One Final Look Back

When I talked to the contractor last Friday, April 30, he mentioned that the quality control people were at the house Thursday and they gave him some punch list items (still undone). He said he finished them that Friday morning. Basically, this means that the house could not have been turned over that day as per Avida's email (again) since the contractor was still fixing things.

He also mentioned that the house has now been painted blue and that it was finished in half the time it usually takes to paint the house (including primer). In one of our earlier conversations, he said that it would take four days for four men to paint. But since there were 10 men working on the job, it got fixed in a jiffy.

This just proves that it is possible for things to move quickly, provided that Avida puts their mind to it (or you have your lawyer send them a demand letter...)

I wish that Avida had been honest from the beginning. Instead of their sales agents telling potential buyers that they will get their house in six months, they should give the realistic picture and let the clients decide whether or not they want to wait that long BEFORE they hand over the non refundable reservation fee.

Also, during our meeting with Avida last year, we were told that the sales department has a different take on what's supposed to happen which is contrary to the rules set up by the head office. First of all, the sales department and the head office must be in sync with what they tell the customers. As we mentioned to them, the sales people are the first (and sometimes) the only Avida employees that the buyers see - so they all must be on the same page.

But what really got our goat during this process was the fact the "Customer Service" personnel do not tell the truth. They say many things but none of which are true so they end up looking worse than the sales agents they're blaming.

It is our hope that this will not happen again to some other hapless buyer out there, believing the hype and handing over a lot of cash to Avida only to end up frustrated and disappointed. Avida, the houses you sell are not exactly what you call affordable - because if it were then there wouldn't be a housing backlog in this country.

The house is finished but we are not what you can call totally happy or satisfied. And if Avida thinks one bunch of flowers will make up for all the misery they have caused us, think again.