Hiline Homes Management Disgusting

We are having a home built by Hiline Homes (Centralia Office) in Packwood, Wa. We were due to complete our final walk through as the home was almost complete on September 5, 2008, but have yet to sign off on the home; accepting the work completed by Hiline. On September 3, 2008 we received a phone call from neighbor stating that there was water pouring out over our foundation. We asked them to enter the home to access the damage, turn off the water connection on the outside of the home, and call us with any information. We immediatly called Hiline to inform them of the problem only to be told that they would go up the next morning to look it over. We explained that the entire home was saturated, wicking up the walls, and ruining wood doors, trim and more. On September 4, 2008, we received a phone call at approx 8:00 AM from Jamen Behr, stating that he had gone up to the home the night of the 3rd, brought the plumber, but didn't call us to meet him up there. He explained it as vandalism, had made a phone call to the Lewis Co Sheriff's office, and told us that Hiline would not be responsible for the damage and would not be completing any of the work to fix the home. He stated that it was really bad, and that we should get started on drying it out as soon as possible as not to incur any other damage. We were told that because it was "vandalism" they would not be involved and that we should call our insurance company right away. We disputed the vandalism claim. When he was asked if there were any broken windows, doors, or forced entry he said no and that the deputy could not find any sign of entry either. (no fingerprints, footprints, mud, etc) (the vandal would have had to enter the home with the hidden key, and exit the home, lock the doors, and replace the key to the hidden location) Jamen claimed that the vandalism act was simply that the washing machine valve was turned on ever so slightly (less than a quarter of the way) . He also told us that he was in the home on August 30, 2008, and that the home was secure, locked and dry. What he failed to tell us was that he brought his wife, mother, and two children through our home for a tour on the 30th - no business was conducted- and the timing would match the amount of water in the home if someone would have bumped the valve, or a child turned on the valve. We have contacted the deputy who responded, and he stated that there were no signs what so ever of entry, and that the area has not had any vandalism acts. Hiline refuses to take responsibility of the water damage, even though we have not signed off on the home, which is still under the construction phase, walked away from a saturated home, and told us that it was our responsibility to get it dried out and fixed. They have refused to put anything in writing. We are concerned about the bogus police complaint that was made to cover themselves, and the vandalism verbage used was so that our insurance would be responsible. Hiline has completely dropped the ball on our home as they have received all of their payments and have been paid in full.

Exterior Almost Finished

The roof, windows, doors, and siding have been installed. We painted the eves before the siding went on. The electrical is being done this week, then the insulation and the rough in phase will be complete.

Framer had to come back and fix the hold down portion of the walls as the work had failed inspection. The framing is a little rough and the plumbing is nothing special. Code but that is about it. Another house like ours is suppose to be going up in another part of Packwood.

The Hiline contruction manger does not communicate with use at all. The only way we know what is going on is by calling and waiting for a return call.

We are going to put insulation in the bedroom walls to try and keep them a little quieter.

Project is on schedule and we hope to be done around the end of August or early September.

Paint and Failed Inspection

We went up this week end to paint the outside areas we are required to do and to check on Hilines progress. Our schedule stated that the windows and rough plumbing should be done. When we arrived we found the plumbing was complete but no windows. The front door had been delivered but the windows, all five, were AWOL.

An inspection of the current activity on the permit showed that the framing was examined by the county on 6/3 and the sheer wall failed. The walls were not constructed and nailed as shown in Hilines plans that had been approved by the county so the inspection failed.

The rough plumbing was in and holding air so no leaks. The siding had been delivered and should be hung next week.

The house is off schedule but hopefully Hiline Homes will get it back on schedule.

Floor and Framing

The framers are coming in from Mossyrock. We had to pay 5K extra on a one time charge as Packwood is outside the normal building area. We were told they would be there to do the floor. We went up to check it out and found part of the floor was completed. Our neighbors told us there were there for about half a day and left. On Memorial day at about 0730 we were sleeping in our trailer and heard some very loud noise coming from the foundation. The framers were there working on the house. They told us they were planning on completing the framing and then putting up the trusses on Tuesday. About an hour later the framers were packing up and getting ready to leave. The problem told to us was that Lumbermans, for the second time, had shorted on the materials and there was not enough flooring. They were three sheets short. According to the framers this was the second time on this job they found a shortage in material and had to leave. They were not happy. We left a message for the construction manager as it was a holiday. To his credit, he trucked up the missing sheets of flooring and the framing was completed on Friday.

We went up on Saturday to clean up the site and inside the house. Some pipe and the shower had been delivered. Hopefully Hiline has corrected the communication problem with the lumberyard.

We were told over a week ago by Hiline that they would email us the construction schedule. As of today, no show. We have to drive 2.5 hours each way so we have asked HiLine and the construction manager to please work with us so we can schedule or trips to the site to complete the work required of us. They are good at having the information, but only when you call them.

Hopefully the roof, windows and doors are next.

Site Prep

We used B and B Excavating in Packwood. John Anderson does a very good job and has worked in Lewis county for lots of years. We completed the pre-construction meetings. There was suppose to be three of them but they put two together at the same time which we appreciated. Met with the pre-construction and construction manager. Foundation went up pretty quickly and was backfilled by John Anderson. We have found that things are happening but the construction manager does not initate much communication with us. We generally have to call him to find anything out. We also have made some friends down the street so we give them a call to find out what is going on at the building site.

Financing

We went with Anchor Bank as they were one of the financial institutions that HiLine has a relationship with. We would not recommend using them as the loan officer failed to mention over 1,800 dollars in closing costs that showed up on the construction loan, after closing. The officer did not communicate with us well and we almost always had to call her to get any information. We continually had to ask her what we could do move along the process. I think they may have stalled us out so we took an interest rate that was a little too high instead of having to start the entire loan process over.