ComplaintsforTalbot Custom Homes LLC

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  Adam T*****’s lack of experience and professionalism has cost my wife and I over $2,000.00 in debt and set our home construction timeline project behind significantly. We are also paying on the loan plus interest for the extension that never occurred. In April of 2022, my wife and I met with contractor, Adam J. T*****, with the intentions of hiring him to build an extension on our garage. He took measurements of the area and provided us with quotes. Talbot and I agreed to move forward with the extension with a quote of $130,000.00. On 10/11/22, I conveyed payment of $2,206.51 from my checking account to Talbot through a website link he provided to cover the cost of architecture and engineering. We received the blueprints 4 months after payment was rendered, yet never received an actual printed contract with a final quote. We requested the contract multiple times through email. On 9/09/22, Adam T***** said he was very close to provide us with a final quote but according to him he was very busy with other projects. After insisting for a final quote, he replied on January 7, 2023, saying that the actual cost of building the garage apartment was now going to be $175,719.00, which is $45,719.00 over the original quote we agreed upon. We told him the price was much higher than the expectations he initially provided us. Talbot responded by saying that was the best he could do and that and that "he had bad assumptions with square foot pricing with the trades." He also said "I didn't realize lowering the square footage would not bring these base construction costs down (because I did not have plans or engineering to get real costs from my trades)." I kindly requested from Adam T***** a refund of $2,206.51 which was the amount we paid him back in September, 2022. Adam replied he was only going to refund us "as a courtesy" $506.51 and said "I will be refunding the difference between the invoices and the total amount you sent me, not the entire amount."

  Business response

  04/03/2023

  In response to Mr. ******s comments, although I do not believe this is the correct forum to discuss personal financial matters, I will respond in kind. 
  
  The quote/proposal that we discussed was a cost-plus proposal. I discussed this during the initial meeting in April, as I did with all of my other customers. The market was unstable and commanded contractors like myself to protect our businesses by only discussing cost-plus contracts instead of fixed bid. Mr. ***** initially wanted to do the project, but did not have enough money to proceed in April. Four months later he tells me they are taking out a loan. I did not have any plans/engineering completed for his project and would not know the final cost until we received them back. I had initially thought it would be around 130-140k for the entirety of the project. 

  As for the plans, I do not do them myself and took approximately $50.00 in total "profit' from the plans. Typical plans cost 2-3x this and I use a couple different firms to keep costs low for clients like Mr. *****. Plans take approximately 3-4 months to come back and when the final engineering was completed on 12/24/2022, I provided a quote within two weeks of that time frame with an approximate cost of 175k, still being a cost plus proposal. I was happy to provide a fully broken down proposal, but because of the price increase I informed Mr. ***** and his wife of the cost that came back after I estimated it out. I broke it own into two categories - construction costs and profit to my company. They indicated they did not have the funding at the time to move forward. I attempted to offer some alternatives, but neither were something they wanted to move forward with. 

  For Mr. ******s quotes about square foot pricing and real costs from trades: As with any construction project, without a full bid set you can only ever have estimates for a project and even then costs can change during construction. 

  Mr. ***** does mention taking out a loan. I am not a financial advisor and was extraordinarily clear that I do not advise on financing - at no point did I ask them to take out, what I am assuming is a fixed rate loan, prior to having a signed contract. Especially because the contract would be a cost-plus contract and any and all overages would be passed on to the customer, regardless of the circumstance. Therefore they may have had to take out a larger loan if that were the case. 

  Instead of getting Mr. ***** under contract then asking him for an extra $45,000 as we moved through construction, I thought it was the best, most transparent way to inform his family that the cost is in fact higher than my initial proposal up front and having him and his wife make the best financial decision for their family. At this time I am only offering a refund back on any profit I made from the plans - approximately $50.00, which I will pay immediately. I did spend several hours of conversations, meeting in person, and helping work through his plans which I am offering all for free.

  Additionally, he and his wife have now started to disparage me personally through social media community page without explaining that they in fact:

  1. Received 100% of what I promised them - which are engineered and sealed plans that can be used for construction. That I took $50 in profit from this and am happy to refund the $50.00. 

  2. Took out a loan (assumed fixed rate they have to pay for) without ever having a contract in place - and even if there was a contract in place, it would have been a cost-plus contract and they would have had to make up for any additional costs of construction. There was always transparency in costs and a standard % fee associated with any cost category. I cannot take responsibility for them taking out a loan without a firm contract number in place. 

  3. That I have done absolutely no construction work for them. Therefore saying that "we have worked with him and had a bad experience" is misleading at best.

  4. Explaining the actual timeline and understanding that plans and engineering take time to get together. I sent them information as I received it and at no point attempted to slow down or deceive the ***** Family with the plans, engineering or construction costs. They, in fact, received plans expediently. 

  5. That I was willing to work with them and attempted to bring the cost down as low as I could and offered additional alternatives that they rejected. 

  6. They in fact agreed that no one would probably be able to do it for less with the upgrades and construction materials I use.

  7. That I was unwilling to discuss or speak with them to find a solution they could work with. I did ask to have an in person and phone discussion which they rejected. We did discuss it via email, but they were unwilling to change their plans to lower their costs. In addition, they said that I was unwilling to speak with their lawyer even though I did speak with them on the phone and offered for them to email me and I would get them in touch with my legal team to discuss these issues. 

  At this time, I am willing to send $50.00 to the ***** Family and/or continue to do their project for the $175,000. They have received the engineered and stamped plans and can move forward with any contractor able to produce the same product for whatever amount they have taken out. The plans were not exclusive to Talbot Custom Homes, LLC. 

  If asked, I can produce emails, plans, and etc., per the request of the BBB or ***** Family. 

  I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the entirety of the events, and still do not feel like this was the best forum to do so as I do not like to discuss private finances in public. I truly hope Mr. ***** and his family find a contractor able to build their extension. Again, I am willing to communicate and complete the project. 

   

   

  Customer response

  04/07/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Although he is right in just a couple of things, finances is not the problem at all. At the beginning, he recommended us a person to secure a HELOC for the project. However, his recommendation ended up being a complete disaster. He is just washing his hands saying he could not understand how we took a loan without having final numbers when in fact he recommended us to start looking around for loan options. It is possible he now has more experience in the field, but when we started talking with him, he looked very comfortable giving out numbers and later said "I had bad assumptions with square foot pricing."

  I do not accept the $50.00 he said is willing to refund. The difference between the invoices and the money we paid him was $506.51

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* *****

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