Rocco Customs/ark Homes

Wow, I am going through basically the exact same situation that Wren is going through the Amos and Rocco Customs. My garage project started in August and is still not complete. The last several months the majority of my calls, texts have gone unreturned. I have also sent over 10 emails to Isabella, who handled the contract, all of which have gone unanswered. Over the last two plus months I've had exactly 3 days work completed on the project. He keeps blaming his subs for not showing up, but at the end of the day, they are hired by him. I have multiple failed inspections at my property and multiple permit issues which he should of been on top of. I have now given him two advances of $6000 since he needed to pay his guys and buy supplies to "finish up this week", which got me 2 days of work the first time (check cashed 11/29), and 1 day of work the second time (1/5/2020). Last we spoke he said it would be completely finished by 1/22/20, and no one showed up and it is not complete. What I did find out this past weekend is that he scheduled the "final" inspection to be done on 1/21, which of course it failed since no one has been at the project since 1/5 to do any work. The drywall crew did show up and get their trailer and damaged the garage door in the process, which has not been fixed. I am also having pressure put on me by my neighborhood due to the project being a safety concern (like the 2 foot trench that was dug and left open before Thanksgiving going between the garage and the main house)

I am at a loss for words at this point and hope for a positive resolution very soon. The work that has been completed is quality work, I have no complaints about that, it's the time table and lack of showing up that is the issue, especially after the advances. I will hopefully update this soon with some positive news about both the project and Amos.

Older home renovation; total gut job. Redesign layout for a home built over 50 years ago. Rocco took quite some time but in fairness it was like building a brand new house. Began on the last week of July and my mother moved back in the day before Thanksgiving. Right now having a difficult time with him returning text and phone calls to return and finish the punch list and to remove construction debris in home and yard. Basically left the outside of house in disarray without cleaning anything up nor removing unneeded debris or supplies. Although the builder ; Rocco was willing to work within the stated budget, there were lots of conversations that were not in writing around making changes work. I wanted exact costs before agreeing on changes but a majority of the unknown was not communicated professionally. He used several subcontractors and I assumed based on the contract that their costs were covered. We never failed to pay agreed upon extras; however I was asked to pay money upfront to cover payroll and additional costs not projected. These are things that a professional budgets for and usually does not ask of a client unless we both agree upfront. We had to change options because of personnel management. We were told before hiring them that they had a full crew. We never saw one. There were days that only the owner and designer were on site. We had some permit and sub contractor delays but most was due to decisions the contractor made. I literally moved down for a month and a half to monitor the daily activity because I felt the project was taking too long and there was no end in sight. Another concern was acceptance or receipt of deliveries for the project. There were items that the contractor needed that were never opened until time for installation; several shower pans destroyed and a shower kit had to be returned. Of course they were beyond the 90 days. I incurred the restock cost and shipping cost. We purchased a Bosch AC unit from a friend of his. We still are looking for the invoice. Neither Rocco nor the company seem to have the invoice. The whole time the assistant kept receipts. But for some unknown reason, they can’t find this one. Also during the installation, work crew hit a wire or line on the AC. We had no heat in the house during a really cold spell. It took almost 3 weeks to get someone to repair the problem. I worked with the builder and sub contractor. Threatening to take action against them if my mother’s house did not get finished and get heat. So, I cleaned up the yard, the bathrooms, and floors from all the construction debris and paint spills. I piled the wood in one spot and it’s still there. Someone used a paint brush and splashed watered down paint all over new siding in the rear. That’s on the punch list too! As we were getting close to Thanksgiving, I asked how can we get this house done and worry about punch list after; I was told he needed money to get a full crew in plus pay an outstanding electrical bill. I told him after I gave him the final pay against my better judgment (pay crew) that I would not give him anything else and he better come back to finish. As we inched towards Thanksgiving, my whole family including my mom was stressed out and wanted things done. As agreed upon, we gave him an extra $4000 to cover everything including the so called electrical tab to get a full crew in to get in house before holiday. Crew showed up one day and then nothing. I have been calling and sending text every since. Right before Christmas he sent a sub contractor over to drill holes in cabinet drawers. The guy drilled two holes in drawers and messed them up. I called and told Amos to get back to my mom’s and do not send anyone else there unless he is on the site. Amos came back to finish doorknobs but still did not take care of finishing up molding on custom cabinets and the rest of the punch list. He will not return my text or calls. I reached back out to Buildzoom for assistance before handing it over to my lawyer. I will followup. Bottom line, work done is acceptable; professionalism and effective communication is unacceptable. Think twice before hiring. If you do hire, get everything in writing and talk to ONLY one person. Make sure ALL cost includes installation and what extras. We have new closets added with no lights, no wardrobe rods or shelving. We discovered that when we walked through with inspector and had to make a mad dash to fix. I hired someone to install. Also ASK if whatever you are talking about is a change order. I must say, Amos was quite generous with that after the fact. If you are not sure or they are not clear, ASK. More to follow.