Lennar Pinnacle Hill Questions, Answered

December 4, 2008 by root

It has been a while since we have revisited the Pinnacle Hill situation. Being side tracked with so many Lennar news events that have happened recently regarding toxic waste, benzene and methane gas, A Peeping Tom, Asbestos, Lawsuits, and lets not forget Bombs, it has been pretty busy. Recently we were contacted by an individual requesting information concerning this community. We have now re-opened the Pinnacle Hill chapter to get a fresh glimpse of what is happening in that area and what information we could find for our readers and also by our readers.

A bit of history: Lennar Corp., (at the time) the third-largest builder in America, agreed in September 2000 to pay $3.6 million to settle an expansive-soils case in north Glendale's Pinnacle Hill development by buying back 15 homes and settling with four other homeowners. The company spent an additional $8 million to repair 80 homes in the 105-home development. Source Read more HERE

Larry Feiner (RE/MAX Integrity REALTORS), a local Realtor in the Glendale, area emailed us regarding information detailing some Pinnacle Hill homes in question. He writes, " I am realtor representing a buyer that is looking in and around Pinnacle Hill. You may not know this, but Lennar has recently put four of the homes which were bought back – on the market. It seems that they own 19 of the homes in the subdivision. I know very little about this case and what was done to mitigate the problems. It seems like you may be great resource. I would love to talk with you. Please call or write if you have a few moments to spare.”

When asked if he could be more specific, Feiner wrote, “…I have been able to gather a fair amount of information about the community's history, much of it from your web site. Thank you for that! But what we are sorely missing is any information on specific properties. At this time I am most concerned about 6044 W Cielo Grande and 6025 W Cielo Grande. Lennar says major repairs were completed shortly after they bought back the properties, but claim that the boxes containing property specific defects and repairs are missing. I appreciate anything at all you can find!

Signed:
Larry Feiner"

Using this request for information, I started searching to see just how much information I could pull up on these homes. I also contacted some sources in the community in an attempt to find information that Lennar couldn’t provide.

We knew the basis of the Lennar lawsuit detailed some specific problems which we have included below:

"Lennar homeowners Christopher and Robin Cioffi sued Lennar, alleging breach of implied warranty, breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation, consumer fraud and negligence. The negligence count alleged that Lennar "negligently oversaw and supervised the construction of the Residence and/or negligently constructed the Residence by causing it to be constructed on expansive soil." The complaint alleged property damage including wall cracks, tile grout cracks and separation, baseboard separation and sticking doors."

We were not satisfied with the general description of the problems and continued our search which revealed this:

The construction-related issues in the community included, among others, soil movement and a variety of resultant effects, such as cracking (in concrete, stucco, and drywall), door and window racking, and slab deflection. Framing conditions and/or drywall installation techniques discovered upon inspection also produced or contributed to some of these effects.

Lennar facilitated substantial repair and improvement work at virtually every homesite in the community

The repair and improvement work that Lennar facilitated was customized for each home and included a number of components. For example, in connection with the homes that Lennar purchased, Lennar has:
1) repaired the drywall and stucco.
2) installed drainage systems;
3) made grading modifications;
4) provided gutter systems;
5) repaired flatwork;
6) repainted

Detail Development Filed Oct 23, 2008

Next, we did a search for basic information about the properties in question. 6025 W Cielo Grande's original sales price as listed on Nextag was $203,000 in 2001.

6025 W Cielo Grande

6044 W Cielo Grande's did not have any original sales price attached, and we could not find one anywhere.

6044 W Cielo Grande

Surprisingly enough, the value graphed on the site shows an appreciation given the lawsuit, housing bust, and history of the properties.

Execution of a parcel search revealed to us just how many properties were still owned by Lennar. You can do your own as well HERE The results are as follows:

LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5909 W CALLE LEJOS
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5950 W CALLE LEJOS
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5968 W CALLE LEJOS
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5907 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5925 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6007 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6014 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6024 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6025 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6032 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6038 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6043 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6044 W CIELO GRANDE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 24036 N 59TH AVE
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5952 W ALAMEDA RD
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5953 W ALAMEDA RD
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5975 W ALAMEDA RD
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 5976 W ALAMEDA RD
LENNAR ARIZONA INC GLENDALE 6009 W ALAMEDA =D

Photos of the above homes listed can be viewed in our Pinnacle Hill photo gallery.

Deed Info
6044 W CIELO GRANDE and 6025 W CIELO GRANDE Deed #: 080707003 Filed (8/13/2008) Sales Price: n/a *

Next, we pursued information from the locals and received the following response from a fellow anonymous resident who has previously experienced numerous problems with their Lennar Home in the Pinnacle Hill community.

"Most of the homes in the Ceilo Grande cul-de-sac have been bought back from the first owner due to problems stemming from expansive soil. I believe those homeowners were the initiators in the Glendale pinnacle hill Lennar lawsuit.

When the warranty repairs began, I remember seeing metal fencing go up around the homes that were being fixed. The contractors would dig trenches around the homes and also take off most of the sheetrock. There were piles of stuff everywhere. Then you would see big trucks come in with long hoses that would go through the house. You would hear them pumping in cement. I checked with another resident in the community and both of us don’t recall Lennar performing any of the repairs mentioned above to the homes in that cul-de-sac. I do remember them renting the homes out while our home was being fixed because we stayed in one of the W Cielo Grande cul-de-sac homes during our repairs. One thing that stuck out in my mind was when we showered, we would find water going all the way to the hallway. It was not normal. I also remember them putting gutters in on the cul-de-sac homes.

I don’t believe that Lennar reinforced those houses and trust me; it’s a noticeable type of work! Since the cul-de-sac has been abandoned, I don’t recall any fencing going up either. I never saw Lennar or the contractors perform the work to those homes that was implemented on the other problematic homes.

Personally I wouldn’t buy any homes on the W Cielo Grande cul-de-sac.

Some people sued and stayed in the community. Some people sued and had their homes purchased back. The rest had their homes repaired and took a warranty.

Signed,
xxxxxxxxxxx
identity withheld"

We did not find any evidence of the initiators of the lawsuit owning a home in this specific cul-de-sac as mentioned by our anonymous resident but rather at the address of 5909 W CALLE LEJOS. This home is still shown as being owned by Lennar.

Although we were not able to answer the original inquiry by the Realtor regarding property specific repairs to the two residences in question with solid factual data and details, we were able to obtain some interesting information about the Pinnacle Hill community regarding some problems and the repair procedures performed.

If you have any information or details to provide regarding the Pinnacle Hill repairs, lawsuit, or the properties in question, please leave a comment.