Don’t Buy a ​Richmond A​merican Home!

A Homeowner's review and thoughts on Building a Nottingham (also known as a Darrius in other communities) in Sterling Ranch, Littleton, Colorado.

Our Experience Purchasing a Richmond American Home in Sterling Ranch, Colorado


This is a detailed account of our experience buying a Richmond American Home in Sterling Ranch. Although we are no strangers to new home construction – having already owned one home in the area – our second experience turned out to be the worst. Our goal is to provide you with an honest review so you can make an informed decision about using Richmond American Homes as your builder. We entered into a contract in August 2021, closed on the property in July 2022, and are currently in the warranty close-out phase with Richmond. We have several outstanding concerns and issues regarding the quality of this builder.

Closing Day, July 2022

Here are a few of the biggest challenges we have or are facing with our home, post closing!

Paint

This photo was taken 14.5 months post-closing, and the interior paint job is subpar. Wall paint on the ceiling and vice versa. Despite three visits from the painters to fix their work, the paint job remains unsatisfactory.

Critical Kitchen appliances were missing.

Unbelievable: One permanent appliance installed on Closing Day!

Imagine buying a home and closing day, there's no refrigerator or stove installed. The appliances were inside the home, but not set up or installed. It's shocking to think that Richmond was able to obtain a certificate of occupancy from the county under these circumstances.

Major electrical circuits did not work!

The photo below was taken six days after the closing, revealing that none of the 240-volt circuits were properly connected. One has to wonder, how did this home pass any inspection or quality control check?

Let's talk drywall.....it nearly covers every inch of your home

During the construction of our home, we encountered a significant problem with the drywall installation. The CEO of the sub-contractor, while inspecting the work, expressed his dismay at the quality, describing it as the worst he had ever seen. He attributed this to a lack of adequate sanding of the seams between the drywall panels, due to time constraints.


Despite our expectation for Richmond to work with us towards a resolution, they have only offered a buyout option. Yes, Richmond is saying they will only buy out the poor work vs. repair the drywall.


Our current drywall buy out:

$3,650.00

Yes, you read that right! Do you believe that the sum of $3,650 will be sufficient for skim coating, sanding, and repainting those areas? Not to mention the time it will take to remove lights, speakers, furniture and cover up the dwelling while we are displaced for the repairs to be done.

Don’t look too close; attention to detail is not a strong suit

Above, the "gourmet Kitchen with Signature Classic Crown" looks like an amateur installed it. Below is the drywall around the rain shower, flaws in the construction process where paint is applied to walls after cabinet installation, and walls that were built just crooked.

Inconsistent temperatures on the same floor.

In talking with neighbors with similar homes, there is usually one room that is too cold in the winter or too hot in the summer due to the distance of this room from the furnace. I personally feel that the cause of this issue due to Richmond installing undersized and marginally efficient heating and cooling systems, which are compounded by the distance of rooms from the furnace. In our case, Bedroom 2 is this room.


The day these readings were taken it was 49 degrees outside, with the thermostat set to 69 degrees with the heat on > 24 hours. Furthermore I have CLOSED every vent in every room expect Bedroom 2 so that as much hot air as possible would reach bedroom 2. The red stars indicate where my readings were taken. The result is a shocking temperate difference of almost 7 degree between these two rooms. Might I remind you, this is a house built in 2022 with brand new windows, furnace, and “efficient” heating and cooling equipment. It is only 49 degrees outside; the problem only gets worse when it is 0 degrees or 104 degrees outside.

Bedroom 2

64.0 degrees.

Master Retreat

70.8 degrees

One step forward, two steps back...... this is the warranty experience.

Expect a bit of a lallygagging for repairs to be completed. As you can see from the photos below, taken in October 2023, we have been waiting 15 months for painters to complete each "repair." The warranty process is chaotic, with different tradesmen being sent for sanding, roller painting, and spray painting. It's a never-ending cycle, and you'll need to set aside at least four hours of your day for the tradesman to arrive, if they show up at all. Fingers crossed that they don't cause any further damage or make a mess while they're completing their nominal tasks.

The driveway and front entry.

The driveway has been flagged as a problematic area during and after the construction process and is on the essential "punch list" of items that need repair, added by Richmond in July 2022. As of now, no attempts to fix the driveway have been made, and Richmond is now reevaluation this repair and will “reinspect” the driveway to see if repairs are warranted or approved despite being on their punch list since July 2022. Additionally our front step literally fell off and started moving away from the house! As homeowners, had to remove this for safety and aesthetics and still waiting for reimbursement from Richmond’s on their promise to buy back this problem.

Sales Center vs. Reality.......

What we were promised:

The sales and marketing materials boast painted trim work around the front window, peaks, and soffits (as seen in the black paint on the peaks' fascia) to achieve a cohesive look.

What we got:

Despite our efforts to demonstrate that the house is inconsistent with their plans, our request to Richmond to paint the house as shown in their own marketing has been denied, despite being after putting on the agreed upon punch list at closing. No painted trim on the peaks and soffits that are body color.

Windows that leak in the rain.

To our disbelief and shock, we discovered the front window leaks in heavy rain storms. Thank goodness we were home when this happened. When the window company came out to inspect the window they said there was nothing wrong with it. Richmond has never followed up on this item with us. This is yet another example of how the homeowner has to manage every concern and act as the warranty manager on every item.

When all else fails, ask for management?

Our goal is to be as transparent as possible and provide a fair, thoughtful review that demonstrates our efforts to follow the Richmond process to resolve our construction issues. We have attempted to work with Richmond on the problems on our home and have reached this point out of pure frustration over the lack of any meaningful progress on our substantial issues. We would have preferred to be enthusiastic supporters of Richmond, rather than sharing our dismal experience.


After receiving the house in a horrifying condition, we met with Don Laws, the Director of Home Care, on September 26, 2022. During the walkthrough, we identified and presented every issue we were facing. At no point did Mr. Laws indicate that we would face denial for any item on the builder-written punch list. It wasn't until October 2023 that we received our first official denial of an item on the punch list.


Normally, with an organization that values its clients, is a long-term member of the community, and seeks to build relationships, they strive to find solutions to problems so that their clients are satisfied. However, this has not been our experience with Richmond.

Where we started, how to contact us and our final rating of building with Richmond American Homes.

Richmond’s Promise......

“Anything less than a 10 is a failure to me, my team, and my organization”

Final Rating:

F Grade Illustration

This experience has taught us that at every turn from sales, to construction to warranty; Richmond will say and tell you everything you want and expect to hear during the process. They will write down all the issues wrong with your home with no intention of repair. They will send unqualified individuals to attempt repairs, which will cause more damage trying to repair issues, and in the end Richmond may leave you high and dry on those promises, like they did to us.


If you don't believe us, have questions, or want more information on what it is really like building a Richmond American Home, please contact us below. We would LOVE nothing more than to save you the heartache of building a home with Richmond, and if for nothing else, level set your expectations of what you can experience may be.

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