Homes Direct — Local services in Albuquerque

When we went in Mike Dorsey was the sales person next in line to show us around. He showed us a couple houses and promptly made an excuse to leave, “letting us browse” and if we had any questions we could go back to his office. When we went back he took forever to call us back into his office and it was apparent he didn’t want to waste his time.

We left but were referred back to Homes Direct, specifically to Todd Van Berg, General Manager. We picked out our house model, put down $500.00 price lock-in deposit, and received the quote sheet. At that time Mike Dorsey saw us with Todd and complained that he worked with us earlier. Needless to say we ended up back with Mike Dorsey as our sales representative.

Our lock-in deposit was supposed to include assistance with securing financing, finding contractors, etc. Over this whole process we did ALL the leg work. We got financing and we found, submitted all the floor plans, paperwork, and received quotes from two contractors, we sent the quotes to the bank. We dealt with the construction loan arranging payment withdrawals everyone said that it was highly unusual for the buyer to be the go-between in all these processes, yet here we were. Every time I needed paperwork from Mike Dorsey it took forever to get what we needed, and when we got it there were usually mistakes.

We were asked to provide $400.00 payment, check made directly to Mike Dorsey to expedite the engineer floor plans which really delayed the process further. And getting our money back was like pulling teeth.

We were continually pushed back on production date and received different information than what they were telling our contractor. Costing extra expenses on construction mortgage and extra rent. Delivery just prior to the holiday further delayed progress on the house.

House delivery before the holiday season put everything on hold for another two months. Once the finishing work inside started we realized an open bathroom concept we asked to have a door put in, they added a tiny closet door as an afterthought, thrown on and the two walls inside and outside didn’t match. On one side, they just taped and textured as normal and the door frame on the other side was offset all around by about 4 inches, it did not match. The tiny door was removed and it was left open as we did not want it to be.

Move in was almost a year after starting this whole process.

Now, after living 1.5 years in the home we are finding they used subpar materials and subpar workmanship. Any caulk inside and out has cracked and is falling out. Fixtures and cabinets were put in prior to tape and texture so paint is all over everything, the ceiling around the can lights is missing paint and texture where they didn’t pay attention and some lights are “glued” in where they slathered too much. The lights in our bathroom went out and when we pulled one out to fix it we noticed they are all missing the top on the attached junction box. The pipes for plumbing were not fully tightened and leaked causing water damage, and the fix was laying cheap foam cabinet liner over the saturated and bubbling cabinet. They never really fixed the sink pipes under the kitchen sink which were constructed piecemeal with leftover parts and we finally had to re-do them ourselves to get a proper fix. My laminate countertops are already bubbling and need to be replaced. The Frigidaire appliances they use are horrible and cheap. The list goes on and on and on…. We went with a modular home because it was supposed to be faster. We’ve been told that building a site-built house would have cost about the same, would have been completed much sooner eliminating a lot of the emotional and financial burden we have had to endure dealing with Mike Dorsey and Homes Direct of Albuquerque. In addition, when choosing the floor plan I mentioned a bunch of changes I would make which Mike Dorsey said would cost us a ton to change. Now if you look at their plans they have an option that includes all my changes for minimal price change, and I’m stuck with the...

Karsten brags that they build a house in 8 days. After purchasing one, I can tell you that speed trump's quality. When it was delivered, there was drywall dust throughout, which made damage difficult to see. My contractor work didn't pass first inspection and I moved from out of state, so there was a time lapse before I got it cleaned and saw the scratches on the floors. I bought the stainless steel appliances and sink. The refrigerator was scuffed and there were scratches in the sink. They ignored my complaint about those, so I paid for new and got damaged. The refrigerator has always made noise that doesn't sound normal. Half of the outlets in the kitchen didn't work. My calls to Karsten were ignored. It's true that after a certain time they require complaints to be in writing. I had been in an accident and crushed my hands. (Picture available). The electrician I hired discovered that a gfci had been installed upside down. There are no three way light switches in this house. It never occurred to me to ask when I ordered the house, but then, it's not 1950. Bad job cutting trim? No problem for this builder, just fill in the gaps with caulk. There is daylight visible around the entry doors. The front door was moving. The carpenter I hired discovered that the door was being held in by the trim and wasn't nailed into the frame. It's also a half inch off plumb. There's also a fairly large uninsulated gap around the door. Update: I had the carpenter back to inspect the other door. Not only was it installed as badly as the other, it had not been caulked on the outside, resulting in water damage in the wall, something else to fix. In the kitchen, there's a two inch gap between the stove and the end of the countertop. They failed to put spacers between the cabinets, then cut the countertop short, or the other way around. If the cabinet door is opened beyond 90 degrees, it meets the edge of the adjacent cabinet door, causing it to be sprung. I discovered that the frame on the hinge side was covered with something white. Someone at the factory spilled something and tried to clean up without removing it, possibly cracking the door. This is not a small mistake that went unnoticed by them, but they decided it was okay to pass along to me. Like they decided to finish the insides of two closet doors with strips of drywall intstead of millwork. So my conclusion is, I paid a lot more than I should have. Their models are not representative of what you get.I can only imagine what was done or not done that I can't see. If you're looking for a quality built home,...

Sales staff is great so far! I just started the process so we will see. I was allowed to look at EVERY model on the lot. This was the first place I went THEN visited others. That was the best thing I could have done. START HERE!!!! I can't stress that enough! I thought they were kinda high at first but when I went to other places I thought " you want $131,000 for this???" " I just saw a similar home, taped, textured, with 2x6 exterior walls for around the same price." That's when I realized I needed to go back to homesdirect. It was cold and windy the day we decided on a home and none of the homes were uncomfortable to be inside. There were space heaters (1 inside) but I only saw one kick on. That was a big deciding factor because we live at 7500 feet. It gets cold here. Some of the other places we looked the homes were uncomfortably cold to even view. Even the sales people at the other places seemed uncomfortable to be in their homes while trying to sell them. Speaking of the sales people here at homesdirect, I was allowed to look all I wanted WITHOUT them!!!! I loved that!!!!! If I had a question I'd ask Scott my sales guy, and I go back out and continue looking. At other places I was given a list of homes, 2 or 3 maybe, based on either what THEY thought I wanted, or what THEY thought I could afford, after telling them what I wanted. That's the thing I despise most when making a big purchase like a car, home, boat, or 5th wheel...I want to see ALL of them!! I don't want to be pushed into something you need to sell because it's been on the lot for a while or you get some kind of commission bonus for selling a particular model. I have walked off many lots when salesmen approach my truck before I even get out. These are houses or cars, I know how they work, let me look, I'll come get you when I need you, I don't need you holding my hand around the lot. Allow me and my wife to battle it out in between ourselves so we can make the best decision for us. Anyway, these guys were great, they unlock all the units and you have free reign. Love this place, loved it so much I plan on asking my sales guy about getting a couple park models after this first one is said and done for another project I'm working on, but don't tell...