Couple calls 12 after problems with new home are not addressed

CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) - A Chesterfield couple is frustrated after moving into their new home three years ago. They are still waiting for issues to be addressed that were documented in a walkthrough after they had been there for a just year.

They say they tried contacting Boyd Homes multiple times to no avail. Then they called 12, and On Your Side Investigator Eric Philips got the ball rolling.

Dario Bridges showed Philips a number of things wrong with the house he and his fiancée, Stephanie Rich,  purchased from Boyd Homes in 2015.

"I'm a contractor, so it's been very aggravating for me," Bridges said.

For example, the front door won't stay closed unless the dead bolt is engaged.

"It's happened where I shut it, I'm out here cutting grass and I go to the back and come back to the front and the front door is wide open," said Bridges.

Something that would seem like an easy fix, yet even though it made the list of items to be addressed during the couple's 11-month walkthrough in 2016, it still hasn't happened.

"It's 2018 now, and this was 2016, so it's getting to be a bit much, said Bridges. "We're just trying to get some things done on the home that we purchased."

The list also includes the yard that was supposed to be graded, seeded and strawed. Bridges says a step was skipped, causing drainage issues.

"They did put down seed and straw, but they never regraded," Bridges said. "You have a rut here where water just sits, and it just retains water coming all through here."

Then there's the back deck that was built as part of the purchase contract. There are holes filled with water because they were never filled in with dirt.

"These posts are pressure-treated, water-treated, but they're not made to sit in water," Bridges said.

Inside, their wood flooring has holes where ants have come through. A subcontractor showed up to replace the flooring but said that wouldn't be best until Boyd Homes addresses the underlying issue.

"If they replace the boards, and then the ants come back, then the same thing's going to happen again," Rich said.

Also, trim around the attic entry is peeling. Quite frankly, all of these items seem so small - and Bridges agrees.

"It's just like you're buying a brand-new vehicle and having to go and change spark plugs and do little itty bitty things that add up and build up, and it's frustrating," Bridges said.

It's why the couple reached out to 12 On Your Side. Philips called Boyd Homes' corporate office and talked to the President, David Rudiger, who said something slipped through the cracks, insisting this is not how the company does business. Rudiger sent Philips a statement that says in part:

"We are still investigating how this situation came to happen...we will be working with the home owners to promptly resolve all of the concerns..."

"To me, it's a small issue, but it's their problem, and they need to take care of it and honor their word," Bridges said.

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