ComplaintsforLennar

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a new home in February 2023. Once the snow melted, we saw that our driveway was sinking and cracking. There were cracked edges, tire ruts, and cracks running through the middle of the driveway. We filed a claim with Lennar and ultimately the driveway was replaced. A couple of months ago we noticed that our second driveway is failing. Tire ruts are visible across the driveway. We filed another warranty claim. The asphalt company and a representative from Lennar met me at our home. The rep from the asphalt company told me that Lennar pays for a "value" driveway. When they removed and replaced our first driveway, it was replaced with another "value" driveway. We have very little subbase under our driveway and need a stronger subbase to support our driveway on the soil we have. Lennar denied our second claim, stating that our driveway meets "minimum standard". Our driveway will continue to sink and fail if we don't have a proper subbase. The driveway is a structure and Lennar is responsible. This is not a cosmetic defect. This is a structural issue.

  Business response

  06/14/2024

  Lennar takes very seriously any complaint from a customer and greatly values all its customers. This driveway concern has been investigated and communicated in a timely manner for both the original service request submitted on 6/8/23, as well as the most recent on 4/17/24.  As mentioned in the complaint, the original driveway was removed and replaced on 9/5/23.  The decision to replace was made after an inspection of the original driveway and reviewing installation data.  The key factor in this decision was that the original driveway was installed on 10/31/22 and due to this late season install we felt that cold weather and prior freezing temps likely impacted the performance of the asphalt.
  During replacement we had the **************** Excavator,and a Lennar Representative onsite to verify the original installation was done appropriately, and with the proper quantity (depth) of base and asphalt.  Both were verified at time of replacement and the new asphalt was installed on 9/5/23. It has since been verified that 47 ton of base was used on this driveway, which averages to about 6 depth across this sized driveway.  The driveway installed at this home and all Lennar homes in ********* meet or exceed all requirements for a residential driveway.
  The concern with the new driveway was submitted on 4/17/24 and inspected by Lennar and the *************** on 4/25/24.  An additional inspection was provided by an Area Manager days later.  The concern viewed at the inspections were tire imprints/depressions in the asphalt and the location of these imprints were in line with a work van which is parked in the driveway for daily use.  
  Lennar has provided continued communication with the homeowner from this new concern that this is not covered by the Lennar warranty and that the driveway has been installed properly.

  Customer response

  06/17/2024

  I am rejecting this response because: We previously owned a Lennar home in St  *****************, built in 2019. The same work van was parked on that driveway, and there was no sinking or rutting. The rep from the asphalt company that installed the driveways at our current home told Lennar's rep that the clay **** at this home that was the reason for the driveway failing, and the way to correct this was to have a thicker stone base installed, a minimum of 8 inches. We were also told that Lennar was the company that put down the driveway base themselves to cut costs. The asphalt company only installed the asphalt. Since Lennar did not take into consideration the clay **** that affected the stability of our driveway. There are other driveways on our street that have similar issues as ours. The house directly across the street from ours also has tire ruts in their driveway, and they don't drive or park a work van on their driveway. We have these conversations with the asphalt company rep, Lennar's rep, and the Lennar ************* Manager, recorded on our Ring security camera. We can prove these statements were made. The rep from the asphalt company told the Lennar rep that Lennar didn't want to pay for more stone and that their company can't cover the cost of the extra stone that's needed, as they are not getting paid for anything other than the asphalt. If there was no warranty on our driveway, the driveway should have never been touched. Now that the asphalt has been taken up and replaced for the second time, at Lennars direction, they are responsible for the condition of our current driveway. Lennar is not taking responsibility for their decision-making that put us at where we are now, and it is not acceptable. It is not our fault, nor is it C&S Asphalt's fault that our driveway doesn't have enough of a stone base to support a residential driveway on clay ****. It is Lennar's fault for wanting to cut corners and save money at our expense.
  

  Business response

  06/21/2024

  As mentioned in the previous response, the original driveway was replaced due to a concern Lennar had with the late season installation and that the weather around the original installation could have impacted the performance of the driveway.  The neighboring driveway was originally installed at the same time and replaced for the same reason,no further concerns have been provided by the neighboring home.  For efficiency, Lennar does have the excavator sub-cut and base some driveways prior to the asphalt company laying asphalt.  At this home this was not the case, the asphalt company installed the 47 ton of base material which was equal to 6 of base vs the standard 4 of base for residential driveways.  The asphalt company agreed the amount of base for this home, as well as all others in the community was appropriate with this soil type.

  We apologize the homeowner is experiencing this situation,though it has been repeatedly explained to them that Lennar will not be taking further action with their driveway concern.

  Customer response

  06/25/2024

   I am rejecting this response because: I am rejecting this response because: Lennar is a home builder. They are not an asphalt company. The asphalt company that installed our original driveway, and also the replacement driveway, installed the asphalt ONLY. Lennar provided and laid the stone (subbase) for the asphalt. Per inspection by the asphalt company, C&S Asphalt, Lennar used the minimum amount of stone and did not take into consideration the type of soil ****** that they put the stone base on. The asphalt company said that the driveway can be replaced correctly, which consists of adding a thicker stone base and packing it before installing the asphalt on top. Lennar states now that they do not warranty driveways, but they removed our first driveway (the asphalt only), citing that it may have failed due to the time of year it was installed. They have not taken responsibility for the stone base of the driveway being the actual problem. Lennar assumed that the weather may have been the issue with the asphalt rather than obtaining a professional assessment. They did not add any more stone to the base and only had the asphalt company come back out to reinstall the same asphalt on top of the same stone. They did not change anything. Doing the same thing twice will produce the same results. If Lennar wants to stand by a "no warranty" stance, then the driveway should have never been touched by Lennar the first time. Once they removed our original driveway and replaced it with a new driveway, they were responsible for the current condition of our driveway, which is a driveway with no stability. The neighbors' driveway across the street is also cracked and marked with tire ruts. This is proof that Lennar installed poor quality "value driveways" in our neighborhood. The neighbor's house was built and finished the same time as our house.
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We closed on a new home built by Lennar on 11/30/2021, at which point a variety of warrantable construction issues were noted at the final walkthrough to *************************, the building manager of the new construction. Among those issues were lengthy cracks in the concrete front porch of the home. These cracks were documented prior to closing on the home and Lennar agreed to repair these cracks once weather conditions allowed.We subsequently received no communication or responses from ************************* regarding any of the issues identified at the walkthrough, and his colleague *********************, who was assigned to handle the home warranty services, was forced to handle all construction issues identified at the walkthrough in addition to the warranty repairs. This included, among other things, substantial water damage from *********** melt to our home in April 2022 due to Lennar's roofing subcontractor's failure to properly install and cover one of the bathroom vent fans.To cut to the chase, two walkthrough & warranty issues remain unresolved as of September 2023: the main, two-car garage stall has been regularly inundated with **************** melt on the north side. The garage door gasket needs to be replaced and the door needs to be re-calibrated to ensure a water-tight seal. And the front porch, which now has a singular, continuous crack of 13 feet in length, needs to be repaired. We have been unable to secure a commitment from ********************* at Lennar to complete this work during either 2022 or 2023 and seek BBB's assistance in getting these repairs scheduled.

  Business response

  09/25/2023

  Lennar takes very seriously any complaint from a customer,and greatly values all customers. Lennar carefully reviewed this customer's concerns, and discussed those concerns with the customer.  The ******************** ************* representative spoke with the customer on September 14 and followed up by email on September 15, 2023. Lennar offered to make a garage floor correction; and explained that exterior concrete cracks are not covered by the warranty program agreed to by the customer.  ******************** requested (9/15/2023 email) that the customer approve the repair plan, and respond by 9/22/2023 to schedule the work this fall. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We booked a house with Lennar in April 2022 with Lennar ***** Rep's ********* of getting the ******* money back if loan not approved at any time. As soon as i got a hint of my contract may end soon, in early Sept we sent an email explaining the potential affordability issues to her. Also met her in person and called a few times, and was advised to go for the loan application again assuring the refund of ******* money if that if loan application not approved. I could not find anything before the contract ended on 10/31. My salary was reduced by more than half based on company's bench policy until I find a new job. Early November, We applied for loan with Lennar Mortgage and were told that we do not qualify and were advised to keep trying for the job and connect back in early January. With Tech industry going bad to worse (layoffs everyday), could not find anything so far and on "Leave without Pay" after 1/13/2023 till i find a job. Connected with Lennar with a request to refund the ******* money as they promised or wait till I get a job or sell the house for the amount we can get approved for, but none seem to be acceptable to them. They now insist to close the house on 2/28 or loose the 25K of ******* money even after knowing my job situation and the fact that we are not eligible for the required loan amount at the moment. Misinformation provided by the Lennar Rep at every step has a huge part in leading up to this situation as refund of ******* was our main concern before booking and wouldn't have booked otherwise. 25K is a huge amount for our family to loose any day and could break us financially when our family is trying to survive at this difficult time.We know there have been similar complaints/concerns from other buyers and also heard some of them have been refunded the ******* money. We kindly request to help us get our ******* money back asap as we are already struggling to cope up with our day to day expenses with two school going kids.Thanks

  Business response

  02/17/2023

  Lennar takes very seriously any allegation or complaint from any former or current customer, and greatly values all its customers. Lennar carefully reviewed this customer's alleged concerns to the ********************, and disagrees that the customer is entitled to an ******* money refund if customer fails to timely pay the purchase price for the home.  
  
  Lennar provided full information to the customer in the purchase and sale agreement (***) which both parties agreed to and signed. The *** expressly provides that the customer, as buyer, shall pay the balance of the total purchase price plus applicable closing costs at the closing (Purchase Price); and that the buyer shall be in default if he fails to timely pay the Purchase Price to Lennar. The *** also expressly provides that, in the event the buyer defaults under the ***, Lennar would be entitled to keep the ******* money deposit as liquidated damages and not as a penalty. Further, under the *** the buyer expressly agrees that actual damages in the event of a default would be costly and difficult to calculate and that the liquidated damages are a fair and reasonable remedy and shall not be considered a penalty.
  
  In other words, under the *** the parties agree that if the buyer defaults by failing to timely pay the Purchase Price, then Lennar's remedy is limited to keeping the ******* money deposit. In that situation, Lennar is limited to that relief regardless of whether it can or cannot re-sell the home and regardless of whether any resale does or does not cover any actual damages that Lennar suffers associated with that default.
  
  Lennar understands that this customer is disappointed at not qualifying for financing to meet his obligations under the *** to timely pay the Purchase Price. However, under the ***, if the customer fails to timely pay the Purchase Price, Lennar's sole remedy is to retain the ******* money deposit.

  Customer response

  02/17/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: I have clearly mentioned that a particular salesrep assured the refund of ******* money,  number of times over the course of 6 months before and after booking. ** know of the similar complains made by other buyers in the similar situation and were refunded the ******* money. ** were notified in mid-December that the salesrep in question does not work with Lennar anymore, wondering if it has anything to do with similar complaints and Lennar's internal findings. If lennar has the calls recorded, they could find the multiple instances of assurances given by their Rep. ** do have multiple witnesses (current residents and prospective buyers at that time) from few in-person meets where the assurance of refunding the ******* amount in case of loan denial at any point, was given repeatedly. ** have been very transparent with them at every step but misinformation provided by the salesrep led us to this situation. ** have been going thru a difficult time for past few months and hoping that Lennar will review the circumstances, events and situations and will take a step forward to resolve the issue. 
  
  
  

  Business response

  02/27/2023

  Lennar takes very seriously any allegation or complaint from any former or current customer, and greatly values all its customers. Lennar carefully reviewed this customer's alleged concerns to the ********************, including the customer's follow-up statement about those concerns, and disagrees that the customer is entitled to an ******* money refund.
  
  Customer and ******************** jointly agreed to a purchase agreement under which Lennar would build a home for customer, and customer would pay ******************** the agreed price for a completed home and deposit ******* money with Lennar for that purpose. Under the signed purchase agreement, customer agreed that if ******************** completes the home and customer fails to timely pay for the completed home, then customer is in default and ********************'s sole remedy is to retain the ******* money deposit. Customer also expressly agreed in the purchase agreement that he was not relying on any oral or written representation or statement whatsoever, from Lennar or its sales persons or other agents, except as expressly stated in the purchase agreement. Here, the signed purchase agreement does not include any statement like customer alleges in his complaint to ******************** (that there was an oral assurance from Lennar's sale agent that customer could get the ******* money back "if the loan was not approved at any time"), and Lennar disputes any such allegation.
  
  Lennar understands that the buyers are disappointed at no longer qualifying for financing to meet their obligations under the Purchase Agreement, due to difficult circumstances not caused by Lennar. However, Lennar properly completed the home in reliance on customer's promise to fulfill his payment obligation at closing, and scheduled the closing for customer's purchase of the home. If customer is unable to pay the agreed purchase price at closing, then customer is in default and ********************'s sole remedy for the default is to retain the ******* money deposit.

  Customer response

  02/27/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: As we have already mentioned that this situation is all due to the complete misinormation provided by the sales rep. ** do have multiple witnesses (current residents & prospactive buyers from MN and CA) who were present and were part of convrsation at different times with the salesrep. They will be glad to testify anytime anywhere, if that helps. Also wondering if the salesrep was let go of the company based on the findings on similar complaints? Moreover, we know that at least one other buyer,  in exact similar situation has been refunded the ******* money, very recently, then why are we being descriminated? 

  Lennar management at this site has been providing misinformation as they need, for example, in another case, they try to hide the extend of water damage in one of the houses (********), on Agate Tr, right before the closing and the original buyer had to backout once they got know the actual damage after getting it inspected with independent restoration company. Not sure if the new buyer was even made aware of that based on how things are going with Lennar here .

  In our case too, we have not been provided with a very important communication in the process which ** have not heard anyone else were not given. ** can not disclose it here at the moment as we are also working with other agencies too to get this resolved/investigated.

  At this point, once again, I will request Lennar to refund the ******* money. ** are willing to keep upto 5% with them for any future purchase , if that works for them. But can afford to loose anything more than that this difficult time. 

   

  Thanks,

  jitendra

   

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This complaint involves a specific employee in a specific Lennar community, not Lennar as a whole. We were looking at home in the ******* of River Pointe. We had our realtor reach out to the Lennar sales **** ********* He told our realtor that the house was pending sale, but the house across the street was for sale. After looking at the house, we agreed on an offer to present to the builder with the purchase to be contingent upon an inspection. We were told by our realtor that Lennar accepted our offer. ******** sent over the purchase agreement. It was missing the contingency for inspection. He said it was there, but it wasn't. We said we needed the contingency included. He said no reputable builder would allow an inspection and that we had to trust our builder. He said that there are inspections done at each step of the way during the build. Yes, city inspectors that look for the very minimum that meets code. ******** then started sending unprofessional text messages saying that we were better suited for a "used" house due to our demands for an inspection and Lennar doesn't allow inspections and they wouldn't trust anything an inspector would find. We would never buy a house without an inspection. The next day our realtor reached out to ********'s manager, ***** to straighten this out. ***** said that we can have an inspection done, but the purchase of the house wouldn't be contingent upon it. So we switched gears and scheduled an inspection for tomorrow. This way we would know if the house had any issues before signing the **. We let ******** and ***** know we had an inspection scheduled. We then received a message from our realtor saying that Lennar wants us to make a decision immediately after the inspection. We wouldn't have the inspection report to review with Lennar for a couple of days. I emailed ******** to ask if this was true, but he never responded to my email. We are canceling the inspection until we can get a straight answer from them.

  Business response

  01/04/2023

  Lennar takes very seriously any complaint from a customer. ******************** immediately reviewed the customers inspection and communication conerns; and was contacted by the Lennar representative to discuss those concerns. We had made an exception to allow a prepurchase inspection of the home, however Lennar does not accept offers or purchase agreements contingent on a third party inspection, for several reasons. We apologize for any miscommunication and/or misunderstanding.

  Customer response

  01/05/2023

   I am rejecting this response because: We had a house built by Lennar in 2019 and the purchase was contingent upon inspection. ***** as stated in my previous response, this Lennar **** ********* told us that we could not have an inspection, that they would repair anything that an inspector finds, citing that they don't trust inspectors. This BBB response from Lennar is contradictory to the comment made by this rep. ***** Lennar didn't "allow" us to spend our own money on having an inspection prior to signing a ** on a house. We did this on our own accord, knowing that we would possibly be out hundreds of dollars for this inspection if the purchase did not go through, which it did not. We were told again by this same rep that Lennar wanted a decision by us immediately after the inspection was completed, before we even had the report in our hands. There was extreme pressure from this rep to hurry up and sign, without an ounce of professionalism. He voided the ** in 24 hours while we were wiorking with Lennar Mortgage to see how high the interest rates had raised during the week of going back and forth with this rep. *** that this rep is no longer working in the community we were looking in, we may be able to move forward at some point with purchasing a house, if the interest rates ever drop back down to where they were when we first attempted to purchase a home.
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife and I purchase our home, a Lennar built, in the ******** neighborhood in May 17th. (**** *******************, ************* ** ******) Currently we have an escrow hold, by our mortgage company, until the Final Grade, irrigation, landscaping, trees, sod and other items are properly installed and completed with our property. Currently we have mud and dirt and construction debris drop off and trash on our front and back yard from other constructions. We have been trying. to follow up with the onsite manager ********************* on the status of these items via email and personally. Unfortunately **************** have been very condescending, patronizing and overall rude when ask about the status of the pending items. Examples of ******************** answer when asked timelines and/or help us understand why other unfinished homes, not currently occupied by owners, are getting grading and sod are: shrugging his shoulders and smirking, communicating that those houses are on escrow, ( as home owners we do not care if Lennar needs to sell homes, that's not an answer that provide much guidance) and flat out, with a rude demeanor, we have to wait or that he is not going to meet timelines stipulated in our mortgage contract without major explanations. This is totally unacceptable.As we already locked into our mortgage for the full amount, we are following on the status of these items as responsible homeowners. We would like for Lennar to communicate to us when the final grading, irrigation, landscaping, trees, sod and other items are going to be properly installed and completed in our property otherwise we would like to hire our own crew. In addition we will like for Lennar to be aware of residents that live in the area that need to constantly be picking up garbage and construction debris from other unoccupied builts.

  Business response

  07/05/2022

  Lennar takes very seriously any complaint from a homeowner and greatly values all customers. Lennar immediately contacted the customer to discuss their concerns. A manager reviewed the exterior escrow work process, work that could not be performed due to winter weather conditions; and also explained that lending institutions may require the completion of all exterior items for summer and fall closings. That information is contained in the purchase agreement and preconstruction documents reviewed with the customer prior to closing. We understand that the scheduling and completion of escrow work can be frustrating. Lennar will provide the customer with exterior escrow work updates. We are truly sorry for any misunderstanding and/or miscommunication.

• Initial Complaint

  11/19/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We entered into a contract on 6/28/2021 with Lennar Homes for the purchase of a new construction home in the Enclave at Settler's Ridge.In August, we were notified by Lennar that materials might be substituted and that we would receive ample notice of any substitutions, which would be of "substantially the same or greater quality." We were informed at that time that closing might be delayed in the event the quality standard could not be reached.On 10/12/2021, closing was scheduled for 11/30/2021.On 11/1/2021, we were notified that carpet was installed in a manner unfit for industry standards or the quality standard guaranteed to us, as carpet installation occurred (unbeknownst to construction management) prior to the completion of a significant amount of drywall, painting, and other work that would irreparably soil and damage the carpet and expose the home's inhabitants to residual drywall dust, etc. that could not be sufficiently mitigated.On 11/9/2021, construction management acknowledged carpet was installed prematurely, damaged beyond repair, and that carpet in the home's office would be replaced.On 11/19/2021, we learned that Lennar does not currently have plans to replace the home's prematurely installed carpet in any area besides the office prior to scheduled closing on 11/30/2021, a resolution we do not accept and seek BBB support in resolving to our satisfaction and to the guarantees provided.Separately, on 11/4/2021, we were notified that the bathtub model ordered for the main bathroom would need to be substituted, and on 11/8/2021 that substitution was confirmed. We were not notified of any potential delay to closing at this point.On 11/18/2021, we were notified that the replacement bathtub model chosen would not be available prior to scheduled closing on 11/30/2021 but not provided a suitable replacement or a revised closing date by which the bathtub could be installed, another resolution we do not accept and seek BBB support in resolving.

  Business response

  12/17/2021

  Lennar takes very seriously its commitment to all of its valued customers, and to excellent business practices. Lennar agreed, as a courtesy, to replace the office carpeting. The carpeting was covered during the final stages of construction and is/was not damaged or defective. Lennar, as a courtesy, agreed to replace the den carpet due to a few paint drops. The remainder of the carpeting will not be replaced. Lennar, as a courtesy, will have the carpet professionally cleaned. The bathtub selected by the customer was delivered and installed. We are truly sorry the customer is not satisfied

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩