Grande Construction Company Reviews

Submitted by Billy Davis on 12/18/2023

1 Star Review by Billy Davis

I had posted a review about a month ago. Laura (Grande Owner) came to see me personally, so I took the review down in good faith... The issue is still not resolved so here I am updating my previous review.

I purchased my home 6 months after the original owners needed to sale because they took a job in another location. Right before closing we met with Mario (Foreman/Construction Sup) who gave us a tour of the house. I voiced my concerns that Grande's 1 year warranty was not transferrable and Mario said he stands by their work so if there's anything that comes up give him a call and he will work with me. (That's a bit ambiguous, but let's assume he means he would address the problem). Fast forward to Sept 11th 2023 after a very hard rain a LARGE sinkhole appeared between my rear yard and the rear water runoff gulley. I took pictures and immediately sent them to Mario. I also sent an email that same day to Laura's team at Grande Construction. The next morning (Sept 12) Mario came out and told us it would be $2500 To fix the sinkhole. After that I left a review on google about my experience and begin to do some research on new construction homes, sinkholes and builder responsibility. I found out about the Pa Department of Environmental Protection and gave them a call. Spoke to a very nice & helpful lady by the name of Rose-Anna. She informed me that during an Active Phase of Construction the BUILDER is responsible for ANY sinkholes that pop up and I should file a complaint with the Berks County Conservation District & keep following through because it could be a lengthy process. Since they were still actively building houses in my community, they were responsible. On Sept 21 2023 Laura (Grande Owner) got word of my google review and told me she wanted to stop by the next day. On Sept 22nd 2023 Laura came by and we talked. She told me she felt hurt by the review, that I should have just came to her and it would have been taken care of. (Reminder, I sent an email to her team on the 11th when I first noticed it, so the same person who noticed the review could have noticed my initial email). I told her what the Berks County Conservation District told me, she challenged it a bit but said she would look into it. She ended the meeting with a hug and told me she would address the sinkhole the following week. The following week came and the Berks County Conservation District's Inspection report came out with a list of multiple infractions INCLUDING the sinkhole in my yard. On October 4th 2023 Laura then replied to the original email I sent on the September 11th (which means she saw the original email) and stated "Per the complaints to the conservation district there are a couple of items that require my attention first" while also CCing her Lawyer. I've asked for an update on October 19th and haven't heard from her since. Rose-Anna from the DEP reached back out to me yesterday (November 10th 2023) to let me know that Grande has been fighting responsibility under the idea that once the lot is sold, it's no longer their responsibility. Rose-Anna also said that this issue has been escalated from the BCCD to the DEP and the next step is a follow up inspection and then fines.

All of this could have simply been resolved if they would have practiced what they preached when I bought the home and if they would have responded in a timely manner. Had I not put yellow tape around the sinkhole, someone could have gotten hurt. I have a young daughter who plays in the yard, what if it appeared while she was out there running around?

Why go through all this hassle?
Why put your reputation at risk?
Why risk the fines?

Ironically enough with all the other items listed on the BCCD Inspection report, Grande would have spent less money fixing the sinkhole when I initially requested than they did paying all of their workers to address all of the other infractions + the possible fines + having to pay their workers to fix this sinkhole.

UPDATE 12/14/2023 - Sinkhole has been repaired.