Lennar at Innovation - Fremont, California

Hsiuli Huang

I am one of the first homeowners who moved into the Innovation development in 2019, and I've been surprisingly pleased with the home quality here, as I bought it based on paper specs before the model homes were built. As far as I can tell, Lennar didn't cut corners at whatever opportunity they could when they think no one is looking, unlike most builders (or, at least, nothing obvious yet). Materials seem above average for the most part.

Some things I noticed, from looking at the materials they used and inspecting the units under construction:
- They use metal roofs, which supposedly last longer and are more expensive.
- Garage interior walls are finished, drywalled, and painted
- Corners of drywalls are rounded and nicely finished
- Windows are Amsco Studio Series with Argon gas (in the Fuse townhomes) with an STC rating of 28 to 30. In the Revo homes, looks like they're using Amsco windows and Andersen patio doors. My understanding is while these aren't the most expensive windows in the world, they're a step up from builder grade.
- Rinnai Ru199in tankless water heaters, which are a step up from builder grade.
- Liftmaster belt drive WiFi enabled garage door openers. A small thing that a lot of people might not notice, but I was pleasantly surprised they put in a decent opener.
- Nice details like pre-wired for wall-mounted flat screen TVs in the living room and master bedroom, pre-wired for EV charger in the garage, pre-wired for AT&T Fiber internet, soft close cabinetry in the kitchen, and heavy metal fences hiding the A/C condenser units outside each unit
- Quartz countertops
- I peeked at the construction, and the Fuse units look like they have double stud walls between each unit, which I understand is a best practice for soundproofing. I'm in the Fuse townhomes and I've never heard any noise from the neighbors on either side of me. Only noise I hear is you can hear the garage door opening/closing if you're on top of one. Not sure about the Revo units where you might have another unit on top of you.
- Pool and community center don't look as nice as the nearby Toll Brothers development, but they're nice enough, but sadly closed now due to COVID.
- Yes, they're townhomes which means it's more crowded than a single family neighborhood, but I've seen much more crowded developments. I feel like my unit gets plenty of light, though I'm in a corner unit. I’m guessing non-corner units will be darker like any other townhouse.

My unit came with standard engineered hardwood floors and basic carpet. I took out the standard carpet and put in a better carpet, and did some repainting (the standard white paint they use everywhere is boring), and it looks great now. That said, I don’t think Lennar includes hardwood floors standard any more, it’s tile now.

Things I wish Lennar would improve on:
- I wish they installed cabinets w/ undercabinet lighting in the laundry room, as it'd look nicer than just a simple shelf
- The overhead lights all come with dimmers, which is great, but the dimmers don’t seem to be fully compatible with the LED lights they use... the lights make a soft buzzing sound when dimmed. Some might not find that annoying, but I notice it
- The Honeywell Lyric thermostats are very buggy and not as nice as Nest.
- The A/C unit is Carrier builder grade which meets minimum efficiency standards; I wish they put in quieter ones with higher SEER or gave us the option to upgrade it.

EDIT 2021: Unit is two years old now and so far so good. No issues other than some door hinge screws need retightening

Ashish Totla

Changing to 5 stars because Lennar immediately assigned a new Sales agent and I had a really good experience post which I even ended up buying a piece here.

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Had a pathetic experience with the sales guy, Joshua Perry. I wonder what would be the after sales experience like for the current residents if they have such a poor pre sales service. Joshua is completely unmotivated and doesn't care about the clients. He was continously busy with his own work while I was asking him questions about the property I toured. I later called him and he was completely uninterested in talking to me or meeting me. He said "Just email me whatever questions you have and I will see if I can answer them. Good luck!" This shows how their poor professionalism and terrible interest in doing their job and selling the units.

Harnil Patel

Let me start with sales. Scott from sales is not good, plus those two ladies in the sales office are trying to get you the expensive condo, saying everything sold. After we moved, we realized that half of the building was unsold.

For HOA, they don't respond on time, plus our building code is not working after many requests.

For children safety, there is no safety for them as there are homeless people near to bart and they always walking by and stealing the packaging plus tesla employees go crazy with driving in residential area.

I would not prefer this if you want to have a decent life with family as we are stuck.

maniSHarma

Buying a home with Lennar is turning out big mistake. They are all focused until you buy home after which you are ignored. Lennar has put "seems on purpose" the worst HOA (Helsing) in place who does nothing when it comes to maintenance even after many follow-up.

Things are broken for many months to year but HOA never fixes. HOA meetings they don't answer any questions. Only talk among Helsing HOA n Lennar people. Every month we are paying random $10 service fees along with $430 but zero service. Imagine just to pay water bill HOA charge $5 service fees and as a home owner I can pay own water bill and end up paying extra $5 every month.
Moreover cleaning Solar Panela, AC condenser are at rooftop but HOA doesn't do maintenance, I personally have to get outside help. What is this nonsense

Before anyone buy property please be ready because Lennar has chosen Helsing and Lennar is also sitting on board members even after 3 years, none Helsing or Lennar are leaving board seat.

Cleaning is not regular.
Pickup garbage is not regular.
Landscape is not maintained.
Windows are not cleaned.
Pest control hasn't been done.
Mail area no permanent bin.
Gym TV never works.
Common Area Wireless doesn't work.
Common Area electric and Gas system don't work.
Party hall is always booked without any party (no check).
EV Charging stations are not in place.
No Guest parking.
No parking monitoring.
Internal roads, no speedbumps or speed limit sings.
No signs for Trespassing, Soliciting, Loitering, Dumping etc. in and around community.
Homeless people walking, sleeping, practically living inside community issues.
Random people jumping common area fence and swimming in pool.
No meetings to discuss pending work and timeline.
No accountability or ownership by Lennar and Helsing.

List is so big, I am just not sure when its going to end......

I wish I had an option to give negative stars.

Koninika Patil

We moved to Lennar@innovation a year ago and have been facing issues since we moved here. We have not had window cleaning, gutter cleaning or pest control any time in the past year. Other issues faced day to day are not fixed by the HOA (we have pending issues since more than six months). Lennar builder has occupied the majority in the board, and the Lennar board members don’t speak a word in HOA meetings. Lennar is giving a free reign to the HOA management to loot the homeowners. It is quite clear the builder does not care about the residents after they have purchased their home.

George Chang

3 big problems
- noise from Tesla employee when they drive by with mod car, skip stop sign, with 50 mph in 25 mph zone.

- HOA is so efficient, that almost as good as DMV.

- 1500 household using a 300 sqft gym, how nice.

Binbin Lin

A note from current resident for new buyers: Think twice before you make the decision. Lennar insist to keep them as majority of board members but they let Helsing to be our HOA company, knowing it literally doing nothing except collecting the money. (Not working elevator, no landscaping / pest control etc). You will be surprised how bad a HOA company could be

Adesh Kumar

If you are considering buying a home in Innovation, please take the time to talk to the people living in the community before making a purchase decision. The Lennar sales reps and information can be misleading. Unfortunately, the HOA has done a poor job communicating with the owners, allocating resources, and maintaining the community and surrounding areas.

We believe that we have a great community with great neighbors who care about creating a friendly, inclusive, and safe place to live. However, we need the HOA and Lennar to listen to the concerns of the people and potential buyers so that we can create the community that we all want.

Overall, we see the HOA as a bad apple in our community and recommend fully investigating the HOA before making a purchase decision.