Lennar executives – Mark Metheny, Steve Smith and Jim Yeadon – and to discuss all the outstanding construction issues at 6111 Yeats Manor Dr. They eventually they went silent – a very clear pattern of Lennar as you’ll soon learn. Here’s how it started and what happened during the meeting.
March 2, 2017, happened to be my birthday. I had a sense things were starting to turn with resolving all the construction issues. It had been a very long, exhausting almost four years. That sense of relief was the best birthday present ever!
The meeting was scheduled for 5:00 PM, although there was a slight delay. It lasted for more than three hours.
Lennar executives in attendance
Mark Metheny Division President of Lennar Homes (LinkedIn Profile)
Steve Smith Director of Construction of Lennar Homes (LinkedIn Profile)
Jim Yeadon Director of Customer Relations of Lennar Homes (LinkedIn Profile),
Summarizing the last 46 months in three hours
It was an exhausting but great meeting. I had spent some time developing a presentation so I could try and summarize everything that happened in the last 46 months. There was a lot. I also took some time to explain the health impacts I’ve experienced in my Lennar home as well as the symptoms of others that have spent a significant time here.
Here are just some of the slides:
Here is the album with all the slides that were presented. As you can imagine, it’s a visual story. I gave all the Lennar executives access to the slides for collaboration. There have since been many more pictures and videos added.
“I’m so sorry. How can we make this right?”
You now know what the Lennar executives saw. They all apologized for what had happened and made a commitment to do whatever they could to make it right.
Mark Metheny specifically asked if I would be willing to give Lennar a chance. He indicated this was not the way Lennar does business and he apologized on behalf of Lennar. After all, Lennar had just taken over the original builder, WCI Communities. Of course, I was going to give them a chance! They were my hope.
I made it clear that I had no desire to stay in the home. Regardless of it potentially making me sick, it had awful memories. This had been a grueling 46 months.
Mark asked,
What is it that we can do to make this right by you? What is your goal?
He seemed very sincere with the questions. I asked him if I could have a few days to really think that through.
I walked them out and had a sense of hope that this nightmare would soon be resolved.
A sincere thank-you email
Before I went to bed, I sent the Lennar executives an email thanking them for their time. Here is the email:
“Gentlemen,
I cannot thank you enough for your time, patience and trying to piece together a lot of information in a relatively (but long commitment time for you) short time.
I am going to get to you everything that Steve requested in the morning and will have to you no later than noon if that is acceptable. I need to return a bunch of messages and then get ready for another early video call.
Mark, in the interim would you mind sending the story on your daughter? That is so exciting! I tried to find the story I know I read, but couldn’t with a quick search. Did find the launch and landing though [link redacted].
Thank you again and looking forward to working through all this. You all made my birthday in many ways- seriously.
Kris”
Email with promised commitments to Lennar
I promised a couple of items to the Lennar executives by noon the next day. Those items were the album from the presentation and a listing of all the outstanding construction problems. On March 3, 2017, I sent this email:
“Mark, Jim and Steve –
Sorry for falling past schedule.
As promised, here is the list of original repairs with responses and then additional ones added at the end that have since been detected or become worse. The color coding was for logistical tracking. https://intelv8.me/2m3zsic
Here is the deck we went through last evening. If you click on a picture, many of them have descriptions you should see at the bottom to give context. https://intelv8.me/2mBfZZ4
I did something before the conclusion of a meeting that I never do – forgot to set a follow up [sic]. Mark, I am wondering if it makes sense for you and me to meet sometime early next week? Let me know if you might have some time Monday or Tuesday. We can do a phone call or F2F – just let me know what works. I figured after you meet with everyone else, we don’t have to take everyone’s time.
Coming up with proposed solutions during this time and looking forward to regrouping. Again, thank you for the time you all invested last night. It is very much appreciated.
Kris”
Follow-up meeting scheduled with Mark Metheny
On March 5, 2017, I receive an email from Mark Metheny about scheduling a follow-up call.
“I have some availability for a call Tuesday afternoon. 2pm?”
After some emails going back and forth, we scheduled our follow-up call for Tuesday, March 7, 2017, at 2:30 PM EST.
What I didn’t know is the result would be eerily similar to after an apology from another Lennar Tampa Executive (formerly WCI Communities). And this apology came almost four years before (over four years now):
Message received from Joel Fedora – WCI Communities Construction Manager (now Lennar Homes) – regarding my home at 6111 Yeats Manor Drive in the Westshore Yacht Club neighborhood. He admitted that WCI did a poor job in the delivery of the home.
Note: As of the date of this publication, all the Lennar executives went silent and none of the construction repairs were ever made, including the promised replacements of two, improperly installed and defective A/C units causing extensive mold exposure and health issues.
Next Communication: I Answer Mark Metheny’s Question – “How Can We Make This Right?”
Previous Communication: Lennar Tampa Call Center Initial Contact – False Sense of Hope?
