Hi "mary md7", Please read my blog post and my intent and what I'm asking of Ryland Homes will come crystal clear. I'm not looking to make money, but something needs to be done to protect consumers from a lot of stress and aggravation when they are looking to enjoy their new home. Ryland Homes response to my BBB complaint made me say: "I take that to mean that Ryland Homes believes that what happened to my wife and I was "normal", and that all homebuyers should expect that 100 plus problems can happen during their first year warranty!" Hi rockmanor, Please read my blog post and my intent and what I'm asking will come crystal clear. Rather than getting angry, or asking for selfish compensation from my builder, I want to help them. To answer your question: "Does this mean there was not a full blown, multi-hour thorough inspection by a certified inspector hired by the OP?", that is correct. I could not have put off COE anyway, unless I wanted to spend a lot of money on motels and storage fees. Many people are caught in that same dilema, and the builders know it. The initial "Punch List" was about 60 problems, and the rest were discovered as we lived in the house. Many new home buyers, IMO, are caught between a "rock and a hard place" when it comes to a decision of putting off COE until all known(at the time) problems are fixed. Finally, the real point of the post is what I asked to begin with = "Was it OK for Ryland Homes to fix 100 + things wrong with my new home over a stressful year that wasted a lot of my time?" I'm curious how the professionals here feel about the tract home building industry's attitude about sometimes delivering "Cleaner Upper' & 'Fixer Upper" new homes at COE? I personally don't think it is good for the building industry, Realtors (I used to be one), lenders, escrow agents, or anyone associated with the buying and selling of homes. The bottom line is that the more new home buyers, especially Baby Boomers, are afraid to buy a new tract home (at any price), the more they'll stay put where they are, or buy a resale home. In both cases, the overall buying and selling activity could be reduced. Customer service standards for tract home builders need to be raised like the National Association of Home Builders is trying to do with its "NHQ Certified Builder Program" (See Link Below). Here is a link that might be useful: NHQ Certified Builder Program

Why would you put on vinyl siding and then paint it? If you are set on vinyl, that defeats the purpose of no maintenance. Just throwing out my thoughts....... IF the structure is sound, it doesn't appear there is much inside worth working around so I'd make it a blank slate. In other words, I don't see interesting old casings or a cute kitchen to restore. My inclination would be to make it clean and spare, no curliques. As for the metal roof, I love them and think that would look great on a structure like that but not in blue. I also wouldn't do blue siding (or paint) but I'm not a blue house person.

I agree that the windows are the biggest issue. Try to figure out a way where they match somehow. Probably would have to upgrade them, but that's not a negative. I disagree about a new door and new screen door. Just paint the one you have to something more welcoming looking if you want some color. Otherwise, just add a colorful planter on the cement pad next to the bottom stairs. Budget-minded means stick to what will have the most long term impact and most bang for your buck. Then, if you want a flowering tree, which is always nice, do that first since they take the longest time to grow.

Agree you should at least try to wash the roof. if you're not ready/able to replace it. Personally prefer to keep a storm door but you could paint it grout gray to make it less dominant. You could paint the downspout grout gray, too. You could drastically trim the shrubs and then relocate them to your back or side property boundary, thus clearing space to add a 6' deep flat roof porch across the entire front of the house ... except for putting a small forward facing gable only over the entry door. A concrete floor would be a plus for your porch. Use sturdy square porch posts painted grout gray and spaced to not block the view of/from the windows or front door. If a porch isn't in your budget, at least trim the shrubs to be level and below window sill height . Painting the garage the same gray as the grout between the brick would make it less dominant visually.