I write this BLOG so that no one else would go through what my family had to go through and continues to deal with concerning our experience with TW Lewis Construction Company located in Tempe, Arizona.
First of all, I like to suggest that TW Lewis changes there logo from Homes for Particular People to Homes for Particular People that We Will Take Advantage Off, or something to this affect.
The following will represent a detailed listing of our horrifying experience at TW Lewis and if you are even considering having a house build by TW Lewis or purchase one already build, please read on and I assure you that at the end you will think twice about performing such a mistake.
Our experience started back in March and I wish that I along with my wife had never walked into the TW Lewis office located at the San Vicente property in Goodyear, Arizona.
Upon looking at the models, we fell in love with one style and based on recommendations from others, we felt that we were going to deal with a reputable contractor to build our dream home in order to start a new life. This could not have been furtherest from the truth.
We placed a $40,000.00 deposit on one of the available lots and on that same day standing on the open lot, I proposed to my wife and promised her that we will raise our family and forever be happy in our new home therefore, as you can see; we were very serious about having this house build to our specifications.
The agent assigned to us was Al Roth and what can I say about this individual other than that he was only worried about us signing on the dotted line and hand over the deposit check. At the time, I was still living in Washington DC and my wife resided in the Phoenix area therefore, I would fly in for the weekends to see her and to go over what was needed in relation to the property. Unfortunately Al Roth was not a real estate agent until very recent to the time that we deposited our down payment.in accordance, he promised the world and did not go over any details concerning the process thus, we had to be educated on each step of the process and come to realize that each step that was not covered with us initially became to be false promises and lies and each change that we would come across will cost us additional funds to correct in our taste and desires.
That was just our initial stage and what is about to come was just dreadful and horrendous. Next comes the Design Center and what a mess that became to be. Be aware of this stage if you have already signed up and I am very sorry if you have because this stage is going to cost dearly unless you simply want to have a standard house build on the base price. Any other additions or requirements are going to cost you dearly.
In the beginning, we were told by the designing agent Theresa Anderson and salesperson Al Roth that we were probably looking at around $100,000.00 above the base price of $610,000.00 with regard to additions and upgrades. At the end we had reached over $230,000.00 in upgrades and this went on for about nine months which we finally said enough is enough in December. Please bear in mind that this addition took us back and forth for nine months and countless visits to the Design Center.initially, TW Lewis had promised to be finished by the end of year but, due to numerous cons and ordeals, of course they did not. The important reason that we wanted to have our house completed by the end of the year had to do with my 40th birthday coming up on January 8th.
During this ordeal, we signed off on THIRTEEN ADDENDUMS to the contract due to lack of being up front and courteous to the customers needs which goes back to my initial point that TW Lewis must come up with a new advertising slogan, away from Homes for Particular People, which I truly find it to be a joke and every time we see their advertising whether on bill boards, magazines, or so forth, it makes me very angry to say the least.
We finally hired a lawyer and here we are over a year and half has passed and we still have not been reimbursed by the TW Lewis, the $60,000.00 earnest money that we deposited with TW Lewis and there response has always been Too Bad.
If you are considering to purchase a home from TW Lewis, please feel free to email me at [email protected] in order for me to answer any questions that you may have about this complaint and the treatment that we received from TW Lewis and again, as I have mentioned, you will think twice about making such a move.
The following outlines each step of the process with regard to some, not all of our problems that we experienced and continue to experience with TW Lewis.
Stage one:
1. The initial base price that we received from the list price was set at $612,900.00 however, upon writing up the contract that number was changed to $622,900.00. The reason given after many requests for correction to the contract was that TW Lewis was performing a lottery and the price had changed from the price that was both written and relayed to us at the initial signing. To me that is outright fraudulent when you state a price and change it to a higher number upon writing the contract. After repeated attempts to have this corrected and no response, I addressed this matter along with others within an email addressed directly to TW Lewis himself dated July 24 and we finally had the $10,000.00 credited back to us marked as an incentive which was not. The issue was not resolved until Addendum #9 which we signed on 8/20/06. As mentioned this was marked as a Sales Incentive because we were informed that is the only way that TW Lewis was able to credit us back for the amount that was fraudulently increased after the agreed base price.
2. Sales person (Al Roth): lack of sales experience, he was quite non-informative and miss-leading in order to make the sale.
A. When we noticed the windows installed, we did not like the windows to have lines crossed within the window and his response was that based on Elevation A design chosen by us that would not be possible and that is our only choice. If this had been explained to us early on, we would have never selected Elevation A. He simply pointed to the Elevation Plan sheet and stated that is it whether you like it or not thus, we were forced to settle for windows that we did not like at all. How were we suppose to know without it being pointed out that the windows that are going to be installed will have the lines within them from the elevation designed shared with us initially.
B. Kitchen Island Sink: on all of the diagrams from the shared design and layout, a diagram of an island sink was visible however, during Stage Two when we were selecting sinks for the kitchen, we were informed by the Design Center (DC) that we were not able to do so because we never selected an island kitchen at Stage One with the sales person therefore, the pipes required were not installed before the concrete poor. We were never informed of this fact and should we have been informed, we would have done this accordingly. Furthermore, we were informed by Theresa Andersen who was assigned as the designer to us at the DC that for future properties this will be a standard install and basically too bad that you did not select one.
C. Bathrooms 2 & 3: The charts that represented the two bathrooms does not represent the fact that both room entry doors open right into the bathroom doors thus, making it very difficult to enter the bathrooms from the associated bedrooms. The layout is so bad that the installers had to place the door stops for the entry doors at the top of the door within the room and the point that stops the door is the bathroom door frame which is quite awkward and I have never seen such a bad layout of entry into a bathroom from secondary rooms.
D. House setback in Front and backyard utilization: we were not informed at the time that we placed our deposit that there is going to be a 18 feet setback from the street and with the size of the lot and considering the large house being build (3200 square feet) there is not much of a room left over for a back yard. For me this was the most disappointing factor that started my doubts about this property because the reason why I moved to the Phoenix area had to do with the weather and being able to use my pool year round. I wanted a large pool in the backyard and I was very adamant about this issue and I was informed even at the walk through before the concrete poor that I will have plenty of space in the backyard for a large pool. I came to find out from the initial pool company, Rondo Pool representative on our initial meeting at the property that according to Goodyear City law, the pool must be five feet from the fence and the house thus, eliminating 10 feet from my back yard that I was not going to be able to utilize for my pool. Another important fact that I waned for my pool was to have a negative edge pool and that is why we selected a view fence lot for our property however, with the mandated setbacks by the city, I was not able to achieve this. The best pool design that the pool companies were able to come up with was simply a lap pool. Have I been informed of this fact during the lack luster sales pitch, I would have never placed a deposit on this lot or community. Again, a miss-representation by the sales person.
E. CC&R for Plants: another factor that I was adamant about with the sales representative was the fact that I wanted to be able to plant Palm Trees in my back yard and I was assured that I would be able to do so however, upon many requests to receive the list of plants that we were able to plant, it was not so until we went to the HOA ourselves in order to obtain this list and at that time we were informed that we would not be able to plant palm trees since we are on the golf course. Again, another miss-representation by the sales person.
F. Living Room Sliding Glass: we choose the option of French Doors to be installed during our initial selection to match the selected French Doors coming out of the Master Bedroom into the patio area however, we were not informed that we are going to have a small window and a French Door leading to the patio area from the living room. The whole point of the property was to be able to enjoy the desert view from the kitchen, living room and dining room areas and by having a small window this was certainly not possible. The solution after requesting the change to a full sixteen foot sliding glass which was initially refused by the sales person and finally approved by Kevin Egan, who is the number two man after Tom Lewis, after I wrote an email requesting the change. After receiving a call from Kevin and I explaining the situation I was informed that in order to change the framing, it will cost us a $1000.00 however, when the addendum was written up by the sales person, the cost came to $1,700.00 which we signed off on because we simply did not like the window and door setup (Addendum #9). Again, lack of communication from sales person and eventually costing us extra to achieve the look that we wanted.
G. Den French Doors: we wanted doors for the den since it was going to be my office and this was not explained to us that there was not going to be a set of doors at the den therefore, additional cost and late charges to have this installed however, the installed doors ended up to be full panel wood doors and not French doors. We made repeated efforts to have the full wood panel doors changed to the French doors similar to the one that was installed in the Master Bedroom with all glass in the middle with no lines but, after many months this was not corrected. Cost @ $1,350.00. (Addendum #4)
h. Master Closet and bedroom two and three: we were not informed that all of the closets are going to have mirror doors during Stage One with the sales person and during our selections at Stage Two at the DC, we came to find out about this and again, we were forced to pay extra to have wood panel doors installed. Cost of late charge and doors @ $450.00. (Addendum #7)
i. Glass Blocks in Master Bath: We were not informed that the standard for the window above the tub was going to be glass blocks which we did not like at all therefore, again additional charges to replace this with a Rain Glass window. Late Charge and cost @ $300.00. (Addendum #6)
j. Master Bath: Since we changed the glass blocks from the window above the tub, we did not want to have the glass blocks at the snail shower thus, additional cost of $200.00. (Addendum #9)
k. Block Wall: At no time the sales person mentioned that we were going to have a view fence at the end of the block wall on either side of the backyard which means no privacy from the neighbors because they can simply look into our property from their back yard.
L. Turning the one car garage into an office by having French doors installed as the sales office was done which we were informed we will be able to do but, after construction had started, we were informed that the garage door must stay per HOA. Again, misrepresentations because we were clear that we would need a second office.
Stage two:
The DC experience was over bearing and not easy. It required for us to take off work many days thus, loss of time and additional finances. The problems that we encountered are as follow:
1. Azul Bahia Granite in kitchen: this was the most difficult part of the ordeal that we had to deal with at TW Lewis. The granite was selected from AZ Tile and initially the rough price that was given to us by Theresa Andersen was somewhere between $18,000.00 and $20,000.00 however, upon receiving the actual cost, the cost jumped to $55,000.00 just for the kitchen which we were shocked at. Additionally, even after the high cost quoted, we were told that the fabricator did not want to work with this granite due to the cost and inability to work with such a delicate material. (Please remember: Homes for Particular People) After a month and half of going back and forth, they came down to about $50,000.00 which is still ridiculous.in accordance, we went outside of TW Lewis to find a fabricator and based on recommendations from both AZ Tile and Cactus, we came up with the best in the Phoenix area and his quote came to $34,111.47 which was quite a decrease. The fabricator was Leonardos Marble & Granite. The TW Lewis price did not come down until after we shared Leonardos quote. We were adamantly told that TW Lewis will not allow any outside contractors to come in and work on the property thus, mandating us to use there inferior fabricator. Of course, this mandate changed on the hardwood floors which I will explain later. We eventually settled for a granite that we did not like and the workmanship by their fabricator was extremely inferior and not acceptable.By looking at the side of the installed granite, one is able to view a clear white line were the two stacks of the granite are joined therefore, unacceptable. Again, we did not receive what we really wanted and had to settle for less.
2. Fireplace Stone: We selected raised stonework to cover our fireplace however, upon install, the finished work looked ridiculous which was agreed with by both the foreman and the designer to be inferior work and not what we had paid for. The solution was to charge us $1000.00 to take the ridiculous stonework down and refinish the wall. No mention of the removal of the stone cost @ $3,250.00 was ever made to us and TW Lewis never removed this cost after repeated requests to have it removed. I simply do not understand why I should pay for something that even the TW Lewis employees agreed that the workmanship was a joke.
3. Bath 2 & 3: The initial design and pictures that we shared with the designer had a tranquil contemporary white theme but, upon her recommendation, we ended up with a brown and bisque theme which looked treble. We were informed that the standard sinks are white cultured marble and per her statement the cultured marble will darken in time so her recommendation was to go with the bisque tiles, tubs, and toilets and once you see the bisque tiles, tubs, and toilets next to the white cultured marble you will notice that the outcome is quite hideous and ugly. Upon approaching the designer, we requested to see what would be the cost to have the sinks replaced with a standard granite and we were told that it would cost us $6,240.00 which is again TW Lewis attempting to take advantage of us. The entire inferior granite for the kitchen cost us about this much and we are only speaking of two granite installs for the two bathroom counters. Another problem we had with the two bathrooms had to do with the tiles used on the floor. The tiles that we had chosen were white with a gray theme and again upon going to AZ Tile, they were different from what we had been presented with at the DC therefore, again we were forced to settle for something different and cheaper in price in which we never received a price adjustment. Overall, bathrooms two and three looked treble and are no were near what we had wanted or shared pictures with the DC.
4. Lighting: We had selected our lights with an ORANGE GLASS theme however, all of the ones that were delivered and installed even after we noticed the first one installed after we requested that no more be installed until they are corrected came out to have a light brown glass theme. Once we approached TW Lewis with this miss-delivery of lights, my wife was informed to go to the house and turn on the lights to see if that makes a difference. How stupid is that? Again, TW Lewis did not meet what we had chosen. The final solution presented by the designer was for TW Lewis to take the lights out and we deal with it after the close of escrow on our own. Why am I paying TW Lewis to build my house so I can go to another contractor to fix yet another problem? Where is the customer service so basically we were told to sign on the dotted line and fix it ourselves.
5. Green Onyx at Master Bathroom counter: again, we had problems with the same fabricator that would not work on the Bahia that we wanted in the kitchen and now we had similar problems on the Green Onyx that we had chosen for the Master Bathroom. After many trips to the two granite suppliers we were informed that the fabricator would not work on the slabs that we had chosen. We requested from the designer to have the fabricator meet us at the granite supplier so we can mutually choose the slabs that the fabricator would work on and we were informed by the designer that the fabricator would not meet us at the granite store. I guess the fabricators time is more important than ours and we are the paying customer so this issue was never resolved because after all of the times that we took off work, we were again in a bind with the fabricator thus, no Onyx slabs selected.
6. Onyx vessel sinks for Master Bathroom: We had initially selected two Onyx sinks for the his and hers in the master bathroom however, the fabricator that was suppose to install the green onyx countertops in the master bathroom stated that he would not want to take responsibility of transferring the sinks due to cost which was about $3,200.00. The solution by the designer was to select a much cheaper quality of sinks which she shared pictures with us via email so the fabricator would feel comfortable in transferring the sinks. We had chosen the sinks at the store which were of high quality but, again we had to settle for a lesser quality of a product that we wanted just because the fabricator did not feel comfortable enough to transport the sinks. Our selections are based on the inability of the fabricator and the inability of TW Lewis to provide us a qualified individual that would be able to take care of our needs.
7. Interior Color: we had an option of three standard colors which we choose a slightly off white towards a light colored coffee and upon finishing the walls, we asked about when will the painting take place and we were informed that is the color we had chosen. The color is simply white but, TW Lewis calls it Swiss Coffee which is simply white yet again we are not receiving what we had requested just because we did not purchase the painting package from there undesirable choices of colors but, out of the three standard colors we chose coffee and received white and were told that is coffee. Go Figure!
8. Multiple attempts to receive a final listing of our earnest money from the designer. We finally received the full listing on 12/8/06. Theresa stated that she did not remember us asking for the complete list of our earnest money and my point is why should I have to ask TW Lewis to provide me a list of our earnest money that we have paid to TW Lewis?
9. Wood Floors: This was the straw that broke the camels back as they say. The wood flooring cost had come to $42,292.00 (just over 2000 square feet of floor covering) however, knowing that TW Lewis installs inferior products, I had requested from the foreman and designer to not start work until I approve the wood and to no surprise, the quality of the wood that we had selected at the DC was much better in comparison to the quality of the wood delivered therefore, I stopped the installation. We had received a sample from the installer in mail and that sample which came from the installer was much better than the quality of wood delivered. Upon approaching TW Lewis, both the designer and the foreman agreed that the quality was not the same so yet again we took off work to go to the DC in order to chose another which we did not like any other.in accordance, I went to an outside vendor and I was informed that the delivered wood after showing them a sample was of Grade C rather than the Grade A that we had chosen. Of course, TW Lewis denied that they use inferior quality but, all I have witnessed from TW Lewis is of inferior quality. Jon Gillan who is the sales manager wanting to close the deal asked that I share the vendor information so they can see about pricing and this is the same company that over the Bahia granite clearly stated that they absolutely will not allow outside contractors to come in and work and here is TW Lewis providing us a solution by using an outside contractor. Of course, the price ballooned by another $9,000.00 to a total cost of $51,292.00 which he stated TW Lewis will cover and that is nothing but, lies because the price at the vendor would have come much lower than what TW Lewis was going to charge us. Again, inferior quality and workmanship and more lies.
10. Rudeness and lack of respect from the designer towards us: Her basic attitude at the end when we went in for the last time to correct the hardwood problem was basically if you do not like it, we can place standard tiles and carpet and you deal with it after the close of escrow. This rudeness and carelessness for the customer that is about to pay you over $800,000.00 was simply no longer bearable and I along with my wife refused to deal with it any longer.
Construction stage:
1. Concrete Cracks: Cracks had appeared throughout the house and in order to cover most of the cracks, TW Lewis had attempted to cover the cracks by simply buffing out the cracks.initially we were informed by the foreman Brendi that the concrete will crack naturally in order for it to allow for movement and this is simply wrong.By going the cheaper route of not allowing for stress joints and pouring at one shot the entire base of the house at a minimal thickness, of course the concrete will crack as it did throughout the house. I had no confidence in this house with regard to the poured concrete because after the first year when the guarantee on the house expires and the walls start moving and cracks start to appear, we would have been responsible for covering such expenses. Another reason given by the foreman when I pointed out all of the cracks and fixes was that they were attempting to level the floor before installing the floor in order for it to be even throughout. This is simply false and yet another misrepresentation and outright lie.
2. Wood Frame: use of glued pieces of 2x4s rather than whole pieces of 2x4s. We were informed by the foreman that these are stronger. What a lie!!!
Loan stage:
1. No contact was ever made by TW Lewis Mortgage until we contacted them in November because of the TW Lewis Mortgage providing us a $5,000.00 incentive however; no one contacted us until later in December.
2. No contact from sales agent for six months during the construction stage until it was time to close the deal.
3. In December of we still did not have a final price due to the pending changes such as Onyx, wood floors, kitchen backsplash, and so forth.
4. In December of no schedule was made by TW Lewis for our final walkthrough.
5. No closing date was related by TW Lewis and we became aware of the scheduled closing date on 12/19/06 by receiving the title forms from the title company a week before the so called closing was scheduled to take place and here we are with the house and our concerns not finalized.
6. Upon contacting TW Lewis about a closing date and the final walkthrough via email, we were basically blamed for not taking care of these actions and the blame was placed on us. We were informed that we should have had the loan completed by that magical date. How can we process a loan application when we did not even have a final price or a final walkthrough?
As you can see, we had a nightmare of an experience with TW Lewis and I will do everything within my power to take away as much business as I can from this entity. Please feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will be more than happy to share any details or answer any questions that you may have about our experience with TW Lewis so hopefully you will not go through our experiences and loss of funds.
Twlewistempeaz
Phoenix, Arizona
U.S.A.
0 comments