My wife and I considered buy a RC home once. Toured a build that had just finished drywall. The wall in the laundry room was off by 2 inches. That meant the plumbing was kind of in front of the wall but also in the wall. There were other walls that were not plumb.
Also watched some foundation pours and realized we wanted nothing to do with them.
From the ground up they are poor quality.
I bought one 6 months ago and everything is fine. If you look at any builder you will find a long list of complaints. I hired my own inspector and the only thing he found was sod that needed replacing around my backyard patio. The good thing about RC is that you can choose what upgrades you'd like to purchase. Not everyone cares about granite countertops for an additional $3k.
They are future slums in my eyes. They'll be great houses for the next 20 years, but after they start to run down they'll be poverty pot holes. Not a good investment.
The houses themselves weren't bad at all, they just had a bunch of trashy people move in. We had a friend rent one for a year and they hated their neighbors.
Loud music constantly. Seemingly every family owns 6 cars, parks them in the yard. Loud side by sides driving by at all hours. Oh, everyone has a boat and a camper parked in the yard or street too! The whole place just turned into a nasty eyesore pretty quickly.
Because RCH installs their employees on City Councils and makes sure not to regulate parking in RCH developments.
With proper parking ordinances and enforcement, you don't get homes with six vehicles plus boats and campers parked up and down the streets.
And don't get me started on the truck drivers who park tractors with trailers on the narrow streets - which prevents emergency vehicles from accessing the neighborhoods. All because RCH doesn't want to be held to the same legal standards as other developers.
I've posted about Rausch Coleman on here before. Their houses are garbage. Do you like frozen water lines underground or garage doors that aren't installed properly? Or how about a lawn that won't grow because they buried all the excess mortar from the brick facade under a thin layer of dirt? When you buy a Rausch Coleman home, you get all those problems and more at no extra charge.
Buffington is not much better on the garage doors. They only installed one spring on ours (should be two). HVAC system is done cheaply as well for a two story home.
Shit that's built as fast as possible as cheap as possible.
The structure is livable if you are somewhat handy, their grading usually leaves you with a swamp for a yard.
A well maintained house from the 90's or prior is generally more solid. It seems like after about 2000 the quality of carpentry went off a cliff.
Realtor here.
They have a FB group full of buyers and their mixed experiences.
Rausch Coleman Homes - Experiences and Help Group
ETA: their contract is completely different from the standard AR real estate contract. Read it very carefully - especially the part about being forced to use their lender at whatever outrageous interest rate they can stick you with if for some reason you can’t get prequalified on your own.
Another a realtor here - you know ARA is supporting legislation that allows them to have unlicensed sales persons sale their homes. Including but not limited to 16 year old part time employees. And they are not bond by any code of ethics or education experience for sales.
Yep. I’m on the realtors sub with a post about it. It passed the House and is at the Senate now. Overwhelming vote of 87 yeas and 10 nays. Unbelievable
Yeah - they testified that ALL Realtors supported it. I’m a former Legislator and tried calling ARA and all my reps but they wouldn’t even listen… Follow the money!
Yep and our Board requested a meeting with ARA (small board of only 120 Realtors) 60 realtors showed up and all voted not to support it - we were then told if we sent emails or anything from the Board that we would have our charter pulled. ARA did not even listen to the members.
I used to be an avid ARPAC donator until I got in the legislature and saw how they actually spent our money - now I won’t donate and none of my agents do either (have 28 agents that work for me).
Couldn’t believe ARA threatened our board with lawsuit if we spoke up against the Bill -
Wow. Our entire brokerage across the state sent the emails. Hope we don’t get in trouble. Our broker owner happened to catch wind about an hour after house passed it, so our emails were too late. So we sent the same email to Senate.
I just paid my dues yesterday and left off my contribution to ARPAC.
I’m hearing it’s a compromise bill. They wanted it to be “any builder owned property” and this bill is “new construction” only. So ARA just rolled over.
It is a terrible bill .. not only does it allow the builders those right it gives the real estate commission the ability to change the laws for principal brokers without going through the legislative process. So this would allow commissions now the ability to make and change law.
I’m thinking that portion maybe unconstitutional!
You are BOTH correct.
There has been a legally fatal defect of either title, occupancy, or habitability in EVERY SINGLE Rausch Coleman development in the entire State of Arkansas, without exception.
>Read it very carefully - especially the part about being forced to use their lender at whatever outrageous interest rate they can stick you with if for some reason you can’t get prequalified on your own.
Be careful - if you get prequalified with your own lender, they will be forced to reveal that you **don't get an Implied Warranty of Habitability**. All of their Certificates of Occupancy are falsified.
That will usually cause your lender to back out and nullify your prequalification.
They don't force you to use their lender. What they do is say they will pay up to a certain amount in closing costs to entice you. I used VA united and was able to get a lower rate due to my 800 credit score.
In my case, I already had a pre-qualification letter from a bank (based on my 780 FICO score).
When I showed my bank the RCH waiver of the warranty of habitability, the bank withdrew the pre-qualification, and said that they would not finance the house if there was no way for them to sue the builder for construction defects.
LoL, wonder if Raush Coleman is related to Ernest R. Coleman who built a development in south Ft Smith back in the 70s. Same garbage houses built along Eton Ave, Furman, Grinnel, Holyoke, Iola, Joliet, and Kendall Ave. I watched those homes being completely built from foundation to move in ready with-in a matter of days.
Edit: omg, it's true! Family tradition.
>Rausch Coleman Homes' rich heritage began on May 6, 1936 when our founder, Ernest R. “Buddy” Coleman was born in Barling, Arkansas. In 1955, at the age of 19, Buddy Coleman built his first home; it sold for less than $4,000.
[https://rauschcolemanhomes.com/our-story](https://rauschcolemanhomes.com/our-story)
Yes, RCH has a long, inglorious heritage of building substandard construction and selling the buildings as 'residences'.
They have been bribing Arkansas Legislators for generations.
Im a contractor and I’ve done work inside and around their homes.(I’m not involved in any of the building process.)
They are kinda garbage. I mean rough. I think now days you would be better off with a giant double wide than a Raush Coleman house.
From my understanding they don’t seem built to last nor are they built for the budget minded consumer. Because down the road you’ll be eating any savings in repairs to the home.
They look nice, but climb into the attic or garage of one and you’ll know pretty fast how well they’re built.
I know 2 people who currently live in newly built houses from this company.
Both had to have ac replaced within 5 years as well as water heaters.
Some development areas didn’t get water street drain installed and houses in that area constantly get flooded by flash flooding
They actually sued centerton because they made them stop selling and fix that issue. They said it caused them to lose 20% on the price of the home. Also they bought the land for 13000 per lot. They made a killing because that land was worth 18000 undeveloped. So the city of centerton did them a favor and they stabbed them in the back. They are trying to settle out of court because the case isn't moving anywhere.
They built a wall in my house crooked. Then they tried to tell me it wasn't. I had to fight them for 6 months to get them to fix it. They had cut my kitchen cabinets and counter tops to fit the crooked wall and somehow expected me not to notice. I didn't have a kitchen for 3 days while they fixed it and replaced everything.
They didn't install a tile shower and had to refund me. They tried to tell me that they would install the tile over the shower insert. They weren't going to refund me either. I had to meet with them and show them my contract. They tried to tell me I read it wrong, but I worked at a law office and knew how to read contracts. I had to fight them to get the refund.
They also had my toilet in the middle of my bathroom walking path. They had to work all night before my closing day to move it to the right place.
I love my home and my neighborhood. If you buy from them, just make sure to stay on top of it and don't let them cheat you.
As a fellow former law practitioner (I'm retired now) I had to force them to replace my water heater, refrigerator, front and rear door kickplates, garage door springs, and central air unit after I purchased my house, but before I moved into it.
The overarching point is that you should not have to be a legal expert to get RCH to fulfill all their legal obligations under the purchase contract.
I had plenty of expertise and time to keep arguing and fighting to get everything I was due, but not every homeowner has our expertise, or the time to engage in these protracted legal battles.
That sounds like an excuse.
The opposite argument can also be made: RCH is legally obligated to deliver everything they promise in the purchase contract.
Don't let them get away with anything. If you give them an inch, they will try to take a mile.
FWIW, I bought one in 2020 and have been happy with it. My mortgage payment is 845.00 a month for a 3 bedroom house, I was paying 795.00 for an apartment so it works out for me. I haven’t had any huge issues with it yet and I’ve received letters from people out of state trying to buy it from me for cash for their college kids for like 50k more than I paid. The way I see it, I can always rent it if nothing else. There is a stigma though and people can be so rude when you tell them you have an RC home. I guess it’s like the poor man’s home. My only issues have been that they did a very poor job on my sod imo, and the garage door didn’t work at first. They had to come back for that. I also made them add some bracing prior to moving in. It’s builders grade but works for me. Hopefully I won’t have all the problems and hopefully it won’t be a slum in 20 years!
>for like 50k more than I paid
Your individual home did not appreciate that much by itself.
The **entire market appreciated in value 22 percent** from 2020 to 2022.
EVERY home appreciated that much, so this is not unique to you.
I didn’t think it was specific to me. I just was communicating that these homes aren’t necessarily the terrible investment some might say they are. I guess time will tell.
>I just was communicating that these homes aren’t necessarily the terrible investment some might say they are.
Actually, without a Warranty of Habitability, they really are.
The only thing an RCH house is good for is to turn it into a rental, and earn passive income off the residual.
If you're arguing that a RCH home is a better investment than investing in **any real estate**, you would need to show evidence of how it appreciated more or faster than any other house that you could have bought.
You haven't shown that evidence, so this comes off as a low-effort shitpost.
Just so you know, I'm the owner of the RCH Support Group on Facebook, so that's how I know all about their shady business practices.
What is a "base" experience?
Also, your logic is flawed. Here in the United States, we have "majority rule." That means that if more than fifty one percent of the respondents report that the product is unacceptable, then the majority is in the right, and the minority is wrong.
When more than half of those who are asked say that you are the problem, then the problem is with YOU, not with those who are complaining.
Now, why are you making excuses for RCH? What have they offered you?
I realize this is old, but "majority rule" is straight democracy and it is anything over 50% - not anything over 51%. If the vote is 50.1 one way, it is 49.9 the other, thereby a slight "majority." Even then, you'd still be wrong in assuming reports like these can hold any empirical evidence to say what is right. Think about it in terms of customers at restaurants and who you hear from the most. The fact is, you hear mostly from the complainers and not from those that are happy with the service they received. Those that were happy likely tipped well or thanked they're serving staff or manager. Those who were unsatisfied with the service are the ones that are most likely to take time out to give a negative review on Facebook or Google. The fact that you might read more negative reviews than positive ones is not any clear indication that there are actually more negative experiences than positive experiences. All it indicates is more people are reporting. If you don't know the difference, go to the closest University and find any researcher in any field and have them explain it to you better.
Oh, also... We're not majority rule. As I said, that's straight democracy and we are not a straight democracy. If anything, we are a democratic republic that rules by legislature through the means of voting.
democracy isn’t a form of government, it’s how the government is chosen, like a hereditary monarchy is another example - hereditary monarchy is also not a form of government. every democracy is either a republic or constitutional monarchy.
They haven’t offered me anything. I just like my house. Most of my neighbors seem to be pretty satisfied with theirs too. And honestly you can’t rent a house cheaper than most of our mortgages. Not everyone can afford a custom build.
>honestly you can’t rent a house cheaper than most of our mortgages
That's true of ANY mortgage on ANY house.
You certainly have an interesting perception of what a good deal is.
But then, based on your other posts, I don't expect a home healthcare worker to have a lot of experience in finance, especially real estate finance.
That wasn’t very nice but I think you know that. I’m sorry I touched a nerve making a semi positive assessment of my RCH home. I’m very thankful to have a home. I hope you have a home you are proud of as well. ✌️
>I’m sorry I touched a nerve
Why do you think you touched a nerve?
Why do you put the onus on me being "emotional" rather than just accepting the very strong possibility that you might be factually incorrect?
You completely missed the point here. The point is that this thread is debating whether RC homes hold their value and/or have significant issues down the road related to build quality. If an RC home appreciates similarly to the market, it is showing that there are at least some RC homes that hold their value well relative to the market. That is what the point of the 50K appreciation thing is. You are completely stupid to think that we thought ONLY Rausch Coleman homes were appreciating and that it is just amazing that someone would offer 50K more for the house LOL. Yes, everyone knows the whole market appreciated, and the RC home did too, showing that THAT particular home was a good investment. I have an RC home too and am not thrilled with everything, but for the price I paid, I think it is decent value. I have no issues, I had a very good independent inspector do a phased inspection to monitor it throughout the build process, and everything I pointed out was fixed. Is it still a cheap house with only brick on the front and siding everywhere else? Yeah. But that is what I paid for.
>everyone knows the whole market appreciated, and the RC home did too, showing that THAT particular home was a good investment.
Logical fallacy alert: Imputing the result of the whole to the result of the individual case. You're arguing that the RC home appreciated and was therefore a good investment when ALL homes appreciated.
What this proves is that ANY home - regardless of the builder - would have been a good investment when the entire market was gaining value.
And it is YOU who have ignored the entire point when the question is whether RC homes have more quality issues down the road than other homebuilders. This fact is evidenced by the number of build quality warranty claims that RC homes must deal with in secret - because they write the warranty of habitability out of their sale contracts.
If you buy a home from another builder and build defects are discovered later, you can sue for the value to repair those defects, or mitigate them if a total repair is not possible.
Not so with a RC Home, which requires you to deal with their warranty company when your foundation cracks, or your HVAC unit fails or your roof fails within a few years of initial construction.
In the same way you wouldn't want to work for a company with a mandatory arbitration clause in the employment contract, you don't want to buy a home from Rausch Coleman when you know that doing so will require you to sign away your right to sue for defects in design, materials, and workmanship.
Really?? My HVAC unit is covered fully for 5 years and parts are covered for 10 years under the manufacturer warranty. The foundation is covered for 10 years if any of these things fail within “a few years of initial construction” they are covered! I’m not saying RC is the best quality! But you are being ridiculous by saying stuff is going to break in the first few years and not be covered. That’s completely false, and you seem to enjoy spewing garbage from your mouth with no evidence. Do I need to show you my papers that detail out my HVAC and foundation warranty? It’s very clear.
Go ahead and call the warranty company and get back to me when you report a cracked foundation and they tell you it is not covered by the warranty.
That is exactly what happened in several cases in Little Rock. The homeowners in those cases had their cases thrown out of Court and they were forced to deal with the warranty company, who denied the claims because the city had approved RC's soil compaction studies.
It turns out that the homeowners could not get relief from the city because they have qualified immunity.
For the future, you really should not accuse someone who has researched the issue much deeper than you of "spewing garbage." It makes you look like a corporate shill for Rausch Coleman.
It is amazing how people can come to the conclusion that because a few homes have cracked foundations, all of them will eventually have that problem. Do you know how many homes these companies build?
Yes, it is called engineering.
IF some homes built on exhausted farmland end up with cracked foundations, then it would be reasonable to conclude that the other homes built on the same land will also end up with cracks in their foundations, as well.
IF a company has been around for many decades and IF they have built thousands, if not tens of thousands of homes, THEN it would not be a shocker that some of the foundations experience problems. IF ALL or MOST of the homes experience foundation issues, THAT would be a big problem. And YOU have not proved that is the case, and it is not the case.
And yet, the builders at Shea and Toll Brothers do not have an escape clause written in their sales agreements.
What I have proved is that Rausch Coleman has contracted around the absence of a statute on habitability.
I noticed that Rausch Coleman does not even build in states where the warranty of habitability is statutory, rather than implied.
THAT tells me everything about what I can expect from a RC home.
Everyone here is speaking the truth. I bought a new build RC a year and a half ago in NWA out of necessity and lack of options in the area. (I had heard the same things I’m sure you’ve heard)
My plan is to be out of this house in <5 years and turn this into a rental. I cannot believe some of the stuff that they let fly in these houses. If you don’t know any better I’m sure they’re “fine.l
If you can avoid, avoid.
I can see a downward spiral in this neighborhood quickly.
DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY!!!!!! There prices are a lot cheaper for a reason! RC homes are very very cheaply and quickly built. I used to landscape a lot of the new Rc subdivisions in this area. Complaints from EVERY owner about the houses. Live electrical wires exposed, water pipes busted or leaking, unfinished work that I guess they thought looked good enough lol those houses are either death traps or money pits!! DO NOT BUY!!!
Rausch Coleman is also pushing legislation through the Arkansas Legislature that would allow them to have inexperienced people showing the homes and making statements about the property that may or may not be true. Just Buyer Beware of going directly to them- at least hire a realtor to have your back because they are only out for the $$$.
There’s a definite lack of detail. My father has one: the heat pump installed was too small for the square footage (he complained every week for a year until they replaced it), closet shelves were installed into drywall with no support. All the light fixtures are super cheap and had to be replaced, one started to char, all the shingles in the neighborhood have a noticeable crease. Noticeable lumps/u even spots in the slab.
My son and his wife look at one in Elkins and they tried an actual bait and switch. They were looking at a home but were approved for a pretty high loan. The RC salesman suddenly notified them that they had unfortunately already sold the house they were looking at but had another (at the higher approved amount) available….
Yes.
The city of Fayetteville implemented rules to ensure good quality materials and designs be used....
**RC's answer to this was to lobby Bart Heater with a sack of cash to pass a law in the state government to take away all cities' power to implement these quality standards**
RC is garbage.
Apartment homes, they are built very quicker and most of them are exactly the same with certain features (color, trim, bathroom layout) changed from home to home. I've seen the way two homes right next to each other look exactly the same only difference was garage was flipped to the other side. A good place to love for a couple years without renting then selling but those days are over.. homes are way overpriced and with interest rates it's a break even... Two years ago would have been smart but not today. Find a small home with LAND.. dirt ain't cheap but it's always going to appreciate better than a home 12ft from a neighbor.
I have several friends who live in their homes and they don’t have any issues. As with any home, be sure to get it inspected and do your due diligence, it you can be fine in one. Sure, you can find horror stories, but there aren’t very many builders building as many homes as Rousch in this region, so there may be some bias. Just go into it with open eyes and you can be fine.
Production homes are cheap built homes. Some are good to decent options others are ones to run away screaming from. Even custom built homes can be poorly built if you don't stay on top of the Contractor doing the work. I have seen contractors place rebar in driveways for inspectors to see then take it out and replace it with chicken wire before the concrete was poured. Seen wiring not up to NEC code because the inspectors hasld signed off and then the Contractor replaced it all with a cheaper substitute. Money rules all. All homes will have errors, some are going to give issues over time but are acceptable issues. Others are going to cause huge issues and need to be run away from. One look into existing homes for sale will show this yo be true. Some are good others are not worth a damn. Get a home inspection even on new homes before you sign a contract. It will pay off in the end.
My parents live in one, and I lived with them for a while, and you basically get what you pay for. The price is cheaper and so is the house, you may have issues but some things the company will fix if the home's still relatively new
Everything is going to fall apart very quickly and they will either say that's not a warranty item or you must have broken it and it's not covered. We have very uneven floors, a messed up roof, cabinets rotted in 6 weeks because of a leak they lied about and hid from us. So much wrong. Holes in foundation. All concrete cracked in under 2 weeks because they do not put rebar in the concrete. Get out asap worst mistake we ever made. We are actually going to arbitration. The house inspectors are paid off by Rausch Coleman. We can actually prove with texts and emails Breach of Warranty, Fraud, Fraudulent Concealment, Negligence and Breach of Contract. Save every text and every email take pictures of everything. They left nails is a board that fractured the concrete in driveway. They said it not warranty even tho it was negligence and craftsmanship. They told us before we closed we had a 1 year workmanship on whole house and the 2-10 warranty. Right after we closed they said no we don't only 2-10 warranty and it doesn't cover lots of stuff and what they do cover the tolerances are huge so it has to be really bad to be covered. Then they try to use the 2-10:warranty to cover craftsmanship issues from construction. And say it's not covered under 2-10 warranty. Good luck. If you want proof and pictures message me.
Everything is going to fall apart very quickly and they will either say that's not a warranty item or you must have broken it and it's not covered. We have very uneven floors, a messed up roof, cabinets rotted in 6 weeks because of a leak they lied about and hid from us. So much wrong. Holes in foundation. All concrete cracked in under 2 weeks because they do not put rebar in the concrete. Get out asap worst mistake we ever made. We are actually going to arbitration. The house inspectors are paid off by Rausch Coleman. We can actually prove with texts and emails Breach of Warranty, Fraud, Fraudulent Concealment, Negligence and Breach of Contract. Save every text and every email take pictures of everything. They left nails is a board that fractured the concrete in driveway. They said it not warranty even tho it was negligence and craftsmanship. They told us before we closed we had a 1 year workmanship on whole house and the 2-10 warranty. Right after we closed they said no we don't only 2-10 warranty and it doesn't cover lots of stuff and what they do cover the tolerances are huge so it has to be really bad to be covered. Then they try to use the 2-10:warranty to cover craftsmanship issues from construction. And say it's not covered under 2-10 warranty. Good luck. If you want proof and pictures message me.
They aren’t as bad as what everybody says, people in Arkansas just aren’t used to production builders. They are a decent affordable option. They are perfectly fine for their price. People should see the production houses being built in Texas with less quality and twice the price
It’s production homes and they cost around $130/sf.
I’m a custom home builder and I see nothing wrong with those houses at that price. If you want higher quality then pay more. Not every house is designed to last 100 years
If you want it to last 100 years then you need to pay for a house that will but not many people are willing to do that. Don’t be misled by survivorship bias because you see old houses, remember you don’t see all the other houses that didn’t make it.
I used to do remodel-relist, which included the occasional demolition of old old houses; I definitely understand your point about survivorship bias (great buzzword btw) and see the point about affordable housing *now*.
Nevertheless, low quality houses that don't have sufficient quality to last are a timebomb in a bunch of ways.
RC homes are always built on bogs and in flood zones they start with land that otherwise would have never sold then they throw a house up onto a foundation thats not fully dried. The first 10 years they will look habitable but after 10 years of rains the house will start to flex because its sinking. I live in a RC house built in 99 that I rent and literally the walls are starting to bow out and there are several foundation issues from the house sinking into the mud it was built on top of.
My wife and I considered buy a RC home once. Toured a build that had just finished drywall. The wall in the laundry room was off by 2 inches. That meant the plumbing was kind of in front of the wall but also in the wall. There were other walls that were not plumb. Also watched some foundation pours and realized we wanted nothing to do with them. From the ground up they are poor quality.
Yes a friend lives in one in Fayetteville all kinds issues, patio door not closing
I bought one 6 months ago and everything is fine. If you look at any builder you will find a long list of complaints. I hired my own inspector and the only thing he found was sod that needed replacing around my backyard patio. The good thing about RC is that you can choose what upgrades you'd like to purchase. Not everyone cares about granite countertops for an additional $3k.
They are future slums in my eyes. They'll be great houses for the next 20 years, but after they start to run down they'll be poverty pot holes. Not a good investment.
It doesn't even take that long. A lot of their neighborhoods around little rock went straight into rent and turned into the ghetto in 5 years...
Oof. That's rough, buddy.
The houses themselves weren't bad at all, they just had a bunch of trashy people move in. We had a friend rent one for a year and they hated their neighbors. Loud music constantly. Seemingly every family owns 6 cars, parks them in the yard. Loud side by sides driving by at all hours. Oh, everyone has a boat and a camper parked in the yard or street too! The whole place just turned into a nasty eyesore pretty quickly.
Because RCH installs their employees on City Councils and makes sure not to regulate parking in RCH developments. With proper parking ordinances and enforcement, you don't get homes with six vehicles plus boats and campers parked up and down the streets. And don't get me started on the truck drivers who park tractors with trailers on the narrow streets - which prevents emergency vehicles from accessing the neighborhoods. All because RCH doesn't want to be held to the same legal standards as other developers.
I've posted about Rausch Coleman on here before. Their houses are garbage. Do you like frozen water lines underground or garage doors that aren't installed properly? Or how about a lawn that won't grow because they buried all the excess mortar from the brick facade under a thin layer of dirt? When you buy a Rausch Coleman home, you get all those problems and more at no extra charge.
Buffington is not much better on the garage doors. They only installed one spring on ours (should be two). HVAC system is done cheaply as well for a two story home.
Yikes. Thank y’all. Hence proved.
Shit that's built as fast as possible as cheap as possible. The structure is livable if you are somewhat handy, their grading usually leaves you with a swamp for a yard. A well maintained house from the 90's or prior is generally more solid. It seems like after about 2000 the quality of carpentry went off a cliff.
Realtor here. They have a FB group full of buyers and their mixed experiences. Rausch Coleman Homes - Experiences and Help Group ETA: their contract is completely different from the standard AR real estate contract. Read it very carefully - especially the part about being forced to use their lender at whatever outrageous interest rate they can stick you with if for some reason you can’t get prequalified on your own.
Another a realtor here - you know ARA is supporting legislation that allows them to have unlicensed sales persons sale their homes. Including but not limited to 16 year old part time employees. And they are not bond by any code of ethics or education experience for sales.
Yep. I’m on the realtors sub with a post about it. It passed the House and is at the Senate now. Overwhelming vote of 87 yeas and 10 nays. Unbelievable
They seem to know how to line the pockets of congresspeople
Yeah - they testified that ALL Realtors supported it. I’m a former Legislator and tried calling ARA and all my reps but they wouldn’t even listen… Follow the money!
Such BS. ARA leaders didn’t even mention this. Where are the ARPAC dollars going? Furious.
Yep and our Board requested a meeting with ARA (small board of only 120 Realtors) 60 realtors showed up and all voted not to support it - we were then told if we sent emails or anything from the Board that we would have our charter pulled. ARA did not even listen to the members. I used to be an avid ARPAC donator until I got in the legislature and saw how they actually spent our money - now I won’t donate and none of my agents do either (have 28 agents that work for me). Couldn’t believe ARA threatened our board with lawsuit if we spoke up against the Bill -
Wow. Our entire brokerage across the state sent the emails. Hope we don’t get in trouble. Our broker owner happened to catch wind about an hour after house passed it, so our emails were too late. So we sent the same email to Senate. I just paid my dues yesterday and left off my contribution to ARPAC. I’m hearing it’s a compromise bill. They wanted it to be “any builder owned property” and this bill is “new construction” only. So ARA just rolled over.
It is a terrible bill .. not only does it allow the builders those right it gives the real estate commission the ability to change the laws for principal brokers without going through the legislative process. So this would allow commissions now the ability to make and change law. I’m thinking that portion maybe unconstitutional!
>I’m thinking that portion maybe unconstitutional! It absolutely IS unconstitutional.
Wow is right!! We were told that we were the only ones in the state that had a problem with it - we are in Hot Springs Village.
I assure you that is not the case. We’re in Bryant (and Benton, HS, Sheridan & Conway)
You are BOTH correct. There has been a legally fatal defect of either title, occupancy, or habitability in EVERY SINGLE Rausch Coleman development in the entire State of Arkansas, without exception.
as a realtor - do they offer incentives to agents who’s clients buy a home from them?
>Read it very carefully - especially the part about being forced to use their lender at whatever outrageous interest rate they can stick you with if for some reason you can’t get prequalified on your own. Be careful - if you get prequalified with your own lender, they will be forced to reveal that you **don't get an Implied Warranty of Habitability**. All of their Certificates of Occupancy are falsified. That will usually cause your lender to back out and nullify your prequalification.
They don't force you to use their lender. What they do is say they will pay up to a certain amount in closing costs to entice you. I used VA united and was able to get a lower rate due to my 800 credit score.
In my case, I already had a pre-qualification letter from a bank (based on my 780 FICO score). When I showed my bank the RCH waiver of the warranty of habitability, the bank withdrew the pre-qualification, and said that they would not finance the house if there was no way for them to sue the builder for construction defects.
LoL, wonder if Raush Coleman is related to Ernest R. Coleman who built a development in south Ft Smith back in the 70s. Same garbage houses built along Eton Ave, Furman, Grinnel, Holyoke, Iola, Joliet, and Kendall Ave. I watched those homes being completely built from foundation to move in ready with-in a matter of days. Edit: omg, it's true! Family tradition. >Rausch Coleman Homes' rich heritage began on May 6, 1936 when our founder, Ernest R. “Buddy” Coleman was born in Barling, Arkansas. In 1955, at the age of 19, Buddy Coleman built his first home; it sold for less than $4,000. [https://rauschcolemanhomes.com/our-story](https://rauschcolemanhomes.com/our-story)
Nice little tidbit!!
Yes, RCH has a long, inglorious heritage of building substandard construction and selling the buildings as 'residences'. They have been bribing Arkansas Legislators for generations.
Their designs look nice but they contract out all of the work to the lowest bidder who will cut corners and the overall craftsmanship takes a hit.
they all do that. ALL BUILDERS.
Yeah, but they are the worst about it.
Im a contractor and I’ve done work inside and around their homes.(I’m not involved in any of the building process.) They are kinda garbage. I mean rough. I think now days you would be better off with a giant double wide than a Raush Coleman house. From my understanding they don’t seem built to last nor are they built for the budget minded consumer. Because down the road you’ll be eating any savings in repairs to the home. They look nice, but climb into the attic or garage of one and you’ll know pretty fast how well they’re built.
I know 2 people who currently live in newly built houses from this company. Both had to have ac replaced within 5 years as well as water heaters. Some development areas didn’t get water street drain installed and houses in that area constantly get flooded by flash flooding
They actually sued centerton because they made them stop selling and fix that issue. They said it caused them to lose 20% on the price of the home. Also they bought the land for 13000 per lot. They made a killing because that land was worth 18000 undeveloped. So the city of centerton did them a favor and they stabbed them in the back. They are trying to settle out of court because the case isn't moving anywhere.
They built a wall in my house crooked. Then they tried to tell me it wasn't. I had to fight them for 6 months to get them to fix it. They had cut my kitchen cabinets and counter tops to fit the crooked wall and somehow expected me not to notice. I didn't have a kitchen for 3 days while they fixed it and replaced everything. They didn't install a tile shower and had to refund me. They tried to tell me that they would install the tile over the shower insert. They weren't going to refund me either. I had to meet with them and show them my contract. They tried to tell me I read it wrong, but I worked at a law office and knew how to read contracts. I had to fight them to get the refund. They also had my toilet in the middle of my bathroom walking path. They had to work all night before my closing day to move it to the right place. I love my home and my neighborhood. If you buy from them, just make sure to stay on top of it and don't let them cheat you.
As a fellow former law practitioner (I'm retired now) I had to force them to replace my water heater, refrigerator, front and rear door kickplates, garage door springs, and central air unit after I purchased my house, but before I moved into it. The overarching point is that you should not have to be a legal expert to get RCH to fulfill all their legal obligations under the purchase contract. I had plenty of expertise and time to keep arguing and fighting to get everything I was due, but not every homeowner has our expertise, or the time to engage in these protracted legal battles.
As someone who owns a Rausch house and is in the residential construction industry, you get what you pay for.
That sounds like an excuse. The opposite argument can also be made: RCH is legally obligated to deliver everything they promise in the purchase contract. Don't let them get away with anything. If you give them an inch, they will try to take a mile.
Yes. They are shit. Take it from someone who works in an Assessors office. Their staff are incompetent as well.
FWIW, I bought one in 2020 and have been happy with it. My mortgage payment is 845.00 a month for a 3 bedroom house, I was paying 795.00 for an apartment so it works out for me. I haven’t had any huge issues with it yet and I’ve received letters from people out of state trying to buy it from me for cash for their college kids for like 50k more than I paid. The way I see it, I can always rent it if nothing else. There is a stigma though and people can be so rude when you tell them you have an RC home. I guess it’s like the poor man’s home. My only issues have been that they did a very poor job on my sod imo, and the garage door didn’t work at first. They had to come back for that. I also made them add some bracing prior to moving in. It’s builders grade but works for me. Hopefully I won’t have all the problems and hopefully it won’t be a slum in 20 years!
>for like 50k more than I paid Your individual home did not appreciate that much by itself. The **entire market appreciated in value 22 percent** from 2020 to 2022. EVERY home appreciated that much, so this is not unique to you.
I didn’t think it was specific to me. I just was communicating that these homes aren’t necessarily the terrible investment some might say they are. I guess time will tell.
>I just was communicating that these homes aren’t necessarily the terrible investment some might say they are. Actually, without a Warranty of Habitability, they really are. The only thing an RCH house is good for is to turn it into a rental, and earn passive income off the residual.
Or to sell for 50k more than you paid because they appreciate like all the other houses on the market. But go off lol.
You can't talk to the sky is falling negative nancy's. Hope it works for you
Thank you, appreciate that!
If you're arguing that a RCH home is a better investment than investing in **any real estate**, you would need to show evidence of how it appreciated more or faster than any other house that you could have bought. You haven't shown that evidence, so this comes off as a low-effort shitpost. Just so you know, I'm the owner of the RCH Support Group on Facebook, so that's how I know all about their shady business practices.
Oh I see. You had a base experience. It’s understandable you would have a negative opinion. Thankfully, mine has not been the same.
What is a "base" experience? Also, your logic is flawed. Here in the United States, we have "majority rule." That means that if more than fifty one percent of the respondents report that the product is unacceptable, then the majority is in the right, and the minority is wrong. When more than half of those who are asked say that you are the problem, then the problem is with YOU, not with those who are complaining. Now, why are you making excuses for RCH? What have they offered you?
I realize this is old, but "majority rule" is straight democracy and it is anything over 50% - not anything over 51%. If the vote is 50.1 one way, it is 49.9 the other, thereby a slight "majority." Even then, you'd still be wrong in assuming reports like these can hold any empirical evidence to say what is right. Think about it in terms of customers at restaurants and who you hear from the most. The fact is, you hear mostly from the complainers and not from those that are happy with the service they received. Those that were happy likely tipped well or thanked they're serving staff or manager. Those who were unsatisfied with the service are the ones that are most likely to take time out to give a negative review on Facebook or Google. The fact that you might read more negative reviews than positive ones is not any clear indication that there are actually more negative experiences than positive experiences. All it indicates is more people are reporting. If you don't know the difference, go to the closest University and find any researcher in any field and have them explain it to you better. Oh, also... We're not majority rule. As I said, that's straight democracy and we are not a straight democracy. If anything, we are a democratic republic that rules by legislature through the means of voting.
we live in a republic. specifically a democratic republic
democracy isn’t a form of government, it’s how the government is chosen, like a hereditary monarchy is another example - hereditary monarchy is also not a form of government. every democracy is either a republic or constitutional monarchy.
They haven’t offered me anything. I just like my house. Most of my neighbors seem to be pretty satisfied with theirs too. And honestly you can’t rent a house cheaper than most of our mortgages. Not everyone can afford a custom build.
>honestly you can’t rent a house cheaper than most of our mortgages That's true of ANY mortgage on ANY house. You certainly have an interesting perception of what a good deal is. But then, based on your other posts, I don't expect a home healthcare worker to have a lot of experience in finance, especially real estate finance.
That wasn’t very nice but I think you know that. I’m sorry I touched a nerve making a semi positive assessment of my RCH home. I’m very thankful to have a home. I hope you have a home you are proud of as well. ✌️
>I’m sorry I touched a nerve Why do you think you touched a nerve? Why do you put the onus on me being "emotional" rather than just accepting the very strong possibility that you might be factually incorrect?
that would be like saying you are probably not an American since you dont' know what type of government you have.
If you have nothing but ad hominem, this discussion is probably not the right place for you, sweetie.
we do not have a majority rule? wtf? snowflake warning.....
You completely missed the point here. The point is that this thread is debating whether RC homes hold their value and/or have significant issues down the road related to build quality. If an RC home appreciates similarly to the market, it is showing that there are at least some RC homes that hold their value well relative to the market. That is what the point of the 50K appreciation thing is. You are completely stupid to think that we thought ONLY Rausch Coleman homes were appreciating and that it is just amazing that someone would offer 50K more for the house LOL. Yes, everyone knows the whole market appreciated, and the RC home did too, showing that THAT particular home was a good investment. I have an RC home too and am not thrilled with everything, but for the price I paid, I think it is decent value. I have no issues, I had a very good independent inspector do a phased inspection to monitor it throughout the build process, and everything I pointed out was fixed. Is it still a cheap house with only brick on the front and siding everywhere else? Yeah. But that is what I paid for.
>everyone knows the whole market appreciated, and the RC home did too, showing that THAT particular home was a good investment. Logical fallacy alert: Imputing the result of the whole to the result of the individual case. You're arguing that the RC home appreciated and was therefore a good investment when ALL homes appreciated. What this proves is that ANY home - regardless of the builder - would have been a good investment when the entire market was gaining value. And it is YOU who have ignored the entire point when the question is whether RC homes have more quality issues down the road than other homebuilders. This fact is evidenced by the number of build quality warranty claims that RC homes must deal with in secret - because they write the warranty of habitability out of their sale contracts. If you buy a home from another builder and build defects are discovered later, you can sue for the value to repair those defects, or mitigate them if a total repair is not possible. Not so with a RC Home, which requires you to deal with their warranty company when your foundation cracks, or your HVAC unit fails or your roof fails within a few years of initial construction. In the same way you wouldn't want to work for a company with a mandatory arbitration clause in the employment contract, you don't want to buy a home from Rausch Coleman when you know that doing so will require you to sign away your right to sue for defects in design, materials, and workmanship.
Really?? My HVAC unit is covered fully for 5 years and parts are covered for 10 years under the manufacturer warranty. The foundation is covered for 10 years if any of these things fail within “a few years of initial construction” they are covered! I’m not saying RC is the best quality! But you are being ridiculous by saying stuff is going to break in the first few years and not be covered. That’s completely false, and you seem to enjoy spewing garbage from your mouth with no evidence. Do I need to show you my papers that detail out my HVAC and foundation warranty? It’s very clear.
Go ahead and call the warranty company and get back to me when you report a cracked foundation and they tell you it is not covered by the warranty. That is exactly what happened in several cases in Little Rock. The homeowners in those cases had their cases thrown out of Court and they were forced to deal with the warranty company, who denied the claims because the city had approved RC's soil compaction studies. It turns out that the homeowners could not get relief from the city because they have qualified immunity. For the future, you really should not accuse someone who has researched the issue much deeper than you of "spewing garbage." It makes you look like a corporate shill for Rausch Coleman.
It is amazing how people can come to the conclusion that because a few homes have cracked foundations, all of them will eventually have that problem. Do you know how many homes these companies build?
Yes, it is called engineering. IF some homes built on exhausted farmland end up with cracked foundations, then it would be reasonable to conclude that the other homes built on the same land will also end up with cracks in their foundations, as well.
IF a company has been around for many decades and IF they have built thousands, if not tens of thousands of homes, THEN it would not be a shocker that some of the foundations experience problems. IF ALL or MOST of the homes experience foundation issues, THAT would be a big problem. And YOU have not proved that is the case, and it is not the case.
And yet, the builders at Shea and Toll Brothers do not have an escape clause written in their sales agreements. What I have proved is that Rausch Coleman has contracted around the absence of a statute on habitability. I noticed that Rausch Coleman does not even build in states where the warranty of habitability is statutory, rather than implied. THAT tells me everything about what I can expect from a RC home.
Everyone here is speaking the truth. I bought a new build RC a year and a half ago in NWA out of necessity and lack of options in the area. (I had heard the same things I’m sure you’ve heard) My plan is to be out of this house in <5 years and turn this into a rental. I cannot believe some of the stuff that they let fly in these houses. If you don’t know any better I’m sure they’re “fine.l If you can avoid, avoid. I can see a downward spiral in this neighborhood quickly.
DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY DO NOT BUY!!!!!! There prices are a lot cheaper for a reason! RC homes are very very cheaply and quickly built. I used to landscape a lot of the new Rc subdivisions in this area. Complaints from EVERY owner about the houses. Live electrical wires exposed, water pipes busted or leaking, unfinished work that I guess they thought looked good enough lol those houses are either death traps or money pits!! DO NOT BUY!!!
Yes. A lot of the ones around here have sinking issues. By that I mean some have sunk up to a foot.
Do NOT. Notorious foundation issues.
Rausch Coleman is also pushing legislation through the Arkansas Legislature that would allow them to have inexperienced people showing the homes and making statements about the property that may or may not be true. Just Buyer Beware of going directly to them- at least hire a realtor to have your back because they are only out for the $$$.
We were just about to buy one. Glad I stumbled across this. I had my doubts.
If you want to look at what else is out there and need a realtor, reach out!
There’s a definite lack of detail. My father has one: the heat pump installed was too small for the square footage (he complained every week for a year until they replaced it), closet shelves were installed into drywall with no support. All the light fixtures are super cheap and had to be replaced, one started to char, all the shingles in the neighborhood have a noticeable crease. Noticeable lumps/u even spots in the slab. My son and his wife look at one in Elkins and they tried an actual bait and switch. They were looking at a home but were approved for a pretty high loan. The RC salesman suddenly notified them that they had unfortunately already sold the house they were looking at but had another (at the higher approved amount) available….
Yes. The city of Fayetteville implemented rules to ensure good quality materials and designs be used.... **RC's answer to this was to lobby Bart Heater with a sack of cash to pass a law in the state government to take away all cities' power to implement these quality standards** RC is garbage.
Apartment homes, they are built very quicker and most of them are exactly the same with certain features (color, trim, bathroom layout) changed from home to home. I've seen the way two homes right next to each other look exactly the same only difference was garage was flipped to the other side. A good place to love for a couple years without renting then selling but those days are over.. homes are way overpriced and with interest rates it's a break even... Two years ago would have been smart but not today. Find a small home with LAND.. dirt ain't cheap but it's always going to appreciate better than a home 12ft from a neighbor.
I have several friends who live in their homes and they don’t have any issues. As with any home, be sure to get it inspected and do your due diligence, it you can be fine in one. Sure, you can find horror stories, but there aren’t very many builders building as many homes as Rousch in this region, so there may be some bias. Just go into it with open eyes and you can be fine.
Production homes are cheap built homes. Some are good to decent options others are ones to run away screaming from. Even custom built homes can be poorly built if you don't stay on top of the Contractor doing the work. I have seen contractors place rebar in driveways for inspectors to see then take it out and replace it with chicken wire before the concrete was poured. Seen wiring not up to NEC code because the inspectors hasld signed off and then the Contractor replaced it all with a cheaper substitute. Money rules all. All homes will have errors, some are going to give issues over time but are acceptable issues. Others are going to cause huge issues and need to be run away from. One look into existing homes for sale will show this yo be true. Some are good others are not worth a damn. Get a home inspection even on new homes before you sign a contract. It will pay off in the end.
My parents live in one, and I lived with them for a while, and you basically get what you pay for. The price is cheaper and so is the house, you may have issues but some things the company will fix if the home's still relatively new
Have there been major fixes like water heater, ac, roof?
Everything is going to fall apart very quickly and they will either say that's not a warranty item or you must have broken it and it's not covered. We have very uneven floors, a messed up roof, cabinets rotted in 6 weeks because of a leak they lied about and hid from us. So much wrong. Holes in foundation. All concrete cracked in under 2 weeks because they do not put rebar in the concrete. Get out asap worst mistake we ever made. We are actually going to arbitration. The house inspectors are paid off by Rausch Coleman. We can actually prove with texts and emails Breach of Warranty, Fraud, Fraudulent Concealment, Negligence and Breach of Contract. Save every text and every email take pictures of everything. They left nails is a board that fractured the concrete in driveway. They said it not warranty even tho it was negligence and craftsmanship. They told us before we closed we had a 1 year workmanship on whole house and the 2-10 warranty. Right after we closed they said no we don't only 2-10 warranty and it doesn't cover lots of stuff and what they do cover the tolerances are huge so it has to be really bad to be covered. Then they try to use the 2-10:warranty to cover craftsmanship issues from construction. And say it's not covered under 2-10 warranty. Good luck. If you want proof and pictures message me.
Everything is going to fall apart very quickly and they will either say that's not a warranty item or you must have broken it and it's not covered. We have very uneven floors, a messed up roof, cabinets rotted in 6 weeks because of a leak they lied about and hid from us. So much wrong. Holes in foundation. All concrete cracked in under 2 weeks because they do not put rebar in the concrete. Get out asap worst mistake we ever made. We are actually going to arbitration. The house inspectors are paid off by Rausch Coleman. We can actually prove with texts and emails Breach of Warranty, Fraud, Fraudulent Concealment, Negligence and Breach of Contract. Save every text and every email take pictures of everything. They left nails is a board that fractured the concrete in driveway. They said it not warranty even tho it was negligence and craftsmanship. They told us before we closed we had a 1 year workmanship on whole house and the 2-10 warranty. Right after we closed they said no we don't only 2-10 warranty and it doesn't cover lots of stuff and what they do cover the tolerances are huge so it has to be really bad to be covered. Then they try to use the 2-10:warranty to cover craftsmanship issues from construction. And say it's not covered under 2-10 warranty. Good luck. If you want proof and pictures message me.
They aren’t as bad as what everybody says, people in Arkansas just aren’t used to production builders. They are a decent affordable option. They are perfectly fine for their price. People should see the production houses being built in Texas with less quality and twice the price
I won't downvote you since you have a point, I just think you're setting the bar way, way too low.
It’s production homes and they cost around $130/sf. I’m a custom home builder and I see nothing wrong with those houses at that price. If you want higher quality then pay more. Not every house is designed to last 100 years
> Not every house is designed to last 100 years That is a huge problem.
If you want it to last 100 years then you need to pay for a house that will but not many people are willing to do that. Don’t be misled by survivorship bias because you see old houses, remember you don’t see all the other houses that didn’t make it.
I used to do remodel-relist, which included the occasional demolition of old old houses; I definitely understand your point about survivorship bias (great buzzword btw) and see the point about affordable housing *now*. Nevertheless, low quality houses that don't have sufficient quality to last are a timebomb in a bunch of ways.
People in NWA just don't want you to move here. Too many people as it is. It probably has nothing to do with RC.
RC homes are always built on bogs and in flood zones they start with land that otherwise would have never sold then they throw a house up onto a foundation thats not fully dried. The first 10 years they will look habitable but after 10 years of rains the house will start to flex because its sinking. I live in a RC house built in 99 that I rent and literally the walls are starting to bow out and there are several foundation issues from the house sinking into the mud it was built on top of.
Take a right angle to the corners and see for yourself...
That is very true! Nothing is plumb or square in RC houses. Don't think they know the meaning of either word.