Complaints mount through the Nation against ‘America’s Builder,’ D.R. Horton

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - From coast to coast, customers who purchased brand new homes with D.R. Horton say their homes are riddled with constant problems, creating a massive safety hazard and taking a toll on their livelihood and bank accounts.

While their homes are an obvious concern, the homeowners believe communication and accountability are bigger issues with the home builder.

“I could not look at that house and not see a time bomb,” Texas D.R. Horton homeowner Jayson Warren said.

Home construction company D.R. Horton is known as “America’s Builder,” but not every D.R. Horton customer is living the American dream.

“I can say D.R. Horton, they have left a very bad taste in my mouth,” Georgia homeowner PJ Skipper said.

Live 5 first investigated complaints and lawsuits against D.R. Horton in the Lowcountry in May with homeowners saying their homes were practically falling apart, despite county inspectors signing off on them months before moving in.

“I’ve never had the house that I paid for,” Florida D.R. Horton homeowner Danielle Antonucci said.

The investigation prompted other South Carolinians who own D.R. Horton homes in Lexington, Bluffton, Myrtle Beach and Santee to reach out sharing their own horror stories.

In Santee, Nikole Willis moved into her brand-new D.R. home in 2023, experiencing some problems, but nothing too serious.

The bulk of her concerns surround the stormwater pond behind her property that was built by the company and sold to homeowners as an amenity, which she said is now more trouble than it’s worth. Constantly flooded with no upkeep or filtration.

“My fear is that D.R. Horton is just going to leave us stranded with this nightmare of an issue,” Willis said.

Between constant conversations with her homeowner’s association, the town, the state Department of Health and Environmental Control and D.R. Horton, Willis said her requests fell on deaf ears.

“I don’t really respect D.R. Horton. I don’t like being lied to; I don’t like being ignored; I don’t like that,” Willis said. “They gave a lot of empty promises to the people in this neighborhood.”

The complaints are not limited to South Carolina. The investigation led to dozens of messages and emails from D.R. Horton customers located throughout the nation.

Homeowners shared their negative experiences from Georgia, Florida, Texas and even as far as Nevada, Arizona and California.

Skipper lives in Locust Grove, Georgia, and purchased his D.R. Horton in 2019.

Almost immediately after moving in, he noticed issues: air conditioning constantly out, bent nails everywhere, defective plywood and hundreds of maggots in the trash left by construction workers.

“I was like, man, this is turning out to be a house from hell,” Skipper said.

Skipper said conversations with his warranty provider and D.R. Horton continued to go nowhere, forcing him to fix these problems with money out of his own pocket.

“Here in my neighborhood, a lot of people have sold their homes,” Skipper said. “They figured it’s just best to sell and get out.”

In Sarasota, Florida, Antonucci moved into her D.R. Horton home in 2022. Her problems began almost immediately with major structural problems inside the home, incorrect materials used and mold inside the walls from water damage.

“You didn’t give me the brand new house that I bought,” Antonucci said. “I worry in three or four years, am I going to have a house full of mold in my walls?”

Antonucci said D.R. Horton attempted to fix some of these problems by beginning repairs and construction, but never returned, leaving her with an almost uninhabitable home.

“We share a tiny little bathroom,” Antonucci said. It’s been over two years of fighting with them.”

Warren moved into his D.R. Horton home in San Antonio, Texas, in 2020.

“We got into the house and we didn’t make it more than 24 hours before there was an issue,” Warren said.

Aside from experiencing the same complaints shared by other customers, his wife fell down the new home’s stairs because they were not built up to code and were uneven.

“It resulted in my wife going to a medical specialist,” Warren said. “Like, you walk up and down stairs on autopilot. There’s a reason all stairs in the country are built the same way.”

Warren and his family eventually sold their Texas home because of the abundance of issues.

Isaac Ortiz said his dream home in Las Vegas, Nevada was filled with construction debris, had leaks in the walls and paint everywhere in 2023 when he moved in.

“Everything was in bad condition,” Ortiz said. “Everything.”

Ortiz said the communication process and trying to get D.R. Horton to fix the mistakes they left him with has gone nowhere.

“We already spent all the money to get the house and now we have to spend more money to get to hire a lawyer to try to do something,” Ortiz said.

Every D.R. Horton homeowner interviewed was asked what they think should be done to hold the massive builder more accountable.

“The government needs to do something,” Ortiz said.

“I do think the federal level potentially has some play when you start talking about the compounding effects,” Warren said.

But when dealing with problems involving a multibillion-dollar homebuilder, such as D.R. Horton, homeowners may have to turn to their subcontractors, local or state agencies for relief.

“Almost 45 days ago, I submitted a complaint with the attorney general from Nevada,” Ortiz said. “At this point, almost 45 days, I haven’t heard back.”

In the Lowcountry, not only has there been no enforcement action against D.R. Horton, but inspection reports show inspectors signed off on homes with known problems months before homeowners moved in.

The latter feel like with the responsibility on their shoulders, it’s added insult to injury.

“We’re left as the homeowners pulling the bag,” Skipper said. “Most of the time, it has to come out of our pocket.”

“These stories are heartbreaking. They ruin families, financially, physically, emotionally, mentally, all of that, it’s devastating,” Antonucci said.

A D.R. Horton spokesperson responded to the investigation with a statement that reads:

We take great pride in the quality of D.R. Horton homes and have helped more than 1,000,000 individuals and families across the United States achieve the dream of homeownership. Our team takes all homeowner concerns very seriously and is committed to customer satisfaction. We encourage any D.R. Horton homeowner with concerns about their home to contact us at [email protected] so we can work to resolve any issues.”

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