it took me by surprise when I read the local building codes about fire damaged studs; if the ‘charcoaled’ wood is only so deep, they can spray paint it with sealer type paint and keep on trucking.
Hopefully you can’t smell the burnt wood.
OMG!!! we must speak out and help others so they don’t fall prey to such terrible experience. It is like the girl who gets rape but fail to report it. The rapest goes on to rape another innocent victim. We must stop maronda from raping other innocent families. If I have known these crimes were committed by maronda I would not purchase my home. Remember maronda still continues to sell homes, think of how many innocent victims out there totally obvilious to all the corruption, mold, flawed workmanship, marred foundation, flooring, etc. lets all continue to tell our stories and shut them down. I am currently having to replace my front door due to poor insulation. They did not seal my door. now it is rotten and must be repaired.
sorry to hear about everyone’s problems with Maronda homes, but not suprised in the least….I actually worked for the company in Florida, and saw/heard these things going on….this company also has internal embezzlement problem whose expense is passed on to the customer…it’s amazing how much privately owned companies can get away with…
I have worked for Maronda for a few years. They treat their employees like crap. They won’t pay the standard IRS approved mileage reimbursement to them. They give them 400 a month to drive over 100 miles a day to job sites. This is why the problems with the homes are the way they are. Everything is cheap. [Editors note, I removed the name of the submittor .. dude the job market sucks. Don’t get yourself fired, even from a crappy job!]
Holy cow! My husband and I just put in an offer on a Maronda home in Marysville, OH. These stories and reviews are very scarey. I think it’s time to retract my offer!!
We have owned 9 homes. 7 were new construction( with one builder having installed a used AC compressor passed off as new) and 2 were built without fault or fraud. Both of these are Maronda homes. We continue owning our first Fl Maronda as a rental and our newer S.H Fl.model is owner occupied. I am an advocate of Maronda Homes and will never use another builder so long as Maronda is constructing in my community. I have seen 6 local builders go bankrupt in the last 3 years and two have been convicted of stealing clients funds while leaving the customer financially ruined with incomplete homes bearing multiple contractor liens aginst the emotionally devastated property owner. My view is that Maronda Homes is the envy of other builders because they can dominate the local market and this has a trickle down effect on Realtors, vendors, contractors & suppliers. Maronda stands strongly behind its warranty. Given the size of the company and volume of building there is going to be fault and error. I am thourghly satisfid with the design and economy I bought into and did opt to select their upgrade choices of tile and corian which were afforably priced
I have been affiliated with this Builder for 10+yrs in Florida. While most of you do nothing but complain about the “homeowner maintenance” issues you maybe chose not to do, I have many homeowners that love and maintain their homes. You do not buy a car and then not change the oil, why think you don’t have to maintain a home? I have complete faith in the homes we are building and am looking forward to my second “MARONDA HOME”, when I can decide which of the brand new designs I like best!! This Builder did not go bankrupt when it would have been easy to do so with this challenging market.. they stayed strong and have been there to provide service to their homeowners! Ask your friends that bought from other Builders who they call if they need service/warranty today!! This is a responsible builder. When you look at the number of homes built in the past 20+ years and the small percentage of “valid issues” that may have occurred, it seems unfair that you would be so quick to crucify a company. Not everyone likes Maronda, and that is too bad, but we are, and always have been the very best value for entry level homebuyers. Instead of wasting energy on bashing Maronda, why not stop into a community near you and take a look around!! Our homes are still the best deal going and WE ARE STILL HERE TAKING CARE OF OUR HOMEOWNERS!!! Now, go to our website, print your homeowners maintenance checklist and see how far behind you are.. cars need oil changes every 3,000 miles, what have you done for your house lately?
I’m a VERY HAPPY Maronda homeowner, also very satisfied with my home purchase!
I have nothing but possitive things to say
about my home construction and Maronda’s service dep’t.
You will always have people taking legal action for for their own finacial gain!
Wow. So many things I could start with. Lets start with the little things I have fixed my self. No network jack in the master bedroom which was supposed to be standard. Broken door stop in 2nd bathroom hidden in cabinet (is super glue that expensive?). Doors falling off there hinges at the door frames. Now onto the bigger stuff. Foundation crack lets water in because its above the water proofing. They came out and sealed it and it still leaks. Replaced my sump pump 3 times in two yrs because they get burnt up because they never shut off. Pitting in foundation. Sump pump piping on the outide of house finally busted. My house is 2yrs and 3 months old. No wonder they only cover a year warrenty, everything falls apart after that. My house is in the Galloway, Oh area so stay away!. Hows that quality construction for ya?