Complaint Review: Cornerstone Custom Builders - Eagle River Wisconsin

http://cornerstonecustombuildersbuiltourhouseofhorrors.com/

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We made a major mistake in that we trusted Cornerstone and did not have an attorney look at the contract before signing. We also did not know anything about the pitfalls of binding arbitration or the reputation of Construction Arbitration Services (CAS). I did not get involved until after we moved in and I started discovering many problems. This is when I took over.

We hired an attorney, Mike Stingl but soon after I realized that he wasn't really helping us, and seemed to be doing more to help the builder. Every time I told him to file the papers with CAS, he came up with some excuse to delay it. We finally fired him and found a new attorney.

While in the process of preparing our case and redoing everything that the first attorney did wrong, or didn't do at all, Cornerstone filed a claim with CAS on Aug. 21, 2008. They then filed a lien against my mom in Vilas County. We filed a counter claim with CAS on Sept. 22, 2008.

It took 10 months and a lot of work on both Cornerstones part, and ours to even get an arbitrator, let alone a date for the arbitration. Some of the problems included CAS having the wrong address, not getting the town name right, not responding to letters, sending out a new list of arbitrators to pick from despite the fact that we both had already done this, etc.

We finally got an arbitrator and a date, June 26, 2009. From back in 2006 we have always tried to cooperate and work with Cornerstone to resolve the problems. With both attorneys we gave Cornerstone anything they asked for. When our attorney requested information that was vital to our case, the arbitrator denied our request. Some of the items we requested would have been given to us if the closing had gone as it should have.

Both attorneys felt that the arbitration could be completed in one day. What they didn't know was that the day would start at 11:00am. Therefore we didn't have enough time to fully present our case since the arbitrator was in a hurry to get back home, a three hour drive.

Cornerstone showed up with four of their employees, along with 8 sub contractors. They all had a prepared story to explain the problems. I feel that we were as well prepared as possible, but since we did not know these people would be here, we were not fully prepared for the lies they told.

We started by going through the list of items in our claim. I could tell right away that the arbitrator was siding with Cornerstone and was thinking of just having them do the repairs. This is the one thing we did not want, letting them come back into our home. In fact, our whole claim was based on the fact that it was taking them so long to do even minor repairs. For example, it took the 7 months to install a doorstop to prevent the door handle from swinging into a glass window and possibly breaking it. It took the three tries to even get this done properly.

Sometime during the day the arbitrator seemed to be switching sides. He started agreeing with us about poor workmanship and even started pointing out things that were not part of our claim. I started to feel more confident about our chances.

At one point Cornerstones attorney, Bill Anderson, brought up some complaints I had posted on the internet regarding the problems, and even mentioned some things that had absolutely nothing to do with them. Also, Cornerstone's owner, Glenn Schiffmann made some unbelievable acusations. I asked the arbitrator if I could respond to these lies and accusations, but he denied my request. This continued through out the day. In other words, Cornerstone and their people were allowed to say whatever they wanted, and we were not allowed to offer a rebuttal or proof that they were lying.

After three or four hours the arbitrator was ready to leave. Our attorney had to fight to get him to stay and hear our entire case. Finally we went inside and sat at the table to present the rest of our claim.

Note: We had a court reporter and everyone that testified was sworn in.

During our testimony, Anderson interupted us about 5 times making statements about how long we were taking. The arbitrator did nothing. I believe this affected my testimony since I felt pressured to rush through it. Keep in mind that at this time we all truly believed that the arbitrator was on our side.

Whenever an issue came up in which I could prove that Cornerstone was lying, I offered proof, but the arbitrator refused. For example, Cornerstone continualy stated that they were always willing and ready to correct the problems and that it was my fault for not allowing them in the house. I had a letter from them stating they would only correct the building code violations and nothing else. I allowed them to come in and correct the violations. The arbitrator refused to look at this proof.

After 6 hours the day ended and Cornerstones people and the arbitrator left. About 10 minutes after everyone left, I went outside and saw Cornerstones people still talking to the arbitrator. A violation of CAS's rules about further communication after the end of the hearing.

About a week later we recieved a letter from the arbitrator asking for more information about two items in our claim. We sent him this information, and only addressed these two items. Cornerstone sent a four page letter in which they brought up new issues, made untrue accusations, offered further evidence about items, and two sentences that addressed the arbitrators question. Again, we were not allowed to respond to these new allegations and statements. This is also another violation of CAS's rules.

We recieved the arbitrators decision on July 27th. Here are some of the issues we have with this decision. Cornerstone was demanding $61,041.17 and were awarded $57,908.84.

Our claim was for approximately $125,000 and we were given $27,970.48. This amount was to install the correct furnace as listed in our contract and to install a thermal break which will correct a building code violation.

We were given 60 days to pay them, whereas the builder had absolutely no timeframe.

The arbitrator also ordered the builder to correct certain items, (all items listed under roof and millworking, install the correct kitchen counter top, and some other small items) despite our pleas to not allow them to do any work.

The builder made his own demands and stated that they would not do any work until their demands were met. They also stated that they will only correct 3 minor items out of the 12 listed under "millworking".

We complied with the arbitrators decision and waited for Cornerstone to respond.

They finally came out and corrected some of the items in the arbitrators decision. That was 6 months ago. The work was once again done poorly.

I have been fighting with our attorney to do something. He keps claiming he's working on it. I have been looking for another attorney but it is almost imposible to find someone to take the case.

If my attorney ever get's going, our plan is to take CAS to court and order them to rule on all the items they left out of our claim. This is what our attorney wants. I want to have the whole decision thrown out and I believe we have a good chance.

The arbitrator blamed us for many of the problems. For example, he claimed that the can lights that are not centered is because we didn't say anythting to the builder during construction. On another issue he claims it's our fault for not picking out the proper carpet pad. We have in floor heat (which doesn't work right) and we knew that a certain type of pad is supposed to be used. We left it up to the builder and the carpet installers to make sure the proper pad was installed. It wasn't.

We are at a loss as to what to do. Plus it is costing my mom around $300 a month more in utility bills because there is either no insulation, or not enough.

Yesterday I heard that the owner of Cornerstone is bragging and claiming he kicked our a... at the arbitration. He must be so proud of what he's done to a 77 year old woman, my mom.

There is a lot more.



Here are some of the people at Cornerstone that are responsible for ruining my mom's dreams of retiring to her new home in St. Germain.

Darren Rubo

Dave Cox

Joe Powers

Glenn "Shifty" Schiffmann

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*Here are their sub contractors*

Northern Glass

Superior Electric

Stops Refrigeration

Carpet City

Daigle Concrete

Too many times, things can be said about a company in a forum such as this that can cause significant damage to the reputation of said company, when all it was is a single bad experience.

We had our home built by this company and found the work to be extraordinary, the relationship with ourproject manager was so comfortable that we keep in contact after the completion of the project.

There was a very short punch list (you cannot build a home and there is NO punchlist), and all items addressed and corrected immediately. The quality of construction is beyond our expectations. This company built the house of our dreams at a very fair price.

Without hesitation, I would recommend them to anyone.

...and the house is still not done. My mom has only spent around 4 months in her "dream home". Why? Because all the good memories she and myself had of enjoying time in our old home with family and friends have been replaced with tears and anger. We had the arbitration with Construction Arbitration Services on June 26th. As of Oct. 6, Cornerstone still has not honored the arbitraitor's decision. They were the ones that hired CAS. They claimed that they have always been willing to complete the repairs. LOL You be the judge.

I'm glad you are happy. Let me ask you a question. Have you hired a home inspector that also looks for UDC violations to inspect your home? If not. I highly recomend it. Only then will I believe you. I can't suggest anyone because I don't want to influence your decision. I will however warn you to not hire Timmy Reeder, owner of Horizon Associates and Building Performance Solutions. He worked for Cornerstone and is still friends with them. I'd be willing to take a look. I am not a licensed inspector, but I have learned a few things over the years. I would look at it strictly as a friend. I also would like to invite anyone thats interested to contact me and arrange a visit to our home.

I apologize to other readers for not responding to these comments earlier. I'm offended that this "Daniel" person would think I was trying to "deceive" in some way the other readers of these reports. I have two young toddlers to raise and had many health concerns over the past months that have kept me busy and exhausted. Honestly - I had forgotten about posting again, until I found an old "to do" list. As for our home, my husband and I are still very pleased with our home in Three Lakes. We moved in on-schedule and we are completely in LOVE with our home. It has made my life and and my husband's as worry free as possible, which has been so wonderful given my health situation. Even since we have moved in, Cornerstone has continued to fix minor issues (e.g. door adjustments) within a day or even hours of my call. We have had NO major issues. I'm eternally grateful to them and we will build with them again in a heartbeat. For the other readers - you will have to take my word and trust that we are who we say we are. We are exceedingly pleased customers of Cornerstone!

First, since Cornerstone has hinted at taking legal action against me, I want them to know that everything posted on the internet was done by me, Dan Schuler. Since this is my mom's home, in some cases I posted under her name, with her consent, to avoid confusion. In some instances after entering info. about the home, it automatically listed my moms name. I now have power of attorney. Second, I forgot that Mike Stingl, my former attorney, told me to post a retraction to my original complaint. Thanks to the wonderful people at Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD) I now know that I have every right to post complaints. It's in the constitution. It's called Freedom of Speach. Please check out their web site by doing a search through Google. Third and final item. To the person that posted here claiming how happy they were with Cornerstone. I've asked a few times how everything turned out but you never replied. This leads me to believe one of two things. 1. You were lying and their was no home being built. You were probablly an employee or friend of Cornerstone or one of their sub contractors. 2. If you were telling the truth, I'm wondering why you haven't replied. I'm guessing that you are not happy with the home and are emabarrassed to admit you were wrong. If this is the case, please try to at least contact me somehow. I know that this site removes contact info. but their may be some way for us to to get together. Their is help available. Do something before your warranty runs out.

First, since Cornerstone has hinted at taking legal action against me, I want them to know that everything posted on the internet was done by me, Dan Schuler. Since this is my mom's home, in some cases I posted under her name, with her consent, to avoid confusion. In some instances after entering info. about the home, it automatically listed my moms name. I now have power of attorney. Second, I forgot that Mike Stingl, my former attorney, told me to post a retraction to my original complaint. Thanks to the wonderful people at Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD) I now know that I have every right to post complaints. It's in the constitution. It's called Freedom of Speach. Please check out their web site by doing a search through Google. Third and final item. To the person that posted here claiming how happy they were with Cornerstone. I've asked a few times how everything turned out but you never replied. This leads me to believe one of two things. 1. You were lying and their was no home being built. You were probablly an employee or friend of Cornerstone or one of their sub contractors. 2. If you were telling the truth, I'm wondering why you haven't replied. I'm guessing that you are not happy with the home and are emabarrassed to admit you were wrong. If this is the case, please try to at least contact me somehow. I know that this site removes contact info. but their may be some way for us to to get together. Their is help available. Do something before your warranty runs out.

First, since Cornerstone has hinted at taking legal action against me, I want them to know that everything posted on the internet was done by me, Dan Schuler. Since this is my mom's home, in some cases I posted under her name, with her consent, to avoid confusion. In some instances after entering info. about the home, it automatically listed my moms name. I now have power of attorney. Second, I forgot that Mike Stingl, my former attorney, told me to post a retraction to my original complaint. Thanks to the wonderful people at Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD) I now know that I have every right to post complaints. It's in the constitution. It's called Freedom of Speach. Please check out their web site by doing a search through Google. Third and final item. To the person that posted here claiming how happy they were with Cornerstone. I've asked a few times how everything turned out but you never replied. This leads me to believe one of two things. 1. You were lying and their was no home being built. You were probablly an employee or friend of Cornerstone or one of their sub contractors. 2. If you were telling the truth, I'm wondering why you haven't replied. I'm guessing that you are not happy with the home and are emabarrassed to admit you were wrong. If this is the case, please try to at least contact me somehow. I know that this site removes contact info. but their may be some way for us to to get together. Their is help available. Do something before your warranty runs out.

First, since Cornerstone has hinted at taking legal action against me, I want them to know that everything posted on the internet was done by me, Dan Schuler. Since this is my mom's home, in some cases I posted under her name, with her consent, to avoid confusion. In some instances after entering info. about the home, it automatically listed my moms name. I now have power of attorney. Second, I forgot that Mike Stingl, my former attorney, told me to post a retraction to my original complaint. Thanks to the wonderful people at Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings (HADD) I now know that I have every right to post complaints. It's in the constitution. It's called Freedom of Speach. Please check out their web site by doing a search through Google. Third and final item. To the person that posted here claiming how happy they were with Cornerstone. I've asked a few times how everything turned out but you never replied. This leads me to believe one of two things. 1. You were lying and their was no home being built. You were probablly an employee or friend of Cornerstone or one of their sub contractors. 2. If you were telling the truth, I'm wondering why you haven't replied. I'm guessing that you are not happy with the home and are emabarrassed to admit you were wrong. If this is the case, please try to at least contact me somehow. I know that this site removes contact info. but their may be some way for us to to get together. Their is help available. Do something before your warranty runs out.

Well here it is, Sept. 23, 2008 and nothings been done. I hired a home inspector and he found over 100 workmanship problems along with over 30 UDC(Uniform Dwelling Code) violations, and I found even more. These are also known as building codes. These codes are the minimum requirement. Oh, they did come and fix some of the building code violations. They chose which violations they wanted to fix, and the town inspector, Northwinds Inspections, the town of St. Germain along with every board member, and the Wi. Dept. of Commerce Safety and Buildings Division, has allowed them to get away with it. Darin Pagel, owner of Northwinds, didn't even re inspect, or check many of the violations found by my inspector. He asked David Cox of Cornerstone if certain items were corrected, or if he could prove that others were not a violation. Cox , in my opinion, simply lied. I even had pictures of violations, but Pagel ignored me. I also offered to pay someone to cut a hole in the ceiling to see if any insulation was installed since we found that the entire home was not insulated according to code, but Pagel refused.The result of Cornerstones wonderful employees and subcontractors correcting the violations include, unbelievably horrible workmanship, more damage, more aggravation. Meanwhile, every time it rains the water drips through light sockets. If you're a contractor in the area and you're required to follow the rules listed in the UDC, or if you've ever been fined for not fixing a violation, I strongly urge you to do something. We all know that housing is slowing down, and with the economy in a slump, competition among contractors is going to get tough. How can an honest contractor compete with a company like Cornerstone? For any of you that are considering hiring Cornerstone, Superior Electric, or Custom Components please, please look for someone else. Imagine what Cornerstone will be able to get away with now that they know they can ignore building codes and no one will do anything about it. If you do hire any of the above, do yourself a favor and hire someone to inspect the work. Make sure that the inspector knows the building codes. Also, if you have to hire a lawyer to get any of these contractors to correct their work, or to just finish a job, do not hire Mike Stingle od Seidl and Stingl.

I'm wondering why you haven't posted any new info. on your new home? I'm guessing that you are not happy with the result.

I was just wondering how things are going with your new home. I see that it was supposed to be done in April. Was it? I really hope you are happy with the outcome. Please let us know the status. Thanks, Dan

I would like to retract all my comments regarding Cornerstone Custom Builders posted under the names Dorothy and Daniel, and Dan. Daniel

I mistyped on my rebuttal comments from 2/18/08. I meant to say that Jeremy HAS been extremely accomodating with our changes. I don't want anyone to misunderstand. Cornerstone truly has exceeded our expectations.

Thanks for your thoughts Daniel. My husband and I are still pleased with the progress on our Cornerstone home. We are not the alleged house that is "out of plumb" I'll post again when our home is complete.

I am glad you're having luck with your new home. I will suggest however that you save your nice comments until the home is complete. I would then hire a licensed inspector to go through the house. Make sure the inspector has experience with the uniform dwelling code. I'd really like to know how it turns out. I just heard about a sub contractor that went to install log siding on a Cornerstone home and could not do the work because the entire home was 6" out of plum. Not sure if thats the correct expression, but you get the idea. I can not verify this and I am not stating a fact. Was this your home?

I would like to comment on this report. I am not being paid by Cornerstone Custom Builders or receiving a discount for my comments. My husband and I are in the process of building with Cornerstone Custom Builders in Three Lakes, Wisconsin. We have loved the experience. We are from Ohio and we had worked with bad construction companies in Ohio before, but Cornerstone has been wonderful to work with. We are building their "Rhinestone" model, which is fairly inexpensive and they have never treated us like we were any less important than one of their more expensive builds. Our project manager, Jeremy Oberlander, is fantastic. He's detailed, always gets back to us quickly, stays on top of everything and makes the process as easy for us as possible. We have even made many changes mid-process and Jeremy hasn't been extremely accomodating with our changes. The subcontractors we have met have been extremely professional and obliging. Letting us have our say in where we would like things to go (e.g. air ducts), for no extra cost, even if it's different than the model. Our house should be completed in April - right on schedule with the initial estimate given to us by Jeremy. I'm not sure what happened with this other customer from Illinois, but I wanted another customer's point of view expressed. So I would encourage other happy homeowners of Cornerstone Builders to comment as well and fill out recommendations with the Better Business Bureau. Thanks for reading!

Here's some of Cornerstones sub contractors. Avoid these companies also. Megaforce Heating Rhinelander, Wi. Northern Glass Eagle River, Wi. Superior Electrical Sytems Everyone of thes companies lied, did sub standard work, and caused more problems then they are worth. Northern Glass was told to remove the $2500 leaking glass shower enclosure since they would not fix it. It's now been 4 weeks since Cornerstone told me they hired anouther company to redo the enclosure

Update. I finally had my fill of the lies and hired an attorney. I also hired a licensed building inspector and found out there are numerous building code violations, work that was not done properly, (supports, joists, insuffecient insulation, etc.) If you have had a simialr experience with Custom Components, please email my son to discuss a class action law suit. CLICK here to see why Rip-off Report, as a matter of policy, deleted either a phone number, link or e-mail address from this Report.