Building a Home with Ryland, Death by a Thousand Papercuts

1. Our Experiences in Building a House with Ryland Death by 1000 Paper Cuts 2904 Ironwood Court Twin Creeks Cedar Park, Texas Terry Flaherty Gwen Kamper

2. 3 Types of Issues and Frustration In May 2013, we started the process of buying and building a house in Twin Creeks in Cedar Park, TX. Over the course of our relationship with Ryland, we have experienced many issues and frustrations . These frustrations can be categorized in 3 areas: • Design Center Issues • Build Issues • Workmanship Concerns Some of these issues are small. Some are huge. Some are resolved. Some are still open. Some, it appears, will never be resolved. Collectively, they have led to an abysmal customer experience and a HUGE degree of customer frustration – leading to complete loss of trust and faith in Ryland’s ability and intent to deliver a quality home.

3. Design Center: “Us vrs. Them” The Design Center experience was extremely frustrating and clearly revealed major process issues between Ryland Sales, Ryland Corporate and Wisenbaker. Lack of product knowledge, poor communications between groups, inconsistent answers, finger pointing and horrible attitude toward the customer (specifically with Ryland Corporate and Wisenbaker) caused frustration and clearly created an adversarial “us versus them” tone to the relationship. At no point was the customer experience even close to the experience at this stage in our 3 other home builds. The following pages provide a sample of issues at the design stage that caused major frustration:

4. Theme: You can’t use that in new location • Constant theme – to move the location of an item.. Sometimes by as little as 5 feet – required us to discard the item for no credit and to repurchase a replacement item at full price: • Can lights in kitchen ($150 each) • Chandelier move from dining room to breakfast area ($500+) • Pantry doors ($700) • We wanted to reuse doors from office that we did not use • Fence After REPEATED discussions, Kevin resolved by ignoring the changes required by design center.

5. Fencing Issue – A classic example Move existing 52 feet from previous configuration to property line and purchase additional 28 feet.

6. Details on Fencing • Our lot is not a rectangle • Contract calls for fencing to back corners of house • Segment E is 52 feet • We wanted to change direction of E to be placed along property line – and purchase 28 additional feet to get to desired configuration. • First we were told fencers are not able to do this – beyond their skillset. • Then we were told if we bought 80 feet, (52 “replacement”+ 28 “new”) they could do this…but the 52 feet included in contract in segment E is forfeited. E E relocated

7. The Front Porch Issue • We want to brick the floor of front porch • Ryland told us porch is 80SF… in reality, it’s 15 SF • Led to one month of repeated email and verbal dialog – we were told that 5 members of Ryland’s exec team reviewed and all agree it’s 80 SF • “Bill” (the head of construction) and “Rich”, (the head of purchasing) both insisted it’s 80 SF • Our take away from this – Ryland Corporate either has so little concern for their customer that they can’t take 2 minutes to read the blue print… or they lack the skills to be able to read a blue print… both are concerning. • Kevin brought sanity to the situation and over-rode Ryland Corporate. Front porch blueprint: 5 X 3 = 15 …. Not 80

8. Our “Electrical” Meeting with Guardian • 45 minute high pressure sales pitch on security systems • Told “So Mr. Flaherty, it appears I’m more concerned about the safety of your 95 year old mother-in-law than you are” by Guardian rep • “Sign the contract now – you can always cancel later” • “I’m really concerned about your mother-in-law – what if I give you 6 months free now to sign the contract today” • 15 minute electrical “consulting” with very low product knowledge • i.e. did not know answers on 220 volt upgrade and amp impact

9. The Master Shower Challenge • Changes made to shower – requested extended shower with seat • Major confusion on pricing of shower and seat between Ryland sales and Design Center • “I don’t think we’ve ever done this” • Very similar changes in another Hamilton plan designed right before ours in Twin Creeks • We gave up on getting what we wanted and accepted an alternative

10. Despite all this – we move on… Our frustration level was so high after design process we strongly considered ending the deal at that point.. But decided to move forward to the build stage. The build stage has introduced a new set of problems, including significant deviations from the blueprint, numerous errors with materials delivered and installed, poor quality of product and workmanship and other unwanted surprises.

11. Major differences from blueprint • Missing window in “office”/converted tandem garage bay • After missing window issue identified, the installed window in office was not size or location of window in blueprint • This window also had installation errors (bows and apparent lack of flashing) • Missing window above front door These were all resolved – but it was very concerning that we had to identify that these issues existed .. These are all standard Ryland options clearly shown on blueprints.

12. Major theme – “Not what we ordered” • Interior paint color wrong - • After 1 month of dialog and hearing “it’s the color you signed off on” it was determined to be the wrong color • Is “Desert Fawn” even an option? – we only had 3 choices at design center and none were Desert Fawn with yellow tint • Exterior paint colors wrong (colors applied in wrong location) • Backsplash wrong • Master shower window obscure glass delivered different than design center option • We decided to upgrade to glass block to alleviate issue • Shower door glass wrong • Cabinets wrong • Exterior mortar WRONG! • Appliances WRONG!!! • Hardwood floors wrong????

13. Mortar issue – not spectrum white • Specifically ordered spectrum white at upgrade of $790 to provide architectural interest • REPEATEDLY reminded Kevin and Martha we wanted white mortar • White mortar is made with white cement and white sand • Sand used in our house was brown – mortar is tan • Kevin’s response… “Looks white to me” • Friend’s response… “Looks institutional – like a school”

14. Hardwood Floors

15. Hardwood Floors • The hardwood floors are a major investment ($27K) and have been a huge source of concern. • First, let’s start with the basics - Are these the floors we ordered? • Dominic told us the manufacturer is “Reeders” • The floor we ordered is River Ridge Frio – part of the Southern Traditions line • Installation DID NOT meet manufacturer’s or National Wood Flooring Association job site REQUIREMENTS for ENGINEERED hardwood floor installation • Temperature • Humidity • The floors were delivered and installed on the same day, when night time temperatures were 25-30 and daytime was 35-45. • House was not sealed. Major construction was not complete. • Also violated Glue Manufacturer’s Requirements

16. From National Wood Flooring Association Installation Video for ENGINEERED hardwood floors https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eds2pfKyfcw

17. Window issues From manufacturer’s installation guidelines for River Ridge Frio Engineered Hardwood

18. Cabinets • Wrong cabinets delivered and installed • Initial install included damaged cabinet • Cabinets replaced • Now have damaged cabinet again Cracks in newly installed cabinets

19. The Cabinet Fiasco Continued • The design center focuses selection on the cabinet doors. You do not learn of the poor quality of the frame until the install. • “We changed cabinet providers…. The old vendor’s cabinets were poor quality and had warranty issues” Ryland Design Center Rep • Unfortunately – we have the “old vendor”.. Even though you could have switched us when the wrong cabinets appeared This cabinet (from first install) had cracks on the side surface and interior particle board material. It was installed anyhow, then removed and discarded in the front yard.

20. Appliances • We spent $1790 to upgrade to “Appliance Package 4” featuring GE Profile line of Appliances • Cooktop and Microwave are Profile • Oven and Dishwasher are GE Standard • Not consulted/warned of this change GE Standard Dishwasher I understand that GE discontinues product. The substitution of downgraded product outside the GE Profile line without any discussion with us leads me to the assumption that I’ve been ripped off. This may be a false assumption, but without communicating the change to your customer, and based on the state of our relationship, it’s the only conclusion I can reach.

21. Appliances

22. Window Installation Issues Replacement windows appear not to be flashed in similar way to original windows Multiple indowswith condensation inside glass – indicates broken seal. Windows not square - gaps and locking issues

23. Roofing questions/concerns • Large number of raised shingles • Roof irregularities / patches

24. Poor Workmanship The granite counters were not protected during the demolition of the wrong backsplash and installation of the new backsplash (note plastic cover removed for some reason. Demolished tiles and grout fell all over exposed granite. The cabinets and hardwood floor were apparently wiped with a grout-filled cloth. Manufacturer strongly encourages that hardwood be the last thing installed for this reason and considers this construction traffic abuse.. Per manufacturer’s instructions, 3-M Blue Tape can be used to hold planks tightly together and reduce minor shifting of floors during installation. Remove adhesive from the surface of the installed flooring as you work. All adhesive must be removed from flooring surfaces prior to applying 3-M Blue Tape. Tape should never be allowed to remain on floor for an extended period and never overnight. No claims will be processed for tape damage.

25. Poor Workmanship Patch/significantly different color mortar Shower door alignment issues – is wall square? Vertical brick on front should wrap around corner for several feet as done on other side

26. Tile Installation Cut tile edge out Tile in bathrooms has been installed with cut edge exposed as opposed to finished edge. This has occurred numerous times in both bathrooms.

27. Poor Workmanship Window alignment issues – many will not lock and several have significant gaps

28. Poor Workmanship At this point – even the little things become a source of frustration and point to the bigger issue...Does anyone care? How hard is it to align door opener buttons? Numerous small things like this just reinforces the perception that quality is not a goal.

29. Our Daily Questions and Concerns What else did we miss? Is the air conditioner the right one??? How do we know? Are there electrical issues? How about the foundation? Is this house as bad as some of the other Ryland horror stories here in Texas and even Austin that we are reading about online? What other manufacturer’s installation requirements were ignored? What other items were substituted/downgraded without a discussion? Is there really a possibility we would have to deal with Wisenbaker AGAIN? Is Ryland so focused on reaching their end of year number that they are overextended and sacrificing quality?

30. Conclusion – We Can’t Take Anymore Based on the ongoing challenges we have seen in the design, but especially the build process, we have lost all faith in Ryland. And after many long discussions – we realize that we hate everything about this house. In the beginning we were very excited about moving into this house. Now, this has become a source of much stress and concern. We’ve seen a number of issues – some of which were fixed – and some that will not be. In addition to the known problems, we fear the unknown. Based on the overall trends we have seen, we are very concerned about items we may have missed. And in researching other’s experience with Ryland warranty, we are concerned that any interactions with Ryland warranty will be as frustrating, if not more so, than our current experiences. It’s not just a house issue – it’s a Ryland issue. We have lost all trust and faith in Ryland’s ability and intent to deliver a quality home. We are not going to purchase this house.