OXBOW, ND (KVLY/Gray News) – New homeowners in North Dakota say it has been nothing but trouble since purchasing their home last year.
At first glance, Tom and Katie Webster’s newly built home looks immaculate, but a closer look reveals a different picture.
“Since the day we signed, it’s been one thing after another… after another… after another,” Katie Webster said.
The Websters say they have the contract to purchase their home in March 2023, but the house, which sits on a corner lot, still has 37 projects that need to be either completed or completely redone.
The couple says the house’s siding is dented and torn, the walls are crooked, the trim is unfinished and the windows are poorly installed.
According to the Websters, the house’s floor siding was originally installed upside down and several walls were built incorrectly, requiring three reworks.
Heavy rains caused their house to flood, setting off a domino effect of problems to address, which they both described as “a dream come true that turned into a nightmare.”
The driveway also shows footprints from workers walking on concrete that has not yet dried. There are also cracks, chips and tape on the two front pillars.
Tom Webster, a retired veteran, had previously started his own home inspection business, which allowed him to stop the construction process at any time if he saw a problem emerging.
“It’s just crazy because I paid them to watch and supervise their work, but in reality I often had to watch myself. If we hadn’t had that knowledge, we would have been in an even worse situation,” he said.
Katie Webster added: “They found 87 different regulations that had to be completed before they could move on to the next part.”
The next part, however, never seemed to get better.
“The carpenters involved in the house were arrested on our property for hosting a party and smoking illegal drugs. Another was arrested and extradited to Texas,” said Tom Webster.
The couple explained that the property size also decreased between the signing of the purchase agreement and the installation of the sprinkler system.
The purchase agreement lists the lot size as 41,000 square feet. Tom Webster said when he tried to install sprinklers, the size somehow changed to 32,000.
They said there were other things listed in the purchase agreement that were not available to them, such as a dual-zone heating and cooling system.
Due to the many problems that arose, major projects were delayed, which put a strain on the family’s future plans.
As a veteran, Tom Webster received a VA loan for the house, but says he is now at risk of losing some of his federal funding because his mortgage lender has learned those projects will not be completed.
More than a year and a half later, they have to fix many of these problems themselves and spend additional money on repairs that should never have been done.
“The quality of the work really makes me sad because we put all our savings into this house and expected it to be our forever home. Right now we just don’t believe that’s the case anymore. We can’t keep putting more money into it,” said Katie Webster.
The $1.1 million home was built by Spire Custom Homes, but the couple says there is little to no communication when it comes to the company’s complaints.
Unable to get help from the housing association, the couple contacted the North Dakota Attorney General and hired an attorney to help them send demand letters to the developers.
The Websters are now committed to ensuring that anyone who may be going through this, or anyone looking for a new home, learns from their story.
They tried to stay positive and said this situation is the reason why they now have a close relationship with their neighbors.
“Our neighbors are constantly calling us and asking about problems with the building, which is pretty embarrassing. It’s embarrassing to be the corner house with all the problems, but we’ve met some really great people through it,” said Katie Webster.
On Thursday, a manager at Spire Custom Homes issued the following statement on the situation:
“Spire Custom Homes does not and will not litigate customer complaints in the news media or social media. Spire Custom Homes views customer complaints and warranty work as matters between itself and its customers. To be clear, Spire and the customer recently mentioned in the media have been in ongoing communication about their home for over a year and Spire will continue to communicate, perform warranty work and fulfill its obligations under the parties’ contract and under the warranties to which its customer is entitled.”
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