I purchased a single-family home in the Township of Upper Providence, Montgomery County) in December, 2012 from Village of Caralea, LLC (D’Arcangelo Builders). There are two items in the AOS that have not been fulfilled by the builder:
“Architectural dimensional roof shingles with a 30 year manufactures warranty, buyers choice of color. Includes 15 year non-prorated material and labor warranty from shingle manufacturer.” The roofing contractor who installed the roof is not a certified installer of GAF (roofing manufacturer). As a result, the builder cannot obtain the 15 year non-prorated material and labor warranty (this is an extended warranty beyond the basic manufacture’s warranty).
“Gas fireplace on side wall with cream color marble and Jefferson white mantel with blower.” The builder installed the fireplace, but he did not install the blower. I had the fireplace inspected and serviced by a certified fireplace installer, who verified that no blower was ever installed nor was any power run to the outlet located in the fireplace that could be used for the blower.
Another significant issue concerns storm water drainage issues, caused by the ground level elevation being 3 feet higher than the builder’s grading plan, which was approved by the Township. The builder confirmed to us verbally at a meeting at the property on October 3, 2013, in front of my civil engineer and the Township engineer (Bill Dingman), that when he dug out the foundation, he hit water and could not dig further. However, instead of notifying the Township and modifying the grading plan, he just continued with the construction, with the resulting elevation being 3 feet higher than the plan.
In addition, the Township did not inspect the elevations during construction. Since the property does not comply with the approved grading plan, storm water is flowing onto neighboring properties that did not occur prior to the house construction. In an attempt to prevent this, the builder entered my property and built a berm completely without obtaining my authorization. As a result, significant amounts of rain water pond on both my property and neighboring property. The neighbors are conferring with their neighbor, who is an attorney, what their next steps will be, with the risk of suing me because of the storm water entering their property.
I gave a presentation to Upper Providence, PA Board of Supervisors Meeting on March 17, 2014 to report on the lack of progress on the items discussed at our Deecember 12, 2013 meeting wtih the Township, Buider, and their representatives.
On March 18, 2014, I received an email from the Township Supervisor that the Township Solicitor contacted Mr. Clement, who said he was preparing an agreement; however, there is still no correspondence regarding this--going on four months after our initial meeting on December 12.
Also, I contacted State Representative Vereb, who refused to help, saying it was a ""municipal matter"" and State Senator Rafferty, whose office agreed only to help expedite a response from the Attorney General from the complaint I filed with them.
In the meanwhile, the builder is completing the final asphalt layer on the street and will be dedicating the development soon. We suspect after this is completed, he will file bankruptcy or just close down the business so that we will not be able to file a lawsuit.
Several months ago, I was assured by Assistant Township Manager, C. Lee Milligan, that the remaining 3 homes at that time would not be allowed to settle until the drainage issue at my house was resolved. This did not occur and all 3 homes did settle, including a home being occupied by the Builder's daughter (Marielle D'Arcangelo-Huff) and her family. Also, note that Marielle is a real estate agent for Keller Williams in Limerick, who was the builder's agent for selling these homes. With the lack of response from the Township as well as from the builder and his attorney, one can see that the Township is allowing the builder, a non-tax paying citizen of the Township, to move forward with his work, while not giving the same level of urgency to me, a tax paying citizen of the Township.
Village of Caralea, LLC Reviews
EXPLANATION OF ISSUE
I purchased a single-family home in the Township of Upper Providence, Montgomery County) in December, 2012 from Village of Caralea, LLC (D’Arcangelo Builders). There are two items in the AOS that have not been fulfilled by the builder:
“Architectural dimensional roof shingles with a 30 year manufactures warranty, buyers choice of color. Includes 15 year non-prorated material and labor warranty from shingle manufacturer.” The roofing contractor who installed the roof is not a certified installer of GAF (roofing manufacturer). As a result, the builder cannot obtain the 15 year non-prorated material and labor warranty (this is an extended warranty beyond the basic manufacture’s warranty).
“Gas fireplace on side wall with cream color marble and Jefferson white mantel with blower.” The builder installed the fireplace, but he did not install the blower. I had the fireplace inspected and serviced by a certified fireplace installer, who verified that no blower was ever installed nor was any power run to the outlet located in the fireplace that could be used for the blower.
Another significant issue concerns storm water drainage issues, caused by the ground level elevation being 3 feet higher than the builder’s grading plan, which was approved by the Township. The builder confirmed to us verbally at a meeting at the property on October 3, 2013, in front of my civil engineer and the Township engineer (Bill Dingman), that when he dug out the foundation, he hit water and could not dig further. However, instead of notifying the Township and modifying the grading plan, he just continued with the construction, with the resulting elevation being 3 feet higher than the plan.
In addition, the Township did not inspect the elevations during construction. Since the property does not comply with the approved grading plan, storm water is flowing onto neighboring properties that did not occur prior to the house construction. In an attempt to prevent this, the builder entered my property and built a berm completely without obtaining my authorization. As a result, significant amounts of rain water pond on both my property and neighboring property. The neighbors are conferring with their neighbor, who is an attorney, what their next steps will be, with the risk of suing me because of the storm water entering their property.
I gave a presentation to Upper Providence, PA Board of Supervisors Meeting on March 17, 2014 to report on the lack of progress on the items discussed at our Deecember 12, 2013 meeting wtih the Township, Buider, and their representatives.
On March 18, 2014, I received an email from the Township Supervisor that the Township Solicitor contacted Mr. Clement, who said he was preparing an agreement; however, there is still no correspondence regarding this--going on four months after our initial meeting on December 12.
Also, I contacted State Representative Vereb, who refused to help, saying it was a ""municipal matter"" and State Senator Rafferty, whose office agreed only to help expedite a response from the Attorney General from the complaint I filed with them.
In the meanwhile, the builder is completing the final asphalt layer on the street and will be dedicating the development soon. We suspect after this is completed, he will file bankruptcy or just close down the business so that we will not be able to file a lawsuit.
Several months ago, I was assured by Assistant Township Manager, C. Lee Milligan, that the remaining 3 homes at that time would not be allowed to settle until the drainage issue at my house was resolved. This did not occur and all 3 homes did settle, including a home being occupied by the Builder's daughter (Marielle D'Arcangelo-Huff) and her family. Also, note that Marielle is a real estate agent for Keller Williams in Limerick, who was the builder's agent for selling these homes. With the lack of response from the Township as well as from the builder and his attorney, one can see that the Township is allowing the builder, a non-tax paying citizen of the Township, to move forward with his work, while not giving the same level of urgency to me, a tax paying citizen of the Township.