Don’t be fooled by the glowing reviews
Don’t be fooled by Chapter’s sleek branding or “hassle-free” pitch. Our semi-gut reno of a 3-bed, 2.5-bath Brooklyn co-op has dragged on for a year, burning money, time, and sanity.
1. Timeline chaos: Promised “worst-case” completion April ’25. Permits filed 5 weeks late. Designer ghosted, PM fired right before demo. Demo finally started mid-January—already months behind anticipated schedule.
2. Management vacuum: New PM ignored requests for basic updates; we'd often chase 3/4 times and ended up running the job ourselves.
3. Procurement failures: They forgot to order the one-of-a-kind marble we’d built the bath around. It sold to someone else. Wrong measurements meant thousands in excess tile—or rush reorders plus shipping fees. We bought most materials ourselves
4. Work quality: Same jack-of-all-trades crew for “painting,” “tiling,” “plastering.” Cabinets damaged during install and set over cardboard floor protection--they claimed it didn't matter because you "couldn't see it." Paid for floor refinishing and had to be redone in part because it was so bad. Front door left unlocked. Workers even used a bucket as a toilet which leaked onto unsealed marble--we had to clean it. Once we moved in we realized multiple appliances hadn’t been installed correctly + various other electrical and plumbing issues.
5. Payment pressure: Chapter’s milestones are front-loaded. We’d paid half the total contract before real work began, so once the poor quality became apparent, walking away was impossible. They demanded more money while work was incomplete/defective, and pulled crews when we tried to push back.
6. Leadership indifference: Escalations went nowhere until we filed a complaint with their licensing body.
If you’re considering working with Chapter, ask yourself whether you have the time, energy, and money to act as your own contractor—and whether you’re willing to gamble six figures on a company whose polish ends at the pitch deck. Finally, read their Google reviews carefully. Notice they all sound very similar…