A Quick Thank You to Google--Hacker Prevention

I'd like to take a few lines here, in this blog, to thank Google for their vigilance, security, and account protection. Last night there was an attempt to hack into my email account--and this blog-->Google shut it down and I have someone investigating the origin of the attack on my account. Thank you Google!

Garbage: Indicative of Consort's Practices

Something else of interest re: Consort Homes: While driving around other subdivisions in development, I notice a general cleanliness, attention to detail, tidiness to the area--a lack of construction garbage, in other words--with respect to the empty lots and to the areas surrounding. Here, in Countryshire, Consort seems oblivious to these very same things.

Here in the areas under construction at Countryshire, there is harmful debris next to homes--from large pieces of wood to nails to metal stakes-- surrounding open lots, and refuse laying next to Dumpsters--but not in them.

This is but a teeny tiny bit of what I have been dealing with for two years. At one point, I had to call a construcion manager to my home to load up over 20 boxes and Tyvek, in addition to related construction refuse found on my lot and those neighboring. I've had to pick up no less than 100 roofing tile bags left out after the men finish work. I've had to pick up scraps of roofing from my deck. I've had pieces of siding blow across the street and strike my car. I once collected no less than 10 boxes in a single morning from the side of our lot--all under the observation of your men building a house across the street. No one made a move to pick them up themselves, no one has apologized.

A construction manager himself has driven up and down the street countless times, construction refuse clearly evident, and not made a move to dispose of it--instead, he often blamed the construction refuse on another builder, several streets away. As I look out the window across the street, large pieces of plywood and drywall sit on an empty lot, just waiting for another wind gust.

All of this is indicative of Consort's approach: sloppy, fast and in a hurry, not attention to detail. And, as a self-touting "green builder," I wonder how Consort justifies canisters of chemicals left out on the lots to drip into the soil (isn't this an EPA violation?).

We have a neighborhood FULL of children, young and old, and family pets. I don't even want to think about what might happen to any of them if they are struck by debris or exposed to chemicals from canisters leaking into the soil, or crawl into a dumspter left wide open from the side, or struck by electrical cords left dangling from roof tops overnight in a storm.

Now, when I made the construction manager aware of these issues I received an extremely rude, inappropriate, and unprofessional email from the construction supervisor (Mike), telling me that all of "this" was "none of my business." I said it then, and I'll say it again now: OH BUT IT IS, WHEN IT REFLECTS ON PROPERTIES, WHEN IT VIOLATES ORDINANCES, WHEN MY YARD IS COVERED WITH GARBAGE, WHEN IT CAUSES RISK OF HARM--IT CERTAINLY IS.

Consort has been reminded, regularly for two years now regarding this problem. Deaf to customer concerns?

**Mr. Petras, as Director of Sales and Marketing I would think this would interest you, or no? Actually, Mr. Petras, I would think all of what I've been writing would be of interest to you--sales and marketing, and those PROFITS PROFITS PROFITS depend on the court of public opinion, do they not?

The Never-Ending Story....Consort Lot Nightmare

AKA, Consort Homes, LLC disaster. My previous post showed a widened crack on the north side of my lot, the worsening state of the lawn a result of excavation and grading one and two lots to my north.

Today, I found another horrific surprise--a hole adjacent to this crack that has turned out to be the "mouth" of a 19 inch void in the soil. As I suspected, my landscaping is now "resting" upon a hollow, a "sink hole" of sorts, extending 19 inches straight down under the surface of my lawn. Essentially, it seems that the ground beneath my landscaping, the ground and earth upon which Consort should never have built, and upon which--even better-- they improperly built (per their own admission re: soil compacting), has sunk, completely dropped, and continues to drop, leaving an unstable surface lawn--with no support underneath it.

I've attached pictures of a pole that we stuck into the hole--straight down with ease (and over to all sides under the lawn surface)--as well as a ruler against this same pole showing the depth of the sinkage.

I'm not sure if Consort is actually waiting for my entire rear lawn to simply fall before taking any action to compensate me and remedy an unsafe situation? Or, if once more, they are deliberately denying that a problem, a LARGE problem, exists.

Please, for your own good, if you are considering a home in this stretch of lots, THINK AGAIN. Do not lose your investment, do not risk watching the value of your home drop, and do not take this kind of stress upon yourself--battling a corporate entity deaf to your losses (at their hands), one that claims to be tops in customer service), and losing all hope of re-selling your home. Allow me to put it very plainly: Consort is NOT A BUILDER WHO CARES. They are a BUILDER who DOES NOT CARE.
Not only did they sell (and continue to sell) lots unsuitable for building, they then, by their own admission, screwed up when it came to preparing my lot, and now refuse to acknowledge or confront the issue they have created.

Still No Problem, Consort?

Is Consort blind? Or just so filthy greedy that they will ignore a problem that has been staring them in the face for some time?

Whatever it may be, their actions seem to have reached the plateau of gross negligence: "The reckless, wanton, and willful misconduct causing bodily injury or damage to property. In this case, the standard of due care has been ignored by such a wide margin that it almost amounts to an intentional act. Read on...

Yesterday I posted that bulldozing very nearby--from digging a hole for a market home to grading that lot and the one adjacent--was causing severe vibrations/tremors of my home. I noted that my lawn was being split further apart, that a new crack was appearing in the foundation, and that the house felt as though it was shaken by earthquake.

I don't know if I want to cry or scream--this morning I noticed that a crack in my lawn had been further widened and opened as a result of the construction on the lot one over. I have told Consort that what they are doing compromises my lot, my property, my home, my investment--perhaps even my safety. They continue, nevertheless, to go about their work--without so much as a response to me.

LISTEN UP, CONSORT--WHAT YOU ARE DOING--THE BULLDOZING, DIGGING, GRADING, VIOLENT SLAMMING ON THE EARTH ADJACENT TO MY LOT AND ONE OVER HAS CAUSED MY LOT TO FURTHER CRACK, TO FURTHER DROP, AND MY HOME TO FURTHER CRACK. I am left with no other explanation other than gross negligence.

A home is slated, it seems, for the lot directly next to mine. If this is not halted, if some word from Consort regarding my drastic loss of property value is not forthcoming to me, anyone remotely interested in buying a home--from realtors, purchasers, to passer by--will hear of this.

Mr. Petras, let me ask you, how would you feel if this was YOUR home? YOUR lot? YOUR loss? Would you buy this property of mine? How would you feel if this was happening to your family?

Next Up....Media Outlets

Next up, local media outlets/TV stations....

Stay tuned as this moves forward.

In the meantime, I'll try to get some new pictures of my severely damaged lot, as well as photos illustrating the problems in my home that I believe are caused by the same (either that or by INCREDIBLY shoddy work).

Word is Getting Out--Thank You.

Word is getting out about Consort's practices re: my home and property, and my related blog. From realtors to local business to potential home buyers--this blog has been shared with at least 700 people! Let's keep going and spread the word--if each person can share this link with another 20, we can reach 14,000.

The more realtors and potential buyers who know about Consort's practices related to my land, home, and surrounding lots-- and their subsequent unwillingness to compensate me for value lost as a result of their acts--the better. We all know that grassroots movements have the power to grow--and grow quickly.

I'm still aghast that Consort has made no effort to reach out to me regarding my lost property value. I know you (Consort) are following this blog, how in the name of God can you ignore what your ineptitude, lack of ethics, negligence, and/or malfeasance has wrought on my property/home value? Have you NO shame? Such callous behavior again speaks volumes about your business model.

Friends, when you come to this page you need not comment, BUT PLEASE SHARE THIS BLOG! Help spread the word. Thank you to those who already have.

I'll be sending out mailers/flyers soon, and posting information on local bulletin boards (Dierberg's, Schnuck's, etc). The community has a right to know that Mr. Petras and his fellow Consort employees will seemingly do anything to protect their profits. Again, what Consort offered was pitiful. Put some dirt on my dropped land and fill some cracks with foam. I'm sorry Petras and others, this is a slap in the face. You know it, I know it--my property will never be the same, there is no real way to "fix" a natural drainage route running to sewers and ducts. My home value is lost--permanently.

Oh, and Green Builders?!?! Not with the cracks, water, insufficient insulation, and mold forming in this house. Readers, please note, this home is only two-years-old!

Consort Homes Ignores Further and Continued Damage to Lot/Property

For five hours now, Consort's bulldozers have been grading the lot adjacent and two over from mine. (The latter is for the "market home" that they seem to be building in a hurry in order to cover up that pesky drainage route, flooding, and pond issue.)

It's important to mention, that they're grading--not digging. The vibrations--strong enough that lamps on my second-floor are rattling and shaking, dresser knobs clanging, dishes and glasses shaking in the kitchen cabinets, and floor vibrating like an earthquake leaving even the beds shaking--seem to be FURTHER destabilizing my lot and lawn:

A new crack, visible in my basement, has suddenly appeared in my foundation. The cracks on my lawn have widened, and the lawn seems to have further broken off at one of the "shelves," and sunk more steeply in the same area since this grading and severe ground shaking started.

I'll be ordering signage today, or making my own, for my lawn--making it clear that the lot is in danger, is falling, and warning others of the sudden drop on the lot, as well as sinkage.

One more thing, Mr. Ed Petras from Consort Homes is reading this blog, and sadly (but not too surprisingly) there has been NO ATTEMPT ON THE PART OF CONSORT TO REACH OUT AND ASK HOW THEY MAY HELP, HOW THEY MAY COMPENSATE FOR OUR LOSS. Mr. Petras, is this how Consort operates?

Click for Larger Images

A quick note to let readers know that clicking on an image will allow you to expand the same--and there's nothing quite like seeing the ice-covered fireplace close-up, or the land splitting and cracking under the mulch, or....etc etc etc. You get the idea: Consort screwed up big time and with total lack of remorse and willingness to compensate me for value lost, continues to try to pass off lots that are, in my opinion, unfit for building.

But don't take my opinion, see for yourself! A picture is worth a thousand words....

BTW, the blue wall is the master bedroom wall--covered in ice.

Other builders handle drainage routes differently....

As promised...take a look at these photos. Notice that these drainage ditches are outside of the property sold for home lots...hmmm, wonder why? Could it be, I don't know, that one shouldn't be building across the entire line of a drainage route and pretending that the property will remain perfectly fine and dandy???

Again, in my opinion, either unethical or inept. Either negligent or inept. Either malfeasant or inept.

Speaking of the shelf upon which Consort is building...

See, I suspect that building on this shelf led to many of my problems with the house. When Consort artificially created an even surface over a drainage route, they created a recipe for damaged property. With the rear half of the home resting on an artificially created mound THAT HAS PITCHED AND FALLEN AND SUNK, the home on this artificially created mound will naturally shift. Just plain physics, I'm assuming.
So, when the back of the lot drops dramatically, naturally anything that was supported by this former mound will also shift--in my opinion. Thus, the issues with our home interior: misaligned walls, floors, gaps between the same, fireplaces blowing drafts from their frame (not the inside, Consort, not the inside--nothing to do with the flue as per your genius construction manager), ice and frost forming all over fireplace exterior, ice on bedroom walls, cracks in the foundation--clear through--that occur exactly where the land splits and falls, etc.

Coincidence? I think not. Isn't there an old saying about too many coincidences NOT being a coincidence?

PS: The last two images are of the ice and frost-covered fireplace. Every single person to whom I show these fireplace photos is astounded--NOT ONE HAS EVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE THIS BEFORE. Again, I assume that Consort either built on land they shouldn't have, and/or is TOTALLY inept.

Some pictures of the large LARGE drainage duct...and then some

Here we're looking at the drainage sewer/duct prominently situated on and through lots for sale. If you follow the path of this duct you end up precisely at the contour of my now damaged and destroyed lawn--and we're talking about 4 lots down.

The next image is to the north of my lot (the above image being to the south)and shows the area of the pond over which Consort has now decided to construct a "market home." I can only assume that Consort preferred that potential buyers NOT SEE THE PROBLEMS with the lots, land, drainage, and a very real pond--thus they bulldozed some mud and started a house. Now, a new market home will be sold to an unsuspecting buyer--this one built over such an enormous drainage repository that a pond existed for almost two years.

Why is Consort still selling these lots? Why are these offered for sale with a few words about "oh, we'll just fill that ditch right up." Why are they attempting to build homes on a shelf that falls into an enormous ditch from which soil moves out and thus displaces a lawn and shifts a house?

Seems that Consort Doesn't Want the Word Out

Seems that Consort has blocked me from comment on their Facebook page. Apparently the truth about their business practices as related to my lot, my home, and my situation is difficult for them to swallow. No worries, I have this blog--and other avenues for publicity. In my opinion, Consort is just one more greedy and unscrupulous corporate entity in a string of greedy corporate entities seeking to make a quick buck. From the financial industry to the mining industry to oil/gas companies, to builders and construction--greed and deception are the motivators. Corporations seem to be driven by these mantras: How can we make the most buck? How can we make the fastest buck? How can we pull the wool over the eyes of unsuspecting buyers? How can we do the minimum and make the most? How can we take advantage of the building boom (now over) and build as much as possible, as quick as possible, with no thought or duty to ethics or quality. (I heard that bonuses were given to the home contract workers--painters, e.g.--for finishing as quickly as possible.)

It's the corporate entity versus the little guy.

Where are the good business practices? Where is their concern for my damaged home and lot--and related permanent LOSS OF VALUE? While they rake in the profits, I've lost the comfort of home, and the security of a good and wise investment.

Greed is NOT GOOD, Consort.

Again, homes built on a drainage route??

Build Your Home Here? Didn't Think So.

So, these are some images of the lot line that connects to my property. If you follow on past this large drainage structure you would reach the road that has buckled, and cracked, along this same route and contour. Seems the problem goes on for a loooong way. How can Consort fill these lots? They can't. Why not? Look at the large sewer in the middle of the picture--this large concrete drainage pipe. Look at the pictures of the road previously. All of this is necessary drainage, natural drainage. To fill these lots up to prevent this drainage, as Consort seems to think would be a grand idea, would impair the ability (and necessity) of the land to drain properly. The large aquaduct/sewer/drain with the stones surrounding is actually on a lot being offered for sale (incredible!!) and connects along the natural route to my lot and others in the opposite direction. Again, THESE LOTS SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OFFERED FOR SALE. OUR VALUE IS LOST.

Something else I've recently noticed: Consort building a "market home" two lots over from my north side. At first I scratched my head, wondering why a market home on this flooded area? (They already have another market home for sale for almost 2 years now.)Then, AHA!, it clicked. The market home is being built upon a parcel of land that had sunk, and flooded so extensively (again, on the route of drainage), that there was a pond on the same. A pond deep enough for ducks to swim and graze. I can only assume that after showing this lot to potential buyers month after month, all all balking (rightfully) at the flooded parcel, they decided it would be better to just go ahead and fill that big pond up with some mud, and quickly build a market home. Thus, hoping for a better chance to sell it. Of course, this lot is on the natural drainage route, with a sewer just adjacent, and will very likely continue to drop and flood as mine has.

I, fortunately, took pictures of this pond some time ago and will be posting those as well!

Finally, notice the picture of my lot and the severly angled island of landscaping. You can be sure that my landscape designer and I didn't purposely intend to bury a maple tree 15 inches deep in a drainage route, nor did we think it would be artistic to build an island tilting deeply on its side.

More on Images Below--Ruined Lot

What are we looking at in the images below? First is a picture of the edge of our property on the north side. You'll notice a split in the mulch. These splits formed, and continue to form, ALMOST 12 INCHES DEEP, across the width of the property. They run in parallel lines, again tracking the large drainage route that you see in the subsequent photos. So, we have a splitting, falling, shelf-creating, flooding piece of property--value lost. Isn't that every home owner's dream?!

Also, you'll see that the ENTIRE width of the lawn is impacted. Consort's laughable suggestion that they might "fill in with a little soil," has left me wondering if they are truly this inept or perhaps just very greedy. Again, nothing can be remedied on this land--even an attempt (which would be unsuccessful because of the nature of all contiguous lots and large drainage pipes and sewers indicating a necessary drainage route) would necessitate the uprooting of thousands of dollars of landscaping.

Why is Consort deaf to our loss of value? Homes are an investment, as well as an emotional attachment. Homes are our refuge. However, when your home is the nightmare, you can forget about the refuge.

Next up, pictures of the drainage sewer on the land they are attempting to sell for homes. Later, a comparison to the way other builders treat these drainage routes. HINT: Not by building homes upon them.

A Welcome to Pepe

A warm welcome to Mr. Petras, Consort Homes Director of Sales and Marketing, aka "Pepe." And to all interested in learning more about what has happened with my lot and home, please read on. I will try to post pictures and updates daily, keeping this information fresh and up-to-date. Nothing like photos and video--what's the old adage?--pictures and video are worth a thousand words.

Mr. Petras, as Director of Sales at Consort, you surely must understand that this home has permanently lost its value, and will never be able to compete on the market with other similar homes, but those that do not have egregious lot damage or ice building on their fireplace and melting on to the hardwood floors, bedroom walls covered in frost and ice, a shelf on their lawn making it impossible to care for, gaps between floors and walls letting in 20 degree F drafts all winter, doors that have fallen askew in their frames and will no longer shut, bulging walls, ceilings separating from tops of walls, cracks coming out on the diagonal from windows, and flooded land and destroyed landscape design. Ha! Tell me this house and lot haven't lost value.

That Consort has not offered compensation for permanent loss of property value is astonishing and speaks volumes of Consort's practices--not to mention abject greed. Listen up, readers, offering to fill tremendous drops in land with "a little more soil" and a plastic tarp, and suggesting that the home owner close their flue to prevent icicles from forming on the home interior, is pitiful. This is a pitiful attempt to minimize the gravity of the situation, and loss of value.

When a flat lawn suddenly drops drastically down into the contour of natural drainage, creating a shelf, and then another shelf, a little bit of soil isn't what is needed. When streets are buckling down in this same drainage pattern--a little bit of soil isn't the answer. The lot line in question should have been treated as it is by reputable builders, and those not driven to squeeze every penny out of the land--by simply not building upon it.

Look around, folks. You'll notice that other areas have these drainage ditches and drainage sewers ON THE OUTSIDE of developed lots--not sold as usable land and property.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting pictures on how reputable builders handle these drainage areas. I can tell you one thing, they don't attempt to sell them as usable land for homes. Stay tuned....

More Thoughts on Land Collapse

I've posted pictures of the backyard, but again reiterate that the pictures cannot possibly depict the pitch of the drop, or, of course, the rapidity with which the land fell.

I'm continually aghast that Consort trots out potential buyers to surrounding lots--sometimes with the construction manager in tow explaining away any issues, as though what potential buyers see and presume (correctly)to be a problem is just a figment of their imagination. I've actually heard the construction manager saying, "oh, don't worry, we'll just fill that ditch in" when referring to adjacent lots. Disgusting.

Let me explain that when *I* bought this lot, the first lot sold on the problematic line of lots, the land had been filled. The lots had been cleverly covered with enough soil to give an impression of even land. I initially found the backyard so boringly flat that I wondered how we might enhance it. Little did I know. I now look at the buckled street and sidewalk several lots down and am incredibly dismayed, again, at the rapidity with which all the underlying land sunk and shifted. When my home was built, the street showed no signs of damage. Now? It's buckled, cracked,and prone to flooding--and, funny enough, following along the same line of drainage that tracks all the way through my lot and contiguous lots.

I'm heartbroken at what has happened to my property. But beyond heartbroken, I am incredibly stressed. Again, a home is an investment--and watching the value decline because of Consort's greed in selling unsuitable lots is a daily burden and strain.

Does *YOUR* bedroom wall have ice on it? Didn't think so.

Awoke in the mornings to ice forming almost one-foot up the master bedroom wall and shock to feel a carpet as cold as snow, despite the home thermostat being set on 74 degrees. Actual ice on the surface of my bedroom wall! I wasn't sure if I should cry or scream. The air blowing in the room--from the gap between wall and floor created after the lot fell--was so cold and so strong that it was necessary to line the wall with blankets. Ice formed nevertheless.

Consort dismissed this as an issue or as a problem. In fact, their lack of surprise and horror was mind-boggling. They offered to shove a little insulation on the attic side of the wall (shouldn't insulation have already been there?), but dismissed the notion that a gap like this between floor and wall was even a problem. What about the likelihood of mold growing as a result of the ice and condensation trapped in the dry-wall? Consort was similarly disinterested. Just offered more mud for the back lot. Hmmm. What about the house that is now off-kilter? Why has compensation for our loss of value not been offered?

Lost Lot Continued

Additional Photos....

Consort thinks a little extra mud will do the trick here. At one point, their construction manager suggested a tarp at the edge of the lot--uh huh, a tarp. Those tarps do wonders for sinking land.

This property will never be able to compete fairly on the re-sale real estate market. Value is permanently lost.

What a Lost Lot Looks Like

These photos--some from October of 2009 and some more recent--illustrate what is occuring on our lot. Unfortunately, they don't do the problems justice. But, nevertheless, it's worth documenting so that potential buyers understand that when Consort tries to sell them a lot along this line, Consort is, in my opinion, attempting to sell a lot--and an entire stretch of land--that should NEVER be built upon.

Photos show the backyard, as well as the adjacent lots where the same pattern of drainage exists--also visible is a drainage sewer.

The photos with the painted stakes (white in some, white with orange streamers in others) illustrate a shelf created. From the top it drops suddenly about 15 inches straight down, as though pulled from underneath.

Foundation Cracks

With the house sitting on an artificially created mound (and shoddily created at that by Consort's own admission), and soil being pulled and eroded from below, we've noticed issues inside the home that very well may be related. We suspect they are as they became evident at the same time the lot started drastically collapsing in the rear.

This crack is one of many in the basement. Yes, it may be within "the norms" allowed by the concrete industry, but what is interesting is that it appeared so drastically within a year of the home having been built, AND that it corresponded--in terms of time of appearance--to the drastic drop in our back lot. This crack goes clear through to the outside of the property. Cracks on the opposite wall correspond--again interesting because they follow a line outside of the most severe drop in soil.

This is a classic case of the "little guy" battling corporate interests. It's our commitment to make sure that builders like Consort will not get away with unethical, negligent, even malfeasant behavior in their pursuit of quick profit. While they turn over their shoddy product, and bring in cash, the home buyer loses re-sale value. Again, where is our compensation for value lost? The relentless pursuit of profit translated to Consort selling lots that SHOULD NEVER HAVE BEEN SOLD FOR HOMES.

Consort--you can't trivialize this any longer. We will get the word out.

Stay Tuned....More Photos Being Uploaded

Photos of lot and additional issues to come.

Let's follow the route of the natural drainage

Seriously? Consort wants to just "fill this in" with a little more mud? They're either incompetent, unethical, or both.

Here we see the street (near the tennis court), several lots down. Notice that the buckling in the street and sidewalk? Yep, that follows all along the straight line of the lots up to and including our property--and beyond. This isn't a "one lot" problem as Consort seems to think--this stretches all along the line.

Beware, or you'll suffer value loss as well.

Consort Doesn't See This As a Problem

WOW! Look how well plastic tarps keep out water. Seems that lessons in topography, gravity, etc are needed for the good folks at Consort.

Consort Homes ignores the very real issue here...flooding on adjacent lots can't be remedied by plowing over with soil. This is a natural drainage route--and it will continue to be one long after Consort tries to convince people that filling ditches with mud will do the job.

First, Consort can't fill these ditches with mud because the water NEEDS an outlet--and conventiently, there are drainage pipes and sewers located further down the empty lot line. To fill these would compromise the drainage needed. Second, if the lots around our home are built upon, and Consort attempts to artificially raise said lots under development, our lot will become the lowest point, and thus depository for water and further erosion. IF, however, Consort decides not to raise the lots next to us (let's face it, they can't raise them as the manhole and sewers will be covered up), the issue of soil erosion from underneath the surface will continue--until everyone loses property value.

*If you were to follow the path of water in this photo you would see it follow the contour of our lot and adjacent lots. A good rain and we might just have a pond in our lot too.

A Consort Home Fireplace, The Story

The images just below are of the living room fireplace. Notice the ice and frost?! These photos were taken in the winter, and Consort asserted that all we need to do to remedy a frost and ice-covered fireplace is "close the flue." Uh huh. First, the flue was indeed closed. Second, I've lived in many homes--and have never seen an open flue lead to ice and frost. Third, this didn't occur in Year 1 of living in the home (we're now in Year 2). And, fourth, after a severe drop in our land do to issues stated in previous post, a host of gaps developed between walls and floor and sides of fireplace and frame. These gaps, in the winter, cause a tremendous draft of ice-cold air.

Next up, pictures of the master bedroom walls in the winter--also covered in frost and ice.

Consort--the Green Builder! Again, Consort refuses to acknowledge the sinking soil in the rear and the shifting this has caused. One of their remedial ideas was to simply place a tarp next to our property--to keep away water. GENIUS!! (Heavy sarcasm.) How about compensating for loss of value? How will this home ever be sold to a new owner?

A Consort Home Fireplace

Buyer Beware-Consort Homes-Countryshire

We've started this blog as a way to get the word out to potential buyers re: the severe problems inherent with our Consort home. See this as "a buyer beware" to potential buyers in the Countryshire Manor development, premium lots.

We've had tremendous problems with our lot and in our home, and plan to detail the same through images on this site.

As an overview: Over half of the back of the lot sold to us seemingly sits over a natural or other sort of drainage ditch--while Consort admitted to the developer not having compacted the soil properly, the bigger issue, I suspect, and in my opinion, is that this lot and those surrounding should very likely never have been sold. The lot has sunk steeply, creating a drainage ditch of its own, a "shelf" in the land, and large cracks in the backyard making it impossible to mow, or safely utilize, destroying the design of $18,000 worth of our landscaping, with flooding on each side. Consort's "idea" for a "solution" was to suggest, this time around, proper compacting. Compacting will not remedy this issue--the earth is being pulled from below--and Consort refuses to compensate monetarily for the loss of property value and what is now, basically, worthless land in the rear.

While Consort seeks to sell the lots adjacent and down the entire street line, it is visually apparent that there are big issues with land sinkage, and sewers and drainage ditches catching water down the same line. Take a look around other developments--most builders will NOT sell this area of land for homes--they fill it with large boulders and count it "outside" of the land sold to buyers. Forget even trying to re-sell our lot/home in this state. We'll be putting signs and notices on our property to warn potential buyers of the possibility of value loss. I'm sure Consort will remove this post, but I'll continue to get our message out there one way or another.

Stay tuned for pictures and more discussion on the way Consort has "responded" to our nightmare.