The Coirier's Story

In the beginning of 2011 my husband and I decided to build our first home. We had dreams of starting a family soon and began looking for a builder. After researching, we decided to build modular for the quality and price. We contacted +Westchester Modular Homes, Inc. through their website and were redirected to one of their independent authorized builders, RDA, owned by Don Shulman. We hesitated between Westchester and another local modular company, but ultimately decided to go with Westchester and RDA. Even though Shulman's price was higher,  he insisted on quality and reassured us that the turn-key experience would be easy and stress-free. We had no idea how far from the truth that was.

At first, things went fairly smoothly. The house we designed was delivered at the end of November 2011, right after Thanksgiving. As 2011 drew to a close, we thought we saw our dreams becoming a reality and were excited about what our future held. I was three months pregnant, and full of hope for the future. We expected the completion of our house by March and we also anxiously awaited the birth of our first child in May. I couldn't wait to get our daughter’s bedroom painted and set up her crib. I was looking forward to welcoming our little one with a house full of family and friends. As a teacher, I looked forward to spending my summer bonding with her. 

Our excitement about the house didn't last long. Issues with RDA soon started piling up. At the beginning of January, a contractor complained that he wasn't being paid. We called RDA figuring the check was slow to arrive with the holidays. We assumed everything would be back on track. Wrong again.

In February, work was moving slowly, but just enough was completed for our bank to disburse more money. We tried to hold back this money since we were concerned with the progress and this would mean that the majority of the money was dispersed. RDA threatened to stop the entire project. We wanted our house done in time for Charlotte's birth and were desperate. We gave the money to complete the job. Another bad choice.

We were on the phone almost everyday looking for updates and answers. RDA promised us everything would be done in March. I still thought I would have time to move in and prepare for the baby. In April 2012, we met with Don and demanded an explanation. He admitted he didn't have any more money. He claimed contractors stole money from him, that there was a closing in the works, and this would be solved within a few weeks. A month from my due date I was losing hope. He brought me to tears as he yelled at us (at us!) and told us not to complain. According to him, he did thousands of dollars of work for free. He was making this right by giving us an upgraded deck (materials we ended up paying for in the end).

In May 2012, we still did not have completed electrical or HVAC work, a front yard, stairs, flooring, a deck, gutters, etc. With heavy hearts, we realized we could no longer live out of boxes in our current apartment. We started to unpack. We had nothing ready for the baby. We contacted Don about paying contractors directly since this was the only way we could see getting our house completed. We met with Shulman again in the beginning of June. He offered us a new contract that detailed which contractors were working on the house, how much they were owed, and how much was needed to complete work. We would write check to the contractors and Shulman would pay us back within a month with 18% interest. He would also pay a $100 a day penalty if the house wasn't delivered within 30 days. At this point, we had already lost so much and no longer trusted him. He insisted he would hand the checks directly to contractors, but this gave us no guarantee that the funds would pay for work on our house. Thankfully, we were smart enough to walk away this time. We found out later that at least one contractor listed on this contract had never done any work on our house.

We then decided to call the contractors and to work with them directly. They had been hurt and had lost money because of Shulman. They understood our situation and accepted to finish the work if we paid them what was left to finish the job. RDA still sent their employees, but we had to pay for the material so that they can actually finish remaining tasks. I spent my whole summer playing general contractor, making sure everything was done the best way possible with the money we could spare. I was an emotional wreck. Everyday there was another problem, another unexpected expense. I enjoyed every moment with my newborn, but these worries and fears were always at the back of my mind.

In the end, we got our certificate of occupancy in September. I finally got to set up the nursery, more than six months later than planned. We're trying to make this house a home and put the experience behind us, but with a lot of work left and about $60,000 lost, it's hard to truly enjoy it. My daughter was four months old when we finally moved in. Rather than the idyllic bonding during the summer that I dreamed of, I spent each day of the summer worried, anxious, and in tears as I dealt with subcontractors and RDA employees. I thought I'd be relieved to finally move in, but I'm disheartened above all else--sad that this has happened to so many good people and impacted so many families.   I’m sad that my first months with my daughter, as beautiful and precious as they were, will always be associated with this nightmare.