Schumacher Homes Very difficult, deceptive, and lacking in communication Akron, Ohio
I am currently working with Schumacher Homes of Akron, Ohio. From the beginning, they were difficult to deal with. Their website advertises a great base price for their floorplans, but the moment you step into their offices the price increases at least $8,000. My wife and I scheduled an appointment to discuss a particular floorplan, with very minimal changes. The "new home specialist" quoted us some estimated costs for our changes, and we signed a contract. A few weeks later, as we were working on our loan closing, the communication between us and our specialist had completely dropped off. Multiple emails and calls went ignored. I called and spoke to a different representative, and they were much more helpful. They were able to obtain our updated redlines, and the quotes from the general manager. Every price change we were quoted initially was at LEAST 300% higher, unless it was a credit. Every credit was approximately 50% less. Following our lot walk, the estimated construction cost shot up 11,000 for a variety of reasons.
All in all, I don't feel that I have had the worst experience with Schumacher, but I definitely remain disappointed and feel relatively deceived. I let myself get under contract too quickly, and am now considering finding a different builder at the risk of losing our land. I don't blame Schumacher entirely, but I have felt ripped off every step of the way so far.
If you plan to meet or build with Schumacher, come prepared. Don't sign a contract too fast, wait until you get SPR responses, otherwise the costs may be disgustingly different.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
ttrettel
Uniontown,Ohio,
Please see these reviews before using Schumacher!!!!!
#3Author of original report
Fri, June 20, 2014
I am very sorry to hear of all the troubles people are having with Schumacher, it is truly saddening for someone to be excited about the BIGGEST purchase of their life, their dream home, only to be let down.
An update on my original post: Our house is still not complete. Schumacher has been putting off grading for nearly 7 months now, for no apparent reason. The incomplete grade has caused multiple water intrusion issues, which Schumacher denies complete responsibility for. It is ludicrous.
I would not build with Schumacher again, but would build again. I would caution anyone that chooses to hire Schumacher to remain cognizant of the fact that they DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR CUSTOMERS. They only care about their profit, and getting more sales. They do not care at all. They do not care at all. I repeat that, because it is hard for me to believe it myself, I've never run into a company that was so heartless. If they were selling napkins, I could understand separating yourself from your customers, but they build "homes". The things people raise their children in, and make memories in. My memories are ruined thanks to this company.
Run away, run far away.
By the way, we were about 25,000 over budget.
shelley guthrie
conroe,Texas,
RUN, RUN, RUN!!!!!
#3Consumer Comment
Wed, September 11, 2013
We signed our contract with Schumacher September 14, 2012. It is now September 11, 2013. They are still not anywhere near completed with our house. They use shoddy contractors who do not show up. They were suppose to pour our slab in November 2012, and it did not get poured until April 2013. Since then, the A/C contractor "no showed" for 5 weeks straight. When they finally showed up, they put in only 1 unit when we were suppose to have 2. NO ONE from schumacher was supervising. We are the ones who had to call them and tell them it was wrong. Then it took the a/c company 3 weeks to come fix it. There were MANY areas of the house that were not measured correctly so they have had to LITERALLY jackhammer 5 different parts of our slab to move pipes, they mismeasured our patio so our columns are hanging OFF of the patio, when they put our cabinets in, the walls were not straight so their was almost a 2 inch gap at the bottom and by the time it got to the top, the cabinet was crammed in there. So 2 walls are completely having to be re-done. They mis-measure for our refrigerator and freezer so they had to move an ENTIRE wall over. We are paying for a new house and are receiving a "patchwork" house. We are on our 3rd builder bc they all quit the company and on our 2nd building manager. There is no communication between the builder and the contractor. WE have been the ones who have been going out there on a daily basis and having to notify the builder bc they are NEVER around. If I wanted to be the builder and spend every fre second I had going out there, I would have gone with a "build your own house" type company instead of hiring a "custom builder". Also, not to mention we are having to pay $800 for an extension on our construction loan bc they won't be done within a year. PLEASE do not use them, you will be SOOOOOO SORRY. I have documented and taken pictures of EVERYTHING so feel free to contact me and I will show you the pics. IT has been a total nightmare, they have taken all the joy out of this experience.
The sad thing is, this review does not even come close to describing all that we have been through.