To put it plainly, we had a terrible experience with Noble. Awful!
Our initial quote that was represented as a lump sum price before we signed the contract was not. The builder (John Michaels in particular) had done the take offs and estimates, but missed several items that were clearly indicated on the drawings. "I missed it, but you can have it for more money" was the prelude to what would become a consistent pattern of "we screwed up, so now you need to give me more money." Buyer beware" In fact, just go somewhere else to build your home and save yourself the trouble.
Site supervision during the construction process was near to non-existent. We visited the site often, and never once saw the superintendent. In fact, we had to regularly point out items that were done wrong, misplaced, missing, or just plain bad workmanship...the types of things that a superintendent is supposed to monitor and correct. Our PM services were provided for free I guess. In other instances Noble attempted to overcharge for items that had either not been approved, or provided false quantities that were discovered only by our personal review of drawings and field conditions.
The list of issues from the top of my had specifically include, but are not limited to: failed grout in shower, water leak in secondary bath, outdoor fireplace installed incorrectly, leaking back door, incorrect size air handlers, defective A/C units, damaged (scratched) glass in patio windows, cooktop improperly installed, exterior doors and windows not caulked, defective master shower, dead landscape materials, faulty yard sprinkler system, improperly installed patio door preventing operation and with time I could likely provide more. Some issues were corrected, but many major ones were blamed on subcontractors and were only resolved after the threat of legal action. The first year we were in the house, it was like living in a construction zone with corrective actions often taking weeks to even get scheduled, let alone actually fixed...if it was fixed at all. In several cases, we either had to fix it ourselves or go out of pocket to hire a professional. The bottom line was that Noble showed no accountability for the substandard subcontractors they hired and then failed to properly manage on site. I'm sure they got a great price from them, as well as the ability to place blame on them. Although we did receive bills from unpaid subcontractors months after closing with threats of mechanic's liens stating that when they had contacted them for payment, Noble referred them to us, the homeowner, to seek payment.
The cherry on top was the bill we received AFTER closing. Approximately a month after closing we received a 5-figure bill from Noble. This appears to be regular practice for this company, as we subsequently learned that a number of other Noble customers has the same thing happen to them. As a home builder you would think they would understand what the closing process means!
1 Comment