Rebecca Garland
Rebecca Garland
Business and Education Expert

The rising inflation influenced the US housing market this year, making it cool down. Still, this should not discourage home builders and their customers as the demand remains rather high. 

The increase in prices should be a warning sign for buyers to be more cautious when dealing with home construction companies. Not every new homeowner story has a happy ending, and this seems especially true for customers who have taken the time to share their experiences with D.R. Horton reviews through PissedConsumer.com.

Customers who complain about D.R. Horton customer service, building, and insurance issues have taken to leaving video reviews to warn others and perhaps encourage a positive response from the company.

Carina C., who bought a new D.R. Horton Constructed home in Orlando, sat down for a video review to share her family’s experience. Carina shared her story with PissedConsumer about handling D.R. Horton insurance after discovering house damages, including mold.

Here are the main points covered in this article:

D.R. Horton Reviews: Customer Service, Insurance, and Construction Issues

“When we purchased our home, it was somewhat finished, but not really and there were delays,” she said.

Her family used the D.R. Horton warranty that is good for the first year after purchase to address many issues like the wrong carpet, wavy driveway concrete, and cabinets stained the wrong color.

For each visit from D.R. Horton customer service, Carina’s husband remained at home to wait for the service visit.

"They would sometimes show up, sometimes not. So they definitely jeopardized his job,” says Carina in her D.R. Horton complaint.

Then the situation described by Carina became even worse.

“On June 19th of 2019, the main drainage pipe bursted. And approximately 30 gallons plus of sewage water just poured all over our dining room area, living room area, hallway, guest room where my father was staying,” she explained in her D.R. Horton review.

By now Carina had the D.R. Horton customer service number ready to go, and when the company came out to resolve the sewage pipe issue, they discovered something else – mold. According to Carina's complaint, the company did not install the toilets correctly and there was mold in a home that was less than one year old.

“With our house, it was just an ongoing nightmare,” she told PissedConsumer. The family was told that D.R. Horton insurance would not cover medical bills after the family spent time in the hospital due to mold.

Carina’s D.R. Horton home reviews expanded then to include sharing of medical records and personal information with individuals not authorized by the family as she struggled to get her medical bills paid by the company.

“We definitely want people to know that if you release your medical information to D.R. Horton, more than likely they're going to share it with anybody and put you at identity theft risk potentially,” said Carina.

The list of problems in her online reviews continued to expand as more issues were found: broken and leaky windows, poor caulking in the shower, damage to the main structural beam. As each item was addressed, her family wanted to have the repair inspected but the company said no.

“We wanted our insurance to come out and inspect it, our claim adjuster. They said that they wouldn't fix our house if we had a second opinion,” she said.

At the time of the interview, the family had moved into a hotel room while their new home remains uninhabitable for months on end. Both Carina and her husband’s jobs have been affected and the whole family is struggling with medical issues.

Her family is not alone in their D.R. Horton complaints. PissedConsumer has seen 716 complaints about the company on the website. Additionally, more than 4,200 customers have called the D.R. Horton phone number through the platform. Some managed to resolve their issues.

“Told D.R. Horton that I did not want the optional deed insurance from the buyer and I went to closing and they had not taken it off,” told Rebekah I. in her video interview for PissedConsumer.

“I posted a comment on pissedconsumer.com and the attorney immediately called me and told me they had straightened it out and they overnighted me a check for that 200,” she said.

Carina in Orlando wishes the solution to her situation with D.R. Horton was as straightforward. She warns other consumers in her D.R. Horton review:

 Definitely lawyer up because their corporate lawyers will eat you for breakfast

5 Tips for Buying a D.R. Horton Construction Home

If you are considering buying a new construction home, consider these home-buyer tips.

  • Visit the property frequently and ask questions. If you are watching what is happening inside your home and asking questions about concerns as it is being built, builders are more likely to pay careful attention to details.
  • Work with a realtor. A purchasing realtor is your advocate in the home buying process and will not cost you anything as realtor fees are paid by the seller.
  • Have your new home inspected. It should be perfect, but it might not be. Pay an independent home inspector to walk through the house to document any issues.
  • Refuse to close if issues persist. Discuss your options with your realtor, but don’t close on a house with known problems that are unaddressed. When you close on the home the problems cease to belong to the home builder – now they belong to you.
  • Inspect the house by the end of insurance. If you have a 1-year coverage, get a new inspection closer to the end of it. You may find the issues that appeared after you moved in. Ensure to recheck what your insurance covers to get everything fixed before the warranty expires.

Do you have concerns or questions about D.R. Horton and the new home building process for its customers? Learn more by reading about the experiences of others or share your story by leaving a review on PissedConsumer.

*The company ratings on the PissedConsumer website are calculated using a mathematical algorithm that evaluates the information in the company’s profile. The algorithm parameters are: users’ rating, the number of resolved issues, the number of company responses and more. The PissedConsumer algorithm is also subject to change in the future.

Legal disclaimers:

1. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of this publication, it is not intended to provide any legal, medical, accounting, investment or any other professional advice as individual cases may vary and should be discussed with a corresponding expert and/or an attorney.

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