Saltwater Construction Group

Mr. [redacted] was to Survey my Lot and provide plans, Blue Prints Engineering. He had a partial Survey and nothing else. I paid him $3000.00 on 8 Jul. I requested that he refund part on my money. He has not done so to date. I informed him I would no long be using him for any job to include building my new home. Desired SettlementI am requesting that he refund $1825.00 Business Response The [redacted] approached me with a desire to build a custom home for them. I offered to price and build any plan they had or design a custom plan to build on their lot. They chose the custom option for which they agreed to pay me a fee of $3,000. I worked with them for 6 months and worked with Draftsmen, surveyors and engineers and developed plan after plan based on what they said they wanted only to have them change their minds over and over and decide they wanted something else. They currently have several working plans in their position that I developed for them as well as a survey and their lot has been staked. In response to their comments on windows, they originally wanted windows that would go opaque with the flip of a switch. Then they changed their minds and decided they wanted a wall of windows. When I discussed how impractical that is i.e. the structural aspects of that, the cost and the engineering involved they would get upset to which I would respond that I would build anything they wanted so long as they were willing to pay for it. When they were dissatisfied with the answers they were getting from me they asked to speak directly with the draftsmen I was working with. I set up a meeting for all of us at which the Draftsmen verified that everything I told them was true. That in fact we could give them a wall of windows but that would involve quite a bit of engineering and expense. After that meeting, they quit contacting me and worked directly with the Draftsmen. He ran into the same situation that I had with them. He would draw plans based on what they wanted only to have them change their minds once again. Several times the Draftsmen contacted me and told me he thinks he has the plans the way they want it, only to call me back later to tell me they have changed their minds once again. If you would like more details such as invoices and receipts, copies of the plans and the time I spent working on their project please advise. By the way, I asked Mr. [redacted] what I had done wrong to make him want his money back now. He told me I had done nothing wrong and that they are having to deal with something else right now. When I asked if he still wanted me to build their home, he would not answer. I am more than willing to build their custom home for them if they could just make up their minds. I believe their frustration in not being able to design the house they want is they can't make up their minds about what they want. Believe me, I have devoted more time in trying to satisfy the [redacted] then should be expected of anyone. Mrs. [redacted] once asked me if I spent this much time with all my clients. Please let me know if you need more information. Sincerely, [redacted], President Saltwater Construction Group, Inc. Consumer Response We never approached Mr [redacted] to build our house. We purchased a lot from his wife and he showed up and offered to build our house. We tried to work with Mr [redacted], but after numerous times trying to get him to change windows and doors on the plans, we decided to stop all work with him. He kept coming back with the same plans even after we told him to make the change. Mr [redacted] kept saying the window and door problems could be dealt with later. We did not want to work with any problems later. We wanted everything concerning the house plans completed prior to the Blue Prints being drawn/finished. We met with Mr [redacted] and the draftsman at which time we were informed that an engineer would have to approve the plans and the cost would be $1400.00. Mr [redacted] did not say anything concerning the cost even as he still had $2625.00 my money left out of the $3000.00. Mr [redacted] had no knowledge that an engineer was needed until advised by the draftsman. Mr [redacted] advised me the $3000.00 would cover $1000.00 for the survey and $2000.00 for the Blue Prints. None of the $3000.00 was for his fees as this was never discussed or negotiated. Mr [redacted] has only provided me with one invoice and that was for the $3000.00 stating it was for Preliminary Survey and Blue Print Engineering. I later discovered he had a Partial Survey done that was not for construction of the house. Mr [redacted] paid $375.00 for the partial survey and he paid $800.00 to the draftsman for work on the plans that been done to date. I never received any Blue Prints from Mr [redacted] as we are still working with the draftsman on the house plans. At present, the house plans have gone to the Blue Print stage. As stated before, I have never received any invoice from Mr [redacted] concerning his work. I would like to be provided an invoice showing his hours and cost/charge per hour. We have never signed a contract with Mr [redacted] for any work. We informed Mr [redacted] that he would not be building our house after we decided that he did not have the knowledge to complete the job to our satisfaction.Final Business Response I am a fan of the Revdex.com and appreciate the opportunity to address Mr. and Mrs. [redacted]'s complaint.Of course anyone can say anything and the [redacted]'s memory seems to be very selective, so let me just say that should it become necessary I can document everything I am about to say with witnesses, documentation or email.When I first meet the [redacted]'s they were responding to an ad for a listing on a lot which had a "Pre Sale" on it. (Pre Sale meaning the house was not built yet but was being offered for construction with Saltwater Construction Group as the builder). I consulted with them on several lots before they settled on the lot they bought. I showed them the houses I built in that neighborhood and we set up a meeting at which we discussed building them a house before they purchased the lot. An addendum to their lot purchase contract named my company to build their house. Since they did not have a house plan or any information we needed to be able to price the construction of their house and we decided that I would do the preliminary work necessary to determine their house design, size and how much it would cost to build it. For this they agreed to pay the sum of $3,000.We began working together on their house design and spent many hours together working on their design and we had many meetings at which we spent many hours together discussing room locations and sizes, how to best achieve the best view of the river since their lot is waterfront etc. We spent time walking the lot to find the best placement of the house on the lot, which I had surveyed (the stakes are still there). I spent hour after hour and many weekends drawing and redrawing room layouts as they kept changing their minds. I have copies of all the changes. I expected to have to make changes, but this went on for months. I had many meetings with the draftsmen that was to draw the final plans. The reason I offered to do their custom house design in the first place was to keep their cost down and move forward toward building the house they wanted within the restrictions imposed on us by the lot size, impervious surface area, building codes and the restrictions of the subdivision where their lot is located. After months of work they stopped communicating with me. No reason was given. When they started going around me I could no longer control cost. So I paid everyone who had done work on the project and let them know that I could not be responsible for charges incurred by the [redacted]'s in the future.Their comment about not having a contract is ridiculous. This is all about figuring out what they wanted and what it would cost to build so we could write a contract.As for the last line in their complaint...to this day they have not informed me that they do not want me to build their house, nor why they stopped communicating with me in the first place. (Please see my previous response). In response to their comment that "They decided that I did not have the knowledge to complete the job." Let me just say: I have been in construction for over 40 year. Over the past 3 or 4 years I have designed and built every house in the neighborhood where they bought their lot except for one. They saw all the completed houses and were given a personal guided tour of the houses that were under construction before they bought their lot and asked me to build their house. They were very much aware of my credentials. Every one of the homes I designed and built in the neighborhood where they purchased their lot met and passed the building codes set by the city building department and were issued Certificates of Occupancy. Let's put an end to this. They claim they have a finished plan. Ask them to provide you with a copy. I will provide you with copies of the preliminary work that I have done for them. Compare and see who you think is in the wrong here. I wonder if maybe I have a case of Breach of Contract against them if they use my plan? Thank you for allowing me to respond to this complaint. I stand ready to provide proof to verify my statement should you require it. I would request you ask them for proof of their allegations as well. Sincerely, [redacted], President Saltwater Construction Group, Inc.