Letter in response to Terri Lo's posting on Yourhub.com
February 23, 2007
Ms. Lo posted an article on February 22, 2007 on Yourhub.com expressing her dissatisfaction of Todays Homes. Ms. Lo's article does not include the name or address of the Todays Homes' homeowners (her sister and brother-in-law), so we are unable to identify these individuals to verify any of the complaints she has included in her posting.
Ms. Lo makes several negative statements about Todays Homes reputation and performance. Todays Homes is proud of our quality craftsmanship and customer care, and our homeowners tell us they are satisfied and willing to refer Todays Homes to their friends and family. Our customers are surveyed by an independent, third party company at 30 days after closing and again 120 days after closing. The completed survey results for 2006 show that 93.06% of our homebuyers ARE willing to refer Todays Homes 30 days after closing and 94.44% of our homebuyers ARE willing to refer Todays Homes 120 days after closing. The word getting around about Todays Homes is much more positive than Ms. Lo claims.
Ms. Lo also states the "house is a piece of junk." I am extending an open invitation to anyone to come see our homes for themselves to make their own judgment. We do build affordable homes for entry level and first time move up buyers. Our homes do not have some of the extravagant features of more expensive homes, but our homes include quality features, materials and workmanship that we will stand behind throughout our warranty period.
The complaints she raises about warranty problems in her sister's home are unusual and possibly overstated. Todays Homes stands behind the homes we build and we are willing to visit her sister's home to inspect her complaints. In regard to Ms. Lo statement, "the 1 year warranty is up and the door was installed wrong and it's not Todays Homes [their] fault", our Warranty Department Team does not make statements like this and if we find out this statement was actually said by one of our team members they won't be on our team any more.
The comments about our contract and strategy to sell to people that can't afford to sue us is simply off base. Virtually every home builder in Colorado will have the same language in the contract that we do. The language does not preclude the option of suing us, it just says that we want the right to have an independent third party review the facts of the claims being made to see if there is a reasonable solution that can be reached between both parties before we all start spending thousands of dollars on attorney fees. Todays Homes has built and closed over 700 homes in El Paso and Pueblo Counties and we have had only one negative claim made by a customer over our history.
She also states that they could have purchased appliances from Home Depot cheaper than they were charged by us. We purchase our appliances directly from GE and we offer them at affordable prices to our homebuyers, just as we do with other options and upgrades. Our price does include delivery and installation, which is usually an extra charge that is not included in Home Depot's advertised price.
Finally, Ms Lo used a derogatory term to describe our customers, in which we take great offense. Todays Homes respects and values our customers -- period. Our Warranty Manual defines in detail what homeowners can expect from our Warranty Service Team. We consistently do the right thing for the home.
Ms. Lo has put us in a difficult position having to respond to an anonymous complaint and has taken away any opportunity we would have to respond with more specific answers to the issues she has raised. We would welcome a call from her sister and brother-in-law so we can come to the home, inspect the items noted, fix any valid defects and reach resolution for them.
Respectfully,
Alan Teeters
President
Todays Homes
Office: 719.576.5200