Complaints

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• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/30/2022

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  Zachary H*****, owner of Mosaic Custom Homes, took $193,068 from my husband between Nov 21,2021 and Sept.2022 to build a home according to architectural plans provided by the 70+ year old owners. In addition to not following the plans, he was very seldom present and did not oversee framing, trusses, roofing and deck while being constructed. He presented owners with 3 pages of Standard Included Options and refused to provide them any of them. He stopped coming to the job altogether in June 2022. The owners spent $100,000+ to complete the house in Nov. 2022 by purchasing the necessary building materials and paying sub contractors. This company and it’s owner took advantage of two elderly people by defrauding them and not completing the home. We’re seeking resolution by the return of over $70,000 and counting.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/19/2023

  Mosaic Custom Homes (MCH) was contracted to build a single-family home for ******* and ******** ***** on 11/29/2021. I priced their home to reflect the fact that they would be supplying their own windows, siding, kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, interior doors & granite countertops. My price was reflective of the cost to build their home excluding the items the homeowner’s supplied on their own. The Standard Included Options sheet that the customer submitted pictures of is NOT a contract. It is not signed or initialed anywhere on the sheet stating that these options will be added to the build. Nowhere on this sheet does it say every house built receives these options as they are in fact OPTIONS. A lot of houses we build cannot accept some of the options listed on the sheet due to size, blueprint layout, codes, architectural issues, personal preference etc. This was discussed with the customers many times.  
  To clarify, I am a custom home builder, which allows my homeowners under contract to request additional projects to be completed during the building process and allowed flexibility for the homeowners to supply their own materials for certain parts of the build.  These homeowner’s had multiple requests after our initial contract was signed, to complete the build of a front and back deck, storage area built in the basement, rearranging the master bedroom closet layout, stone around the foundation, stone on the chimney, stone on a great room wall where their fireplace is located.  These changes that were made concurrent with the building process were not factored into the initial cost to build their home, therefore all pricing to add these custom items were estimated upon the time of request, reviewed with the homeowners, and they agreed to the additional material and labor costs for these items. 
  One of the complaints against me is the deck footers being 24” instead of 12” The need for 24” footers in this application is unnecessary. I have built many decks using the same method with no detrimental effects to the structure, as an engineering report would back these claims up. No such conversation happened between myself and the homeowners regarding a mistake made by the excavator placing the footers in the wrong location. The excavator followed the blueprints while placing the footers and is willing to submit correspondence to the AG office confirming this. I also oversee the progress on my homes and found the footers to be sufficient.  Additionally, the deck was inspected by TKL Code Inspections Service and passed for structural integrity. 
  As far as the trade partners I contract to do work for my company (MCH) they are all insured and legal to work in the state of Pennsylvania and have added MCH as a certificate holder on their insurance policy. Again, I can provide proof of all documents upon request. I'm not certain why these homeowners would bring the nationality of my trade partners in this situation. They are some of the most hardworking and dedicated contractors I have ever worked with. Also, I don’t know who the homeowner is speaking of when she stated that “he” could not prove the framers had workers compensation because this conversation never happened with me. As I said previously, I can prove the framers are insured as I keep records of their insurance certificate on file. 
  As the homeowner has stated, I asked for an $18,000 downpayment. It is not out of the ordinary to ask for a downpayment prior to any construction project beginning as I do this for ALL projects. We discussed this and they agreed to make the payment. I then sent them an invoice for $6,195 for the installation of their driveway, and tree removal which was done prior to excavation of the footers and foundation. All sitework and utilities are an additional charge to the homeowner and NOT included in the sqft price. These services are in fact considered sitework, so they were billed for this work accordingly. All of this was discussed with the homeowners and agreed upon. Also, both decks (front & rear) are not included in the sqft price and were requested to be built later on in the building process. This is why they were invoiced for materials and labor for the front and rear decks. The $56,700 amounts are considered “draws” and are billed to the homeowner once we complete a particular phase of construction. These funds are to pay for the work done up to this point of the building process. The $1,250 they were invoiced was for material and labor to add a storage room in the basement (not included in sqft price and again was requested later on in the building process), as well as remove one of the double closets in the master bedroom and relocate the other to another wall in the room. Again, this was at their request later on during the build.  Every invoice I sent them for payment was for additional materials or labor they requested that reflected changes they wanted made to their original contract. My contract that they signed clearly states that any additional material and labor is the financial responsibility of the homeowner. 
  My company is and has been licensed and insured since the first day of operation. My PA contractor's license number is accessible on the state website. I can provide documentation of continual insurance with no lapse in coverage since day one of my company. This conversation never happened between myself and the homeowners as I always keep a digital copy of my insurance on my cellphone or iPad and can be easily accessed.  If the homeowners would have asked me for copies, I would have provided them upon request. 
  The homeowners stated in their complaint that I stopped showing up to their job site in June 2022 or stating I was seldom there. I was on their jobsite 2-3 days a week from the time we broke ground in December 2021 and up until November 2022. There were delays during the build that were caused solely by the materials supplied by the homeowners against my recommendation. One of MANY examples, there was a time when the house sat for 23 weeks (about 5 and a half months) waiting for the custom windows THEY ordered & supplied through a different supplier than I typically use. We were at a point where I could not proceed any further without windows and doors installed, or there would be significant damage done to the insulation and drywall, had I moved forward with the build. I ensured the project moved forward once the custom windows were received and installed.  During each phase of construction, I highly oversight all of my subcontractors including ones hired by the homeowner to ensure that their home will meet building codes and for quality measures.  To say that I did not come to the job is a complete fabrication.  Any of the hired subcontractors by myself or the homeowner’s can vouch for my constant presence on the job up until November 2022. 
  I had sent them an invoice for additional ceramic tile material that the homeowner’s refused to pay. As stated previously, my contract specifically states the customer is financially responsible for any additional material needed to complete the job. I told them I would not resume work to complete the final grade and occupancy permit inspection until I received payment of $3,495 which was additional material needed for ceramic tile and material for the front porch woodwork, as well as labor to install said woodwork. In conjunction with the invoice, I also provided receipts to the homeowners for their review. I have proof of this conversation and can forward the screenshots of the texts to the AG office if needed. 
  As of November 2022, the customer's house is substantially complete with running hot water, flushing toilets, electricity, sewer, HVAC system working and blowing warm air, and had a final production clean done to the entire house. These customers started moving furniture into this home in November so they could begin living there full time. The homeowners refused to pay their final invoice and sought a different construction company to complete the remaining “punch list” items, which is against Pennsylvania law. Had the homeowners paid the invoice, their house would’ve been complete 100% including final occupancy permit. It was made known to the homeowners that all work will cease until Mosaic Custom Homes receives payment for the outstanding invoice. 
  I have proof of the agreed upon price of the house, money received from the customers, and money paid to contractors for doing the work. Everyone is paid in full except for Mosaic Custom Homes, who is owed the money for the additional materials ($3,495+), as well as the last draw ($10,000). All documents have been forwarded to my attorneys. I can and will prove Mosaic Custom Homes utilized all funds received from the homeowners towards the labor and materials put into their home in upcoming arbitration.  
  On 01/10/2023 ******** ***** contacted two of my personal friends, one through Facebook messenger, the other by phone, with the intent of defamation toward my character and company. I have screenshots of the entire conversation that I will forward to the Attorney General's office as proof of defamation and libel. I have already forwarded the screenshots to my attorneys for their legal guidance on this matter. I have also spoken to the flooring contractor that the homeowners hired to install their flooring, as well as additional items not related to the contract, in their new home. They stated that the homeowners tried to convince them (the contractors) to “pursue” my company for $25,000 so the homeowners can recuperate some of the money they paid them for material and labor on other projects not related to the contract.  
  In closing, I will provide any documents, bank deposits, checks cashed, screenshots, or anything else requested by the AG office as I have nothing to hide. Thank you for letting me respond to this matter.