Ralph Paiva of Paiva Homes built our home. We designed the floorplan ourselves, picked out all of the outside colors and designed the landscaping. Looking beyond all the "pretties" you will find a plethera of problems. The problems with this house began from the ground up, starting with the mason and block work, mildewed, twisted and damaged lumber, cheap accessories and fixtures, thin streaky paint and countless items he "attempted" to replace with inferior, lesser quality, cheaper items.
It gets much worse with the ill-equipped and unknowledgeable sub contractors he hires, and a contractor who just "doesn't care"! Follow us through our nightmare! See for yourself just how horrific building your own home can be, especially with the contractor from HELL!
Before you use this builder... Get EVERYTHING in writing!
We know Ralph personally. I went to school with him. He goes to our church. His father built my father's house. I've known him for around 25 years. I thought I could trust him. Boy, was I naive! No matter how well you know a person... ALWAYS GET IT IN WRITING!!! I can't stress this enough.
When we finally decided to use Ralph for our builder, we signed the contract and he said he would need a deposit. I thought that was reasonable and asked him how much. I had brought cash, just for this reason. He said, "Well, let's start with six hundred dollars to get the blueprints started." I thought that more than fair and gave him the cash. He never gave me a receipt, and I didn't ask for one. I felt it might insult him or make him think I didn't trust him, so I kept my mouth shut. WRONG!!!
When we went to the bank to sign the construction loan paperwork, there was a charge of six hundred dollars on our papers for blueprints. We told the bank that it had already been paid. They said to talk to the builder because he is the one who submitted the amounts to them. Upon doing so, Ralph didn't remember any deposit being given to him! I tried to jog his memory, but he kept denying receipt of the money. I gave up, knowing there was no proof and I couldn't fight him. I got a real sick feeling in my stomach then. About four days later he phoned and said he "sorta, kinda remembers that deposit", and waived that charge. He has the memory of a seive... Except when it puts money into his pocket, so ALWAYS get it in writing with Ralph!
Don't bother complaining. He doesn't care!
The home was to be completed on May 14. It was finally completed on August 8. Although that is not too uncommon these days, the quality, for the time it took is deplorable!
I was telling the builder about all of the problems with the house, how he was using such cheap fixtures, how everything was twisted and crooked, how the house leaks like a sieve and how disappointed we were with the general quality of his work. His response to me was, "If you wanted a one hundred thirty five thousand dollar house, you should have paid for one."
Excuse me, but what does the cost of my home have to do with the QUALITY of my home? We are paying seventy-nine thousand dollars (plus) for this home. It is only 1900 square feet and has nothing fancy in it. It is a small, simple home, but we expected it to be a QUALITY home! Make sure that he knows you want a QUALITY home if you choose this builder, because, as he suggested to me in his comment, quality only relates to the PRICE of a home.
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