Customer ReviewsforBall Homes, LLC

Their warranty department is very smooth at writing emails as you can see. Ball Homes had made many promises to warranty their work but at the end of the day they did not have the integrity they though they had, the workmanship is dubious, from an unterminated live electrical line to poor roof framing. They also failed to disclose the width of the street is non conforming to the minimum Knox county code for streets, so on a street with 12+ houses there are only 2 maybe 3 legal street parking spots for visitors at the end of the lane. Don't assume anything.

Our Customer Relations Manager corresponded with the customer about several items following the completion of the 1-year warranty interval work, and shortly before this review was posted. One of the exterior items had been completed but the customer was not present for the repair, others were homeowner maintenance items, and one was considered a property damage issue if not identified prior to closing. As we explained to the customer, we are sorry not to have been able to reach a better understanding or meet expectations. We do offer an extensive written warranty as per the 2-10 Warranty manual, which lays out the standards, coverages, definitions of deficiencies, proscribed remedies, and exclusions. These standards reflect national industry norms. The warranty booklet is available on our website and provided to customers at closing, or sooner on request. We also provide information regarding performance expectations and homeowner responsibilities during walk throughs. The moving in agreement completed at the final walk through is very clear about the importance of inspecting the home for any damages which may have occurred during construction, as any such damage identified after closing will be considered property damage, and not covered by warranty. It is also the appropriate time to settle any customer concerns that may exist about cosmetic items or general workmanship. It appears from our files that the customer elected to have a third party attend the final walk through on his behalf, and authorized them to act as his agent. No damage was identified at the final walk through and the only item listed as incomplete was the sod, which is typically a weather-related item. With respect to the comments made about street parking, since all of the streets in the subdivision are the same width, and all of the plats are recorded signifying the review, participation, and acceptance of Knox County Public Works and Planning and Zoning, we’re not sure what the customer believes to be non-conforming to Knox County standards, or unusual about his street. Parking on the public street is a convenience and allowed within certain parameters by Knox County ordinances, which prioritize the safe access of emergency vehicles and prohibit the blocking of driveways, mailboxes, and intersection sightlines. It is not considered or advertised as a visitor parking amenity in this neighborhood where all homes have a two-car garage and double driveway by design, and all streets are public. Thank you for the opportunity to respond.

I was lied to about nothing being build in our back yard. I received a letter just before the holidays stating that there would be power lines in our back yard. I would never have purchased the house if I had known about this. Ball Homes has known about this since 2020....

The customer is referring to an on-going, large scale TVA public utility project to meet the demand for energy in the growing Hardin Valley area, which is routed in part along the edge of new development at The Reserve at Hickory Creek. While no one intentionally withheld any information or had specific information pertinent to any of the individual lots in this community, we can certainly sympathize with the customer’s concerns. In any communication from the TVA early in the project, it was our understanding that the planned power lines would not be on individual residential lots in the development, but possibly run through some of the steep and unusable areas that were designated as open space in the development plans . There was no indication or discussion of the right of way or transmission lines crossing over into any of the individual residential lots that were planned. The TVA has recently been surveying in the area of this community and is currently contacting people to determine ownership of land in the general area of the planned lines to request easements. To our knowledge, no final decisions have been made on the exact locations of the lines, and we have not granted any easements for the project. We should note that this is very large-scale joint project by a public utility and government agency that was publicly announced in 2020 and will continue through 2025. We are not a party to the project and do not have control over it. As with any customer relations situation, we have looked for ways to make improvements going forward. Our legal and engineering team is actively in contact with the TVA to get more accurate information about exactly where the lines and right of way will be, and advocate for outcomes that will be in the best interests of the neighborhood. While the TVA has indicated some willingness to accommodate, it will take some time to determine the outcome. We have also initiated a conversation with the HOA management firm for this community, so that they can assist with community-wide communication with accurate information about the project as it becomes more clear how it will impact the neighborhood. For reference, we are also providing a copy of our statement provided to interested parties on this subject when the subject arose in December, which has also been provided to our sales team to share with others.

I purchased a premium lot from Ball Homes in 2019. We were excited about our new home, we sold our other house that was built by Ball homes back in 2001. Everything was going well until they ripped the back of our lot up . We were told it was going to get fixed by Greg at Ball homes our contractor and David S****** at our realtor. We now have a huge ditch across the back of our lot. We were told at signing it would be a gentle slope. Never was fixed. We paid $3000 Xtra for our lot. I talked to Greg and his boss and was told it would get fixed before we signed and also Greg a few times before our fence was erected.

We have reviewed our customer service files and can confirm that we have had some communications with the customer regarding the grade of the lot, which was graded and sodded a few days after closing in the fall of 2021. In response to the customer's concerns at the time, we regraded part of the yard to move the swale to the very back of the lot to work better with their fence installation. In April of 2022, we did some further work to the drainage swale that runs through the rear of this and other lots at the requirement and direction of the city. The purpose of the work was to address overall drainage needs in the community. One of the factors that determined how the swale could be graded was the location of the sewer line that runs through the rear adjoining yards, which limited how far up into those yards the swale could be cut and thus affected the side to side slope of the swale. We would note that while this lot did carry a lot premium, premiums are attached to lots for a variety of reasons and in this case it was because it was one of a few lots wide enough and free of sideyard easements so that the largest footprint house styles could be offered on it. Lot premiums are not charged on the basis of how flat the lot might be, and a particular grade or slope of lot is never guaranteed as the builder retains final discretion on this due to circumstances that are beyond our control or impacting other properties. We are sorry if the grade is different than what was anticipated or not satisfactory. If the customer would like to include this item on the one year list for review, we can review any drainage concerns that may exist and try to reach a better understanding of the grade situation.