Atlanta Area Builder Robert Harris Homes Shutting Its Doors?
June 30th, 2008 categories: Local Alpharetta News, Local Forsyth/Cumming News, Special Announcements
Robert Harris Homes in Trouble!
Word is out that Atlanta Home Builder, Robert Harris Homes, is closing up shop. According to a story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution the builder has just fired all of it’s agents effective June 27, 2008. For those of you that have followed stories about this builder you may remember that they ran into cashflow concerns early this year that caused many of their support vendors and contractors to stop working on homes and file hundreds of liens against the builder. The Atlanta business Chronicle reported that story here. We have personally sold many homes in RHH communities and consider them excellent builders. It’s too bad this shifting market has left them oversupplied and out of business.
We have two clients that are actually under contract with RHH homes. One is on a spec home and one is on a future build. I did manage to get T & R forms from the exiting agent onsite and she said they should honor them and let both Buyers out with full refunds of earnest money. I’ll keep this post updated as that plays out.
Does anyone else have current contracts or recent experiences with Robert Harris Homes new communites in Atlanta they can share?
We would love your comments.
Deryk
Robert Harris homes owes us almost $18,000 they also told our attorney they would return our earnest money, however it was all a lie.
They haven’t returned a dime to us and they are all liars.
I hope he gets sued and loses everything he has because he is a slimeball.
The district Attorney in Forsyth county and other states needs to file criminal charges against him.
HI Ken,
I don’t blame you for being upset. That is a lot of money. The process may take a few days to get our money. My wife spoke to someone in their office this week that said their last responsibility, before they left the company, was to write the refund checks for the construstion deposits for all Buyers that had pending contracts. I imagine that will be quite a few checks and take some time to process. We are checking on a regular basis for more information. Keep an eye on our site for updates as we receive them. Hopefully we will all get our money back soon. Wiching you the best of luck with yours.
Deryk
What happens to the warranties they carried on the homes built and finished and sold? Who will take care of those warranties?
Their phone lines and websites are out of order.
I also have a contract with Robert Harris Homes, I gave a deposit of 2,000 (Not as bad as 18,000). I did look at the contract and the way it is worded is that they could use the money for what ever they saw fit (which is very scary) I hope that they did send out the deposits back. But I will not hold my breath. I do think they need to have criminal charges brought up and Robert Harris should be sued for all the funds he stole plus all the additional cost for suffering.
Hi Samsung,
You have a very good question about the warranties. I will check with what few sources of information we have left and see what I can find out. Look for a follow up post soon.
Robert,
The last word we had is that checks for refunds of deposits were written and signed. We were told that Buyers should receive them by July 18th. I am in touch with both of our Buyers and will post here if either of them receives any check or communication from RHH.
As far as suing the Builder, you probably have a case…but…if you win a judgement against them, and they have no money or assets, then there is no way to collect on the judgement. I imagine they have many people in line wanting money and no money to give other than what might have been held in escrow accounts. It would be a pretty hollow victory if you spend a lot of money suing them but could not collect when you won. I wish I had better news for everyone. We’ll keep you posted.
Deryk
Folks, hello from Florida. Well, brother Bob has walked away from our condo development but not before bleeding us for about $60K taken from our reserve fund. Good news is that we are 100% built out, and have installed our Board of Directors. We are going to lick our wounds and move on. Litigation possible. As to those warranties; no good news. In our case, RHH promised one year wtys but now he’s belly up, and so are the wtys. Good news is that on your heat/air and appliances, the mfr will stand behind those.
Thanks B Thomas for your post. Glad to hear your community is in decent shape, relatively speaking of course.
I guess that answers our questions about the builder warranties. They go out the window but the manufacturer warranties on major appliances should still be in effect.
Thanks everyone for the great contributions you have made to this thread.
Deryk
Good luck to everyone. Remember there a lot of employees affected by this situation as well. You are correct on the warranties. Obviously there will be no drywall or paint touch up with no RHH. Your manufacturing warranties should still be good though. Other than that, it is unfortunately up to the homeowner.
Has anyone recv’d thier earnest money back?
Hi Robert,
Neither of our Buyers have reported receiveing their money at this time. They are supposed to receive it by Friday so we will post another update at that time. Please let us know if you receive yours in the mean time.
Deryk
I won’t hold my breath!
Hi Robert,
We’re not holding our breath either. The 18th has come and gone and neither of our clients has received any money. We now have our attorney researching the situation to see what other options are available. There is no sense in suing the company if they are already in bankruptcy. Even if we won there would be no money to collect and we would be out some very expensive court costs. We’ll keep posting updates as we get them.
Deryk
I got as far as to get a phone number and a name.
Dustin Lowe w/ CRG representing Robert Harris. I am not sure if I am allowed to post the phone number as well.
Hi,
We also are owed money from Robert Harris, I also heard the date of July 18th, but have not seen or heard anything. I am curious who CRG is? Thanks for all the posts.
Hi All,
Thanks again for all of your input to this post. It it very much appreciated. My wife got a message from Joey Hipps (spelling?)with RHH today stating that the refund checks should be going out tomorrow. I tried to call him right back to confirm and got his voicemail. If anyone receives anything over the next week please let us know.
Thanks,
Deryk
Are the calling everyone to tell them “The checks in the mail.”?
Does this mean that the 2/10 warranty is null and void? I understand that the 1 year warranty with the builder went out the window when they decided to close their doors. I had a contractor tell me that they would not be able to come out to the house (for a leak) until RHH paid them.
Did any get their money back yet?
Is there a process (forms or phone numbers) for requesting back “ernest money”? We made our deposit on Dec. 22, 2007 for Phase II, Tyson Woods. We live in Maryland and would like to know how to take the first step for the refund of our deposit. Phone calls to the numbers provided on our contract just sent me through many steps of an automated responses that ended with a disconnect.
Any info would be appreciated.
Millie
My response to Ken is that Bob Harris is not a slime ball. I know Bob. I used to work for him. He is a good man.
Take a look around at what has happened to the home building business. There is no home building business. Bob Harris is another victim of market forces that are practically impossible to explain.
I know Bob well enough to know that he feels the pain of this worse than anyone.
Hi Robert,
Thanks for your input. We appreciate viewpoints from all involved.
I realize, and hope others do too, that the builder has suffered a much bigger overall loss than the rest of us. It hurts for everyone. Many of the people that have not had their earnest money returned do not have any other source of funds to turn to so they are now stuck in limbo waiting to see if they really will get any money back. They can’t move forward with their lives because they do not have money for another downpayment while they wait to see if they get their money back here.
Most of us have been told more than once now that the money is coming and yet no one that I know has received any. I think not knowing and not having a point of contact is the most frustrating thing right now. People just want an update and information that they can rely on.
Who can they contact that actually knows what is going on? We have exhausted our resources at this point and do not have any new information or contacts to follow up on. Hopefully that will change at some point soon.
Deryk
I would have to agree with Deryk. Robert Harris just had to declare bankruptcy to get out of this mess. We are stuck with the the loss of our “ernest money” and the lack of any information and continued dis-information is causing much more agony. The only way I can get any closure on this is 1) getting my money back or 2) Robert Harris himself calls me and tells me that “it just can not be done”. We need to know what the story is and with out any more BS! By getting nothing but more dis-information Robert Harris is reinforcing the “Slimeball” comment
Hi everyone,
My buying agent had gotten a call late yesterday from Joey Hipps, the COO of Robert Harris Homes, and I am to go and pick up my money at their Georgia HQ in Woodstock on Thursday afternoon. He apparently is the only employee of Robert Harris Homes still left. So perhaps there is an ending to all of this mess. I will post again to make sure these checks do clear! I have also heard thru the grapevine that some homes that are partially completed may be finished and that Wachovia Bank may be the owners to many lots that are undeveloped. They may sell those to another builder or may sell them lot by lot. I will pass on any news if I hear more. Good luck to all.
Hi Everyone,
One of our two clients also got a notice to pick up her check at the main office on Hwy 92. She has to be there between 9am and noon today ( Tuesday August 19 ). The other time to pick up was last week. We’ll let you know if she is successful.
I have heard stories about the builder trying to sell anything they could, leftover building materials etc…to try and get as much money back in customers hands as possible. I did see hand made signs posted close to one of the communities advertising crown molding, granite etc…don’t really know if it was builder or not. I hope this works out for everyone in a good way.
Deryk
Was anyone able to get their checks either last Thursday or today? We have not heard from our Buyers yet. I think they were both trying to go today.
Deryk
Great news!! Both of our Buyer were able to pick up their checks today. They are rushing to the bank with them now. We just heard from our Buyer that had over 10,000 in money tied up with her contract and she was just walking out of the office with her check. I hope that everyone else soon has the same story to tell. Please let us know and keep posting here if you are having the same good luck.
Deryk
Hello everyone,
I am feeling the frustration. Does anyone know who put the roofs on for Robert Harris? I recently sustained water damage to my home from a severe leak in my roof. The insurance company sent someone out to look at it thinking that it was from weather damage. Come to find out, that the flashing under the shingles were not properly placed thus causing the leak in my roof. The insurance company will not cover it because the damage is from faulty workmanship. I contacted the HOA who told me that she doesnt know who any of the Robert Harris vendors. So now I am stuck with a leaky roof that can’t be repaired unless I can contact the responsible roofing company. If anyone can help, I would appreciate it. Thanks
This is for Alice. What community do you live in and when did you close on your home? I have a record of many the vendors that I worked with. I might be able to determine who did the roofing.
Robert,
I live in StoneBrooke Commons. Do you know what contractor was used to put in the sprinkler system? When they put it in they put one of my neighbors sprinklers on my side of the fence. Obviously, it shouldn’t be that way.
Does anyone know any contractors that could help fix some of the things that will not be fixed now that RH is out-of-business? I need nail pops fixed, my drain on the outside of the house reattached, etc.
thanks
I rode through Arbor Walk today and felt sorry for those who put earnest money on the RHH homes there. I almost purchased a home home in that S/D, but my real estate agent advised otherwise, so I went to Traton instead. Does anyone know if there are any plans to sell the assests in the model home like some of the other subdivisions?
I live in Stonebrook Common. My home is 20 month old. Since first big rain I complained about water in the garage. Water staying on the patio. Now I have water inside the house - foyer wall and woodfloor is wet. Many times I reported about the problem. Builder even could not find root of the leakage. What can be done? I am so upset because I paid top of the price for this house and can’t enjoy it since I moved there. Thanks
I experienced the same problem as Alica. Insurance told me the same things.
Hello - we made a DP in Dec 2007, RHH actually started construction in March 2008, we were supposed
to close and 6/15/2008 and the house was only about 1/2 dried in. This was in Centennial Commons in Cobb Counry, GA. We cannot get in touch with anyone at RHH. I’ve even been by their Woodstock office and noone is ever there and the doors are locked.
Does anyone know how to establish communications with these people. Needless to say, no one has ever contacted us.
We received a letter and form to be notarized that allows our check to be mailed to Maryland. We completed the forms and are expecting our check in the mail. This party might be able to assist on the above quesstions, as they were both helpful and courteous. Try contacting:
L. Lynn Engelhart
V.P. Accounting and Finance
RH Homes Development, LLC
(678) 388-5123
Good luck, everyone
Great informatin lacorte42…thanks very much for sharing some possible contact info.
Tamara,
Here is a short list of handyman type vendors that may help. Some we have used…some have been referred to me by other agents. Hope that helps.
Deryk
Gary Fortune - plumber
Fortune Plumbing We use him for all plumbing issues.
(770) 532-9489
Lee Goetz
(404) 886-5969
General Construction – This guy has done just about everything regarding home construction and repair
Darren Mote – Handyman
678-617-6566
Rafael Villegas – Handyman – reliable and usually competitive in pricing. Used by several of our fellow agents.
404-259-0589
Tamara: Keep in mind that my contact information is at least 5 years old. My recollection is that at the beginning of Stonebrooke Commons, landscaping was done by Grassco Landscape Management (GLM), Inc.(770) 993-9676. I may not be correct but it’s the best info I have for you. Good luck.
Alla and Alicia: It sounds as if you are describing a leaking roof. The only roofing company that I have in my database located on the north side is All Southern Exteriors (770) 263-0058. It is possible that they did roofing at Stonebrooke Commons.
Hi everyone,
Good news. We received our ernest money check in the mail this week in Maryland and will be depositing it. The letter that came previously explained that Mr. Harris and company contributed some of their own monies to make this possible. When a company declares bankruptcy and goes chapter 11, they have NO obligation to cover their debts. So this action shows clearly their high standard of good will and integrity.
I received an email notification as follows:
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Author: Brian
Web Site Message: They have hurt alot of familes and caused many to loose everything they had. They knew for a long time they were going under but kept right on taking money. Joey Hipps even let his brothers company take a big hit from RHH. Be very cautious to not believe anything they tell you. And know its not the first time RHH has been down this road.
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I wanted to respond to it but I can’t find it here on the blog. Was it deleted?