Tri Dal

As a licensed realtor with over three decades of experience, I have worked with numerous home builders throughout my career. Unfortunately, my recent experience with First Texas Homes in Forney, Texas, has left me with deep reservations about recommending their services to future clients.

My journey with First Texas Homes began eight months ago when I started working with a client who was interested in building their dream home. From the outset, the building process was disturbing and distracting. My client had specific preferences for an all-white kitchen with black metal accents, and these details were not given proper attention during the construction process.

Despite communicating these preferences repeatedly to both the salesperson and a certain individual named Kathy, their arrogance and unwillingness to listen to my concerns were evident. When I attempted to address the issues, I was met with disregard and made to feel worthless, which only added to the mounting frustration.

The disappointment peaked when my client's specific requests for metal accents were overlooked, and the kitchen was delivered with metal accents only meant for tile protection, contrary to their wishes. This blatant oversight, coupled with the builder's indifference, left my client feeling disheartened and frustrated.

To ensure that my client's voice was heard, I decided to take the matter to the corporate office. I wrote a detailed nine-paragraph email outlining the numerous issues we encountered during the building process and expressing my disappointment in their lack of care for realtors and clients alike. Regrettably, my email was met with silence, indicating a lack of accountability and concern on the part of First Texas Homes.

As a realtor, my duty is to advocate for my clients and provide them with the best possible experience when purchasing a home. My experience with First Texas Homes has made me wary of recommending them to any future clients. The disregard for client preferences and the dismissive attitude towards realtor concerns indicate a lack of professionalism and a disregard for customer satisfaction.

In conclusion, my recent experience with First Texas Homes in Forney, Texas, has been nothing short of disappointing. The exhausting and distressing building process, combined with the salesperson and Kathy's arrogance and indifference, leaves me hesitant to recommend this company to anyone seeking a positive home-building experience. I urge both potential homebuyers and fellow realtors to consider other builders who prioritize client satisfaction and open communication.

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.

My sister and I put down earnest money to buy a home from First Texas Homes on Sunday, March 3, 2018 in the newly developed Silver Creek Meadows community. The sales office servicing this community is located in a sister development (Stillwater Canyon) at 109 Wild River Court, Desoto, Tx 75115.

Everything went well until we met with the designer, Kat, (Tues., March 27) who didn't have answers about a lot of the stuff that came standard in/on the home. The answers she did provide didn't make sense - which Kat agreed. When we questioned the answers, her response was: I just work here. When we asked about upgrade options, she kept telling us to pick basic finishes in case we didn't buy the home. On items that she didn't know about she said she'd reach out to corporate to try & get answers to our questions. She demanded we sign paperwork, much of what was still blank &/or needed to be updated or changed based on responses from the corporate office. She insisted that in order to continue with the buying process First Texas Homes policy required this design paperwork be signed before we left that day. But she promised that we'd be allowed to make the needed changes and stated: "You can trust me."

After not hearing back from Kat, we reached out to First Texas Homes' corporate office directly on Thursday, March 29, 2018 & left a message with Kathy Provence to call us back. Kathy Provence (operations manager for First Texas Homes) called us back the next day. During that phone call, we explained to her that we had some questions about options & pricing which Kat didn't have information on and were awaiting response from corporate. Kathy Provence asked us to forward her all of our questions & promised to get the answers to us as soon as possible. Within a few days (on Wednesday, April 4, 2018) we received an email from the sales office (not from Kathy) with a number of the questions answered - which said that the designer Kat had given us incorrect information. However, most of the responses were that we would need to get the answers from the sales office of the community.

We expressed our concern over being shuffled back & forth, about the huge discrepancy of the prices we were being quoted for flooring upgrades and kitchen backsplash & tub surround tile & why this community seemed to have less range of design choices than most (if not all) of its other communities. We also asked if we could have a second design meeting to get our questions about standard and upgrade finishes and pricing addressed and move forward with the design process.

Instead of allaying our fears as first-time home buyers and working with us to make sure we could get the design process completed, Kathy Provence sent a letter via email (on Friday, April 6, 2018) stating that if we didn't like how First Texas Homes did business, then we could have our money back & they'd let us out of our contract. She also stated she'd given the sales office instruction on what to answer. That email, and the designer's subsequent behavior, gives the impression that corporate has given Kat a directive to be as uncooperative as possible to get us back out of the contract. We were completely taken aback at her retaliatory, hostile response - given reviews claiming Kathy Provence bends over backwards to help home buyers.

We responded to her email, stating that we wished to proceed with building our home and were not looking to get out of our contract. We just needed answers. On, Sunday, April 8, 2018, the sales manager at the Stillwater Canyon community responded, stating we could proceed. On Wednesday, April 11, we went to the design room at Stillwater Canyon to look over finishes again & were surprised that a number of new upgrade options had been added. From that point forward, we asked our realtor to handle everything. (We have documentation verifying the above.)

Our realtor first tried reaching out to the corporate office of First Texas Homes, but never got a response/return call. She then reached out to the sales office for the community and was directed to Kat who said she did not have any time to meet at all, ever. Our realtor requested a date for the redline meeting & had to email over our remaining questions which they took several weeks to answer. No redline date has been given. It appears that First Texas Homes is discriminating against us as FHA loan applicants and against buyers in general in this predominantly minority community. For ex., our realtor said her client in a different First Texas Homes community in North Dallas has had multiple design meetings lasting hours. But no designer has been provided in Desoto & the sales manager had to pay for a designer out of his own budget to help home buyers. Also, the designer constantly referred to the sale of our home should we not be able to buy it and & frustration over having to reduce the price of other homes in the community. Is First Texas Homes only interested in white, affluent buyers?