First Texas Homes

An attorney representing First Texas Homes recently emailed me a letter threatening to sue me for defamation because I told some of their potential homebuyers about our home building experience with First Texas Homes and about issues with the roof they installed on the home we contracted them to build for us. Apparently, First Texas Homes has decided it is more cost effective to sue me rather than replace a roof.

First Texas Homes installed the roof when the materials were wet. We know this for two reasons: 1) because the roof warped badly, and 2) because the neighbor witnessed the roof installation and confirmed that it was installed while wet. First Texas "fixed" it by replacing a few panels of the front, where the roof was aesthetically the worst. I insisted that the entire roof be replaced because 1) aesthetically it looked bad, 2) the roof manufacturer warranty documents clearly state that the roof cannot be installed in wet conditions, and 3) it would cause issues of insurability with our insurance company.

First Texas refused to replace the roof. We asked for a roof allowance to allow us to replace the roof after closing. They refused. They told us that if we did not close on the house then we would be in breech of contract and would not get any of our money back. So, I proceeded to involve an inspector, roofers, Tamko (the roof manufacturer), and our insurance company. After I sent letters to First Texas from two insurance companies stating that they would not insure the house due to the defective roof, First Texas terminated our contract and refunded our money.

Weeks later, I spotted people in front of the house and asked them if they were buying the home, which they confirmed. I told them about our experience and provided them with some of the documentation that I had collected throughout the experience. They immediately terminated their contract with First Texas.

Now, First Texas is threatening to sue me if I talk to any other potential buyers. I responded to their threat by saying, in a nutshell, bring it on.

What I find the most astonishing about this is that First Texas would rather lose a customer, and allow that customer to walk away with a bad experience/story, than to replace a roof. Even more astonishing is that they would rather spend their resources suing me than replace a roof.

I am happy to provide all the documents I have gathered through this experience to anyone who would like more information.

I contracted on a new First Texas home in the Cotton Creek Ranch Addition, Midlothian in August of 2014 and moved in when it was completed In August of 2015.

Right after we moved in cracks began to appear in the drywall, some of them ten feet long! By the third month of living in my new home, I knew that I had a foundation problem because of the extensive damage inside and outside. Three times in those first few months warranty reps showed up at my home, took pics, adjusted doors, and fixed drywall cracks. Each rep agreed with me that I had a foundation problem and promised to speak with his boss and get back to me. I never heard from any of them again despite many calls and messages.

In spring 2016 I hired an engineer to investigate and sent the results to FTH. We also excavated piers in my yard that should have been under the foundation holding the house up!

So, why did my foundation fail? Because First Texas Homes failed to chemically inject the soil that my home is built on. They didn’t follow their own engineer’s foundation plans. Then, they misplaced my home on the lot so that the piers weren’t directly under the structure providing support as intended. Clearly, through their own negligent actions, FTH created a latent and catastrophic defect in my home (which FTH later admitted during trial).

I want the reader of this to understand that in the thirteen months between November 2015, when I first told FTH about my foundation problem until November 2016, when I filed a lawsuit, that I sent (3) warranty requests, (3) certified letters, had (2) face-to-face meetings with Mike Cryer VP First Texas Homes, sent FTH an engineer’s report and a PowerPoint illustrating the piers that were in my yard instead of under my home. I also requested mediation two times. During this time, and despite all my communications, FTH did not attempt to repair my foundation. Instead, they only delayed.

In November 2016, I filed a lawsuit against First Texas Homes.

In April 2017, we attended our first hearing in Ellis county where Judge Cindy Ermatinger, 443 District court, denied us a jury trial and ordered arbitration.

In April of 2018, we met for arbitration with FTH and their attorneys. Arbitration lasted only two days. During arbitration, I discovered that the laws in Texas are heavily skewed toward business. According to the attorneys for FTH (who admitted and apologized for their client’s negligence):

I have no right to damages of any kind.

I have no right to have my attorney’s fees reimbursed.

First Texas Homes only must make what they consider a reasonable offer regarding a repair plan or buy-back etc.. (I will only describe their version of reasonable as very unreasonable in my opinion, although other descriptors come to mind).

A month or so after the arbitration hearing, Judge Ken Rubenstein awarded my wife and I enough money to cover most of our attorney’s fees and the repair costs to our home which at this point was badly damaged (the slab had finally failed during the interim). Not a windfall...but we could live with it. We were almost giddy at the thought of fixing our house.

The celebration was a short one. In June 2018, FTH appealed the ruling to the 10th circuit in Waco. My attorney says that that an appeal usually takes around a year.

So (as I type), one more year of my house crumbling away. One more year of ups and downs, and never-ending court costs. One more year of dreaming about a solid and safe home for my four kids to live in. One more year for Justice.

I write this to warn folks about First Texas Homes. Their contracts are long with much “fine print”. We didn’t read every word...we just signed and initialed where we were told to. At that time, we had no reason not to trust them. If you choose First Texas to build your home please read the contract thoroughly, or even better, have an attorney read the contract thoroughly so that you know what you are getting into – your rights are at stake!

We have no personal animosity towards First Texas Homes. It is not lost on us that there are families living happily in a First Texas home at this very minute. Certainly, First Texas Homes employs many great people.

Some of what my family endured is simply due bad luck and to a FTH construction superintendent who clearly exercised a “less than robust” oversight. But what does bother me most is how FTH failed to do the right thing when the lights were shining brightest. They know very well that they screwed up my home and should have just fixed it. Inexplicably, FTH decided to drag this out as long as possible. And then when it was all finally settled, they chose to appeal a fair judicial decision. First Texas Homes has used the loop-holes of the law against me, and my wife, and our four innocent kids, instead of simply doing the right thing.

I would feel sick if I discovered that another family had to weather the same storm that my family has (and is) because I was unwilling to share my story.