08/01/2026
Sad state of affairs. It’s honestly things like this that make us cringe. Horrible for the clients and horrible for all those in the profession.
I figure this is a good time to explain our process. It is in place precisely to avoid and counteract this type of issue.
1. We don’t take deposits. Money starts when work starts. Not to say there aren’t administrative and other costs incurred before the physical building starts. We cover a lot of those. We are then reimbursed at first draw.
2. Design builds are nice and depending on complexity sometimes a small deposit may be needed. We try to avoid this by having our clients pay directly to the architects and engineers. We help you design a home for free, if you choose us as your builder then we make money. It’s a great chance for the customer to get to know us before they are under contract. We want them to be comfortable with their choice.
3. Waiting on final plans before contract allows accurate pricing and a real understanding of the clients selection items. We can work out financial hurdles before you are committed so that you know exactly what you are spending.
4. We show our clients the budget un-redacted. You know where the money is going and why before making a decision. This eliminates surprises and budget overages.
5. Selection item allotments are the clients money, we track everything and happily provide that information to our clients. If there’s money left in allotment budgets you can use it elsewhere, and if you don’t we write you a check at the end.
6. We are always accessible and it’s our primary job to manage the stress of building your home. Some customers struggle to hand over the stress. It is understandable, but you are paying us to manage that too. Building your dream home will of course bring stress but it should be fun as well.
7. We are solvent. That means not only is the bank draw from your project going to your project, but we are likely ahead of the bank. We pay bills on all projects with our money and are usually ahead of the bank draw schedule by thousands if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. Wonder why a contractor is moving so slow? They are likely waiting on a bank draw. That’s not how we do it.
All of these things and more are what we call the WT difference. Our homes are built different, our processes are different, and we are built different too. If we could do business with a simple handshake we would. Our clients become family and we stand behind our work. That’s not a corporate line, it is our owners Adam and Wayne telling you we’ve got you. In a world of pinnacle corporations we choose differently. We built this company the way we day because of things like this in our industry. We have tried to fix a lot of the issues we’ve experienced while working for other builders over the years. We are not perfect but we chase it every day knowing we will never catch it.
Spencer Calvert, president of Pineapple Corporation, was handcuffed and escorted out of the courtroom today after being sentenced to five years in prison for defrauding customers who hired him to build homes in St. Johns County. He is also required to pay nearly $9 million in restitution to the victims.
READ >> https://www.firstcoastnews.com/article/news/crime/spencer-calvert-sentencing-homebuilder-st-johns-county/77-26cd1a53-dacb-4923-a596-bad245b43a65?tag1=wtlvshare
