Drees Homes Reviews in Jacksonville St. Augustine, FL

It was a good experience building a home with Drees. We are satisfied with our home and thank everyone involved in this process.

It started out shaky with having the initial GC that was assigned to build our home on how he treated my wife and I when ask questions. AND we were able to get assigned a new GC(Drew). He was awesome!

DREES Home builders should work more closely with the potential residents about the HOA requirements so there is not a possible misleading of what is acceptable for privacy with the space allotted (The Lot) and the "views" around the property being presented to the potential buyer

I think the final product is good, overall. However, I had a lot of stress going through the project that could have been alleviated had the builder done a better job at communicating when problems arose (for example, I would hear that something was going to get done, then a month later hear the item is back ordered and there will be a much longer delay). The quality of the paint is horrendous. The paint shouldn’t be chipping when I wash a piece of dirt away with a baby wipe or soft side of a sponge. The quality of the sod is pretty bad. The landscaper allowed too big of spaces between sheets and there are gaps. It looks horrible and had the sod been a specific job I paid a contractor to do I would be asking for my money back Some of the walls aren’t straight. One of our walls bows out and another wall has a seam so pronounced it looks like it’s bowing out as well. There have been a few times where I’ve stepped on the carpet and there has been a tack that wasn’t in all the way and I’ve cut my foot I understand that there are a lot of parts to a house and that it’s not going to be perfect. However, bowed walls, paint chipping if you brush it with your shoulder, and sod that isn’t even is just ridiculous. The floor plan and exterior of the house are great! ... More

During the build process, everything was going well until we reached the point when the builder told me he would be able to calculate the completion date, and then my walk-through and closing dates. He neglected to include the part where Drees' warranty person would do a walk-through first, then they would have 10 days (I think) to correct what was found BEFORE I would do my walk-through, and then they would have 10 days to fix anything I found before I would close. For the next 2 months, I continually asked if certain delays in building would create a delay in my completion and closing dates and/or if we were still on track to complete and close around the time we had discussed, and the original dates we had discussed were continually confirmed. It was not until I received notification that my walk-through and closing dates were 1 month later than had continually been confirmed. It was at this time that I learned I had not been told of Drees' procedure calculating these final and important dates. It would definitely be best if Drees provides a written, comprehensive outline of their procedure in calculating completion, buyer walk-through, and closing timeframes. Due to the pandemic and certain items being continually delayed, my builder continually kept pushing forward with as much as he possibly could so progress could still be made. I was also told about how he pushed some vendors to deliver and/or install certain items earlier than they planned in order to reduce further delays for my home. It was apparent he was working very hard to reduce delays while getting the necessary work completed. After closing and having a few items completed on the repair list, I asked the builder about some items needing to be repaired which were noted by my private inspector, one on the roof and one in the attic space, neither of which I was able to check personally to see if they were done. I was told since it wasn't on the list from my walk-through, it wasn't done - something that I found interesting as I made them known to the warranty person with whom I did my walk through that these items were found by my private inspector and other items I had mentioned were on that list. I was told (and this was also brought up during the building process) that they only fix issues noted by the city/county inspector and not private inspectors. Since it is a buyer's right to hire a private inspector, this does not make sense...what are we paying for, then, if the builder feels they have the right to ignore those findings?! These items have been fixed, but it needed to be done by making a claim with warranty. After moving in, I realized there were no towel rings (to hold hand towels and/or face cloths) in any of my 3 bathrooms. I have always had them in past homes, so had to purchase my own and have them installed. Not a super huge deal, but felt like the bathrooms were not 100% "complete" without them. The shower curtain rod in both my guest bathrooms are silver...my hardware are all bronze...so this looks out of place. For the price paid for these homes, seems to me no towel rings and shower rods which do not match is "cutting corners" in a way. During my walk through, since I could see there were plants with some concerns, I asked if they replaced any within the first year if they died (I have found most landscapers and even Home Depot provide this warranty) and was told no. Within the first month or so, my gardener has cut at least 4 plants/bushes to their base. Since part of the price of the home is a fully landscaped yard (with specific plants/bushes/trees), you would think they would provide some type of warranty for them. My 2 previous homes were also custom built and those builders, who provided landscaping for only the front yard, provided a 1 yr warranty for the sod and plants they installed. I have been living in my home for 2 months, and all in all, the home seems well built and warranty has been easy to work with for those few items I needed handled right away. ... More

Overall my experience was pretty good.

excuses for poor workmanship like that's our vendor, is not acceptable. Someone knows how to do it right get that someone with that contractor. if your going to charge for something make sure its right and don't make excuses when its not.

... until you close. We have an incompetent warranty representative. Small things, such as caulk missing around our tub were handled in such an unprofessional manner and have yet to be truly fixed.. Major things, like drainage in our backyard swale & moisture in/around our AC, have yet to be addressed/feel as though they had zero urgency. The sales rep & construction managers we've worked with are both amazing! The build process was clear. Given the pandemic, we expected multiple delays. Everything that was impacted was clearly communicated. Our home was very well built. I wish I could give 5 stars but at this point, not happening. ... More

Make sure with this builder that you have everything in writing and even then you're taking a chance! For the amount this builder charges for homes, you'd expect better overall experience with the process

Your sales department was terrible, I never felt I could trust him or felt respected by him. There were more than one occasion when we were not spoken to with 100% integrity. The design center ladies were amazing. Albert was really good until we got close to closing. He was a little more hesitant to correct minor discrepancies at that time than I would have liked. His trustworthiness and communications is what kept me from walking away throughout the build process i felt i could trust him.

Overall the experience was decent. The Drees product is definitely a must have as far as design and function. As for overall workmanship I would say my home is an anomaly compared to the others I have seen, not to say Drees has not been extremely supportive (Saul) in resolving these issues. We have several minor flaws within our home but overall we are happy with our purchase. We will recommend Drees to our peers and community.

i a letting you know that our air cond. is bad , need replace another new a/c thanks

Can't say my experience with Drees was any good, honestly, aside from my Superintendent Saul. The entire process outside of that was hot garbage. The quality of material and workmanship on the home is absolutely horrendous. Plumbing work is bad, paint is bad, drywall is bad, flooring is bad, electrical is bad, HVAC is bad. Literally everything about the home is bad. The only difference with Drees compared to other builders is that they try to make the house look fancier. That's it. We will not be building our next home with Drees.

For better or worse another's experience may vary ...my wife and I started our Drees process in September 2021. We took possession of our home Oct 31 2022. The biggest delay was 4 months for windows. Drees would like us to believe it was a supply chain issue however every other house around us started building after we did and got their windows seemingly on time but certainly no one else waited 4 months. We personally believe someone messed up and didn't order them on time or at all until much later. There were a number of administrative errors from the start down to the time closing. The vendors Drees uses tend to be sloppy with their work in our opinion. Painting looks like it was done by a novice. We've had plumbing issues. Windows aren't properly installed. Some things are addressed quickly, some aren't. Some things are minimized by Drees reps even though you know there is an issue. We can walk through our home and find something not right in each room. They tend to lean on "everything isn't going to be 100% perfect" which is true and not the expectation. The expectation is that everything be done correctly which there's plenty that wasn't. But it could be worse, we've had neighbors on our street that had to have bathroom floors ripped up due to bad plumbing jobs. That's our silver lining. This is the neighborhood we wanted to be in so it's hard to say if we would build with Dress again. Hypothetically if they're the only option it would take serious consideration next time. ... More

Would not recommend. Low quality, just the same as most other builders.

Don’t give time expectations that are unrealistic considering materials delay. Options, like roof colors and house are poor!!! Black roofs should be banned in souther states like Florida. They Waste Energy!! Options like solar operated roof fans should be an option. Why do I have to now hire a roofing contractor to install these vents by putting holes in roof you just completed?? You lack any knowledge of solar orientation to helge conserve energy- for windows, heat pump, etc. Builder does not communicate with finance and finance did not communicate with title closing staff. Two people had the title “ coordinator “ in their names yet NEVER communicated with me directly, like when to set up day for closing!!!! ... More

Don't stand behind their work