Complaint Review: Van Pelt Custom Homes

I made two mistakes in my new home construction from Van Pelt Custom Homes. The first mistake was mine in that my deposit check bounced but to my I received an Ultimatum from Shannon Van Pelt when she said, If we don't have your check by Monday we won't be building your house. Being the first check that I ever bounced in my life I complied but in hind sight I made the second mistake with Van Pelt Custom Homes by getting a Cashier's Check to them by Monday and continuing with the contract. I would like to tell you my story of a money hungry anti-customer service organization lead by Shannon Van Pelt. She in effect says, F--- Ywhen you ask questions and if Shannon Van Pelt is calling you regarding the construction process it means one of two things; you will have to jump through hoops to make her happy or that she needs money immediately.

When I was inspecting a model home near their office with Willard Van Pelt the owner of the operation I made a comment about cost, meaning I would like to negotiate on price and he had a quick reply of, Everybody wants to get paid Bill. When you are purchasing the MOST expensive item that a person can purchase there is always room for negotiation and the bottom line is the customer is always right. Well Willard I have a favorite phrase too and it's My favorite color is green in my wallet.

The price when negotiated is not the price advertised and that should be made clear. Everything that is needed for the house comes with an extra price. All of the allowances for appliances, flooring, and electrical fixtures are for the bare bones basics. If you save any money on any of the allowances they will only demand that you spend the excess money on the remaining allowances. This is per the words of Susan, Willard Van Pelt's sister-in-law, We don't write checks to the customer, you have to spend the remaining money. But when Shannon Van Pelt thinks that you are trying to get the house that you really want she will try her hardest to discourage and offer you a check for $50 dollars to make you happy with something that she wants.

The construction process started off bad in that the foundation, which I inspected after the framing was complete was not to spec and had to be modified to mount the framing to the foundation. When 20% of the lag bolts in the concrete do not line up with the framing and the framer cuts them off and butchers the wood to try and make them fit and then some one else drills holes into the concrete to epoxy new bolts in the correct position cracking the foundation in several places that is obviously inexcusable.

Also while inspecting the house prior to the drywall being installed I got to see the electrical and plumbing for the house. This is the third new house that I am in the process of building and never have I seen such CHEAP plumbing. Rather than use copper piping the subcontractor used blue and red vinyl tubing for the plumbing. For the price that I am paying for this house it would be reasonable to use a reasonable material. But for the money hungry Shannon Van Pelt who could care less about the customer what's in her pocket is all that matters and to hell with the customer.

When I made my last trip out to Kingman to pick out my tile flooring I went to several contractors in the area. I reluctantly used their subcontractor knowing that there would be problems or at least high prices. But to my surprise I found something that I liked and for a very good price as well. But then the problems began and Shannon Van Pelt was the focal point of it all. The subcontractor waited until two weeks before the scheduled installation to order the material and there would be a one month delivery delay. Now with a problem Shannon Van Pelt called me and left a message I need to speak with you regarding your tile flooring immediately. I tried calling four times over two days and there was no answer. When I finally did get through Shannon Van Pelt was once again the bringer of bad news and demanded That you go to Celestial Tile and pick out something else. She further went on to tell me that the tile is back ordered to September 1. I told her NO and that I would wait. To this I heard a gasp in her voice as how dare you tell me NO. I'll fill you in when I signed my contract for this house Willard Van Pelt stated the house would be complete in six months from the signing. With a September 1 delivery of the flooring that will leave 7 weeks to the original completion date. What's the big hurry I would rather get the house completed in a reasonable fashion than in a hurried mistake filled state.

Then Shannon Van Pelt made her next demand on a Thursday, If you don't get Willard a Cashier's Check by Monday at 11:00am the kitchen cabinets would not go in. That's when I demanded to speak to Willard as this working arrangement would not work any longer. Willard explained to me that his daughter was young and that she didn't know how to work with people yet. I would just like to say with Willard's multimillion dollar per year business he better get people who can work with people. Willard assured me that he understood all of my concerns and that he agreed with me on all counts and that things would get better in the near future.

Then the next news of a price increase came when I picked out an upgraded kitchen sink and faucet. Shannon Van Pelt quoted the plumbing subcontractors prices of $520 and $320 respectively. I immediately went to my local Home Depot and bought upgraded plumbing fixtures for the entire house and shipped them to Van Pelt for a total of $440. This is just one example of their over priced subcontractors. I further asked in writing for a quote on the standard prices of these fixtures for the house and Shannon Van Pelt never got back to me so I then went back to Home Depot and took photos of the same brand of fixtures and used these prices to come up with a debit against my final payment.

I made a simple request for a turn shut off valve on the dryer gas hook up in the garage. Shannon Van Pelt said she was looking in to it. But as usual after two and a half weeks there is no response and no customer service. The plumber is most likely long gone from the job site and will not be willing to make the effort. This is just a single example of how little the Shannon Van Pelt cares about making their customers happy with a simple $10.00 request.

To summarize my experience with Van Pelt Custom Homes: I never should have entered this contract as they are very unprofessional as exampled by the actions of Shannon Van Pelt, although they seem to be a reputable home builder in fact you don't get what your paying for, their quality is beyond reproach.

William
Goleta, California
U.S.A.