Comments:
-PMV was accommodating right up until closing date but not after he had our money.
-PMV is non-responsive to phone calls and/or emails.
-PMV is dishonest.
-Items in the purchase agreement are still not completed.
-PMV was verbally abusive on several occasions (even in front of a home warranty representative).
-All hardwood had to be refinished shortly after moving in as cheap product was installed. If possible, find out what materials he intends to use and write them into the purchase agreement so he cannot substitute (as others have noted, he'll do anything to save a penny).
-If you buy from him make sure everything is in writing within the contract (even this is not a sure thing). You cannot afford to make an assumption of 'good faith' in this particular case.
-Make sure to note every defect on the pre-delivery (big or small). He may try to convince you to write general statements about drywall and paint defects. Don't fall into this trap. Write down each and every individual item. Your best chance at recourse is for those items on the pre-delivery inspection so take it seriously.
-Before going with PMV I encourage you to ask around the town of Kemptville. Speak with trades in the area and those that have built with him. You'll hear common themes that you need to be concerned about.
Update 2009:
-Since the builder refused to complete the work on the 30 day list as instructed by home warranty, home warranty has paid me out for the incomplete work.
-At the 1 year mark I submitted my defect list and work still continues.
-During a recent wind storm we lost several shingles off the house. As a result, I noticed that they did not put any paper under the shingles. This made the shingle loss an immediate emergency because there was nothing protecting the house from water damage. The builder told me to call my insurance. The contactor that came (at my expense) to repair the roof couldn't believe there was no paper. Apparently, this voids the warranty provided by the shingle manufacturer.
-The bottom line is that PMV labels them self a “custom builder”. With this title you expect a certain level of quality and a higher standard. They should be called “anything to save a buck” builder.
Here are some examples of how they do NOT meet that higher standard:
-they install the absolute cheapest fixtures (lights, door handles, faucets, toilets, showers, sinks).
-Instead of installing a light on either side of the patio door, they only installed one (with a $5 fixture)
-Our front stair case looks like it was build by a kindergarten student at arts and crafts time (it has already cracked up the side and creeks like crazy). It is the first thing you see when entering the house and it is completely embarrassing.
-They didn't back fill the house under the porch leaving huge pools of water in the spring. They covered the underside of the porch with gabbling that was not removable. I had to remove each piece of wood one by one in order to back fill under the entire porch area (all at my expense).
-No tar paper on the roof
-No eavestroughing on the second level
-They installed the cheapest hardwood floor money can buy (it has already had to be sanded and re-coated and still splinters). They will use the excuse of weather for every problem you have. They told me the floors cracked because of too much humidity AND not enough humidity. All the while we had reported the problem on our pre-delivery inspection. It is just more evidence supporting how they do NOT stand behind their work. They’ll do their best to blame you for every problem in an attempt not to fix it.
-In the MLS listing they showed a picture of the house with decorative porch posts. Instead, he installed the plain 6x6 posts (with huge cracks in all of them).
-The drywall job on the ceilings is absolutely terrible. You can see every single join in almost the entire house. Home warranty comes in during day light hours and tells you they can’t see the problem. As soon as anything but natural light hits the ceiling it exposes the complete crap job that was done. The builder has absolutely refused to do anything about it.
-Shortly after moving in we had a leaky pipe on the second floor that was dripping into our kitchen. It took him over a week to come and look at the problem. There was no sense of urgency at all and definitely no apology. I’m surprised he didn’t blame the leak on us for having showers!
The saga continues. Stay tuned…
