Then I received the following letter from a client and I realized that beginning with talking about this letter and this delivery would be a great beginning. So stay tuned for a full description of this wonderful home in the Napa Valley !!!
I originally heard of North Coast
Packaged Homes and factory framing from my contractor a year ago. He had put two of their packages together for
another client of his in the Napa Valley and felt that it was potentially a
good option for my home as it is a high quality product offered at a great
savings. Frankly, I could not afford the
home I’m building without the savings offered by North Coast Packaged Homes.
Ann
Zollinger met Rex (my contractor), my architect, and me at the home site last
February. After briefly discussing the
benefits of factory framing we immediately started discussing different design
options with Ann that would save money on the project while maintaining the
overall look and floor plan of the home that we had already designed with our
architect. I was thrilled when I heard
PMHI works only with custom home plans.
As a result of this meeting we decided to have the drafting department
of PMHI complete our construction drawings and engineering as this was also a substantial
savings.
For the
next several weeks, Ann, my architect, and I traded emails and phone calls
trying to get the design just right. With very professional and timely
interaction between Ann and my architect, we finalized the drawings and went
through the plan check in Napa County without a redline correction – an amazing
feat I have been told by my Napa County architect.
After
the plans were finalized, I tried to negotiate the price of this large framing
package with Ann. She would not budge an
inch which was very disappointing because I negotiate all of my large
purchases. Although she made it clear to
me that PMHI does not negotiate its package prices, she did get me a factory
discount that arguably did not apply to me because of the timing of the package
delivery. I was most impressed by the
fact that during her first visit to the site, and after a relatively quick view
of the plans, she estimated the total cost of the package within 6% of what I
finally paid, and that doesn’t exclude the cost of items we added after she
first reviewed the plans.
After
finalizing the plans and the price, I thought we were finished because the only
task remaining was delivery of the package to the home site. I was shocked when Ann called the day before
the scheduled delivery to tell me she cancelled delivery. Let’s just say there was a misunderstanding
on what grading was to be done before delivery on my rocky, steep, and winding
driveway. After getting over the shock,
I was very concerned about additional charges I would incur. Three fully loaded semi -trucks and trailers
were sitting in Sacramento, and the necessary grading could not be completed in
fewer than 5 days. Ann remained calm and
persuaded her office and the trucking company to keep the trucks loaded while
the grading was completed. That effort
saved me the unloading/reloading fees that I feared. The entire package was finally delivered to
the site with no problems.
I assumed everything was final because most of
my house structure is standing. My
contractor recently discovered that all of the 6 x 6 posts for my wrap around
porch and covered patio are pressure treated instead of finish grade Douglas
Fir. That’s approximately 25 posts. We checked the house plans and confirmed that
the contract specified pressure treated posts.
Everyone agrees it was an oversight, but not a PMHI mistake. PMHI agreed to a return of the pressure
treated posts and to reimbursement of the additional costs of the Douglas Fir
posts. I continue to be amazed by and
grateful for Ann’s advocacy on my behalf.
I have not seen Ann since she first
visited the home site last February. I
anticipate the next time I see her, she will be sitting in a comfortable chair
on my wrap around porch with my wife and me. We will be admiring our porch
posts as well as the rest of our new home while savoring a glass or two of our
estate grown cabernet. I am indebted to
Ann for all her great design input, cost savings ideas, and advocacy. I hope she will accept a few bottles of our
wine as payment of that debt. Although
there were a few hiccups along the way, we could not be happier with the
product or the service. I am recommending
Ann and PMHI to everyone I know considering building a new home.
Sincerely,
G. S.
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