Tru Southern Colorado Building

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• By Michael D.

  February 11, 2022

  BUYER BEWARE!!!
  We contracted on a house on W. Alexis Dr (1920 sq ft for $475,000) by this builder in Pueblo West due to the location and the layout of the house. Upon the first meeting with the builder (Jason Trujillo) my wife, her sister, and our realtor met him at the residence for the first (in person) viewing of the property. My wife connected with me via FaceTime, as I was still out of state and not able to see the house in person.
  We initially thought this was going to be a great business relationship as Jason provided us with his personal cell phone number and stated that at any time we could contact him if we had any questions or concerns. He stated he takes pride in his work, lives only a few minutes away from the property and would be able to respond promptly to any problems/concerns. Jason and his wife (who is/was the realtor representing the property) Manda Trujillo allowed us to store our belongings in the garage of the property while waiting for the cert. of occupancy. We were initially amazed at this generosity, however, we would soon realize the passive aggressive behavior of both parties. We also asked Jason if he knew how much it would cost to have a gas line put in for a gas dryer. Jason told us it would be $700 and he would have the work completed if we wanted him to; we would just need to send him a check. We sent the check and would later realize that Manda would refuse to return our $700 for the gas line when we TERMINATED THE CONTRACT , but she would increase the sales price of the house $45,000, thus collecting $1400 for the gas line (if the house sells).
  The first time I met with Jason at the house, I pointed out the slope on the west side of the house was NOT sloping AWAY from the house. Jason quickly rejected my observation and told us (with our realtor present) that his “engineer” said he did not have to have the grade sloping away from the house because he installed a FRENCH DRAIN around the perimeter of the foundation. I knew this was incorrect and in January 2022, Regional Building FAILED the final inspection TWICE due to the grade on the west side of the house. Maybe he should listen when someone tells him very specific information.
  While walking the property with our realtor, we noticed a significant problem with the tile and wall of the master bath between the bathtub and shower. Our realtor relayed our concerns about this, our realtor was told by Manda that they would not be doing anything to fix the issue as it would be too expensive to fix. (Too expensive to fix their screw up on a $475K house)??? But pass the expense onto the buyer???? This was on December 1, 2021 and Manda also told our realtor that the excavator had set the septic tanks in but now would not be able to finish the project until December 13. At this point, I went to the house to try to get information as to why the septic would take so long if the tanks were set. Once I got to the property, I noticed that Jason‘s truck was in the driveway, I went to the front door and called out his name to which he answered and came to the front door. Jason and I began talking about the septic system as well as the tile in the master bath and the wall. Jason informed me that the excavator wanted to have the Leitchfield re-engineered so that it did not cause damage to the system. I explained to Jason that I appreciated him making the extra effort to ensure the system would not be compromised. I asked Jason how thick the sand was under the septic tank, as the ground beneath the tank had numerous sharp rocks. He said he thought there was, maybe, 6 or 8 inches but he was not sure. Shouldn’t he know this information as the builder????? Then we discussed the master bath. Jason told me he had run out of nails prior to securing the wall between the tub and shower, then was ill. He said while he was out, the plumber came to the house, nailed up the wall so he should finish plumbing it, but did not check to make sure the wall was square. Jason said he was aware of this issue and they tried to build the wall out. Jason said it would’ve cost too much for him to redo the wall. My thoughts on this were that this was about a $500k house and it should be built properly…not try to cut corners. Jason agreed to have one piece of tile corrected that looked like it was caving inward, but would not square up the wall.
  We then met with Jason and Manda on Wednesday, December 15 to conduct our walk-through of the property. Prior to going inside the house, I noticed there were numerous cracks in the stucco all around the perimeter of the house, the largest of which were on the east side of the house. There were 2 cracks than ran the entire length of the garage. Before beginning the walk-through I brought the cracking stucco to Jason and Manda’s attention. Manda stated if the cracks were not as wide as the thickness of a credit card, then nothing done to fix them. (The rest of my review will not fit the space provided)

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