Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Broughman Builders, Inc.'s headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Broughman Builders, Inc.

  6 Acadia Way Ellsworth, ME 04605-2521

  
• 

  Broughman Builders, Inc.

  218 Congress St Belfast, ME 04915-6085

  
• 

  Broughman Builders, Inc.

  84 Main Rd Holden, ME 04429-7141

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Broughman Builders was contracted to be general contractor for us on a modular project. They have destroyed all trust by lying to us about several situations. Most recently, we are in a dispute about the application of damp-proofing to the exterior of our foundation walls. We were on the property, and saw that the application was not in accordance with the 2015 IBC. It was applied too thinly, and the application did not cover required area. I confirmed with the manufacturer that the application did not appear to be according to the manufacturer directions, and the manufacturer recommended a second coat be applied. The owner of Broughman has been extremely abrasive, and his response to our complaints is often that he is going to delay our project. We are already well past the original promise date made when we signed the contract. He just threatened that again, when notified him that we expected another coat of damp-proofing on the basement before backfill. He frequently has expressed an intention to not execute the contract. We have repeatedly requested a site plan showing how the project will be completed, and still haven't received one - and the basement is already poured. We still do not have a plan showing exactly how the site will be laid out, and Broughman will not ensure that our input to location will be considered.This is a company to be avoided. They clearly are not interested in executing our project correctly, and seem to delight in bullying clients that actually expect to be engaged in decisions regarding their home. We have every reason to ask questions about the project, and expect a general contractor to answer those questions accurately and cheerfully. With this company, you will get neither -- just repeated lies that will attempt to blame the client for Broughman's poor practices. We just want this house finished -- properly. It has been a very unpleasant experience, with a high likelihood of resulting in future problems.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/11/2023

  From the very beginning, we offered the client to be their own general contractor because they are very partifcular, and they don't seem to trust anyone. As I mentioned to them, we are a modular/manufactured housing dealer. Because of this, we do more groundwork/site work projects than most contractors in this area, as a stick-built contractor can only build 3-4 houses a hear, and we do nearly 50. We are very well versed because every house, rather stick-built or modular, has groundwork, foundation, septic, and well. Where we are most always responsible for those items, we have tried to share our knowledge and ability with our customers, and they simply have no trust. We have now completed the damp-proofing to the foundation over three separate visits. Because one of the visits the subcontractor told me they would be there, and couldn't get there when they had scheduled, we are now being called "liars". In my many years in building houses for clients, this has been the most exhausting project we have had, yet we continue to take the verbal punishment from this client. It took 7 years to get them to contract. Where we have a 99% customer satisfaction rate, there are just some cutomers you can't satisfy no matter what you do. This happens to be one of those cases. We do intend to build the house to the best of our ability and knowledge, which is what most clients from out of state hire us to do. The micromanagement and lack of trust of trust on their part has made this project one of the most difficult we have encountered. 

   

  Respectfully submitted,

   

  *******************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/14/2023

  Broughmans response misrepresents the interaction, and falsely slanders us.

  The coating issue is settled, but the mis-located sewer line is not. We are at an impasse because Broughman is demanding that we pay to ameliorate what was totally their error.

  These are not the actions of a reputable business, and we are deeply concerned about the risks that are ahead as they build our home.

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/24/2023

  We are committed to finishing the job. Merry Christmas! 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/03/2024

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  We were on the property, and found that the septic line has not been moved: the through-hole in the foundation wall remains in the erroneous location. 

  We offered to pay half of the cost of patching and coring a new hole if Broughman dealt with the issue, but they continued to backfill the foundation in spite of our objection to its location. This weekend, we saw that not only was the septic line not moved, but that the basement floor drain was located on the other side of the house from where the sewer and, presumably, potable water lines will enter the house. We expect the floor drain to be located where leaks are most likely -- not on the other side of what will be a finished basement. We have ample email exchanges to demonstrate that this Broughman's error, but they keep blaming us. 

  There is still opportunity for Broughman to remedy this error. Until remedied, however, we do not consider that our issue is resolved. 

  This company has told us they are quitting the contract, with no grounds to do so. They have apparently continued work, based on their above response, but they are not addressing the problems. We have requested by email that they not proceed with septic installation and pouring the floor of the basement until we reach an agreement on these concerns, but they have not responded to the email.

  We were also told that Broughman likely has violated shoreland protection statutes by their excavation for the basement drain line within the setback area. As the property owners, this puts us under liability for a shoreland violation even though we gave neither direction nor agreement to locating the line through the setback area. This is another ongoing problem that we will have to address. 

  We have frequently requested site plans, and have not received anything that resembles the work being done. We expect that there will be more errors. We have engaged a local agent to monitor the work, but Broughman won't tell us when things will be happening on the property. 

  Our issues and concerns with this company continue. 

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/11/2024

  Where we have tried to communicate these issues with the client, I cannot force them to listen if they choose not to.

  On November 13, our groundwork contractor (who has worked for BBI for 47 years), was on site and needed to know where we wanted the floor drain to go. I sent them a copy of the foundation plan, stating where we recommended the drain should be located. They immediately sent back the foundation plan marked out in the color red of where they wanted to the drain. Two days later, they changed their mind and wanted to take my advice after all. Unfortunately, at that time, the groundwork contractor had installed it and left the site. Also, they signed both plans on November 15 stating where we were going to put the sewer and water line through the foundation. We did so. Those bond outs were installed by the concrete contractor several days later. I had my crew take pics of the actual foundation showing the drain and the holes in the foundation where we were instructed. This is a very simple example of being ****** micro-managed by the client and the clients wish to not take responsibility. We had offered to fix this for $875 via a change order, they refused to pay or sign off for the re-work of the drain lines. They did, however, offer to pay half. I cannot believe that these clients have made my company work so hard, and we were only asking for the appropriate amount of money to fix their mistake. We are building an entire home project and we are stuck on $875. As we have built over **** houses in *****, I have never seen this kind of arguing and micromanagement on every single item that we try to communicate. 

  Regarding the drainage and ************* zoning, we have always recommended to the client that they seek professional survey work as we are not surveyors. We provided a site plan via the town of ********** building permit, we do not provide survey services. However, this is easily resolved with a simple permit-by-rule through the **** as most shoreland projects do indeed drain to the lowest part of the property. 

  I attempted to include the supporting docments but the BBB site crashed when I attempted to do so, I will be forwarding our supporting documentataion to my representative directly. 

  The amount of time and energy put forth by these frivolous complaints is overwhelming. We truly wish the client could just communicate clearly and concisely with us and their sales person. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/11/2024

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  Broughmans response still has not addressed their error in locating the septic line. We refused to pay $875 to rework what was totally their error. We offered to pay half, even though we were in no way responsible, and that offer was rejected. 

  The casual dismissal of violation of shoreland statues is disturbing:  Permit by Rule is not intended as an after-the-fact route to dismiss illegal activity. The mention of survey is a total non sequitur:  the presence of the environmental setback area is obvious. Anyone who has built the number of homes that Broughman has should know better. We actually care about the violation, and the spoiling of ************* area on our property.

  In spite of numerous requests, we were never able to get a site plan for the work to be done on our own property. We were once sent an erroneous that had the house oriented improperly and showed a driveway extending on the neighbors lot, but that was it. Its remarkable that a general  contractor would not present a site plan for review and approval before executing, but thats how this company works.

  We  also requested technical information relating to the drive-over weight limit for our under-driveway septic drain field, and after months of requests we still do not have that data. Its rather important to know whether the driveway will support a moving truck or propane service, but they will not answer our question. We are paying for this, and we cant get an answer! 

  The septic line is still in the erroneous location, we still do not have a site plan, nor do we know the weight limit for our driveway:  our complaint is not resolved. 
  

  Broughman speaks of the time spent in answering this complaint, but none of this is frivolous. We are spending $400K on this project, and we deserve to have our questions answered. Asking questions and requesting site plans is not micromanaging. Trusting this company to execute any project without a good level of oversight would be foolhardy.

  We really wish we were dealing with a company that did not warrant such complaints. Unfortunately, here we are.

   
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  *****

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We signed our contract October 2021. Was told by sales rep it would be done by September 2022. April of 2022 now have a new sales rep, who assured us that the house would be done by end of the year 2022. October of 2022 received email from ******************* telling us we need to be professional as we were upset that work has stalled our project. IN that email he told us we were next in line for the foundation. In January we asked if our foundation was in and our sales rep replied "concrete has been poured". BBI is very good at not answering the question you asked. Only the footers had been poured. The foundation wasn't completed until May of 2023. Our house sat on BBI's lot for 11 months before it was set. The contract states that the house will be substantially complete 10 weeks after the house is set. What is the metric to measure "substantially"? After the 10 weeks, there is no timeline to finish the house. It has been 16 weeks since our house was set. Also we sent the Versant paperwork to BBI for power on September 26 and received a confirmation email that they received it on Oct. 10th. We called Versant of Oct. 30 and were told that they are still waiting for the paperwork. BBI sat on the paperwork for at least 3 weeks. We just want our house done, and are tired of their excuses and blaming the pandemic for everything. We have been given many different dates for completion and still waiting for the house to be completed. We are approaching our second winter with this project and we know from last winter how infrequently they work.Our desired resolution is to finish the job ASAP!

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2023

  Wish we could say that the "pandemic" is not impacting our business at this point, but to do so would be a lie. We have gone from over 20 employees to under 10 in two years, due to the government handouts. Subcontractors are still getting "island" pay and that is not built into our pricing structure. I would sincerely ask that you look at the local "help wanted" ads for this trade and then see where you get. We are struggling to find qualified employees. We offer FULL-TIME work with health, medical, dental, 401K, paid vacations and such. Still, no one wants to work. We are doing very VERY VERY BEST to take care of ALL of our clients. You have no idea what impact this has had on our business. **** and I have worked our tails off since we bought this business in **** to offer exceptional customer service. Never, in a million years, would have guessed that our business would be impacted such as this. Great customers who usually turn into great friends, is a thing of the past. It seems that no matter how hard we try to make everyone happy, it just doesn't go that way. 

  Please know that we are committed to getting your project complete as soon as humanly possible. This stressful building environment is out of control. 

  We are doing our best, please try to give us ***** and patience, as hard as that *** be.

   

  Most Respectfully, 

   

  Daisy & *******************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/04/2023

  This picture is just one example their broken promises.  On November 1, 2023, *************** email stated that they have workers finishing up at another and house and will be at our house in **** days to work on our siding. The picture attached was taken on 12/2/23. You will notice that there is no siding on the front of the house.  If the builders are having problems finding and retaining employees, maybe it is their lack of respect for their employees.  Respect goes a long way and BBi has no respect for this customer and apparently their employees. 

  As of October 2023, the ***** unemployment rate is 2.8%. Which contradicts their premise that people don't want to work.

  
  
  Regards,

  *****

   

   

  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2023

  If you were in the trades in ********************** area, there is a severe lack of qualified employees and subcontractors available. We have had TV commercials, ******** ads, Indeed ads, with little response or success. Contrary to what this customer says, our respect for our employees is overwhelming, many employees having been on payroll for years and years. We can only do so much with what we have. We are in the process of scheduling the siding but we currently only have one siding crew. We have done nothing wrong other than suffering the employment crisis that the government created. Where it is getting a bit better, we are still behind in our typical completion time due to the labor force shortage. It doesn't take much to go into any business to ********* wanted signs everywhere. We are not immune to these same deficiencies. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/11/2023

  According to the email I received directly from *******************, It is the lack of power that installing my project.  *** he pointed out that I am responsible for providing power according to the contract. However he doesn't acknowledge the  fact that we sent him the paperwork for the power as requested by our sales rep. *** one month later we contacted the power company because there was still no power, only to find out that they were still waiting for the paperwork. If lack of power is the reason my project is stalled, I would appreciate ******************* to at least acknowledge his role in this problem.  

  On 12/7/23 there was another inspection of our house which was ordered by our mortgage lender. The first inspection was 8/31/23 and the house was ****% completed, 14 weeks later and the house is ****% completed. 

  No need to respond, as I will just have to accept that I am at the mercy of BBI.

  Regards,

  *****

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/12/2023

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The facts are:1. In April of 2021, we signed a contract with *** to order a modular home for us, and a few months later paid a sizeable downpayment.2. In December of 2021, the sales agent told us we were 9th on the list to have our house set.3. In the early spring of 2022, we were told that our house was completed by New Era in PA, but that the builders were having trouble shipping the house.4. In April -May 2022, we paid for the house as it had been completed but still not shipped. BBi representatives told us it was up to the builder (New Era) to ship it. New Era said it was BBis responsiblility.6. In May of 2022, we were told that BBi was waiting for a subcontractor to deliver cement. 7. In July of 2022, we were told that there was a cement shortage. Knowing the effects of *****, we were still trying to be patient.8. In August of 2022, the owner promised that someone would be at the site before the end of August. 9. By the end of September of 2022, a rough driveway was finally built, but we still did not have a house.10. Shortly after Christmas of 2022, a foundation was poured and we had to pay extra for winter concrete.11. The foundation was left standing for many days without warming blankets. The house was finally set on May 11. We later discovered that our house had been shipped in the spring of 2022. We have a picture of it sitting in the snow.12. We are still not in our house as of July 2023. The contractor claims that the house is substantially complete even though there is no electricity, no septic system, partial plumbing, no furnace, incomplete siding with bare wood out to the elements and the basement is wide open and floods whenever it rains.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2023

  Unfortunately, this client has had to deal with the effects of COVID over the last few years. We used to be able to get modular homes in 8 weeks. When all of this was going on, some orders got pushed out 14 months, and that is only the modular side of it. Groundwork and foundations were overbooked, and of course, all of the trades lost a great deal of help, and it has been nearly impossible to replace the help that was lost. Then the prices of all trades went through the roof, and we were forced to negotiate with other subcontractors to try to save money for our clients. Halfway through this job, the groundwork contractor closed his doors and sold his equipment. Adding insult to injury would be the exponential amount of rain we have had for the past two months; 45 out of 50 days is a pretty fair estimate. Now that things are slowly catching up, we were able to get one of our groundwork contractors who has done business with Broughman for 45 years, to pick up where the other contractor left off, and he is expected there by the end of the week to install septic and finish the exterior groundwork. Also there is a little bit of siding that needs to be completed. The exterior contractor has informed me that it will be done by end of day on Saturday. Where we can appreciate any of our customer's frustration over the past few years, between availabillity of product, labor, trades, and rising costs, this is nothing this company (or industry) has ever seen. We will continue plugging along and finishing up on these items with the availibility of resources. 

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/24/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ******* And *******

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We were interested in building a modular home through Broughman Builders and spoke to **** about the model we wanted. The plan on their site lacked basic dimensions. We were looking to make some minor changes but were told that we needed to put down a deposit and a signed contract inorder to proceed. In good faith, we signed a poorly written contract and put down a $2500 deposit and a preapproval for 800k. The house is estimated to cost 550k. We sent them a plan of what we wanted and was told it would not be to code. Because the floorplan didnt work, we had to switched to a new model. We had questions as to the the dimensions, the process, dates of completion, etc. Many of our questions werent answered. When we pressed for them, we were told that they wont get answered until we have a preapproval letter for a construction loan. The preapproval we had submitted wasnt good enough. We are scratching our heads trying to understand why a preapproval for a construction loan was a show stopper unless if Broughman had a reputation with the bank that *** prevent ** from getting a loan. We asked them to come to complete a site survey to determine if we are even able to build on the lot. They refused. Contract was signed in January. No floor plans of reflected changes were sent to **. No blue prints were sent to **. Questions such as how much room does the crane need and how the foundations will be capped were not answered. We are now in May and since our questions came unanswered, we lost faith that Broughman knows what they are doing and will be able to build our house. With very little confidence left, we decided to speak with the owner, *******************. The conversation started out with him informing ** that hes been kept up to date on the situation and that he cannot proceed because he doesnt know which bank we will borrow the money through. We are unable to proceed further if hes not shown ** that he can build our house. We are seeking a return of our deposit.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/05/2023

  Good afternoon,

   

  These clients came to ** months ago requeseting a large two-story home in the Portland area. They presented ** with a pre-approval for a VA loan. The client was not aware that a VA loan is a turnkey loan, which means it is NOT a construction loan and the builder does not get paid until the project is completed. They signed a contract for $550,000+. Most companies, like ours, cannot front that kind of money. We explained to them that they needed to have a construction loan pre-approval. I have attached many emails between the ******** and my sales consultants, asking numerous times for the required pre-approval for a construction loan. First, they said they were getting it for **, and after many times of asking, it was never presented. In fact, they wouldn't even tell ** the name of the bank they were working with. Even though we asked several times for proof of their ability to build this home with a construction loan, the Piierce's were upset that we were not willing to go further. Then, all of a sudden changed their mind and chose an entirely different home and we were asked to do MORE work. This was after the contract was signed and plans for that original home were already started. I can produce all of the emails in this negotiation. We had a three-way conversation with both ******** and myself, the owner/President of Broughman Builders and they expressed their unhappiness with my unwillingness to meet them at their land to go over site placement. I explained to them once again that once we have a pre-approval for construction loan that I am 100% available to help in any way I can. Once again, for some reason, they refused and would not tell me what bank they were working with.

  As the owner of a construction company that is over 45 years old, this interaction makes ** very nervous and we have no idea why the ******** don't understand the simple need to show funding for a project. We require this with all our clients, no matter if the job is a 10th of what this project would be. 

  The client asked for their non-refundable deposit returned. Attached is the copy that they signed, produced by my attorney, explaining why this deposit is non-refundable. The reason it is non-refundable is that once we begin drawing plans and associated costs involved with this. That is why the funds are no longer available. 

  Attached is addendum #1 stating that this is a construction loan. This is addendum #1 out of a typical 24-page *********** Attorney Generals approved and designed contract. This is the one of the only contracts fully recognized in the **************. 

  I am upset that this customer is upset. I am still very willing to build their new home. But, without that pre-approval/commitment letter from their chosen banking institution, we simply can't move ahead until that happens.

  
  Thank you for your time and understanding.

   

  ***************************

  President, Broughman Builders Inc. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  On January 17, 2023, we signed a contract with Broughman Builders for a modular built of a home. A deposit for $2500 was posted to our account on January 24, 2023. 
  
  Since January until now, we have not received any blue prints or final drawings of our requested changes. We were not given even a floorplan of all dimensions to the house despite our multiple requests until February 3rd, we received a floor layout and description of items included but lacks details. The first floor mud room and bathroom dimensions are incomplete. (Attached file titled floor layout) These are the two rooms we were discussing to change but without measurements, we were making decisions in a vacuum. From the time of contract up to this point, Broughman cannot claim that theyve put any investment or time into the project as there was no results of any changes or drawings provided. The attached drawing is the original drawing of the house. Our changes were not reflected. 
  
  Concerns we had were regarding the duct work and furnace aswell. There were no drawings or blueprint provided on this. (Please see sample discussion regarding this issue - email attached titled "Jan 27") 
  
   We submitted all paperwork including a preapproval at that time on January 24. ***** confirmed that she received the documents and asked for a pre-approval of a construction loan AND added that she will continue to work with ** and make adjustments to our plans in preparation for our deadlines. (Please see email dated January 24, 2023 @ 3:39pm). please see all her correspondences as well as mine explaining why we cannot get a construction loan until May/June timeframe. 
  
  On February 7, we changed the model of the home. Since then, there has been zero progress or any documentation given to **, including the request for an updated change to the contract to reflect the current model we are looking to build. 
  
  Id like to bring your attention to the email on February 13 at 4:04 in which I summarize the current situation and the dispute between what **** claimed and what is actually happening. We have lost faith and confidence in this company because simple requests such as the change/update in the contract to reflect our current model to be purchased was not honored. 
  
  Heres a summary of events:
  Jan 17 - contract was signed
  Jan 24 - $2500 was taken from our account 
  Feb 3 - floor layout was received without our requested changes and lacked details
  Feb 7 - changed model due to Pennwest telling ** they are unable to make the requested changes.
  
  Since February 7, we have not received any new plans or updates to our contract. Broughman owe ** $2500 because they have not produced a single plan for our house and they refused to update our contract to reflect the current model we are looking to build. They have not come out to complete a site survey to even determine feasibility to build. No work was completed by Broughman and weve lost faith and confidence that they are able to handle the work. We are requesting that the deposit gets refunded to ** as they are unwilling to take the necessary steps needed to build our house.
  
  Thank you for your assistance to this matter.
  
  
  Best regards,
  *************************** 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/17/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I am contacting you on behalf of my mother in law, *********************. I am *********************. My 84 year old MIL started purchasing a doublewide home from Broughman Builders at their Belfast location in summer 2021. The house was supposed to be finished and delivered in May of 2022. It was delayed many times but eventually was promised that it would arrive the third week of September. It didn't arrive. The contact at Broughman Builders, ***************, claimed that they had no idea where it was but it was enroute. ***** had to be out of her previous house in ******** by the end of October. She had the moving company pack and ship her belongings. They were scheduled to be delivered on Oct 28 but the house never got here. Mind you, ***** paid cash for this house. She' has been staying with ** since October and has been paying to have her belongings stored. The house finally showed up a week before Christmas. It has taken since last Friday for them to finish setting it up. They are already in breach of their contract. ***** made it very clear from the begging that she wanted black appliances and it was in the contract. It arrived with a black and stainless range, stainless refrigerator, and stainless dishwasher. They have made no effort to correct that, offering her a **** credit at closing. **** dollars will not buy the desired appliances and now they expect us to try and sell them. We have had so many problems we were looking forward to being done with these people. Now they are refusing to clean it after their contractors repaired sheet rock and painting. The house is a mess and I now have to hire a cleaning contractor. They have been a horrible company to work with

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/19/2023

  We are responding to this complaint as follows. First, we have no contract with this person, *********************. He is not on the contract nor was he named as a person to represent *************** 

  All of the items listed above are of no fault of Broughman Builders directly. Unfortunately, delays are listed in our contract, and especially with the ***** pandemic over the last three years, we have had material shortages, labor shortages, and in this case, such as the appliances, the manufacturer, Atlantic Homes (Champion) was not able to buy the appliances that were originally specified. After many conversations with the factory, ******** agreed to give the client $1500 (see attached change order) and she can keep the existing appliances. Atlantic Homes felt this was more than fair. All we did was provide the home. The client was the general contractor. As the general contractor, having other subcontractors they are in charge of also worked on the home (pluming, electrical, etc). As the general contractor, it is not our responsibllity to clean up after each trade as we would normally do. Again, the client chose to be their own general contractor and as such are responsible for cleaning as well as any other items not spelled out in our contract. No where in our contract do we clean up after other trades not employed by us, nor it is required by the State. We have a 21-page *********** Attorney General's designed and approved contract. The client has had this contract signed and in-hand since the beginning and apparently does not reference anything they agreed to. 

  I attached the signed line item stating the items that the client would be responsible for. 

  Thank you for your consideration. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/14/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We entered into a building contract with Broughman Builders on 7/30/2021 to build a modular home on a TBD piece of land, we put $5000. down at that time for a lot Model Mifflin modular since it was available and we were told it would take less time to complete the building process with a lot model. We purchased the land for cash in August of 2021 on **************** in ********* (Lot number 15). In the meantime, we had sold our house in ******** in order to afford the move and the purchase of the land and house in *********. We secured financing for $325,000 to pay for the build and we were told that the process for building the house would be done through an End Loan instead of a construction loan. We signed the contract assignment on September 24th, ******************************************* the next month and that we must complete a site visit with the project manager. **** visited and completed the site visit in October 2021 as we were not living in ***** yet, as we couldnt find housing and were living with our son in ********. After the lot visit we were told that the house would start and it should still complete by December so our ******************************* at Fairway) worked with Broughman and they gave us a closing date of December 15, 2021. In the meantime, we were told by *********************** our salesperson that since appliances were in such short supply that we should purchase our appliances, as we couldnt get certificate of occupancy without them. We purchased them and have had them in storage since November 2021. We finally moved to ***** in late 2021 and saw that there was no progress. No work was started in 2021 except to clear some trees and dig a hole, we received no updates except for when we called to ask for updates and most of the updates turned out not to be true. We were told that concrete would be poured in November and the house would be on the foundation by February for a closing sometime in April. (remaining complaint attached)

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/15/2022

  Unfortunately, with all Covid-related things over the past two years, everything has been very difficult to purchase and provide. Especially labor. When we rely on subcontractors to supply materials and labor, and in many cases materials are not available, they certainly have less laborors than ever, and the workload has increased significantly. We explain this to our clients time and again, inform them of the troubles we are having, and that we have absolutely no control over these items. We can't help it if appliances are not available, or even a loaf of bread at the store. There are some things that are simply out of our control. Obviously, if you live in the same world that we do, you understand the price increases, and now of course, with the inflation issue, we are looking at a recessionary period. Some clients understand, some say they understand but still complain constantly, and others think that we have a personal vendetta against them -- which couldn't be further from the truth. We have started this project, and we have a significant amount money into the project thus far. Where we can let them exit the contract and release the lien, there will be costs associated with the physical work and materials we can done thus far, and we can only hope that this client understands. Although, in this case, probably not. Thank you for sending us this complaint. Please let us know if there are any other questions we can help with. 

   

  Currently we have paid $47,151.00 for groundwork. Also waiting for a price back on the concrete footings that were installed. There was a septic design drawn $550.There are management fees from Broughman Builders for $1500. Plus commission paid to salespeople in the amount $652.11. These total $49,853.11 without the footings. We are waiting on the pricing for that today. To date, we have received $40,292.25 from the clients. Again, we are happy to have them exit the contract, but not until we have been paid in full for the items completed to date, as stated in Addendum #** in the contract, signed by both parties. Once we have the price of the footings, we will send the client the total amount due to Broughman Builders.

   

  The other option is for the client to be patient and have their home finished as per the contract. 

   

  Respectfully submitted, **** & ***** Wight 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/15/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:

  I will continue to wait, I just would like to receive updates on a regular basis.  We have been more than patient during this process and no one has bothered to keep us updated as I stated in my letter I only ever received updates when I called and the dates have never been right (we even paid for an extended rate lock and that has run out so we are out that money too).  We have been trying our best to get on with our lives but it is really hard without a house for over a year, it feels like our dream has been stolen from us and when we try to voice our concerns we are bullied.  I regret our decision to build with Broughman but it feels that we are stuck.  
  
  I don't think that the land clearing and footers are over $40,000 but I guess that's something else that I will be taken advantage of on as well.  Everything about this situation ***** especially when I see stick built houses everywhere else being built and finished in less than a year with no issue.  
  
  Regards,
  
  *******************