C
caddin
Guest
Dear Sirs;
About ten months ago (April of 99'), I went searching for a
home to purchase. I went to several dealerships locally, who offered
good plans in purchasing a home, but I did not have enough money at
the time for the deposit, to get the loan financed. Then I came
across a great deal with Southern Showcase Housing, Inc. in Wake
Forrest, NC, who offered me a deal that would fit into my budget.
They offered a low down payment of $4,000.00, which I only was
required to pay 1,000.00 to get started (paid on April 30, 1999). I
was told $1,000 was needed to be paid just to get loan approval
through Greentree Financing, Inc. It was also explained that an
additional $1,000.00, would have to be paid before the house could be
ordered. Southern Showcase agreed to give me a rebate of $1,500.00
and a $500.00 referral bonus, towards the deposit, totaling
$4,000.00. During this time, the salesperson was Lisa N. Christopher.
She explained to me, that it normally takes about three to four
months, to have the home set up and ready to move in, granted
everything goes well with loan approval. I asked her did she
currently foresee any problems that could occur, and she informed me
that once I was approved for the loan, everything else would work
smoothly. I informed her that my lease at the Tapers Apartments will
expire the end of October 1999, and it was crucial that I be in the
house by that time. She then re-assured me that I would definitely be
in the house long before then. With this in mind, I agreed to go
along with the deal, signing the necessary forms required to start
the process, these forms included, the We Owe Sheet, Deposit forms,
Order worksheet, Notice of Cancellation. I was really satisfied with
all the options with the exterior and interior of the home. It was
nice to think that I could have my new home, ordered just the way I
wanted it.
During the month of May, I sent the Tapers Apartments a
letter informing them that I do not wish to extend my lease pass
October 31, 1999, because I was scheduled to be in my new house in a
couple of months. Their office requires a 45 day written notice
before vacating, so since I was told it would only take a couple of
months to be in the house, I wanted to be pro-active and get the
notice out of the way. Also during the first 3 weeks of May, I worked
hard with the Sales Rep., Lisa N. Christopher, trying to find land
that was decently priced and close to work. Lisa was able to find
several locations that were well priced and offered low money down. I
decided to go with property that was found in Louisburg, NC (a one
hour commute to work), in Ellington Estates, lot #1. I chose this
particular lot because it had an existing well and was at a good
price, with the amount of land that was being offered. The seller
wanted $500.00 down, which Southern Showcase financed into my
mortgage, with the addition of the price of the land. On May 26,
1999, another check was paid for the down payment, in the amount of
$1,000.00 so that the house could be ordered. I was told that it
would take one to two weeks for the house to be ordered and
constructed. I was also told that since I have already paid the final
deposit monies, they were going to begin clearing the land.
About a week later, during the first week of June, I called
back to their office to check the status of the house and was
informed that there has been changes in management and that the new
manager, Mr. Curtis Skipper, needed to speak with me about
corrections that needed to be made in the paperwork. Upon speaking
with him, he informed me that the previous manager made errors in the
pricing of the home, and I needed to come to their office to make
some corrections. The following day, I took a half day off work to go
to their office, to make these corrections. When I arrived, Curtis
explained to me that in the paperwork that was originally signed, the
old manager put the wrong dollar amounts for closing costs, which he
then filled out a new order form, changing the measurements on the
ceiling, exterior and floors wich required an additional $1,098.80 to
be paid from me. He informed me that the new order sheet that he
wrote up needed to be signed, in addition the extra money needed to
be paid, before the house could be ordered. I explained to him that
this wasn't what was agreed upon, when I originally signed the
paperwork, and I shouldn't have to pay the additional amount. He then
explained to me that until they get the rest of the deposit, the
house will not be ordered. I then informed him that at the present
time, I did not have the money needed for the deposit and would not
have it for another week. He agreed to give me the extra time to come
up with the money, but will go ahead and have someone go out and
clear the land.
On July 1, 1999, I called back to their office and spoke with
Lisa N. Christopher who advised me that they still haven't been able
to clear the land because they were waiting on the perk test. I then
asked her if she knew when someone was going to come out to the land
and have it perked and she advised me that she wasn't sure, but will
let me know as soon as the inspectors give her a date.
On July 11, 1999, I called back to their office and spoke
with Curtis Skipper to see if he has heard anything on a date of when
the land was going to be cleared and when I can expect to be in the
house. He advised me to call back the following day around 1:00 p.m.
He explained that by then, he would be able to give me a definite
answer because he was waiting to hear back about the perk test. The
following day, I called back around 3:00 p.m. to get an update.
Curtis advised me that the land passed the perk test and the closing
on the house will be in about six to seven weeks, putting me in the
time frame of the first two weeks in August to be in the house.
As August approached, I called again to get a more definite
answer on when the closing would be and when the land was going to be
cleared. I spoke with my sales rep. Lisa, who could not give me a
definite answer at that time. She did inform me that they were going
out to the property the following Saturday to clear the trees, the
house that was on the property, the barn and the outhouse. She
wanted to know if I would be able to meet with Corbet Cash, who was
clearing the land, to tell him which trees to clear. I advised her
that I will be able to meet with him Saturday to make it clear to him
what trees I wanted to keep. The following day, I called back to
Southern Showcase to express my concerns about when my move in date
was going to be because I was having family come in to town from New
York, the last week of August and it would be nice to be in the house
by that time, because where I was currently residing, there would not
be enough room to accommodate us all. I was again told that as soon
as the paperwork was signed, they would be able to get me in the
house, well before that time.
Several days later, I called back to Southern Showcase
Housing, to see how the clearing of the land went. Upon calling,
Curtis Skipper advised me that they had to stop with the clearing of
the land because it was not supposed to be cleared yet. The
explanation he gave was, that since I have not signed the proper
paperwork for first dispersal, it was illegal for them to clear the
land. He also explained that they will continue clearing the property
once I went to the closing for first dispersal. Later that day, I
went out to the property to see just how much was cleared. When I
arrived on the property, I noticed that only some of the trees I
wanted cleared were cleared, the house and the outhouse was r
About ten months ago (April of 99'), I went searching for a
home to purchase. I went to several dealerships locally, who offered
good plans in purchasing a home, but I did not have enough money at
the time for the deposit, to get the loan financed. Then I came
across a great deal with Southern Showcase Housing, Inc. in Wake
Forrest, NC, who offered me a deal that would fit into my budget.
They offered a low down payment of $4,000.00, which I only was
required to pay 1,000.00 to get started (paid on April 30, 1999). I
was told $1,000 was needed to be paid just to get loan approval
through Greentree Financing, Inc. It was also explained that an
additional $1,000.00, would have to be paid before the house could be
ordered. Southern Showcase agreed to give me a rebate of $1,500.00
and a $500.00 referral bonus, towards the deposit, totaling
$4,000.00. During this time, the salesperson was Lisa N. Christopher.
She explained to me, that it normally takes about three to four
months, to have the home set up and ready to move in, granted
everything goes well with loan approval. I asked her did she
currently foresee any problems that could occur, and she informed me
that once I was approved for the loan, everything else would work
smoothly. I informed her that my lease at the Tapers Apartments will
expire the end of October 1999, and it was crucial that I be in the
house by that time. She then re-assured me that I would definitely be
in the house long before then. With this in mind, I agreed to go
along with the deal, signing the necessary forms required to start
the process, these forms included, the We Owe Sheet, Deposit forms,
Order worksheet, Notice of Cancellation. I was really satisfied with
all the options with the exterior and interior of the home. It was
nice to think that I could have my new home, ordered just the way I
wanted it.
During the month of May, I sent the Tapers Apartments a
letter informing them that I do not wish to extend my lease pass
October 31, 1999, because I was scheduled to be in my new house in a
couple of months. Their office requires a 45 day written notice
before vacating, so since I was told it would only take a couple of
months to be in the house, I wanted to be pro-active and get the
notice out of the way. Also during the first 3 weeks of May, I worked
hard with the Sales Rep., Lisa N. Christopher, trying to find land
that was decently priced and close to work. Lisa was able to find
several locations that were well priced and offered low money down. I
decided to go with property that was found in Louisburg, NC (a one
hour commute to work), in Ellington Estates, lot #1. I chose this
particular lot because it had an existing well and was at a good
price, with the amount of land that was being offered. The seller
wanted $500.00 down, which Southern Showcase financed into my
mortgage, with the addition of the price of the land. On May 26,
1999, another check was paid for the down payment, in the amount of
$1,000.00 so that the house could be ordered. I was told that it
would take one to two weeks for the house to be ordered and
constructed. I was also told that since I have already paid the final
deposit monies, they were going to begin clearing the land.
About a week later, during the first week of June, I called
back to their office to check the status of the house and was
informed that there has been changes in management and that the new
manager, Mr. Curtis Skipper, needed to speak with me about
corrections that needed to be made in the paperwork. Upon speaking
with him, he informed me that the previous manager made errors in the
pricing of the home, and I needed to come to their office to make
some corrections. The following day, I took a half day off work to go
to their office, to make these corrections. When I arrived, Curtis
explained to me that in the paperwork that was originally signed, the
old manager put the wrong dollar amounts for closing costs, which he
then filled out a new order form, changing the measurements on the
ceiling, exterior and floors wich required an additional $1,098.80 to
be paid from me. He informed me that the new order sheet that he
wrote up needed to be signed, in addition the extra money needed to
be paid, before the house could be ordered. I explained to him that
this wasn't what was agreed upon, when I originally signed the
paperwork, and I shouldn't have to pay the additional amount. He then
explained to me that until they get the rest of the deposit, the
house will not be ordered. I then informed him that at the present
time, I did not have the money needed for the deposit and would not
have it for another week. He agreed to give me the extra time to come
up with the money, but will go ahead and have someone go out and
clear the land.
On July 1, 1999, I called back to their office and spoke with
Lisa N. Christopher who advised me that they still haven't been able
to clear the land because they were waiting on the perk test. I then
asked her if she knew when someone was going to come out to the land
and have it perked and she advised me that she wasn't sure, but will
let me know as soon as the inspectors give her a date.
On July 11, 1999, I called back to their office and spoke
with Curtis Skipper to see if he has heard anything on a date of when
the land was going to be cleared and when I can expect to be in the
house. He advised me to call back the following day around 1:00 p.m.
He explained that by then, he would be able to give me a definite
answer because he was waiting to hear back about the perk test. The
following day, I called back around 3:00 p.m. to get an update.
Curtis advised me that the land passed the perk test and the closing
on the house will be in about six to seven weeks, putting me in the
time frame of the first two weeks in August to be in the house.
As August approached, I called again to get a more definite
answer on when the closing would be and when the land was going to be
cleared. I spoke with my sales rep. Lisa, who could not give me a
definite answer at that time. She did inform me that they were going
out to the property the following Saturday to clear the trees, the
house that was on the property, the barn and the outhouse. She
wanted to know if I would be able to meet with Corbet Cash, who was
clearing the land, to tell him which trees to clear. I advised her
that I will be able to meet with him Saturday to make it clear to him
what trees I wanted to keep. The following day, I called back to
Southern Showcase to express my concerns about when my move in date
was going to be because I was having family come in to town from New
York, the last week of August and it would be nice to be in the house
by that time, because where I was currently residing, there would not
be enough room to accommodate us all. I was again told that as soon
as the paperwork was signed, they would be able to get me in the
house, well before that time.
Several days later, I called back to Southern Showcase
Housing, to see how the clearing of the land went. Upon calling,
Curtis Skipper advised me that they had to stop with the clearing of
the land because it was not supposed to be cleared yet. The
explanation he gave was, that since I have not signed the proper
paperwork for first dispersal, it was illegal for them to clear the
land. He also explained that they will continue clearing the property
once I went to the closing for first dispersal. Later that day, I
went out to the property to see just how much was cleared. When I
arrived on the property, I noticed that only some of the trees I
wanted cleared were cleared, the house and the outhouse was r