Green Future Construction

I am all for leaving great reviews for good service and good companies, but I am also one to leave an honest review even if it is negative. This is how we learn about companies and weed out the ones that could be harmful to us in the end. I have a townhouse in Silver Spring and I'm looking to enclose my back patio with a screened porch. I've called three companies and Green Future was one of them. Their reputation seemed stellar online and so I had very high hopes for a good meeting and estimate from them.

When Joey Hafner arrived at my house to see the job and for us to talk about what I wanted, I was a little shocked that not only did he not introduce himself, but he came without any brochures from the company or a tablet that we could look at jobs that have been done that might be similar to mine. Okay, all that can be fixed later.

We went out on my patio and I told him what I wanted, which is a screened enclosure. I have an aluminum overhang and I wanted a newer one and possibly raised up a bit. I need one door going from the screened room to the back sidewalk and I needed some cement work done. I already have a cement slab in place, but it needed to be leveled. I had originally asked about flagstone but that seemed to be out of my budget with the company, so I told him that I would be handling the flooring after the room was finished. I wanted an electric hookup so that I could have an overhead fan. Since I had my tablet and computer available, I asked him if he could show me some pictures of screened-in porches his company had already completed and he said he couldn't. He would send me pictures and he would get back to me in a couple of days with some options and pricing.

Imagine my surprise when the next communication I got from him was a contract for almost $47,000. The other two companies who provided estimates (with drawings) for exactly what I wanted came in in the low-to-mid 20's. In the contract was included a roof with 25-year shingles which is not what I wanted. I wanted a metal roof to match all the other metal roofs in my neighborhood. It also included two doors, which is ridiculous because they would only be a few feet from each other. It also DID include flagstone, which is what I told him I did not want and that I would handle that later. The pictures that Joey said he would send to me, he never did. The estimates of materials never arrived either. Also included was a $1,800 fee for an architect's drawing. Really? I sent an email to Mr Hafner and to Eli, the owner of the company asking for an explanation of why the contract was sent instead of an estimate.

This was so crazy to me that I actually CALLED the owner of the company who told me that this was not his "thing" and that he would talk to Joey, figure out what was wrong with the contract and get back to me. This evening, I received an email and this is a copy and paste of what it said...

"Mrs. Harris,

My apologies, it seems we have a misunderstanding and that perhaps our services and methods don't serve your needs. I would like to excuse myself from bidding on your project. It was nice meeting you and best wishes on your home and health."

So instead of getting back to me and talking about the contract and why the things I didn't want were included - and the things I wanted we're not included - they are completely backing out. I can't help but wonder if this is because some people accept this lack of professional behavior easily.

I asked how many panels would be included in the screen porch and would I be able to take the screen panels out in case I needed to repair the screening myself. There was no answer. I have a vinyl wall to my left and a vinyl wall to my right separating me from neighbors and I asked how that would be incorporated and again, there was no answer. I even drove Joey around my neighborhood to show him examples of what I wanted and it didn't seem to matter.

I am a single woman in my late 60's and I can't help but wonder if that had anything to do with my treatment. I have 2 Master's degrees, but feel as if I "may" have been treated as an easy mark as many older women might experience. Please understand this is just how I am feeling and not necessarily the truth.

I would be disappointed, but such is the game with contractors sometimes. The other two companies who came to my home came with ideas and suggestions - and we sat at my dining room table and talked about what I could do to achieve what I wanted. This was the furthest thing from Mr. Hafner's mind. And you know what? He was right in his letter to me. Their services and methods would NOT serve my needs, which are...first and foremost...integrity, honesty and respect!