Complaint Review: Advantage Built Homes - North Liberty IA

The first report is to be disregarded and replaced with the following text: 

TLDR: Be weary if you plan on purchasing a home from Advantage. They are very difficult to work with and get a productive response from, and will largely disregard you after closing. Before closing, ask your realtor to include a clause in your closing statement to declare that any lawyer fees and court costs that you incur as a result of Advantage Home’s absence of response to warranty claim submissions or otherwise be recoverable so you aren’t stuck with a bill. My wife and I have experienced issues with Advantage prior to our closing in February. We wanted to upgrade the refrigerator, and asked if this would be possible.

Our realtor told us that Chad (owner) said it is not possible to do so as there were no refrigerators available. We assumed he didn't check, since we found that Costco had the fridge in stock and could deliver it in 3 days. We shared this with our realtor who again contacted Chad. Only after we did the work for him did he agree to contact his appliance supplier. Turns out that they could accommodate our request without issue, and the refrigerator was upgraded and installed before our closing. Fast forward to March, just over a month after we closed, and I notice that the concrete slab of our driveway is failing - you can kick the top layer of the driveway off with your shoe.

Our home comes with a one-year homeowner’s warranty supplied by Advantage. I submitted a warranty claim on the Advantage website with a reply time specified to be 7-10 business days to determine whether or not the claim qualifies under the warranty. On the 16th business day after submitting the claim, I had not received any communication from Advantage about the status of the claim, so I called their office. My phone calls to them were not productive in resolving my issue. Then I made a phone call to Blake Herschberger Enterprises, the subcontractor for the job (they get their supplies from Iowa City Ready Mix FYI). I spoke to Virginia (who has been incredibly helpful) and asked if she or anyone that she works with had been in communication with Advantage regarding the issue.

She called me back and let me know that she, nor any of her employees, specifically the foreman, has been contacted by Advantage about my issue. She let me know that she spoke with the owner Blake, who agreed to come by and make an assessment of the issue. A few days later, Virginia called me to let me know that Blake did in fact do this, and supplied Advantage with a report detailing his assessment. I’ve tried to contact Advantage about this, and as I’ve learned to expect, I did not receive a productive response that worked to resolve my issue. What’s particularly irritating about my situation is that Advantage is building homes directly across the street, where an Advantage company vehicle has been parked on several days. I can see the truck in plain sight from the front window of my home. Today is the 23rd business day since I submitted my claim to Advantage.

I have made 5 phone calls, left 3 voicemails, emailed and hand delivered 1 letter, and sent 10 emails, all of which have gone without productive response. After talking with my neighbors who have also done business with Advantage, it is clear that this treatment is not unique to me. This is the way that they operate and they pride themselves on it. It’s clear where their priorities are, and after your closing, it will become clear to you that you are not one of them. As a potential buyer from Advantage, I want you to know that there is no advantage to buying a home from and doing business with Advantage. If you are someone who has done business with Advantage and had a similar experience to mine and are reading this review, I encourage you to also write a review about it.

You can also contact the office of Iowa’s Attorney General to file a complaint, contact the Greater Iowa City Area Home Builders Association, and file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.