Wfc Construction Management

Westchester Consumer Protection Bureau Complaint: WFC Construction Management Inc.

My family relocated to Westchester from Chicago, Illinois last June, and we secured a rental for a year. In September we found a home that we loved at 34 Charlotte Place, Hartsdale, New York. and made an offer. With 8 months left on our rental, we decided to try to get some remodelling done before moving in. I met with Sabato DiPalma, of WFC Construction, at our new house, several times throughout the month of September 2014 to discuss a major remodel. After officially closing on the property at the end of October 2014, I signed the building contract for $148,850.00 with WFC Inc. Construction Management on November 11, 2014. The contract provided services as follows:

Architectural and building work-supplying all architectural drawings and permits;
Bathroom renovation of the existing 1st floor & 2nd floor bathrooms; Materials: Fixtures to be Kohler, and Ceramic or marble tiles;
Dormer addition and master bathroom (new)- Extension of existing dormer and construction of new master bathroom (to include double pedestal sink, toilet, and shower, along with two new windows). This work also includes siding and roof repair to match existing;
Kitchen renovation: supply labor and material for demolition and renovation of existing kitchen, including sealing the kitchen door off, adding larger window, and associated interior and exterior finishing. Materials: supply & install: white kitchen cabinets to be chosen by Thomas Hagerman, 3/4 inch Granite counter top, kitchen floor, kitchen backsplash tile;
Entrance and kitchen floor: supply labor and material to remove existing floor and installation of new porcelain/or granite tiles;
Wood floors: supply labor and material to sand and refinish wood floors through the entire house with a dark finish;
Guest room (1st floor): supply labor and material to remove existing paneling/ceiling tiles and install new sheetrock, tape, and paint;
Front room: supply labor and material to remove and dispose existing cabinets, patch & paint the walls & ceiling;
Master bedroom: add sheetrock and storage doors, seal vent, add light switch in both closets, and finish floors;
Paint: supply labor and material to prep and paint the entire house, including walls, ceiling and trim;
Electrical: supply labor and material for installation of pendant light fixture and a switch in living room area;

WFC Inc Construction Management was to have this work completed by June 20, 2015. I was emphatic about the importance of this deadline as we had a rental that we would not be able to extend after that time, and we have two large dogs and a cat, which makes temporary housing nearly impossible. He assured me over and over that the project would complete before the deadline.

First, a few examples of our many, many interactions with this firm:
We met with Mr. DiPalma at the WFC Inc. “showroom” in November 2014 to pick out tiles and finishes for the 3 bathrooms and the kitchen/entry-way floors. On December 27, 2014, we had another “showroom” meeting again to pick out the same tiles and finishes because our initial selection had not been recorded. Again, in April of 2015, we were asked to come to the “showroom” to make make the selection of tiles for a third time because our previous two meetings’ selections went unrecorded. Then again on May 28th, 2015, Mr. DiPalma indicated that he needed us to select our kitchen/entry-way floor tiles for a fourth time—this time bringing 4 different tiles that we had never seen before to 34 Charlotte Place and insisting that we pick them out in less than 24 hours (which we did), because he had not ordered any of the tiles for our job yet. This was very disconcerting considering he had over 7 months to gather these materials, and we requested to see samples multiple times since the beginning of the project.

Kitchen cabinets followed a similar pattern. We were looking for a basic, white, Quaker-style Cabinet style. We asked in January about looking at samples, and we were told it was way too early to look at cabinets. We asked again several weeks through January and February. Starting in March, we were told cabinet door samples were ordered. April passed, with more excuses for the delay, and it wasn’t until May that were supplied with one option for a painted white cabinet door. Mr. DiPalma, told us that he ordered custom cabinets, but we have never seen the order/receipt, even after we requested it many times. When asked for a delivery date for the cabinets to arrive on site, we were again told that they would come and not to worry.

Now, for the construction timeline:
WFC Inc began demolition on the project the week of November 25, 2014. We documented this with photos that are time/date stamped on our mobile phone’s photo album. We were told by Mr. DiPalma that WFC Inc. had pulled the appropriate permit. We later found out months later that the building permit was not issued for the our pro