MSH Homes Inc

MSH Homes was hired to build our dream home in Chesapeake in 2016. Steve Hartman, owner of MSH Homes, came highly recommended by a friend who had previously used him to build their home. We initially felt comfortable with Steve and his willingness to build a custom home for us. His price was very competitive, which should have been our first clue. After about 6 months on a project that was projected to take 4-6 months to complete, we realized that the project was months behind schedule, and that we would be lucky to have a finished home within 12 months total time. The situation was made worse by the fact that our mortgage rate lock had expired twice, and the bank was pressuring us to close on the house. Our home was finally completed after approximately 11+ months of construction, which as mentioned before was about 5 months past the estimated time. In addition, there were multiple problems with the home that Steve assured us would be taken care of after closing. The most pressing problem became a failed septic system. The system was installed by Renew the Bay, owned and operated by septic engineer Mike White. Our drain field failed as soon as the system was started. Septic effluent began to bubble up on the surface of the drain field, and eventually ended up creating puddles, which became mud pits, which became a swamp. Mike White has a trail of failed septic systems throughout the Chesapeake area, which at this point are too numerous to count. Steve worked closely with Mike and Renew the Bay, using them on several new construction projects throughout Great Bridge and Hickory. After we were shown the plan and location of the septic system, Mike and Steve claimed that they were unaware that our property was subject to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation rules, and decided at the last minute to redesign our system, while at the same time relocating the system as well. We later discovered that this was in fact a lie, and that they elected to design a system that was significantly cheaper than the original system we were shown, which was designed by Kim Harper. Needless to say, our system failed from the outset. Mike and Steve tried to say that a tree company who had removed a tree in my yard had damaged the drain field, even though they were nowhere near the drain field. The failed septic system was first detected in January of 2017, and yet now, in October of 2019, it has not been repaired or replaced by Steve Hartman, MSH Homes or Renew the Bay/Mike White. When completing the grading of the yard, Steve decided that it was a good idea to bring in 30 truckloads of sand to do the job. His explanation was that sand was the only fill material that would work at that time year (it was a very wet winter at that point) in order to allow for drainage and drying of the soil. Not only that, the yard was graded by MSH so as to have septic effluent draining directly into the front yard to collect at the front door of the home, seeping into and contaminating the crawl space with partially treated human waste. Steve’s plumber failed to connect the drain from the shower of the guest bathroom to the central drain system, so that the shower was draining directly into the crawl space onto the plastic vapor barrier. In summary, I have described just a fraction of the issues we have had with our home built by Steve Hartman doing business as MSH Homes, Inc. PLEASE, beware if you choose to work with this company or this individual. I also would not recommend MSH Homes, Steve Hartman, Ampmor Electric or Renew the Bay/Mike White for anything, under any circumstances. Steve Hartman is not someone to be trusted, to be counted on to do competent work, to finish a job on time, or to do what is right to complete a job the right way. All we asked for in our dealings with him was for competent work to be completed, and for communication as to any issues that arose. He continually failed to meet time lines, lied directly to my face, and denied responsibility for problems. At one point, he accused my wife and I of “expecting perfection.” We only expected a quality job in constructing our home. My experience with Steve is that he has not been truthful, has not been forthcoming as to why something is not finished on schedule, and becomes angry and combative when the quality of his work is questioned. He frequently gave the explanation that “as soon as I close on another house, yours will be my top priority.” This was NEVER the case. Incidentally, if he is working on a project during hunting season, it is far more likely to find him in the woods tracking a deer than working on your project. Perhaps this explains why he was so far behind on our job! I do not recommend Steve Hartman or MSH Homes to build a dog house, let alone a house for people to live in. Engage him at your own risk. Good luck.