Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/17/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 9/1/2022 we closed on a house built by Empire Construction. When we conducted our final walk through power was not connected and final cleaning was not complete.
  When we moved in we noticed streaks across the laminate flooring. we assumed the floors had not been cleaned properly. After researching the flooring we followed manufacturers recommendations to clean floor with soap and water. We were unable to remove the streaks in the floor.
  On 10/5/2022 we notified Empire Construction of the issue via email. The same day we showed the issue to Empire Construction's maintenance technician (Joe). We also attempted to clean floor again with him as a witness. we were unbale to clean the floor.
  On 12/27/2002 Empire Construction's superintendent (Yadir ********) cam to the house to see the issue. he left and said he would research solutions.
  On 1/5/2023 and 1/6/2023 Empire Construction's superintendent (Yadir ********) came to the house with several cleaning chemicals to try to remove the streaks. He was unable to remove the streaks. Yadir ******** called in one of their flooring contractors who came to the house. The flooring contractor was unable to identify the issue and suggested we may need to replace the floor.
  On 1/26/2023 Jon from North Central Florida Flooring the flooring contractor came to house to try to resolve the issue. Jon was unable to remove the streaks. Jon did remove a piece of the flooring to show the problem was not in the floor or concrete. Jon left and returned with Shaun ******* (CEO and owner of Empire Construction). They both admitted they did not know how to resolve the issue and that they had never seen this issue before. Jon applied some mop and glow on the floor and Shaun said it looked much better. We did not agree with Shaun and we asked him how he was going to fix the issue. Shaun told us it would cost $8,000 dollars to replace the floor and he did not have the money.
  We have been very patient and we have tried everything asked of us.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2023

  Hello, 
  To start off, Empire Construction builds spec homes for clients looking for affordable housing. We work very hard to use quality, long lasting products such as granite, soft close cabinets, LVP flooring, upgraded windows, etc while keeping the house at an affordable price in the market. We completed over 50 houses in 2022 with many happy clients in the end. From our conversations with the homeowner, they seem to be just as happy besides the flooring concerns. We do sell all of our houses under an as-is contract and our clients do walk throughs before they close on a house. Flooring issues were never a concern until first mentioned over a month after the closing on the house. Once we received this concern on 10/5, the homeowner(s) went on vacation for several weeks. As always, we address all our homeowners concerns as we build out there to be a long-lasting contractor and not one who builds and then makes their money, closes up and leaves. They reached back out to us on 10/31 letting us know they were back in town and we went and met with the homeowner on 11/4. The homeowner requested that we have a professional floor cleaner out, we let them know that we could do that for them. We tried to schedule the cleaner there as soon as possible however the homeowners had a family emergency and let us know that they would have to reach back out when things settled down. On Dec 14th, the homeowner reached back out letting us know they would be returning home next week. Due to Christmas, we had someone out there as soon as we could, and the homeowner was able to meet our superintendent out there on 12/27 as per the homeowners first available date for us to meet them.  As mentioned by the homeowner we addressed their concerns many ways. We not only brought multiple people from our team, several flooring contractors and the owner of the company out there to help address their concerns, but we also reached out to the manufacture to see their recommendations or if they felt anything was wrong. The manufacture states that this is not something that they cover. Empires flooring warranty does not cover the appearance in the make-up of the flooring. As stated in the warranty packet "Builder/Seller is not responsible for discontinued patterns or color variations of floor covering." Photos could be submitted however, even the homeowner will agree that you cannot see any issues in the pictures. Only in certain times of the day under a certain light are you able to see the streaks that they are unhappy with. In the end all parties except for the homeowner agree that this problem just seems to be concerns with homeowner's opinions on aesthetics. They are not happy with the way the flooring looks however we cannot justify replacing every homeowner's flooring based on them not liking the way it looks. The installation was completed within industry standards and once the homeowner moves their furniture in and it is not just an open area of flooring, we hope they can fully enjoy their structurally sound and safe house that we very much took pride in building.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/28/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  Scott ********

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2023

  Hello

  I am sorry, but no reasons on your response came through. 

  Thank you,