I want to have my center hall full bath remodeled so I contacted Longacre because their website…read moreshows they have a location in Wayne, PA which is close to my home. Darin arrived promptly, was respectful, courteous and efficient in evaluating the renovation needs, explaining Longacre's history their renovation process. I was especially impressed that their stated work model is that the contractors arrive and remain on the job day after day until the job is complete. They don't juggle their contractors between jobs such that customers encounter long delays because the contractors aren't showing up because they are working at another house/job. This is a horrible way to treat customers but to maximize profit is the direction many home remodeling companies are headed. No thank you! Been there done that a few times and it was a terrible experience. After a few weeks of back and forth with Darin picking out tile, cabinet colors, shower door models, etc. I was ready to move forward. By the way, the reason the above took weeks was my fault due to work travel and a sick parent. Darin was attentive and responsive. Darin provided the final estimate which included us purchasing certain items instead of Longacre (this was our preference). I would purchase all the tile, the mirror, and the fixtures, we would also pay upfront for the custom cabinetry. When I received the final estimate, I was provided Longacre's payment terms. 40% of the cost upfront. 40% paid the day they arrived to start the job. What?!?!? You expect me to pay 80% of the bill before you even start working? On top of the 80%, I also would have put out thousands for the materials (my choice). The estimate with me supplying the materials was about $38,000. No utilities moved. No reconfiguring the space. Pretty much a facelift. New solid surface show pan, tile, new shower doors, new vanity, upgraded fixtures, upgraded lighting and paint. I would be out $30,000 in payments up front to Longacre and would have to deal with a demolished bathroom if Longacre failed to return or I would have no leverage at all to persuade Longacre to show up or fix unacceptable quality issues if they already have so much money up front? I explained to Darin my concern that Longacre is asking customers to accept a significant risk and that in the past, I've more commonly had contracts that requested a smallish payment as a deposit to lock in the contract, then typically 1/3 at the end of the first day, 1/3 at a pre-defined milestone that is about 65% of the job done and the final 1/3 at the end. This has flexed somewhat based on the size of jobs, for example, we added a 1000 sq ft. addition and that was eight payments at strategic milestones. I've totally remodeled four homes inside and out on the Main Line including large additions, and have NEVER been asked for 80% of the bill before a single thing is done. To me, that is a company that wants to make sure customers have no leverage over them which leads me to question their integrity. Darin assured me that Longacre has decades of good customer experience and is a company with integrity but would talk to the new owner named Hardy to see if there is an opportunity to modify the payment terms. Hardy refused to budge on the 80% up front payment. I thanked Darin for all his efforts (he was nice to work with) but also told him that since Longacre, which had been a family-owned and run company until the past year, is now under new ownership (sold off by the Longacre family), Longacre's legacy and history is now moot. This is Hardy's business, not Longacre's. It is unfortunate that we could not make this work. Never do business with a company that expects you to pay most of the bill before they do any work.
