CHARTER BUILDING GROUP

We met the builder and signed the contract and haven't see him again! CBG offers many enhancements but the up-charges can be incredibly costly and there is an abject lack of transparency in pricing. For example, you will pick out plumbing fixtures and they won't give you the prices in the store. The up-charges may include "administrative costs" which have no rationale. That is consistent through the project and it's a big "Buyer Beware." The architect, who is the daughter of the builder is cordial and has very good personal skills, and she does return your calls in a timely fashion. The inclusion of a "designer" at $75 per hour is a misnomer. From our experience, the designer did little more than set up appointments, monitor our selections and our interaction with the recommended vendors (who were very cautious about giving us any price information when she was around) and record the selections so that the estimator could prepare the change order, which you are required to pay well in advance of the purchase of the materials or the completion of the work. It can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. Getting the change order was always a surprise--some prices were good and some were much higher than we expected! Building a custom home is incredibly time consuming but the only way to keep tabs on this builder is to get quotes and be on site frequently. If you can't do that then buy an already built home or a resale. Services and Contractors: Get prices upfront and in writing; and investigate alternative prices and vendors. *Did not use their recommend appliance dealer; Recommend John at Ferguson Appliance. Great service, prices and attention to detail, especially with higher end appliances *Did not use their recommended light contractor; We used Coastal Lighting as an alternative and they were terrific. *Landscaper: Recommend Landscape Nouveau for all landscaping. Don't be pushed to get the plan done. We responded, thinking time was of the essence and it was not. Should have used Landscape Nouveau for the entire project. *Florida Tile provided excellent service and quality selections; tile installers did an excellent job. *Interior trim people were excellent. *Prestige Cabinetry did a very nice; watch your granite prices, the up-charges can be shocking. Make sure you visit the granite yard and pick out your slabs. *Coastal Glass was excellent *Painters were excellent *Rug Runners did a very nice job, in the end, but couldn't get carpet prices or flooring prices at the store. *Brick people-slow, slow, slow. Workmanship was good until the end when he ran out of brick. Took forever to complete the project and the rear stairs were covered with mortar and then ruined by acid wash. Still hasn't been remedied and will pursue legal action if not addressed. *Concrete contractor (driveway; porches; garage floor) was excellent. Take the time to approve the final stake layout. *Parker Gas company were excellent as were the fireplace people. Watch for mistakes-we had many, and many things had to redone; and frankly I got tired of hearing "that happens during construction." In spite of these missteps, Sean and Scottie, site supervisors, were helpful throughout the project. Banking services-they recommend First Bank, who in the main was very helpful and competitively priced. Pinpoint the draw sheet; the requests for draw never matched the work completed and we routinely held money. The bank's only obligation is to approve an "amount to draw" but you control exactly how much to pay, not the bank or the builder. Make sure you manage the flow of money though, whether personally or through the bank. And hold money if the work is unsatisfactory or incomplete. You'll be working with many different people; I would have preferred more contact from the builder, with us, on a direct basis. If you decide to use CBG you should make sure you have a contract that includes full transparency in pricing and up-charges, late penalty clauses and a bond for unfinished work. If you don't get that, go elsewhere. I'm not sure if other contractors would be any better or worse, but if I had it to do over again I would have spend a bit more time comparison shopping.