Royal Homes Limited Royal Homes is dishonest about fixed prices and hidden charges Wingham Ontario

The President and Owner of Royal Homes issued my husband and I a refund for our $2,500. He did this willingly and prior to any knowledge of my having written this complaint against his company. He was not obligated to return this money and did so as an act of good faith. We appreciate his gesture.

Connie
Ajax, Ontario

I am writing this letter in hopes of making other consumers aware of our negative experience in dealing with Royal Homes. Several months ago my husband and I decided that we wanted to move ahead with putting an addition and second floor on our existing home. The first order of business was to obtain architectural drawings. After consulting with and receiving quotes from 3 architectural firms we decided to go with Royal Homes despite the fact that the quote for their drawings came in at $10,000 which was significantly higher than the other quotes.

We decided to go with Royal Homes for two major reasons.
1) They were the original builder of our 25 year old home and we felt they would at least be very familiar with the home. We bought it as a resale.
2) Secondly, and most importantly, the Rep with 30 plus years of experience with the company quoted us an approximate square foot price of $60.00. Despite the fact that my husband is himself a contractor, after much deliberation we decided to sign with Royal Homes because he was unsure as to whether or not he could do the job for any less. Again, according to the Rep this price was inclusive of all interior finishes. He also made reference on more than one occassion that the final price might actually come in less.

Once we made our decision, in good faith on May 10, 2011 we gave them a $10,000 deposit. Over the course of the next several weeks we moved towards all the preliminary work that would need to be set in place in order to begin our renovations keeping in mind that nothing could proceed without a complete set of drawings. We met with the Rep and on site supervisor, who was to give us a separate quote for the foundation work on the extension. We were told by both of these gentlemen, on more than one occassion, that we would be given a final square foot price from Head Office, likely within the week. We did not receive those quotes and more time went by. Finally on June 18, 2011 the Rep called us and informed us that Head Office had given him a price to pass on to us of what translated to $123.00 per square foot for the second floor and $372.00 per square foot for the foundation and extension work. As the rep said himself on the phone that day, Royal Homes could build us a new home cheaper than that leading us to believe that they now had no desire to actually do our job. Obviously quite expecting our reaction to be one of disbelief, as it was, he quickly said they would reimburse us $7,500 of the original $10,000 deposit. When asked about what happened to his original estimate of $60 per square foot he told us that we couldn't really hold him to it and that he had "pulled that number out of the air". He further added that in his opinion we were still farther ahead. In our opinion, a company Representative with 30 years of experience should have a fairly educated guess as to what a job might cost. If he does not then Royal Homes are simply not dealing honestly with their customers.

Needless to say, we could not proceed with Royal Homes given their final quote to us. We agreed to sign a change of order form accepting their refund of $7,500 for fear of losing the entire deposit. We also needed that money to try and move ahead with another architect. Contrary to what the Rep said we are no farther ahead. What we had now for $2,500 was a preliminary and incomplete design set of drawings, not architectural, structural, or engineering. In short, nothing that were really of any use to us as we had to now start over with a new architect. Not only did dealing with Royal Homes cost us financially but they cost us so much more in lost time. We are now months behind and will in all likelihood not be able to begin our renovations until next year. I firmly believe the very least Royal Homes could have done was given us a complete refund and even that would not have compensated us for everything we lost in trusting them and taking them at their word.

In conclusion, had my husband and I had any idea that Royal Homes final quote to us was going to be more than twice what their original estimate was we would never have gone ahead and signed on with them. Further to all of this, when we were first given our final estimate we asked to speak to the president and owner of the company. We were told he was on vacation. My husband was then given the vice president as a contact who listened to our story and passed it back on to the original sales rep. We never heard back from the Vice President. I found a similar complaint on this website from Pieter from London, Ontario ( I can read his name and where he's from - not quite sure why the President of Royal Homes can't) and thought I would add my comments to his. On this site the owner and President of Royal Homes has filed a rebutal against Pieter's complaint stating that Royal Homes does not conduct business this way. I thought to myself, was it possible that the owner and President of Royal Homes had no idea of what our experience with his company had been and I decided to try and contact him personally. The very best the company would do was give me his voicemail. I left him a lengthy voicemail describing what our experience with his company had been and welcomed any dialogue with him. I have never heard back from him or anyone from his company.

Connie
Ajax, Ontario

Royal Homes does not conduct its business in the manner described in this report. Royal Homes takespride in our professionalism and client service from the initial point of sale to after sales service. We are not aware of who made these comments, as the individual chose not to identify themselves, and we do not understand the motive for making these comments. Royal Homes stands by its reputation as a high quality custom builder with superior after sales service for over 34 years. In Ontario all builders are subject to a government run warranty program called "Tarion". Royal Homes has an outstanding record with Tarion and we wouldinvite anyone who would like to inquire about our service record to contactTarion directly at info@tarion.com. We would also be happy to address any client concerns which may be directed to our company email address royal@royalhomes! .com.