Complaint Review: Marrick Properties - Dunkirk Maryland

After searching many sites in Charles County, my wife and I thought we had found a good builder who would be able to build our dream home. Instead, the past two and a half years have been a nightmare not only throughout the homebuying process and the construction, but many months afterwards due to poor construction. This was a semi- customized home, so we expected a few glitches, but nothing like what we had experienced.

We have volumes of letters written to Marrick, the Better Business Bureau, etc., which would take years to retype here. Also, we do not have the time to mention all of the problems we experienced, only the major ones. We have taken countless days off work for proper repairs to be made, which I will discuss later (hundreds of work repair orders issued by Marrick to its contractors).

Construction was to have begun in March 2002 with a completion date in July 2002. In April 2002, the salesperson (Dawn Bennett) stated that Marrick "was still trying to obtain permits from the County" in order to begin construction. They then promised a completion date of September 30, 2002 (house was not completed until December 2002 and we were to settle on our old house and move out by September 2002). Due to Marrick's delay in construction, we ended up having to rent back our old house from the buyer at a mortgage rate even higher than what we had, which cost us dearly!

Their unprofessional lack of follow-up to complete the floor plan designs (to this date we have not received final house plans with dimensions!!), unavailability to complete color selections, and the clearing of mature trees without our approval, all contributed to construction delays that Marrick blamed on "obtaining County permits." In fact, in a letter dated May 28, 2002, we mentioned how color selection meetings were delayed on two occasions (on one of them we had to take time off work), and how Marrick selected placement of the house without consulting us.

Our first formal letter of complaint on May 5, 2002, was to Vice President of Sales, Mr. Jay Webster. It expressed our dissatisfaction with the sequence of events in the home building process. When we signed the contract with Marrick in December 2001, he had told us that we would discuss home site selection and that a buffer zone of trees would be left between our house and the main road. The contract details the 9 steps Marrick claims it takes to satisfy the entire home buying process.

Step #4 (review of house location) and Step #5 (Internal Color Selection) of the process had not been completed prior to construction (Step #6), yet Marrick had already begun clearing the land! After visiting the home site (Lot #50) on April 13, 2002, we returned the following Saturday dismayed to discover that a large number of mature trees (oak, poplar, pine, etc.) had already been cleared at the front center of the lot! We immediately notified Ms. Bennett of this situation and insisted that this was a violation of the contract. She said that at the following weekly meeting with Jay, the issue would be discussed. As mentioned before, we were originally told by Mr. Webster himself that a buffer zone of trees between the main road and our house would be left and that we would even get an opportunity to select the trees we wanted to keep.

My wife and I understood that quite a few trees needed to be cleared for the driveway entrance, but we were shocked to see that all trees 130 feet from the property line had already been cleared! The next week, we returned on April 27 only to see that even more trees were cleared toward the proposed septic area! Due to Marrick's contract violations and disregard for customer satisfaction, we ended up actually paying to move the house back from the unsightly road due to the missing buffer zone. After numerous requests, to date Marrick has neither replaced any trees nor compensated us.

As we never received final drawings for our house, during construction it also appeared that contractors did not have the latest plans either. On one occasion, my wife and I visited the home and saw construction of a half-wall between the family room and kitchen that was not supposed to be there (luckily no drywall was up at this point and wall was torn down). Our contract calls for a curved driveway entrance, yet the driveway foundation was laid with a straight entrance (later corrected only after we complained).

Our contract also calls for a site plan sketch for a future pool location, which to this date has not been completed (minor compared to other issues). During installation of the lighting, we discovered lights we had not selected and correct lights in the wrong locations. We even have video of the attached garage turned a complete 90 degrees from the floor plan (even the developer, George Jenkins, commented about this absurdity), which further delayed completion of the house, as it had to be redone! (In our letter dated September 5, 2002 to Marrick's foreman at the time, Carl Oursler (later switched to John S. during the middle of construction, a huge mistake on Marrick's part!!), we mentioned that even the front door entrance was incorrect, as it was to have six-lite windows at each side as per the contract.

Regarding the electric, shortly after moving in, we noticed that there was no light switch on the main floor to turn the upper hall lights on, thus causing one to navigate steps in the dark! This made no common sense and must surely violate building codes, as there was a switch at the top of the stairs to turn on the mail level hall light. We fought with Marrick and personnel at Carter Brothers Electric for weeks until a new light switch was installed, which of course, involved extensive drywall repair (occasionally, this switch still does not work properly.) Speaking of poor electrical planning, when we installed garage door openers, we discovered that the outlets in both garage ceilings are improperly placed to accommodate the plugs (I still have photos sent to Marrick and in one garage, we are forced to use an extension cord)!

In another letter on November 1, 2002 to Carl Oursler, we detailed that the roof shingles did not match the sample presented to us (later discovered that the small sample presented at the sales office does not even come close to a true representation of the shingle color.) The letter also addressed numerous dead trees lying all over the property, especially the ones cut down unnecessarily when clearing the lot. It also mentioned the dark grout color in the master bathroom (we had chosen Pearl, a light color).

Also, my wife was furious to discover that the placement of the kitchen cabinets with glass doors was completely wrong, as addressed in the letter. While shopping for a washer and dryer, several salesmen had stated that a washer on the second floor of any home should have a washer pan with a drainage hole in case of leakage; however, until we mentioned it in our letter of November 1, 2002, Marrick had no intention of installing one. It is our belief that either Marrick Properties has building inspectors in their back pocket for such incompetence to occur or they have paid them to look the other way. In fact, the original window installed in the master bathroom was not even made of tempered glass (a building code), and it had to be replaced after settlement. The above letter also requested replacement of trees toward the front of the property or giving us a credit toward the ridiculous price of the home, neither of which has been done to this day.

According to Christine Oursler during settlement and as stated in writing, items on our pre-settlement walkthrough list were to be taken care of within 15 days after settlement. However, in our letter of February 15, 2003 to the Better Business Bureau of Washington, DC (no response from them yet, thus showing that www.ripoffreport.com is correct in stating just how useless they really are!!!), we showed them that many of the items on this list still had not been taken care of yet.

We finally had to go to settlement on December 6, 2002 or possibly be evicted from our home that we were now renting back due to Marrick's construction delays and utter incompetence. As is customary when one purchases a new home, we walked through the home on December 5, 2002 with the supervisor (now John S.) to put together the pre-settlement deficiency list. At that time it was determined that several drywall joints in the kitchen and other places were uneven and unacceptable for settlement. We were told that this would be corrected by the end of the day. At the time of walkthrough, the floors were acceptable as far as being clean. As we were at settlement late in the day on Friday, December 6, 2002, we were unable to begin moving our stuff until late that evening and did not even enter the home until Saturday morning, when the movers were scheduled to move the bigger items.

Much to our dismay on Saturday morning, we entered the house and found that the wood floors were covered with a thick layer of drywall dust and dirt not to mention the carpeted areas!!! I still have this on video. If Marrick were a good builder, they would not leave a house dirty for a new homeowner to find dirty after settlement. As stated in yet another letter to Marrick Properties, Marrick even had the opportunity to inform us that the floor became dirty after our walkthrough on Thursday morning, yet they chose not to. They had more than 24 hours after the floor became dirty, and Marrick later claimed that they were planning on sending a cleaning contractor (more lies).

Marrick actually waited until I called them and left an irate voice message on Saturday for Marvin Oursler, the company president, before taking any action. We not only have video of the floor conditions, but also have more than one witness, as the movers (JK Moving) can testify as to the condition of the house into which we were trying to move (JK was careful to put padding down on all walkways prior to any moving). While trying to correct the uneven drywall joints, Marrick's contractors not only scratched up and dented the wood flooring, but also they scratched the stainless steel refrigerator (most likely with a ladder) and had placed the efficiency sticker over the scratch!!

We argued with Marrick for months before having the entire refrigerator replaced, as Sears said that panel replacement was not economically feasible. Although Marrick and its contractors tried to blame our movers for the conditions of the wood floor in the kitchen area, the movers moved everything in through the front door and up the steps or to a carpeted area. In fact, there was no need for them to even enter the kitchen area. Also, how can Marrick explain the fact that even the base marble of the main level fireplace was all scratched up, as the fireplace had never been used?

If one drives past our house and examines every other house in our neighborhood, one will immediately notice that our house is the only one without shutters, even though we spent a long time at the model (sales office) selecting black shutters. Without providing the final house drawings as any reputable builder would, Jay Webster stated mid-way through construction that there is not enough space between the front windows for shutters. Consequently, Marrick wrote these out of the color selection section of the contract. We have the actual document showing that we asked Dawn if Jay would give us credit for the shutters, to which she later replied NO, which is written on the document.

The fourth page of the contract's Standard Specifications section specifies, Shutters shall be louvered or raised pane as standard, meaning that shutters are a standard part of the house. After moving in, Marrick Properties own customer service staff members, Skip and Dale informed us that there is plenty of space for shutters! In fact, we took measurements showing that there is at least 33 inches between all front windows! This is yet another deceptive sales practice perpetrated by Marrick Properties. After numerous requests, to this date we are still the only house in the neighborhood without shutters and probably the only one without a final set of house plans.

After moving into the home in December 2002, we began seeing water damage along the support beam of the main (two-car garage) as well as water coming through the left front corner of the attached (one-car) garage! After many months, the roof of the smaller garage was fixed, but it was not until early 2004 until the problem with the other garage was determinedthe entire row of bricks under the master bedroom window had to be removed, new flashing installed, new bricks installed and grouted! While attempting to determine this problem, Marrick had to repair water damage to the main beam at least twice. Water stains, peeled paint, mold and rust could be seen along the entire beam.

Speaking of water, for months water would come into the garage during heavier rains and form puddles due to the unpaved and poorly graded driveway. Although many warm weeks existed before and right after our settlement date to pave the driveway, Marrick let the driveway remain unpaved as the base foundation crumbled away. Although it was eventually paved, it was never sealed (not sure if sealing is standard or not).

Our lawn was so poorly graded and seeded by Marrick that a small canyon (and river) soon formed all along the back of the house (we still have pictures) due to rain. We were originally told by Marrick staff that the back yard would be relatively flat, not sloped toward the house. It took us many letters and months of complaining to Marrick before they filled in the canyon with poor topsoil. I still claim that Marrick planted annual grass (rye?) and/or weed seed throughout the property, as after the first year, the grass did not come out ever again!

The plumbing of the house (performed by Taylor Electric and Plumbing) was highly incompetent and substandard at best. It was not until we had many guests one week and began running out of hot water that we discovered that hot water was feeding the commode in the upper hallway bathroom!!!! Also, it was many months after doing laundry that my wife and I discovered that the water lines to the washer in the laundry room were actually reversed! (still are to this day as it is not worth the effort to repair). In testing the washer catch tub by pouring water into it to check the drainage, water began pouring into the ceiling of the bathroom on the main level, causing part of the ceiling to collapse!! This was due to the improperly installed catch pan in the laundry room (more water damage to repair!).

For well over a year, the faucet in the upper hallway bathroom rattled like a jackhammer throughout the house every time it was turned on! Taylor was out to our house a minimum of five times before a competent person figured out the problem earlier in 2004. They have been to our house on many occasions due to their toilets clogging even with very little paper, the worst of which is on the main floor. As we have an open glass-block shower, the body sprays were placed on the wall such that they soaked the entire bathroom wall and floor outside the shower area when taking a shower!

After many letters and arguments with Marrick about the placement of these heads, they eventually had to tear almost all the shower tile out an replumb the heads on the opposite wall. Original placement of these heads was 24 inches apart. After I called Moen about their requirements for these heads, they said that ideally they should be placed 16 inches apart and no more than 20 inches.

Besides the dents and scratches in the wood flooring mentioned before, there were many split boards, including a border piece between the kitchen and family room that had a visible nail. There were many uneven panels throughout the house, and even after numerous replacements of panels by Lane Carpet, they are still loose to this day and make noise when one traverses them. There was even a large gap between the wood floor and the stairs.

Also, not long after we moved into the house, I cut my feet on numerous carpet tacks sticking up along the borders of the wood flooring and carpeting!! When Lane eventually came out a second time to examine the problem, they admitted that double strips of border padding were placed around all borders instead of a single one. I cannot count the documentation and times Lane and Marrick staff have visited our house after settlement, but the flooring in Bedroom #2 was originally completely uneven with bulges of carpet padding, especially in the center of the room. The room also contained loose flooring itself, as loud snapping noises could be heard. Also, it took over a year and a half of complaining about the uneven entrance (trip hazard) to the master bedroom before something was done. To this date, the entrance to our daughter's room from the main hallway has a large dip.

The drywall of our house was one of the worst jobs I have seen. Not less than a month after moving in, I noticed thousands of what I believed to be nails bulging from just about every wall in the housemost of these turned out to be screws that were improperly driven into the drywall either too deep or not deep enough. One could see just about every taped drywall joint, and there were large bulges to each side of the morning room light. Although most contracts call for this type of repair after one year, they do not cover sanding and painting which took us weeks due to the large number of defects. In fact, I had to repaint the entire house. Our last house (built by Ryan Homes in 1993) had nowhere near the number of drywall bulges per square foot that our new home had. In fact, even after the one-year repair, many ceiling joints can still be seen.

Besides the drywall appearance, yard appearance, etc., it was obvious to us from the beginning that a good finished appearance was of little concern to Marrick. The hall bath grout was cracked, and a large (1/2 inch) gap could be seen between the tub and the wall. A similar gap existed between the sink and the wall. The master shower and bathtub tile grout was cracked. The glass block grout contained many holes (inside and out) due to insufficient and/or unsealed grout. Even the brick wall above the small garage was missing grout. Guests noticed that decorative tile runner around the master bathtub was finished with a cut tile instead of a bull-nose tile. In the bathroom on the main level, unsightly gaps existed between the tile and the baseboard. The grout in the master shower quickly became stained, a sure sign that it was not sealed. The faucets of the master tub were loose. Even the mirror in the master bathroom had to be replaced, as it had two 2 scratches.

There was also a deep gouge in the center of one of the tubs that needed repaired. The cabinet door under one of the sinks was gouged along with several of the kitchen cabinet drawers. The vent in the pantry did not even fit into place, as the wood was cut improperly! The master bedroom doors did not lock due to improper alignment and the fact that there was a considerable gap between the doors. The baseboard in the middle bedroom contained a large hole, and the master bedroom's ceiling had an opening much too large for the vent. One of the columns in the living room was tilted almost 25 degrees (this was noted during our pre-settlement walkthrough), and the lamp to the right side of the two-car garage was tilted. The gas log set in the family room fireplace was broken upon installation and had to be replaced, and the pilot was broken and also needed replacement.

After paying $5,000 for a propane fireplace in the master bedroom and many visits from Today's Fireplace and Southern MD Gas, the flame in the bedroom is barely visible even at the highest setting! Southern MD Gas Company's (not a Marrick subcontractor) finding was that the gas plumbing throughout the house is improperly sized. Southern Maryland did the best they could do for us by adding different regulators, but they were unable to solve the problem. Personnel from Today's Fireplace have repeatedly stated that the long amount of venting in the house is the reason for the low flame. However, model houses we visited, including Charleston Homes' one at the entrance to our neighborhood, contain gas fireplaces in the master bedroom with the same venting and yet all have nice, visible flames.

Due to the ridiculous price of the house and Marrick's greed, which should be apparent by now, we cannot afford to pursue a lawsuit (we consulted with lawyers) at this time. Marrick has claimed that its other customers are not having the problems we have encountered, but I beg to differ. A visit to the website www.marrickincsucks.com will certainly give one a snapshot of what kind of business Marrick Properties really is. Also, I suggest contacting or visiting our neighbors at Norwich Court, some of whom are absolutely disgusted with their new home built by Marrick. We feel that certain individuals have been singled out by Marrick and its contractors to receive inadequate and less than acceptable workmanship. We have made progress in resolving many issues but at great expense to us.

They have placed a tremendous amount of stress and burdens on us and our family. Some of the plumbing and other issues were assessed and addressed by its contractors (a list will follow) more than four times without success. Many issues should not have taken many months to resolve. As mentioned before, some such as the lack of shutters and trees due to contract violations by Marrick have yet to be resolved.

In attempting to summarize the volumes of communications (and attempted ones) with this substandard organization, we realize that some may never be resolved. However, if we can prevent at least one couple from purchasing a Marrick home and making the mistake of a lifetime, it will all be worth it. We have a list of subcontractors provided to us by Marrick at settlement which could not be pasted into this text and may have to be provided later.

Eric

Port Tobacco, Maryland
U.S.A.