Premier Homes DMV

We bought a new home built buy this company in November 2018. Since then, we’ve had to replace all the hardwood floors that the builder had previously replaced twice (once because the fridge leaked, and the second time because the flooring was buckling and cupped). He agreed to pay out a small amount for the section of flooring he had not yet replaced (266 square feet out of almost 800). Per the warranty, that is all he was required to fix. The builder said the flooring was cupping, buckling, and the finishing nails we’re backing out due to us opening the windows in the spring. Due to a hefty leak in our walk-in master bathroom shower, we found drywall was installed behind the tile in both of our showers (this is not to code) instead of durock. Both showers need to be completely gutted and re-done. Premier Homes DMV started to re-do the master shower. We were almost at the grouting stage when my husband and I noticed something didn’t look right. We’ve the main county inspector helping us throughout this whole process to make sure it was done correctly. Come to find out, the tiles were not being installed to code. Not to mention the cuts in the tile were very sloppy and uneven. The owner of Premier Homes DMV came to the conclusion that we have a person problem with his sub-contractors and ignored the fact that the work was not being done properly. There’s also a 1/4” shim underneath our granite countertops. Meaning the cabinetry is unlevel. Because of this, the weight of the granite is not fully supported by the cabinets as it should be. This can lead to the granite cracking in the future. Our basement also floods periodically during heavy rains in the summer. We believe it is due to poor grading/drainage. However, this builder believes it is due to homeowner maintenance (not maintaining swales “ditches”). Our walkout basement has an 18” catch basin, but no concrete pad. The builder would not move forward with the release/payment paperwork regarding the hardwood floors unless the backyard drainage issues were also waived on the same release. The flooring was becoming a hazard, so we reluctantly accepted his terms. We’ve also had a detached garage built (by a different company). During construction, we found land clearing debris buried under the only other cleared spot on our lot. After further investigation with the HOA, this lot has never been cleared prior to the ownership of Premier Homes DMV. The builder denied burying the debris. Burying land clearing debris is not illegal in VA and can lead to sink holes in the future. Needless to say, we ate the cost of having it removed.

With the abundance of issues in our brand new home, I DO NOT recommend this company to anyone. After months of fighting, the builder offered a $5,000 payout that would allow us to have all of our issues fixed by a contractor of our choosing. After many estimates, the master shower alone will cost over $8,000. The hall bathroom will cost about $3,500. We have yet to get quotes on other work that needs to be addressed (drywall seams, nail pops, paint, unlevel cabinetry, re-grouting, interior doors not closing properly, bowed exterior siding etc.). As of now, we are still waiting on the builder for the release paperwork regarding all of our issues. This company does not work in a timely manner. Communication is terrible. We’ve reluctantly “accepted” his $5,000 offer to ensure the work is being done properly. Major issues such as these should not be present in a brand new home. Our master shower has been the biggest concern throughout all of this considering it was a big selling point. We have not been able to use it since June. It is now October. If you’ve taken the time to read this, find yourself a knowledgeable builder who will walk you through the process of your projects and not only do them correctly and to code, but also in a timely manner. When all is said and done, we will have had to pay upwards of $20,000 to have all of our issues properly corrected.

2-2.5 Stars. The customer service issues really left a bad taste in my mouth. If you need close coordination for when work can be conducted at the site, need good customer service on when workers can arrive, and desire a free-thinker on the architecture/design phase, instead of having to describe everything to a “T” that you want (and repeatedly re-confirm these insignificant details that don’t really matter to you), you might not want to waste your time. And only reason I don't give fewer stars is because they have great construction (carpentry, drywall) prices (about 1/2 their competitor’s-about $2000 for building 2 walls to enclose a room) and do excellent, professional work. But their electrician wanted $1000 for 4 outlets being added to an existing circuit, and installing the receptacles once drywall was done-simply because they were coming 40 miles to do the work (while the rest of the team was local). They lowered it to $700, but I did it myself for $300 in materials, and I was even able to add more than that (some switches for lights, light fixture wires) and ensure things were placed where desired on my own after framing was done, so I did that, instead. The one drywall guy working for them: “You don’t tell me when to pick my material up”-he held up work getting done because of when he could arrive at the job in the morning, because he wouldn’t get prepared for the next day by getting the material at the end of the previous day. This resulted in a day when he was supposed to arrive at 7-7:30, but wasn’t there even at 8:30 due to picking up material, and wouldn’t be arriving until closer to 9, when I had to leave by 9:30 to be at work at 10 that day. Resulted in 2.5 lost hours and us having to reschedule to a new day. Fortunately they came on a Saturday (after missing work on a Friday) to make up for it, but instead of “the customer is always right”, the guy came with that attitude when I told him he should’ve had the material picked up at the end of the previous day (Thursday), to be ready to work the next day (Friday). Guys like this obviously don’t understand customer service, or how this can inconvenience the customer. The drywall guy also questioned my decision to buy and install insulation in an interior wall and was judgemental-when it was for keeping noise down/soundproofing, and acting like adding an additional layer of climate control to the room it was butting against was some insignificant or stupid decision. And he also made the question of if baseboards were going in, after a Change Order (and an additional $200) was charged to install them (which really should have been included with a wall, in the first place!) had already been signed 2 days prior (showing a lack of communication or understanding) and he had already been out to get them, as it was (the source of the Friday delay). Why would he be sent out for material that wasn’t getting installed? And it doesn’t stop there. Dwayne, the owner, doesn’t keep you informed of exactly when his crew starts work/when to expect them-he says “they’ll get there when they get there” because of when they get material-it’s a guessing game when they’ll arrive. So he doesn’t care that getting the material in the morning takes time out of the morning when they could be working, won’t tell his guys to get it the evening prior to going home (or get it for them-like many construction companies do for their workers), doesn’t/won’t let you know when their work hours even start (presumably 7) to know the earliest to expect them (even after being asked directly), and doesn’t make many accommodations around your schedule because he wants to keep his guys on regular work hours during the week (understandable, but then they have to be ready to work when the customer has the house open/available, and because of the ‘getting material’ issue, they are typically running behind your availability, if trying to accommodate an early morning regimen prior to work). And on as least one occasion, early morning (~7) texts/calls were made on the same morning as work was desired to be done-but because these were missed due to not being expected (it was on a Saturday), no work was able to be done until the following week. And telling him I desired to have that weekend to potentially get the electrical done, but not knowing if I would be able to do so or just break down and go with his crew until Sunday evening (and I would let him know then) resulted in some conflict over scheduling (when it was my time to waste and my timeline, not his) and being told if I wanted to take my business elsewhere, he already had my deposit (2/3 of the amount needed for the job!) and I could take him to court to get it back! Fortunately we let cooler heads prevail in order to come to an understanding, but this never should’ve happened in the first place. First company I ever saw that likes to dictate to their customer instead of letting it be the other way around-until things get heated to the point of being at each other’s throats-figuratively. This should never be how business is conducted, and clearly this team needs to understand customer service. And at the beginning, there was too much second-guessing and re-confirmations over what should’ve been simple things-like asking for the decision to be made on exact measurements, to the inch, of a room being roughly divided in half, when these could’ve been done on-the-fly on construction day using estimates because sawing the drywall and 2x4s needed to be done on-site (and was), anyway, and questioning if a door was being set to open in a certain direction, after plans were drawn and delivered by me showing this and was already discussed when we did a pre-work inspection (when taking those exact measurements I just described). So if the property you need work done on can be kept open and ready for construction, these guys should be fine for that and they do good work. But if you need close coordination as to when work can be conducted, and will only be able to be done at certain hours of the day, need good customer service by the workers and you are easily frustrated by re-confirmations of details already discussed or that don’t even matter with your general contractor, it is probably best to deal with someone else.