Complaint Review: Georgetown Custom Homes - Monrovia Maryland

We met Georgetown Custom Homes owner, Jamie Maloney and his partner, Warren Bernard, through a random connection and he represented that he was a custom builder and had built dozens of custom homes. We now know - it was all a lie. We asked several times for references and while we never realized it...none of them would speak to us on the record...just random notes on his website...the only real reference was a nice woman with a beautiful home...but we later learned - she was his busines partner and friend - I dont know why - she is really nice and very well respected.   Anyway, we should have known to move-on. In addition, our Bethesda based architect was very leary of the guy, based o his past projects and his answers to their questions on process and materials. The guy is a good salesperson but really that is it. 

Jamie is a sales man - like a used car guy - he knows just what to say until you sign on the dotted line and then the fun begins. In our case, he changed the budget, supplied sub quality contractors, skipped important construction steps and failed to pay contractors. He lies over and over and always says "trust me" - I have been doing this for 30 years...he will tell you to call so and so or check with Barrons Lumber...the bottom line...he is a liar who simply can not build a custom home. He has a partner but tries to do everything himself - and ends up taking money from one project to pay for another (our best guess - - but we hope in court to find out). He likely has decent intentions but is simply not competent enough to handle being a custom home builder. He does not have a book keeper and cant seem to separate your money from his money...he has stolen money from us and others. He cuts corners and simply knows you will not be back. He comes across as a decent guy but he really should not be running a company or buiding homes - he is in way over his head.

He would call and tell us he was not feeling well, his dog died, he had surgery, his dad had surgery, etc. etc. - everyday a new excuse on why our project was not moving forward and why the costs were going up. The bank inspected the books he provided and found fraud and lack of any financial knowledge. Jamie is not a custom builder - he knows very little about running a business and while I suspect the Maryland Attorney General will eventually stop him from building in Bethesda - you should be warned. Just go to another builder. It is not worth building with him now or later...ask yourself why you would build or buy one of his spec homes...dont. And if it is a spec home - ask yourself what you will find - once he is gone - skip this guy - he is bad news.

His partner, Warren Bernard is not much better and they will both end up in jail one day. If you are skeptical of this entry - ask him for 3-4 references (that you can actually, physically meet in person and talk with about their projects) besides his business partner in Bethesda - satisified customers do NOT exist. Ask him what homes he has built in the last three years that are custom homes (not spec) and where you can speak to the owners (really sit down and talk with them). He uses unlicensed contractors (fact - check with county) and does sub par work (talk to former bank inspectors that reviewed his work). The County and State (fact - call county permit office) are now reviewing his files and I suspect will help prevent this from happening to anyone else. He does not carry adequate insurance either. We are filing a law suit next week and plan to pursue this matter until he stops building in Maryland. Georgetown Custom homes has formed 2-3 different partnerships to evade the state...check this as well - he is a bad guy and the world will eventually catch up. A lawsuit will put him out of business in 2014.