Thinking of Building a House with Trowbridge Homes. !!!! Trowbridge Companies, Anthony Randazzo, Salvo Orlando, Brad Byarski, Amie Parisi, Cheryl Parisi Michigan, Rochester Hills , Troy, Ann Arbor - 2617 Beacon Hill Dr, Auburn Hills, MI 48326

This blog is written to outline my overall experience while building a home and all the mistakes that I made as I went through the process. It is upto the reader to draw meaningful inferences from my experiences.

I was looking to build a home in the Detroit metro area for sometime now.  Story begins one sunny afternoon. I saw a road side ad for a subdivision in metro Detroit that was taken by a builder. The name on the sign said New Homes, Contact Anthony Randazzo, Trowbridge Companies. By the way the builder also acts a a realtor and operates under a different name as well. ( Trillium Homes ) who serves as a listing agent for Trowbridge companies and there may be several other names affiliated with this company.

I liked the area and saw some decent home plans on their website. I was looking forward to my dream home becoming a reality soon.  That my friends was the biggest mistake I made.

Let me start with some of the red flags that I should have seen before signing the contract.

1) The builder would always want to meet at a restaurant near my area not in an office. Was open to more customization than most reputed builders and he would promise everything verbally.

2) I asked to be shown a model,  selections and a detailed list of standard options withing pricing. They showed me a house in the Detroit Metro area which had several upgrades. I asked for a selections sheet and the builder said you will get everything that is shown in this house.

3) The builder would not take us to his office/model to see the selections and never provided a list of standard vs upgrade items like most builders do.

4) A few days before signing the contract the builder showed us some selections at a model and said everything here standard and is available for you to choose. I believed him. Use common sense before signing a PA. If it is not in writing, the builder is not obligated to provide it.  This is one of your biggest investments so a little due diligence does not hurt.

These four things should have made me walk away. Unfortunately, I continued talking with this company.

Major mistakes that I made before signing the contract:

1) I did not do enough research on the builder, ask for referrals or talk to people who had built with this company. -Duh!!

2) I did not get the Purchase Agreement reviewed by a qualified attorney. Duh!!

3) I did not make sure everything that was said was documented in detail on the Purchase Agreement that was to be signed. Double Duh!!!

So as a first time home buyer, I ended up signing a purchase agreement which was written heavily in favor of Trowbridge Companies, Auburn Hills MI. Most builders PA's are written heavily in favor of the builder. Having a Purchase Agreement reviewed by an attorney will go a long way for those in the process of buying a home. Never trust a builder based on your own knowledge!!! Seek a qualified professional opinion and typically realtors are not qualified. Contact a qualified attorney.

Major points in the contract that were not in my favor:

a) No completion date commitment. We assume that a builder would want to complete a house and hand over asap. Not in my case.  If you search for some reviews about Trowbridge Companies on the internet, you will find posts by contractors who have not been paid. In fact several of my neighbors and customer from other cities in metro Detroit had liens on their houses built by Trowbridge Companies from Auburn Hills. Maybe this causes delays since contractors dont want to work for the builder.

b) The city providing a Certificate of Occupancy would require the buyer to close on the house. What is important to note that City Inspections are not as thorough as a Home Inspector's. They will look at the minimum requirements to ensure the house is livable and issue a certificate of occupancy. What this could mean for you as a buyer is that you will end up with a home of substandard quality and workmanship  like I did.

The Nightmare building with Trowbridge Companies - Beacon Hill Dr. Auburn Hills MI begins

My gullible self went ahead with signing the contract in good faith and also gave a significant $$ down payment.  The builder A Randazzo said that they would start right away and finish within six months. ( Verbal - How stupid of me to believe a verbal commitment ) What every gullible buyer like me does not know,  anything that is not on a signed contract does not mean anything in a court of law.  Please! Please! remember this when signing a contract to build a home. If it is not on the contract or addendum's, builders like Trowbridge Companies, Auburn Hills MI and Trillium Homes - listing agent not honor anything that was not in writing. Think about it. Would you agree to do things for someone if if was not written explicitly in your contract with them? Builders are not in the business of charity, they are out there to make a profit.  So if it is not on a contract and the interpretation of what is written does not communicate your vision explicitly, it will not be done.

So I continued, assuming that I would be contacted for making initial selections etc. The builder would never return my calls once the contract was signed. It was like a black hole. The builders assistant would call me every now and then to upsell basement wraps and several other items that I thought should have been included etc. More money!. Thinking in retrospect, why would I sign a contract before knowing exactly what is offered, how much it will cost and what I will get ? The builder did nothing wrong, it was my mistake.

Anyways, the basement did not get poured until 2-3 months after I signed the contract. The next 18-24 months were full of promises, delays, denials, rudeness, call avoidance and upsells for upgrades that I thought were supposed to be all included.

Again no surprises here, totally my fault. If I was told I would get a patio but the size and material were not specified on the contract, it can be a 5' x 5' concrete patio. Why on gods' good earth should I expect a brick patio that is 15' x 15'. Be careful not to let your vision and interpretation of what is written ( Patio included ) on a contract, dilute the true interpretation on what is actually written on a contract.

End result:

1) 24 months to get the house completed. - My fault

2) Extremely low quality substandard work product. - My fault.

3) Warranty work not completed. - Not sure what to say here. Kon!!


Thinking of building a house with Trowbridge Companies Auburn Hills MI or through their listing agents operating under Trillium Homes. Hope this blog will help people make more informed decisions in the future. This builder has done nothing wrong or illegal in my opinion. Moral of the story, be detailed in reviewing everything and making everything you want and everything that was discussed  written on a signed piece of paper. Do not accept scribbled notes on a paper. It can be a very difficult couple of years if you dont.

Eg. If you dont have a completion date on your contract, the builder is not obligated to complete your home by a certain date and there is nothing you can do about it. If the contract says a certificate of occupancy requires you to close on he home or pay a penalty, there is nothing you can do about it.

If it is too good to be true, it usually is!!! In conclusion, people reading the may draw their conclusions about the company and its operators. In my opinion, they did nothing wrong. There was no completion date on the contract so they were not obligated to rush the completion of my home in 6 months. If my contract did not mention that the home would be closed on only after a satisfactory inspection by an independent home inspector and meet specific levels of quality, why should a builder be obligated to meet any quality standards I have in my mind.

Here's a screenshot of a recent review in Yelp. Wonder why these reviews on the site are hidden. Takes a little navigation to find it. Seems to be a similar experience to mine but totally the customers fault. Why blame the builder for our mistakes... Committing to something verbally does not mean the builder has to live up to the commitment if it is not documented on a signed contract.  

Overall I had a terrible experience. The builder did nothing wrong by committing things verbally. It was my fault for not making sure all the verbal commitments were on the contract.