Northern Builders and Homes, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I read the response from Northern Builders and Homes IncAfter reading this I realized that he is trying to be untruthful and deceptive to you alsoI will be forwarding a series of e-mails to you showing just how dishonest he isFirst of all I would not be contacting the Revdex.com if I was even somewhat happy with him or his finished product First I want to explain that every aspect of our house was built from Northern Builders and Homes web site, photo gallery or from prints and pictures of a house he was building at that time*** made suggestions to us such as the over hang on the front porch that he was building at that very timeIt was not a custom design it was a home he was building for a client by the name of WiseI liked the suggestion *** gave to me of the covered porch on the Birchwood home that he was building so he sent me the blue prints of that house and I went with that designYou will see by the e-mails 4-24-and 5-7- I know with my sons in the construction business that I was told to make all changes before I started construction or it would get expensive after everything was doneThis is the reason I picked the things I wanted done from his web site and asked for my estimates be quoted by the pictures I viewed by his web site pageThis seemed to make no difference Some of the problems I had with *** were the front window I asked to be quoted by a picture on his website then after the fact I was told I would have to pay more for a better window to the cost of $1213.08, The log railing that he quoted us off his photo gallery and later raised the price and we could not have what was pictured in his galleryThe painting of the doors were wrong several timesThe steps going into the crawl space that he would not put in for our contractors to have something to useHave them come build the steps by the front doorReplace the dryer vent that was brokeThe e-mails Pella windows 8-15-Log .7-25-and 7-31-Door 3-15-and 3-24-Steps 2-7-Front door 7-31-As for the permits it was not even close to just over it seems to me he forgot to inform you of the permit for sanitation when e-mailing the offices I got permit prices they came to Greg Bass 608.00, Forest county If you view the spread sheet I paid E-mail 12-2-and 12-3- Like I said before about the windows on the front of our houseWe picked them off his web site page on Jeff’s I pad at our property before our house was built when we were there staking out our lot making sure our set backs would work with the house we were buildingE-mail 11-12- *** is stating this job was quoted site unseenThis is completely if you view e-mail 5-7-you will see he was on my lot to do the perk testHe was also on my lot to check out set back dimensions in which we discussed the pentagon windows*** removed three tree stumps not two truck loads of branches and stumpsI cut the three trees down myself and removed everything but the three stumpsAs for the frost walls I paid extra seen on the spread sheet Why should I be charged more for excavating when I already paid the on overage charges marked frost wall on the spread sheetAs for all the fill he claims to have brought in I just asked to view the pickup slips from the gravel yard for that day but was refusedWe received a lean waiver from *** Excavating stating we were all paid up with them by November 30 and they were all done with their workThen in April we received another Lien waver that covered the extreme overage chargesWe already had a paid up lean waiver from *** in November As for the well I will send you the quotes *** received from Leisure Well Drilling for my job and in Leisure’s standard quote form it states digging to install the water line is not included in the priceThis shows he knew from the beginning he would charge me more money but would not let me know up frontI know he has done business with Leisure Well for yearsI hope by reading this letter and viewing my emails that you can see the deception and headaches we had to deal with for over a yearThanks, *** & *** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
I have read the response from Northern Builders and Homes and yes I feel he is deceitfulIt is good he admits he was on my property on 5-15-and he states he got his estimate to me on 4-14-Now he fails to tell you that he also sent me a revised estimate on 4-20-when he mentions discussing the extra options that we talked about on another revised estimate on 6-9-adding more things we discussed, the steel roof, pentagon window not a split pentagon window and not a smaller pentagon but the pentagon *** showed us on his photo gallery Img Jpg page bottom left picture also I added the log railing from his photo gallery012Jpg page second from the bottom on left also page third from the top on left 011JpgHe showed us these pictures because these came from the exact same house I wanted to buildHe also fails to explain we met on my lot to stake out the dimensions of the home I wanted to build before the finale estimate and contract was sent to me on 7-8-Our house was staked out by *** *** to see if the house and septic would fit on my property and to see what trees if any I had to clearThis can be verified by emails I forwarded to you earlier from 8-24-explaining *** *** in permits office pulled plot maps to measure set backs because we are closer than average to the lake also talking about stakes we put in and laying out our house for size on email 8-28-and again on email sent to me on 9-2-stating from *** from the county we have to move the house back to feet from the ordinary high water markThis shows he was on my lot several times and could have changed his excavating amount if he thought he had to.As far as the doors go I understand mistakes can be made but doing business with Northern Builders mistakes and excuses happened on almost a weekly basisI discussed the problem with the doors while they sat in my garage before they even went inThen the problem arose again after the doors were installed and had to be pulled for painting and all three came back wrong again and again had to be redoneThe steps in the crawl space I started asking for as soon as the house was upJeff’s response was when his mechanical people work on a job they ask that the steps not be put in, But I hired my own contractors Jeff’s contractors had nothing to do with thisSo by February 7, I was demanding he go to the house and put the stairs in.As for the front porch I had a conversation with *** *** in the middle of winter when he came on a Saturday and Sunday when the temp was below him and one of his partners were putting charcoal down to thaw the ground to put in the porch polesHe told me he was the carpenter that was going to put in the knotty pine ceiling and vinyl sidingAt that time I told him I was debating whether to put concrete side walk or stepping stones to the front door and since he would be back in spring to do the pine ceiling he could put the steps in at that time and not have to work outside in below weatherWhen *** *** did come back in mid June and finished 6-21-but did not install the outside porch and steps like he agreed to do back in the middle of winter as of my email to *** *** on 6-26-the outside steps had not been done on 6-28-*** replied he was working on it and would get back to me.As for the log railing dilemma let me reiterate every aspect of our house was designed off Jeff’s websiteWe viewed his photo gallery together and the questions were askedThis is the log railing I get in your package and his reply was YES also looking at the windows this is what I want he replied he would send the pictures to his pella dealer for quotesJust about every aspect of the building process was bad all alongI was shown one thing and when it came to the time of doing that part it involved an over charge or I could not have what my wife and I had chosenAt the beginning with the windows I was told by *** himself I could not have the pentagon window I picked out without a huge over chargeHe told me building codes changed and I could not be done without putting in a split windowThis is when I searched out a Pella dealer by my house and went to talk to them for answers.I got so tired of his over charges I was emailing ahead when picking the colors of the roof, siding, and doors just to verify he could not ring up more over chargesEmail dated 12-1-2015I do not disagree with all the overage charges in total I was charged 11,on overage charges.I do not dispute:1,for pump truckfor washed stonesecond soil testfrost wall under patioThe rest is all mostly disputed.In his responses to me he still never explained the permit overages or added proof of the fill he brought inI have photographs I can show the fill around my house that is still 4-inches below grade all the way around.*** also passed the issue of the standard quote form from Leisure well showing digging is not included but he does not show that up front in his quoting.In closing I hope you can plainly see this builder has no integrityBy viewing all the emails and paper work I faxed to you It is very obvious this builder is not at all concerned with his clients satisfaction or happiness*** & *** ***

Northern Builders and Homes, Incis a family owned and operated new home construction company. Our first and most important goal is always our client's happiness with us, and the quality of our finished product. It is unfortunate that this client feels this way, as we feel everything
was properly explained up front because we always want to operate in a very truthful and transparent manner. This includes creating a spreadsheet for every client that tracks every dollar the spend so there is never any confusion about money. We also seek the guidance of experience advertising professionals so all of our advertising is very clear and honest, whether it be online or in our brochures. I'd like to address each item on this client's complaint: 1) This client's total cost for plans came to $382.50. Their plan was indeed similar to one of my standard designs. Several changes needed to be made however, including the attached garage they mention. Changes also included a custom covered porch, and custom window design, in addition to various other items. In an email to this client dated 11/12/2015, I thoroughly explained that it is common practice to stat with a preliminary set of drawings, make the necessary corrections after those preliminary drawings are done, and then proceed from there. I also explained to them that had these plans been drawn from scratch, with no standard design to start with, the standard industry cost for these plans would run in the $- $1,range. I total cost of plans at $is extremely reasonable. 2) Because I have standard designs available, I also have standard package for these designs. Included in the standard package price for this client was a $1,allowance for permits. Permit prices are listed this way because of the great number of Counties that I work in. Every County has different pricing, and some Counties require permits that others do not. Because of this, it's simply not possible to have the exact price of every Counties permits included in each standard package. The overage on permits came to $91.60, so even the standard allowance was extremely close to the actual costs. This too had been thoroughly explained to this client, and the cost of each permit was identified. 3) Well and water systems are also done as allowances in my standard packages. This is because it is impossible to know how deep any given well will need to be, it depends on where we are working. In this instance for this client, the well drilling actually came in under budget by $200.00. The water system then came in at $over budget. It's true that all water line have to be dug in the house, however, in this instance the distance was much greater than because this client has a long narrow lot and they chose to remove very few trees. This resulted in us having to drill the well further than from the foundation, resulting in a longer dig and also more materials and labor to run the water line to the houseAn actual copy of the water system invoice was sent to this client on 1/5/to provide them with a detailed record of what was included in this work for proof to them. 4) Pentagon window: The correct windows were quoted to this client - my standard line of vinyl windows. In an email to this client dated 11/12/2015, I did explain to them that their plans had been drawn with the largest possible one-piece pentagon window available in that line of windows. This client wanted to increase the size of that pentagon. To do so would require going to a two-piece pentagon window - the very same style and brand in vinyl windows that I have in my newest model home. This client then referred to a larger one-piece pentagon that I show in pictures on my website. I explained that this is an aluminum clad wood window which can be built larger than a vinyl window, but the vinyl windows are in my standard package. This client chose to spend the additional money to change this window to the aluminum clad wood window so it could be built in a one-piece unit. 5) Excavation is also listed as an allowance in my standard packages. This is because every property is unique, and some require more work than others. The job was originally quoted site unseen, so my base excavating allowance remained. After signing of contract, the site was visited. I explained then that the foundation would need to be held higher than because of the property's proximity to the lake and corresponding water table. This required fill to be brought in to back fill properly, in addition to compaction work needed in the attached garage so the concrete floor could be properly poured. In addition, due to the client's decision to keep so many trees so close to the house, the process becomes more time consuming as well. We were also asked to pull stumps from his site, and remove two loads of brush and stumps off this client's property with dump trucks. This client also decided to add frost walls in front of their house under their custom covered porch which required additional excavation and compaction. These are the reasons that the excavation costs ran over the base allowance, certainly not because of any deception on my part. This client states in his complaint that proof of overages was never given. This is completely false, because in another email dated 3/9/2016, this excavating invoice that I received from my excavator was sent to this client showing the exact charges from my excavator. 6) The trees on this client's property were always watched as carefully as possible. Their proximity to the new house made if very difficult to work around, but the only damage ever done was to a small grouping of brush that needed to be cleared upon back filling. I was later informed that this client had hoped to keep this. It is always our goal to treat any client's property with the utmost respect and care. 7) I do run my company hands-on, meaning my wife and I personally work with each of our clients ourselves. Because of this, a call or text or email may come in that I cannot immediately respond to within the hour. However, it is always our goal to keep good communication lines open with our clients.We hope that with this response, proper light is shined on the truth behind the matters that took place with this client. We value the trust our client's place in us when they ask us to build them their dream home or cabin, and we would never want to do anything to have a future client question that trust

I've read the additional claims this client has made and I wanted to reply to clear things up for both the Revdex.com and future clients.  I will address each item individually. 1) Unfortunately this client accuses me of being deceitful when I stated that I had originally quoted his job site-unseen.  This client is correct that on 5/7/2015 we did make an appointment to meet to do a soil test on his property.  The date we actually met for the soil test was Friday, 5/15/2015.  However, my initial estimate sent to this client was on 4/10/2015. This client then called me on 4/14/2015 and left a message on my office voice mail at 3:29 pm stating that he had not received my estimate.  I immediately resent the estimate to him again on 4/14/2015 at 6:23 pm, and he confirmed receiving it this time.  This estimate included my standard excavation allowance which remained in the estimate until the contract was signed. 2)  Entry Doors - There indeed was an error made by the company that I ordered the entry doors from.  The doors were prefinished, and the company that I ordered them from mixed up which sides of the entry doors to paint which colors.  My sales rep for that company immediately started working with me to have temporary doors put on in place of those that needed to be repainted, door hardware was switched out so the house was never left unsecured, and the slabs were correctly painted.  While it's possible that a mistake can be made, I do take pride in always working with my suppliers to make sure anything like this is addressed as quickly as possible. 3)  Steps to crawl space - When my mechanical people work on my jobs, they ask that steps to the crawl space are not installed right away because they limit access for equipment like a furnace.  For this reason, I did not have my framing crew build the steps right away.  When this client said that he wanted them in for his mechanical people, I had them installed. 4)  Front porch steps - This client actually asked my three-man crew that was on site to NOT install these steps because he planned to have a sidewalk poured.  He wanted us to come back after the sidewalk was poured so the steps could be put on the sidewalk.  My guys agreed and told me about it.  He later accused my guys of lying, saying that he never told them that, so we went back and put them on. Realistically it makes no sense for my guys to be dishonest about this because it is much easier to install them while we are there than to make a special trip back for a job that only takes an hour or two. 5)  Log Rail - This item is actually where I chose to end the relationship with this client.  This client emailed me on 7/25/2016 to tell me that he wanted his log rail to look like a certain picture he saw on my website.  He stated that he wanted the rail to look like that all along, but there wasn't any previous correspondence about this.  My website and brochure do say that not all pictures reflect standard items, I'm very careful to be sure my clients are aware of this so that we are all on the same page.  I explained to this client that this picture is one of those situations, and that doing the rail that way would cost more.  The $600.00 was indeed a very reasonable price for what would need to be done.  He continued to demand that I do this at no cost, and it was at this point that given this latest issue with this client, plus all of the other accusations that he continued to make, that I told this client I would rather not install his rail and it would be best if he found someone else to install his rail and that we end our relationship.  This was definitely the first, and hopefully it is the last time I need to take this course of action.  In this case, I honestly felt like I could no longer trust this client based on the communications we had and the way he dealt with each situation as it happened. We will continue to strive to treat each client we work with, with the utmost respect and professionalism.  We hope that you understand that this was a very isolated situation, and every attempt was made to work with this client in a reasonable manner.