But she hasn't always felt that way.

"It's a dream house now," said Block, who, with her husband, Jeffrey, bought a new home in Sharon Woods, a Toll subdivision of about 200 homes, in 1995. "But before it was a nightmare."

Trouble began the day after the couple moved in. A water pipeline leading from the street to their house was crushed during construction, she said, causing the house to flood. That triggered a domino effect, sending water shooting out of their toilets and at least one sink. And the resulting damage forced them to replace their hardwood floor, a cost paid by Toll.

Later, she said, seemingly minor problems became major headaches because of Toll's lackadaisical -- or nonexistent -- response to their complaints. There was, for example, the Blocks' chipped pedestal sink, which they said they asked Toll several times to fix, to no avail.

Finally, Dana Block said, "I warned them I was not giving up and I broke down crying one day ... I just told them I couldn't take it any more." Soon after, Toll replaced the sink.

But the experience reinforced the couple's belief that Toll's frequent nonresponsiveness is part of a carefully calculated way of doing business -- an opinion shared by many Toll home owners interviewed by the Globe.

"I think that's their strategy," Dana Block said. "They just let you get to a point where you can't stand it any more."

When problems arose, "We kind of got the attitude that, 'We'll get around to it one day,' " Jeffrey Block added. "They try to put you off in hopes you'll do it yourself."

And sometimes it took more than tears to attract Toll's attention. "Ultimately we were satisfied and ultimately they did everything," said Jeffrey Block, who is a lawyer. "But it got to the point that I threatened to sue them." After firing off that legal salvo, he recalled, "within two weeks they took care of everything."

Today, Dana Block said, "We're very happy with our home."

Still, added Jeffrey, "Notwithstanding their pledge that they're great to work with, we found them very difficult."