Ordered windows in October of 2021. Windows are still nowhere to be seen.After putting deposit down in October, I was contacted the next day in an attempt to collect another 1000$ because the price they quoted me and I’d already paid for didn’t look good to them anymore. I was told 8 weeks for delivery. I’ve called every month since December and im always told they will look into it. If im lucky enough to get a call back, im just kicked down the road a month and never given a reason why. I’ve called corporate, been told someone would reach out to me today. They never do. The customer service there apparently doesn’t believe in “customers “ as they are only allowed to talk to businesses. The level of rudeness by the woman I spoke with today was astounding. In no way was she trying to solve anything other than talking over me, cutting me off and arguing. My contractor has long since moved on and I’ve spent 20 weeks living in a house with borded up windows and no sunlight because windows were removed in preparation for the windows being in on time. When I call the local office in Portland Maine now, im literally laughed at on the phone and just given a date a month out. I’ve loss thousands in heating bills, my contractor is gone, I’ll need to find another one to install if my windows ever appear. Hopefully someone who actually cares about the company name sees this and reaches out. At this point, my next stop is the Better Buisness Bureau and every window review site on the internet until I’m finally noticed.

I contacted this company (https://www.budgethomekits.com/) AT LEAST 3 times: Twice via the company website "contact us" form and at least once via a direct email. Over 1 week later, there is no reply, even in my junk mail folder. I am specifically wanting email / online communication instead of phone, because I have very basic product questions that are not answered within the website itself. I want those responses in writing instead of someone's voice on a phone that can later be disputed. Others seem to have great reviews and I am happy it worked for them. As for me, I am crossing this company off my list of potential vendors. I wish this website would let me give 0 stars (I don't see any option to give such a rating) because that is exactly the value it provided me during my home construction research project. In case you are wondering, yes, I correctly input my contact information and no, I didn't even receive a generic "we got your message and will contact you soon" automated reply.

1. I have a few builders I love working with and have done multiple projects with. I am also always excited to be working with a new builder. Honestly it's just good for business to know more good builders. In 90% of the cases it works out really well. In my opinion it's more important that you get along with both. I'm presently working on a home with a builder I'd never met. I'm thrilled to be working with him and can't wait to do another project. 2. Relationships with local officials can help. I work in a dozen different jurisdictions that are all particular in different ways making it hard to keep track of all the changing requirements. A good design team can overcome this by doing their homework and sitting down with the officials. They're almost always grateful you're putting in the effort to get it right. 3. I personally love embracing a style I haven't done before. I think the right person can adapt as long as they have an open mind and are willing to learn. I wouldn't rule out someone you like just because they haven't done your style before. 4. I worked for 7 years before starting my own firm. For the last 25 years I've had a sole proprietorship. I did it that way on purpose to give the highest quality service to my clients. While my portfolio can't have as much content as a 20 person firm, I'm intimately involved in every step of the design. When I worked in a large firm my boss did some rough sketches, handed the drawings off to inexperienced draftspersons or intern architects with varying results. My preference is to work with smaller construction companies for their personal attention to the project. 5. The most important thing is to find out who you'll be working with. You may really like the owner of the construction company but if you hate the supervisor you're in for a long slog. I like to know how the builder likes to work with the trades. Do they have good longstanding relationships with sub contractors or do they shop around for the lowest price. In a busy construction economy the good trades are going to take the jobs with the builder who's brought them a steady stream of good work over the years and paid their bills on time. 6. Look for a good value not necessarily the lowest price. Understand exactly how and when the contract price will be determined. Will it be based on square footage, cost of construction or hourly? Find out what level of services you will get for the fee. Fees in our area range from 4-10% the cost of construction. 3% may get you a quick and dirty "builder's set" but a lot of detail will be left out.

Our year in review: January 6, I had Mohs surgery on what we thought would be a minor skin cancer on my nose. It turned out to be very extensive and I lost most of one nostril. I had two reconstructive surgeries and I"m framing this as very positive because 1) I had the second/final procedure literally a week before everything closed down and 2) I am feeling incredibly blessed that my wonderful plastic surgeon did an amazing job. I'm not disfigured, and in fact everybody including my honest-to-a-fault husband says the graft/tissue replacement is invisible. This was our first year fully retired and I was very relieved to find that my projections and plans for our financial life worked out just as I had hoped they would ie we were incredibly blessed to live a comfortable life with no money worries, even in the midst of a very difficult year for so many in terms of their finances. Speaking of funds, we had set aside money for a very extensive home remodel in 2020 that was to begin in March. We postponed that which allowed me to save more money, always a Good Thing when embarking on a big home project! We also had time to think more about what we wanted and didn't want to do. And best of all at the end of the year we discovered some leaks that definitely have to be included in the remodel logistics. Very happy not to have spent a lot of money and effort and THEN needed to tear floors up again. More financial upbeat news: my husband, daughter, her fiance and I struggled for months on whether to move forward with their planned wedding here in the Keys in March 2021. We finally pulled the plug in November due to That Which Must Not Be Named which clearly was not getting better and unlikely to do so in time for a 100+ person destination wedding next spring. This of course was a huge money saver, so the remodel budget got a boost from that too LOL. Daughter/fiance are having a backyard wedding with an officiant later this month and her philosophy is "As long as I'm married at the end of the day, my wedding will be a complete success". That makes me very happy despite the fact I won't be there and it won't be the wedding we planned. She's got the right attitude! Neither my very elderly MIL (97) nor my elderly dad (87) got sick, although MIL was exposed a few times in her ALF. The rest of my family has had a great run of health good luck till just a couple of weeks ago when my soon-to-be-SIL went to the doctor because his toes were hurting and the tips turned red....to find out to his amazement that this is a more unusual symptom of you know what. And sure enough he tested positive which is very odd given he has worked from home since March, doesn't go out etc. However he had no other symptoms and my daughter tested negative so altogether the family has, so far, weathered the health front well. Husband and I both hunkered down for most of the year but feel incredibly lucky that we don't have work responsibilities and/or children at home or in college. We feel so lucky that we have each other for company and that we live in a beautiful place. Even with a hiatus of more than half the year I have been able to start and maintain a regular schedule of exercise including Pilates and strength training...Zoom Pilates is a thing! And it works! I quit drinking alcohol since it wasn't much fun having a couple of glasses of wine all alone; husband is a teetotaler and we weren't hosting anyone to share the bottle with me. That helped the quality of my sleep and generally I have felt much better without any alcohol. I also upped the quality of my diet, giving up rice, potatoes and bread for the most part and increasing my vegetable intake. That means at the end of the year I've lost a bit of weight but more important I am noticeably in better shape and quite a bit stronger. I do have to share my DIL experienced her second miscarriage just before Christmas, so life as always has sunshine and shadows. I'm hoping 2021 brings them happy news and hopefully progress toward their goal of welcoming a child into our lives. So that's our mostly positive 2020 report.