Customer ReviewsforC.K. Landmark

On 11/16/22, we purchased a home from builder Andrew ********* (AD), owner of 513 North Shore, LLC and CK Landmark Construction. We signed a P/S agreement on 9/30/21, with completion of the home set on or before 6/15/22. During construction, AD installed the wrong color roof shingles and floor tiles. We accepted the wrong color roof shingles, and AD reinstalled the correct floor tiles. No apology was offered in either case. Construction was completed five months late because AD accepted more work (construction of other homes) delaying our completion date. As a result of careless and haphazard construction by AD due to time constraints, at closing we identified numerous punch list items for him to fix. We identified two defective door frames, a detached interior railing, no exterior shutters, and a structural defect on backstairs railings from the porch among other issues. Almost all issues required multiple requests over a long period time to oblige AD to do the work. As of August 2023, (nine months since closing), the shutters, both defective door and faulty backstairs railings are not fixed. The defective railings violently flex and shake dangerously because there is one post at the top of the stairs and one post at the bottom of the stairs with a 14 ft. span between the bottom and top posts. “U.S. building code requires posts no farther apart than 5.5 feet on stairs. [The builder] should measure the distance between the posts at the head and foot of the stairs then evenly space the posts, making sure they are no farther than the building code standard of 5.5 feet apart.” AD refuses to fix the railing claiming in a text message that “You do realize that the 6 ft span for posts on decks has only recently been adopted in most nh towns. [Your town] doesn’t even recognize building codes period.” This is contrary to standard building and business practices performed in NH. We do not recommend AD as a builder for these reasons and others.

Good Afternoon, We are sorry the customer is unhappy with their quality built product. The few items mentioned at closing were the seed 20 feet around, paint the trim around the door and a valve problem with the shower. All three of these addressed. And when we were on site fixing these theee issues, we fixed other items that came about after they moved in. The only item that remains is mentioned in this complaint that is yet to be resolved is the drilling of the dead bolt in the door frame. The door is not defective. The placement of the dead bolt striker plate is in the wrong spot. The supply chain issues that were experienced during the build were real and items were delayed and back ordered. The buyer signed an addendum To the purchase and sales that stated they are aware of supply chain issues and agreed to automatic extensions of 30 days at a time until the completion of the custom build. We offered several times to release the buyer from the contract and refund their deposit several times during the building process, the buyer continued to move forward. The vendor sent a shingle that was a comparable match and they were installed. The color was slightly different and the customer approved the shingle color. We did apologize for the slight color variation. The bathroom tile was immediately caught and the tile was ripped up and the correct tile was put down. We did apologize for the vendor mistake. Shutters will be installed the week of August 7, 2023 and the customer was made aware of this on August 5, 2023. Customer did not respond to text sent. The client house passed all inspections that were required, and adopted at the time. The exterior railings were built with the best quality lumber and we are in the process of gathering the code for exterior railings at this time. If the code for exterior stairs references a span limit for posts, we will address. However. We have built stairs in several towns and cities across the State of NH and the exterior stairs have passed building codes and built the same way as these exterior stairs. The only reason this has been brought to our attention is because of another contractor they hired to do some other work mentioned he would build them differently, which does not necessarily mean they are wrong. We became aware of one door frame ( striker plate placement in wrong spot for dead bolt) and brought that to the attention of the manufacture and that item is in the process of being resolved. We are not aware of TWO doorframes, just one, as evidence will show through texts. The door frame is not defective. It’s placement of a sticker plate for the deadbolt. This is the first time that we have been made aware of an interior stair railing becoming detached, never once being mentioned in the several texts that have been sent to the us by this customers wife. In addition, the wife tried to use her husbands former government position to intimate our company into fixing the minor punch list items. As a business, we are allowed to build More than one house at a time, and take on other contracts as we see fit. The customer was aware of other houses being built since they visited and reviewed our quality of construction at another house we were in the process of building. Other houses under construction was not the reason for the delays. As a matter of fact, we were hired by this customers buyers agent to build their home at the same time we were building this customers home. In closing, we were very apologetic to their delays and offered to release them several times. They continued with their custom build. Thank you and we hope this explains our side of the process

On August 7, 2023, the builder submitted a response to our review with wholly inaccurate claims. It was unfortunate that we fairly and reasonably tried to resolve issues with the builder. We waited NINE months after the closing before we posted this review to afford the builder every opportunity to correct the problems. This was far too generous considering our previous 14 months experience with the builder. Instead, the builder became more adversarial each subsequent month since the closing in November 2022, frustratedly “slow rolled” correcting every issue, and then made wholly inaccurate claims in his response. The builder made the claim we signed an addendum to the purchase and sales contract agreeing to “automatic extensions of 30 days at a time.” This statement was false. We never agreed to, nor did we sign, any addenda agreeing to “automatic extensions.” Approximately seven subsequent addenda were signed as separate transactions each time the builder was not able to meet the new completion date. The builder made the claim that he “offered several times during the building process” to release us from the contract and refund our deposit. This statement was false. The builder did, in fact, initially agree to release us from the contract and return our deposit on one occasion. This happened four months after the initial closing date in June, when the builder’s realtor informed us the recently drilled well only produced a half of a gallon per minute of water but could be fracked at our expense for $3,500 if we chose to do so. Our contract stated “Private well, industry standard. Potable water.” Because of four months of delays, thousands of dollars of mounting costs to include storage fees of our home goods, and no foreseeable completion date of our home, we asked to be released from the contract. The builder’s realtor then retracted the offer and noted in her e-mail the builder would “consult his legal advisers” if the “buyers decide to default on the contract.” The builder was not “very apologetic” about the delays nor did he offer to release us from the contract “several times.” The builder made the claim that “the vendor sent a [roof] shingle that was a comparable match and they were installed. The color was slightly different and the customer approved the shingle color. We did apologize for the slight color variation.” All aspects of this statement are false. The roof shingles were not a comparable match. We ordered single-color gray shingles. The builder installed a tri-color shingle of red, blue, and gray which does not constitute a “slight color variation.” We discovered the error when we visited the site in September 2022 and saw the wrong shingles were installed. The builder’s statement “the vendor sent a shingle that was a comparable match” and the “customer approved the shingle color” was false because we never approved the new shingles. The builder unilaterally made the decision to install them. Again, to prevent further delays, we did not ask to have the shingles removed, and to claim we approved this change before installation was false. On September 13, 2022, we brought the issue to the attention of the builder’s realtor noting “as you can see from the photos, they’re significantly different from what we chose.” The builder’s realtor responded that “It appears that when the builder placed the order, the brand and color that were selected were out of stock, so he was given the closest option by the supplier.” There was no further explanation, no apology from the builder, nor a reason for not consulting us before the builder installed the wrong shingles. The builder is correct that the bathroom tiles were replaced but there was no apology. The builder stated that “shutters will be installed the week of August 7, 2023, and the customer was made aware of this on August 5, 2023.” The shutters were, in fact, installed the week of August 7, 2023. To provide context, on December 13, 2022, the builder sent a text message stating “the shutters are in just trying to figure out when we can get out there.” On January 10, 2023, the builder sent a text that he too busy and then on vacation on February 7, 2023, but would send his employee to install the shutters. The shutters were not installed. On May 30, 2023, the builder asked from what company we chose our shutter color. We provided the company’s name but reminded him that he already had the shutters according to his messages. The builder responded, “Whatever… [the company doesn’t offer them] so when I put the order….” However, the shutters are now installed pursuant to nine months of frustrating unresponsive exchanges with the builder. The builder made the claim that “the wife tried to use her husbands (sic) former government position to intimate (sic) our company into fixing the minor punch list items.” This statement was false. By June 2023, we attempted to set several deadlines for the builder to address the issues such as the installation of the shutters. On May 25, he told us he would be able to complete the jobs “in the next couple of weeks,” which would be around June 9. When the jobs were not completed in the two weeks, only then did we advise him via text that we would pursue legal action through the N.H. Consumer Protection Bureau and an attorney. Additionally, we stated “Before doing so, we’d like to afford you one more opportunity to complete the items… by June 16, 2023.” Providing the builder with fair notice of potential legal action does not constitute intimidation and for the builder to claim as much was false and offensive. The builder went to great lengths to describe the issues with two doors with specificity but failed to explain the real issues. At the closing walk through in November 2022, the builder showed us that the door into the garage had striker plate placement in wrong spot for dead bolt. The builder stated that instead of drilling a new hole for the deadbolt he would replace the frame to correct the problem. On December 13, he texted us saying that “I have frame for door.” The issue with that door remains unresolved. In the winter, we contacted the builder via text and through his employee that the fire door to the garage appeared warped and created a very bad draft. A temperature reading at the door was 39 degrees. We placed jackets and towels around the door to block the draft during the winter. He was made aware of this in February and did not address it until June. The issue with this door has still not been resolved as well. The builder has known about the solution to the problem for over two months and has not yet corrected it. The builder stated that our review was the first time he was made aware of the interior stair railing when, in fact, he texted us on November 30 about sending an employee to fix the railing. The builder stated the only reason the exterior stair railing has been brought to his attention was because we advised him of another contractor’s opinion about the structural integrity of the stair railing. In fact, the problem with the exterior stairs was included in the initial punch list items we sent our realtor in November after closing. There were other significant issues unrelated to the builder’s response not addressed here. However, we wanted to provide a rebuttal to the builder’s response and offer potential customers additional information before making a business decision.