More Pictures of Vista Ridge High School

Here are some pictures that I took from the North (looking South and SW) of the new Vista Ridge High School - to the North of Greenhaven. (November 28, 2007)

Note the majestic Pikes Peak backdrop and unique rounded design of the school.

Pictures By: Mariana Wagner - Greenhaven Resident and Realtor

Letter From the Niles Family Regarding Their Mold Issue

Preface: We were able to briefly speak with Stacy Niles regarding the issue that she is having with John Laing Homes and the mold that her family has found in their new home. We asked her to explain her situation to us so that we could share it with the rest of our neighbors, here on this site. It is important to note that this may be a serious situation for these homeowners, but (so far) it seems to be isolated to this particular home. If you notice any kind of excess moisture and/or mold in your home, please get it inspected, tested and treated immediately. Here is the unedited letter and photographs that Stacy and Kevin Niles shared with us:

Derek and Mariana Wagner as well as all Greenhaven residents,

We greatly appreciate your concern and support. I am sure that if you have not seen our truck then you have heard some stories about it. This has been a very long journey for us, and an exhausting one at that. We are not first time John Laing Homeowners. In fact we loved our first John Laing Home so much when we moved back to Colorado from Arizona last year we did not even consider other builders. We actually picked our lot and floor plan while in Arizona without even seeing it, that was the confidence we had in John Laing Homes. Since then our confidence has turned into a nightmare.

On September 26, 2006 we closed on what we thought was our dream home. We planned to raise our three children here. We were so certain this was the home for us, that we purchased almost $80,000 in upgrades. We chose to have the entire main level done with hardwood floors. Once you do over a certain square footage of hardwood flooring John Laing Homes installs a free humidifier onto your furnace. The purpose of the humidifier is to add moisture to the air in your home to avoid damage to your floors. It is our belief that the humidifier was defective from day one. Our "House to Home" paperwork states the humidifier needed to be "adjusted" because of the amount of water draining out of it. We were instructed to keep the humidifier set around 30%.

The next several months we were beginning to notice extreme amounts of moisture on all of the windows, walls and floors. In the mornings we would have to clean up puddles of water off of the floors. Moisture had built up on the windows and then had dripped down onto the floors. One morning in December we found ourselves, literally, frozen inside. All of the doors and windows we covered in ice, inside the house! It was also around this time that a gas leak was detected on our furnace (the same one the humidifier was installed on) and the City of Colorado Springs "red tagged" our furnace and shut it down. They told all of us to sleep upstairs because of the carbon monoxide. John Laing Homes not only replaced but also upgraded (at no cost to us) our furnace to a Lennox. Before long the new upgraded furnace would not work. It turned out that a wire from the furnace to the humidifier had shorted out and blew a fuse in the new furnace. To me all of these issues were beginning to point to the humidifier.

Soon we began to notice a dark discoloration of the hardwood floors around the doors, we submitted a warranty request and they told us it was normal. Then we noticed very large cracks around the windows, again I submitted a warranty request and they told me it was a homeowner responsibility, saying "over time the caulking with dry out and shrink" and we (the homeowner) would need to re-caulk it. At this point we had only been in the house for maybe 6 months so to hear that was a shock, to say the least. I decided to document what I had found so I began going one by one to the windows in the house taking pictures of the cracks surrounding the windows. That is when I discovered the mold. I was stunned. How could this be in my new house? So again I submitted a warranty request and that is when it started to go downhill.

We began dealing with Jeff Lamphere, Senior Customer Care Manager and eventually dealt with Zane Wilkerson, Vice President, Customer Care. To our shock not only were they denying any responsibility for the mold they actually blamed us. Stating the following reasons for the high humidity. This is from a letter dated April 26, 2007:

Evidence indicates that the humidity level inside the home is higher than most homes due to:

1. Family lifestyle
2. Family members
3. Indoor Water fountains (2)
4. Indoor plants
5. Indoor pet

So here is our response:

1. We are no different from any other family
2. There is a total of 5, myself, my husband and our 3 children
3. These fountains are very small indoor fountains
4. All of the plants in my home are fake
5. We own a 15 lb. Jack Russell Terrier

Now we have been through "arbitration", Zane Wilkerson and John Laing Homes were generous enough to provide this at no cost to us. It was months later; in fact right after the arbitrator received his check from John Laing Homes that he ruled they were not responsible. Plus, what we received for "arbitration" was a general contractor, not a formal arbitration hearing. We have consulted with an attorney and they are willing to take our case after we provide them with evidence from an Industrial Hygienist. Well, this is not cheap, the cost is $500 for an inspection and two mold samples. Well, as the mother 3 young boys and myself and my husband as full time students, we do not have $500 sitting around. We believe John Laing Homes knows that the vast majority of people do not have the time or money to fight them. However, we also know that it is our job to fight for what we believe is right.

Kevin W. Niles and Stacy L. Niles - 7002 Silverwind Circle - Colorado Springs, CO 80923
(719) 597-4439 or (719) 510-2121

I know this letter is long and please understand there is much more to tell. If you would like to speak with us further you can reach us at the above numbers and address. Please take some time to look at the photos as well. And Fox 21 news will be airing a story on us sometime within the next week or two.

Sincerely, Kevin W. Niles and Stacy L. Niles

Mold in Greenhaven John Laing Homes and Unhappy Homeowners?

We have all seen the truck that belongs to a John Laing homeowner, and I am waiting for the opportunity to speak with them regarding their issue with mold in their John Laing Greenhaven home. I also know that there was a FOX News crew cruising the streets of Greenhaven, talking with some residents about their satisfaction with their John Laing Home.

Personally, I am more than a little concerned. Not only am I a John Laing homeowner in Greenhaven, but I am also a REALTOR® that sells hundreds of new homes in Colorado Springs – several of which are John Laing homes. I need to know exactly what is going on.

First and foremost, I am worried that there is a home in Greenhaven, that was professionally tested for toxic mold… and mold was found. (Or, I hope that it was professionally tested by a licensed and certified EPA approved testing facility. Was it? I won't know until I speak with the affected homeowner…) Also, I am concerned that the family is still living in a home where this mold was found. True toxic mold can cause a multitude of irreversible health issues and the first step in avoiding these issues is to move out of the home that has this mold. I feel for this family and hope that measures were taken to correct this problem and that nothing irreversible has occurred.

In August, several D-49 schools were found to contain mold, and this had to be remediated. Mold is actually very common in many parts of Colorado Springs, especially in newer construction where homes can be improperly ventilated. Derek and I had a serious run-in with toxic mold a few years back, and are well aware of all the damage it can wreck on a human and on a property. Read Our Story Here: Our Colorado Springs Real Estate MOLD Story

However, I also understand that (apparently) John Laing did nothing to help these folks? I guess it depends on the exact reason why the mold occurred and if the liability really did rest on the shoulder of the builder. Unfortunately, post-built environmental issues are usually not a builders' responsibility. Although, I do not know the specifics and am not an attorney of any sort, so my observations are just that: observations based on past experience. However, if it WAS builder responsibility, then John Laing should step up and right these wrongs, regardless of the red tape that will need to be sorted through…

*UPDATE* We just spoke with the homeowner and are expecting some more information from them that we can post, here.

Read Also: Colorado Springs Real Estate Issues: Mold - Part Two (The Facts)

Second, I am concerned about the overall satisfaction of the homeowners in Greenhaven. I know from both personal and professional experiences that there are always unhappy homeowners in every neighborhood. I guess Greenhaven is no exception.

The Fox News crew talked with several people and I am just concerned that all they heard was negativity. (Of course, the news thrives on only negativity, so it really does not surprise me…) However, we all live here in Greenhaven and unnecessary bad-press* is only going to hurt us (and our property values) in the long run, so I hope this report gets tempered with a few happy homeowner stories. (*By "bad-press" I am not speaking about the Greenhaven homeowner that is dealing with a mold issue. If there is a mold issue that needs to be dealt with, public awareness is crucial.)

Now, we have been involved (either directly or indirectly) with lawsuits on almost ALL new home builders in Colorado Springs for various reasons. I guess that when hundreds of new homes are being built every year, there is more room for error.

So, I need to ask:

• What can we do, as a community, to fix the issues that are bothering Greenhaven home owners (us)?
  
• What can I do, as your neighborhood real estate agent, to help YOU, the Greenhaven homeowner, be happy (again) with the home that you once fell in love with?
  

I hope to get the scoop on the mold issue in Greenhaven, and I will post their story here, if they let me. I would also love to hear more about you, the Greenhaven homeowner, regarding your experiences (good or bad) with your John Laing Home.

You can email your stories to: GreenhavenCommunity@gmail.com or you can call us directly at: (719) 570-7715

Sincerely, Your Greenhaven Real Estate Agents through thick and thin: Derek and Mariana Wagner – Wagner iTeam

For the record, all of our personal and professional experiences led us to the decision to buy a John Laing home, as they had the best reputation and highest quality of workmanship compared to the dozens of other builders that "threw homes up" in the Colorado Springs new home boom over the past several years. Of course, every builder has its problems – John Laing just had the least amount of "issues" in our experiences. We were also extremely happy with their customer service and how we were taken care of after the sale.

New Neighborhood West of Greenhaven

As if the construction of the new Vista Ridge High School to the North of us isn't entertaining enough ... Just west of our Greenhaven neighborhood, there is some more earth-moving activity ...

We DO know that it is a new residential neighborhood of single family homes. We also know that there is at least a 15 foot shared greenspace between this new neighborhood and the existing homes in Greenhaven.

We also have spoken with one of the people involved in this project, and will post details as we get them.

(Off Topic: Here is a picture I took driving up Dublin Hill the other afternoon ...)

Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Greenhaven Real Estate Specialist - Wagner iTeam at Keller Williams Realty
(719) 570-7715

Halloween in Greenhaven - 10/31/07

Halloween in Greenhaven was a BLAST!

There were Trick-Or-Treaters out for hours! We gave out a lot of candy. And our kids? Well, they made out like bandits. (A trip to the dentist may be high on our lists ...)

We walked around most of the neighborhood, and in my opinion, the BEST streets were Thistlewood and Abbeywood. (Although the haunted house on N.Silverwind was awesome!)

Abbeywood was definitely the best "bang for your buck" - This is where the bulk of our kids' candy was found. Thistlewood, as a whole, had the best decorations and most Halloween spirit!

Here are some more Greenhaven Halloween scenes...

Share YOUR Greenhaven Halloween pictures ... GreenhavenCommunity@Gmail.com.
We will post them HERE!

Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Wagner iTeam at Keller Williams Realty - Greenhaven Neighbor and REALTOR
What's for Sale in Greenhaven? Check out the Greenhaven Real Estate website ... or call us: 570-7715