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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aeolius" data-source="post: 2150848" data-attributes="member: 2072">Back to square one.Several weeks ago, we chose one builder out of three that we had interviewed. We presented him with a set of blueprints that were slightly revised from the ones he had bid on. This was not a problem, as his previous subcontractor bids were only valid for seven days anyway. So we waited.Earlier this week, we got a call from my brother, who is my financial advisor of sorts. Apparently the builder had a few questions he needed answered. He left the information with my brother and there it sat, untouched, for over a week. Had he called me instead, he would have gotten answered within hours, not days.Some of these questions were completely ridiculous. He wanted to know the style of window and door casings, which my wife and I admittedly needed help with. He wanted to know the brand of shingles we wanted. The list went on.I admit that I watch too much HGTV. Ideally, I believed, if a builder wanted his client to pick a shingle, they would take them to Home Depot or similar venue, to look at shingles and discuss the pros and cons of various types.Yes, I was upset. The builder clearly lacked communication skills, if not a rudimentary intelligence altogether. From the beginning of the project, my wife and I had explained to the builder that we wanted wide-plank hardwood flooring on the main floor of the house. In his last inquiry, the builder asked which brand of 2" planking we wanted. Yet weeks before that, we gave him printed examples of the type of flooring and specified wide plank flooring. As far as I can determine, the builder never looked at anything we gave him.Yet I played his game. We took his list of questions, researched the answers, and wrote our reply. I called him the next morning, to let him know we were ready. I even left a copy of the information by my front door, in case he came by while we were away. I told him this, on the phone. The next morning, the plans were still waiting by the door and I had not heard one word from the builder. Mind you, communication is not his forte. He took three times longer to return his initial bid, than did the other two builders, and his proposal was sketchy at best.  Yet, as this builder had constructed a home for a family member in the past and was highly recommended by my brother, I let that slide. Yes, this builder had never built a house the size of the one I wanted. I let that go as well. Yes, his bid was the lowest of the three I had received. That should have been a warning in itself, but I chose to ignore it. Last night, I returned home to find that, not only had the builder not picked up the information I had prepared, but he had returned the blueprints and folder of specifications as well. Included with this was a letter indicating he was withdrawing his bid. My wife nearly cried. Her tears were tears of joy, as neither she nor I had any confidence in this builder's capabilities. Now we were free to either bid the project out again, or contact the other two builders we had spoken with. I called one of them almost immediately and left a message on his answering machine. In his letter of withdrawal, which clearly was not written by his hand, as the word choices and sentence structures were unlike any he had used in the past, he indicated that there was a lack of communication on our part. Ignoring the fact that I had just been brushed off by a form letter that he likely found on a website (assuming he has the skills to use a web browser, which may be pushing it), I wanted to cause immense amounts of physical pain to this incompetent idiot. Part of me was overjoyed that I was now freed from future dealings with this spineless miscreant. The other part of me still wanted to gut him like a fish. I knew, deep down, that this (so called) builder was incapable of building my home. I knew this uncharismatic buffoon would never deliver the HGTV experience.And so here I am, months have passed; time wasted that I cannot reclaim. Here I sit, having been insulted by a man whose intellect rivals that of a deceased hermit crab. And I am happy. Here we go again.</blockquote>

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