Dan Auggie

Review of KeyLand Homes

I'm a former builder and project manager. Worked i...

I'm a former builder and project manager. Worked in both Montana and state of Washington for a large builder and was responsible for multiple crews, scheduling, and overall build quality of multiple homes simultaneously. Purchased a Keyland home that at the time was a foundation, allowing us to customize a lot of features which we did.

The process was and still is a complete nightmare beginning with their rep, Kelly McCauley. We requested minor changes be made that she said they couldn't complete due to permit issues. I called the county planning department and they assured me she was wrong. We let it go anyway because I don't want to argue it.

Next. Change order pricing. This woman couldn't get any price or item organized. We requested an itemized list of what items in the house we could change and customize. She says there is no list. Well, that can't be right. In all my years I've never heard of a builder that doesn't provide a list of which items you can change.
She then proceeds to send us multiple emails with multiple change orders, where each change order has the same items but at different prices. We correct her and explain that she not only got the items wrong but also the prices. Over the next three months she unravels and has a mental breakdown of sorts.

We receive a plethora of emails from her stating "sign this ammendment to the purchase agreement asap or you will lose your home". I check with title, underwriters, realtors for assurance. They all reassure me that there is no rush and I can take my time. So I do.

After months of phone calls, and emails, where we do her job for her. Correct her incorrect and disorganized documents we finally get things squared away.

Then we do the home inspection. The worst paint job I've ever seen. Followed by the worst trim and finish work. There are large gaps between the trim and the wall. I ask them to spend $30 for 6 tubes of caulk to go around the house and caulk the trim. She comes back and says, I quote "that will be $2k charge for us to do that". I ask that they sand, clean, prime, and repainted the walls because it is horrible and she says "this is what you paid for. We don't use a higher quality paint, we don't do a better job because you purchased the 2000 series home. If you want a better paint job you have to purchase a 3000 series home".
Description of paint issues:
1. Wall paint smudged on ceiling
2. Wall paint transparent in places due to not applying a thick enough coat.
3. Globs of wall paint in random places.
4. Brush marks. Very visible marks from the paint brush.
5. Paint texture inconsistent. Likely due to painters getting debris in their paint. Stems from a quality control issue i.e. not checking walls prior to paint day.
Description of sheetrock issues:
1. Mud/tape not sanded. Leaving rough texture that the painters painted over.
2. Seams not filled with enough mud. Leaving visible sheetrock seams after the painters completed their work.
3. Holes/scratches/marks in sheetrock were patched after paint day. The issue with doing this on the scale they do it, is that it is very visible to the naked eye. It looks like a 40 year old college apartment where you will have a space of neatly painted wall with very visible patchwork.

If you're reading this and thinking "oh, it's one person who's been affected by this. That's a small sample size". No worries. We have spoken to a handful of neighbors in the same development who also purchased Keyland homes and every single person has stated the same thing. The key and predominate issues were paint and finish work.

Stay away from Keyland and their rep Kelly McCauley . They don't work with you, and will fight everything every step of the way.

Go find a builder that will work with you. That has a rep who knows what they're talking about it. Is organized and honest. They're out there just not at Keyland.

I invite Keith, Gary, or Kevin to come see the house in person and tell me they stand by their quality.