Have you noticed that the media is constantly doing stories on homeowners who were defrauded by an unscrupulous contractor? I think we all have, today we want to share with you what happened to John from Shelton CT.

At Simply Additions we are on your side, and we want you to be armed with the knowledge needed to accomplish your home expansion without having a heart attack in the process. Routinely homeowners share their remodeling experiences with us. Often these experiences involve the use of the famous "Low Balling Technique”. This scheme is geared to persuade you into signing a contract with someone who verbally guarantees that he or she will deliver the same product as a competitor, but at a much lower cost. Now doesn't that sound too good to be true already?

Shortly after the project starts, the deceptive low balling contractor halts the project and requests more money in order to continue construction. Locked in a contract with their home in pieces and hefty downpayments squandered,  homeowners are forced to comply. Unfortunately, this happens all the time causing reputable remodeling companies to lose revenue while homeowners overpay thousands to tens of thousands more for home addition projects pushed by shady Joes and not the Pros..

In this particular situation, the consumers name is John. He lives in a strangely converted two story ranch in Shelton. After talking to John for 20 minutes our project manager discovered that one year ago John hired a contractor to add a two-story ranch addition onto his home. Unfortunately, John did not do any background checking on the chosen contractor even though John was spending $115,000.00 (should have been accurately priced at $135,000.00). The contractor who will remain nameless, started the addition for John with a one page contract, a simple hand drawing, and no building permit!! Apparently the contractor convinced John that permits & blueprints were not necessary because they would only increase the cost; he forgot to mention that it would also protect John from him. John signed with the contractor because he thought he was saving $20,000.00; in reality he lost over $100,000.00 to the contractor, his good credit rating, and possibly his house!!

Adding a second story addition to a home like John’s would take Simply Additions 3 ½ to 4 months. John’s contractor on the other hand took one year! But that is far from the worst news. John did receive a two story addition, and he also received an official letter from the town of Shelton stating that within 3 months he must repair or move out of his house because it is DEEMED UNSAFE due to the poor construction that was performed on it. 

John’s new plan was to pay another 100+ grand to fix his home while he pursues a lawsuit so that he can get his $115,000.00 back!! The original contractor fled to Florida and John found out a little too late that there is a list of complaints and lawsuits already filed against his underpriced contractor. John never followed up with us, most likely because he could not secure another loan to bring his unsafe home up to code.

So what should you do?
This story is just one of many that we hear throughout the year. We are a remodeling company; in fact, one of the most innovative and respected in our industry. Part of our job is to help consumers make proper buying decisions. Our website is filled with tools and information for homeowners who want to make the right choice the 1st time, and YES FOLKS by choosing Simply Additions you are choosing a company that is complaint and litigation free. Also, someone by the name of Richard Blumenthal (State Attorney General) supports our commitment to quality and service, ever hear of him and his connection to lawsuits against shady contractors? If you haven't, we're sure that some of the contractors that still bid on the same projects we bid for did! But hay, what's a measly hundred grand mean to you anyway, right? Gambling with remodeling contractors in CT is worse than your odds at Foxwoods, because even at Foxwoods your 1st mistake usually won't cause you to loose your house.

This article has been written to inform remodeling consumers of the common problems faced by homeowners who made the mistake of hiring a contractor based primarily on price alone. When hiring a contractor to build an addition, you are trusting them to know the engineering and structural loads of beams and materials. You and your families saftey truly depends on their knowledge of home addition building. Most of our remodeling customers are veterans of contractor fraud, because they learned the hard way how expensive remodeling can be when you hire the wrong contractor or home improvement company.

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