Dolce Vita Homes

Would really appreciate it if work trucks did not park in front of other home owners driveway and then leave.

Summary of problems: 1) warranty issues not fixed and builder waited until deadlines had passed for us to file complaints before telling us nothing would be done; 2) landscaping not done properly and builder refuses to acknowledge a problem; 3) items promised by the salesperson were not included and we later had to pay extra for them; 4) misleading promotional information seemed to indicate our properties would be part of the Holmes Approved Homes program; 5) promise of “highest quality materials” not fulfilled. Several issues were noted on our 1-year warranty inspection. As soon as the warranty period expired, the builder informed us all issues were either resolved or the builder declared them to not be issues and said they would do nothing further. Later, we discovered several of the issues had not been fixed. We filed a BBB complaint & some issues were then fixed. Recently, my tenant informed me at least one of the issues on the warranty report had still not been fixed. The builder’s representative was there when the tenant told me this and the rep said nothing about having the item fixed. We had added a landscaping allowance to the purchase of the property. After possession, the builder informed us we had no choice but to use their “preferred” landscaping contractor rather than choosing our own. There are several issues with the landscaping, especially the “install” of the patio. The landscaper ignored our requests to have the issues fixed. The builder claimed it wasn’t their problem because the contract was between us and the landscaper. The builder and landscaper later visited the properties and declared there were no issues and that the landscapers had fulfilled their contract. The photo below shows the patio: no gravel base was installed to stabilize and level the blocks (so they sink when you step on them and they sit unevenly, creating a tripping hazard), no landscaping fabric was used, no sand was put between the blocks, no edging or border was used, and the blocks were placed haphazardly and unevenly. The patio is obviously not properly installed. However, the builder refuses to acknowledge there are issues and continues to hold our landscaping funds so we have no leverage to convince the landscaper to fix the issues. We included this issue in our BBB complaint and after a VERY long debate, the builder finally agreed to return our funds to us. However, they returned them to our lawyer along with the demand we sign a blanket release before we could have the funds. Since that release could potentially be interpreted to limit our ability to address all issues with the property rather than only gagging and limiting us regarding the landscaping issue, we could not sign the release. The builder then demanded the return of our landscaping funds to them. Without our funds in our possession, we have no leverage to convince the contractor to fix the issues. Saleperson said items were included as standard in our package and later denied this. We had to spend thousands of dollars on “upgrades” for items we were led to believe were included in the package. We hadn’t noted the items on any of our pre-sale documents or notes because we were told they were standard. Company owner said “houses can’t be built on conversations.” Promotional material for properties mentioned the “Holmes Approved Homes” program and seemed to indicate our 3 properties were part of the program. We later discovered they were not. Part of the reason we chose this builder is because of the added assurance of quality and high standards associated with the Holmes Approved Homes program. Literature on the properties promised they use the “highest quality materials” but: a) our interior doors easily crack at the latch, b) the carpet underlay is average (so our carpets looked ten years old after only a year), and c) the builder installed discontinued appliances (most of which had to be repaired within the first 18 months, and repairs are expensive because the appliances are discontinued).

Love our house. Did have any major problems. A few small things needed to be fixed. The customer service is great. We just email and same day somebody responds with action plan and things get done. A year and a half after we moved in they were in the neighborhood randomly washing driveways for free. That was nice! Would use again in future.

I'm leaving this review as a disappointed customer of Dolce Vita. I am very happy with the finished product that my girlfriend and I have purchased. It's been a good experience after having issues during our build it seems that Stewart and those at Dolce Vita did their best to ensure we would get a product finished when promised. Even throughout the process of our inspections to fix any of the things that pop up it's been relatively good. Occassionally we have had issues as does any build. However, my concern does not lie with the product we purchased. It lies within the accountability of your company through it's referral program. I referred my friend that I worked with to see Dolce Vita and encouraged him throughout his house buying process to purchase your product he loved the product that we came out with. We live in the one at keswick and he came to our home and looked through the entire layout and used it as a reference and ended up building a dante 2 like mine & used our house as a reference on many occasion when he purchased his home. He was adamant that I referred him to purchase & also left multiple follow up emails. He has made multiple attempts to ensure that we received it and there is still no referral to be coming our way. I work in an industry that lives off of repeat business as does your company. It's not about the money. It's the principal. You offer a referral program. Someone who purchased a home from your company went out of their way to ensure that we were to receive it. We went out of our way to ensure that someone gave your company an opportunity and then they ended up purchasing your product.We have e-mails in reference to him comparing my house to the house he was going to purchase. He constantly e-mailed about it and now no one at your company went out of their way to ensure that the referral went through. I would really like to think this is not a one way street. It's disappointing that I'm even having to write this google review. We are happy to show off our product and encourage people to live in a quality home. However, neither my girlfriend or I feel the need to support Dolce Vita if they don't follow through on referral programs. It's disappointing considering we are a young couple with large client bases in our careers and we are members of large families constantly visiting your product and your area. We would much rather be happy speaking about our good product rather however we do not feel that way anymore.

Don’t build with them! When you have a problem you can’t get an owner or the president to call you back. My house is 6 months old and has so much water damage. Who ever built this place must have been high. Ice daming, water coming in from outside walls. And all they say is sorry. Try bedrock