Business ProfileforSouthern Cottage Corporation

This review stems from our frustrations dealing with Southern Cottage (S.C.) and to share our experience so that others can make an informed decision when selecting a home builder. We are giving Southern Cottage one star. The one star is for all the great contractors, designer and a couple of S.C. employees that helped with our home build despite the troubles and frustrations we had with the owner of S.C., Chris Hoffman. C Hoffman initially had us believe that building our custom home would be a good experience. He warned us that there would be bumps along the way but we didn't know that the biggest hurdle would be with C. Hoffman. We signed a contract with S.C. in September of 2018. At that time there were 4 key employees with S.C. that we meet with. The only one remaining at S.C. at the end of our project was the owner Chris Hoffman. We moved into the home May of 2020 and over the course of the build there were three different project managers and multiple administrative assistances that we communicated with. Turnover in employees which leads to lack of communication was one of the many difficult issues that we had to contend with. One of our frustration points were the initial HVAC and electric companies that S.C. hired. There were many initial problems with the HVAC and electrical systems. S.C. hired outside specialists to evaluate the systems. The third party inspectors discovered multiple, significant problems which had to be corrected and resulted in time delays. C. Hoffman claims that he went over and above on our house but we do not believe that providing a client with a safe and reliable home is anything but what should be expected from someone that claims to be a quality builder. There was a long list of punch items that needed to be addressed after we moved in. We had an agreement with S.C. that we would hold back a small sum of money which would be paid once the punch list was completed. It took 8 months and constant persistence from us to get some of the items completed even though per the contract all of the punch list should have been completed in 60 days. In February of 2021, we determined that it was necessary to contact a lawyer since the punch list was still not completed and some of the items on the list were suddenly denied. There were three major punch list items and sources of aggravation that are worth noting: Attic foam insulation, grill vent and scratched windows. Attic Foam insulation - after we moved into our home it was determined by S.C. that the roofing company had overlooked soffit venting in the garage which resulted in the garage being extremely hot. One of the corrective options was to spray foam the attic, instead of venting, which we agreed to. It was after the spray foam was completed that we were given a change order invoice for the work even though we were initially told the work was to fix the problem. By contract, the cost of a change order must be approved in writing before work begins. We were at no time given a quote or any indication, verbal or written, that the spray foam was a change order. C. Hoffman contended that if we did not pay him that he would not pay the vendor and therefore a lien would be put on our house by the vendor. We received this as a threat for us to pay. We persisted in telling C. Hoffman that he never told us that the spray foam was a change order therefore we were not responsible for the cost. With no documentation to verify his claim, C. Hoffman finally agreed, in writing, that he would not charge us for the spray foam and it was removed from the total amount owed. However, once we started talking with an attorney, the charge resurfaced on an invoice that was sent via his attorney. That unprofessional action speaks for itself. Grill Vent - C. Hoffman denied completing the work on an outdoor grill vent because he said "it was not within the original scope of work" and not on the original plans. We did request that the grill vent be added to the project during the build. S.C. purchased and partially installed the grill vent. We are confused on why he thinks it would not be his responsibility to finish the installation. Window Scratches - within two weeks of moving in, the house was finally pressure washed which made scratches on eight of the windows evident. This raised a red flag for us since we had been previously told by S.C. that they had two other homes which had scratched windows. The scratched windows were promptly added to the punch list. It took two months for S.C. to have the windows evaluated by the window company. We were told by the window company that the windows would need to be replaced and they could not be buffed because there were too many scratches and they were too deep. Buffing would distort the view and void the warranty. It is worth mentioning that no-one from S.C. was at the window company meeting nor at any time did C. Hoffman meet with us to look at and evaluate the windows. The two times we were going to meet and specifically discuss the windows resulted in two different excuses for why C. Hoffman couldn't make it. After two more months of ignoring the window scratch item on the punch list C. Hoffman said that he would buff the windows but he would not guarantee the warranty. Eight brand new windows without warranties was unacceptable to us. When we asked C. Hoffman what he did about his other houses that had scratched windows he said that they "should be able to be buffed in a typical fashion". The fact is that those houses had their windows replaced. This was a very big red flag indicating that C. Hoffman was not being honest and truthful. The little bit of trust we had remaining was gone at this point. S.C. put the scratched windows on the punch list only to deny replacing them as recommended eight months later. It is worth noting that during the eight months of waiting for the punch list to be completed we continued to receive invoices asking for payment. We consistently had to remind S.C. that per agreement we would pay once they completed the work. The incompletion of the punch list along with declining to fix the grill vent and window scratches, and being given false information, prompted us to consult with an attorney. With our attorney's help, we reached an agreement. During the build process there were other frustrations, too many to mention here, which had us considering cutting ties with S.C. and finishing with another builder. Hindsight, we wish we would have.

Southern Cottage Corporation has been in business since 2002. During that time period, we have had the privilege of working with many clients to provide them a personal home of great quality and value. This process can be very exciting and rewarding, but requires many decisions and active participation. We have never built the same house twice, so each project requires an extraordinary amount of detail and information in order to achieve the targeted outcome. Clients often enter this process envisioning their "dream home", but we as builders see the very same "dream home" as a set of plans and specs and a scope of work that we work very diligently to budget accurately and execute as flawlessly as possible. Southern Cottage is well know for these preparations and our accuracy. We absolutely want to give every client the dream home they are seeking and work tirelessly to do so, but the calibration of expectations for each party is critical. We have achieved repeated recognition by creating great homes. Although we are thankful to have these accolades, we truly crave a relationship for life with our clients that are living and creating memories with their family and friends in the dream home that we partnered and prepared for them. This is exciting and rewarding! Southern Cottage Corporation stands behind each of our homes by providing a comprehensive warranty. We further provide an industry leading 2/10 HomeBuilders Warranty on each new home. There is no better overall coverage. In this particular build, we built a custom home on Lake Norman, NC the meets or exceeds the clients plans and specifications. We achieved a CO and our clients moved into a home that was complete by the standards of the county and our industry. They simply couldn't have moved into a home that was incomplete. We followed up with punch list requests for months despite that not being the traditional structure of warranty within our contract. Our hope was to please this client and seemingly did so while we were saying "yes". Many of the most minute items were addressed, nearly every little one. More and more where beyond the scope of work in our contract or beyond the manufacturers specification, but we proceeded in good faith to try our best. An example of this is the spray foam insulation in the garage attic that was not in the contract and not necessary whatsoever. They knew the cost of this, then didn't pay for this. We made many exceptions to try to do our very best to achieve the expectations of our client. Once I came to the disheartening conclusion that their satisfaction wasn't attainable, we focused on the facts within the plans and specs... or not. Once this client heard "no" for the first time, all changed. We simply aren't capable of providing a perpetual warranty for items that aren't even recognized in the industry. We also can't provide added scope items for free. 2/10 Homebuyers Warranty confirmed the same for these clients. We even hired and paid for 3rd party engineers to check systems to try to help settle concerns that were dramatized in this post. What they fail to mention is that these engineers were also to check the added electrical wiring that the homeowner would do themselves on the weekends that was not approved. After all of our efforts to prove to them that our workmanship, and THEIR workmanship was ok, they contact an attorney that only ends up telling them the same. This has been exhausting. We don't want conflict. We have tried very hard in this circumstance. We also had other clients that need and deserve our attention too. Projects like this can become an unfortunate distraction. For this project, we delivered a great home of quality on budget. They don't mention this. We aren't perfect, but we also won't be slandered like this. I am a person of integrity and not a liar. I am known for being honest and hard working. I am giving and feel that they took advantage of this. Look at our track record. Look at our community involvement. Look at my personal track record and know that this is simply a client I couldn't make happy. I want to say that I am sorry and that I wish things had gone better because that is how I am wired. I wish that was it. I am tired, but sleep well knowing what I gave them. Despite not making them happy, I did make them a great house on budget and with much added value from where they started. I am... a builder. By very definition, I performed in that task very well. I truly hope they can calm their emotions and enjoy life in their beautiful and envied home.

We stand by our statements based on facts, not emotions and without touting our virtues. FACT: It is insulting to say that because CO was received that the home was complete. It is common knowledge that CO can be given without the final touches being completed. SC agreed to a long list of punch items which they failed to complete, none of which prevented a CO, FACT: To say that we were told about the spray foam as a change order is not true. If it was supposed to be a change order, that would be another oversight of communication from SC since we were not notified. FACT: 2/10 Homebuyers Warranty never evaluated the windows nor did SC. Once SC was told by the window company that they should be replaced, SC ignored the problem. FACT: We did not dramatize the electrical and HVAC issues, they are well documented by the third party and we are happy to share it. FACT: to insinuate that he had knowledge of what our attorney told us is ridiculous. We decided to pursue our complaint after our attorney reviewed the pages of documentation that we provided. FACT: SC did have other clients that needed their attention which is why we were at the job site on a consistent basis to make lists of errors and to answer contractor's questions because SC was not there as needed. FACT: we do have a great home because we designed it with an outside architect, we made the selections and we overlooked the work that SC should have been watching closer. We have since talked to people that built homes with other firms who had a much better experience from start to finish. Our recommendation to anyone looking to hire a builder is to google residential building permits in and around the surrounding counties since 2018 (Mecklenburg, Iredell and Lincoln). Along with builder names, the addresses and names of the homeowners are public records. Reach out and ask if they were happy with their building experience. We wish that we would have done so.

We simply disagree with these claims being "facts" and reiterate our position and responses from May 17th posted above. I do hope that these clients both find a way to settle into the privilege of their new home and into the lifestyle the sought when relocating to North Carolina.