Drees Homes Reviews

I like the area. Drees employees take their job very seriouly.

Our project manager, Matt was great. Any workmanship issues were scheduled and corrected promptly with the exception of a concrete issue. The floor plan works exactly as we wanted based on our ability to customize with DOYL. Thanks George. Not cheap with upgrades and lot improvement charges, but the overall value of the home is good. It immediately appraised above the purchase price. Very happy with the house and lot.

Overall satisfied. Their quality audit process ensures typical building issues get resolved.

The personnel we have met have been very professional and knowledgeable.

Overall had a positive experience purchasing and building our home with Drees. The process is never smooth and hiccups happen, which they were mostly responsive to. The workmanship is good, not great. Bathroom shower had to be redone due to a issue they found (which I would not have noticed so that is good). The worst experience definitely has been the landscaping they provided - large portion of the sod that was provided was in horrible condition and they were happy to come out and replace those pieces. The placement and installation of trees is terrible. I had 5 trees installed - 3 are crooked and 1 was placed in the middle of the backyard (why?!). They do not fix/move them either after installation so make sure when they do the initial landscaping, you're watching closely. Like with other builders as well, your lawn is just all clay so the quality of the soil is horrendous and you're going to have to do a lot of work after to get it right. ... More

Overall my experience was pretty good.

Responded to problems in a timely manner

Overall the building experience was good with the builder and this was primarily because of the people we worked with at the sales office, Debbie Meyers, the design center, Amanda Keefer, the builder rep, Kris Klein initially and then Anthony Lombardo later. They were all very helpful and made the building process very easy. The main complaint I have with Drees is that corporate market themselves as a "custom builder" and this is very deceptive. I have built two other homes with true custom builders and the reason I disagree with their labeling themselves custom builder is the very limited choices you have and the restricted means of selecting and buying all elements of what goes into the home. They restrict you to use only their suppliers for everything that goes into the home and you have to almost fight with them to let you go outside their supply chain to get what you want if their suppliers don't have what you are looking for. I imagine the main reason for this is that they gain monetarily from you using their suppliers. If you have never built a home before with a custom builder, you would probably not know the difference, but Drees is not a true "custom builder". Overall I am satisfied with the home but allowing more latitude in using some of my own suppliers would have made the experience better. I did go out and get appliances separately because I could not get what I wanted, ie, black stainless finish appliance thru their supplier. The credit I received for this was ridiculous. For all appliances, except for the microwave, they gave me a $1300 credit on all appliances. You can't even buy a refrigerator for this amount of money. Typical greedy corporate practices. ... More

Condition of home exterior could have been better. Noise level of heat pump in the owners bedroom is unacceptable.

They will change your options without informing you and pretend nothing happened. Then when you ask to have fix or changed is when the story starts getting super uncomfortable.

The work was very satisfactory. Sometimes the worksite could have been better kept.

The overall experience with Drees was great. It has been 20 years since we built our last home and my expectations were high and I was probable setting myself up for a frustrating experience. Drees made the process easy every step of the way. I was very hands on during the building process and found the trades too be less than stellar. I am not sure if was related to Covid, the economic down turn or simply lack of craftsmanship. Matt (Project Manager) kept a tight lead on the trades to ensure a quality build. Matt and Amanda were the best partners to have on our side.

Overall it was extremely pleasant until the end with a variety of issues that needed to be completed prior to close, a few needed to be done two or three times to bring it to a satisfactory level. Our contractor was responsive but the business and customer support definitely was less than ideal. And the preferred lender to which Drees has equity shares/operates separately from construction was very unreliable, resulting in confusion and extreme frustration as “good to close” was definitely fluid and difficult at best. Overall it is a beautiful home and no new construction is perfect and as long as they stick to their word of addressing issues I would say they are overall a great choice in the large scale/custom home market. ... More

Good to work with

I would like to recognize Nick J for his responsiveness to any issues I’ve had to call about. He’s fixed them quickly and efficiently. I would also like to send a big thank you to Neil for his quick response to any indoor issues. He has been a pleasure to work with

What you would come to expect in "builder basic." Basic materials and construction. However, the after sale support is top class. Especially in contrast to other big builders in our area.

Only one issue we had is when the lumber was outside during construction in winter they don't use it immediately after calling and telling them as it may get bad, I would recommend them not to leave the lumber outside too long before using,

We love our Drees home and are happy and excited to be living here. The process of building a home with Drees, specifically the upfront decision making and closing, was challenging at times, but our builder and warranty team were exceptional and great to work with.

Drees builds beautiful homes. Some things are options that should be standard (i.e. overhead lights in all bedrooms). Lots are too small, can't fit a full size truck in the garage. Some items are still not fixed months after moving in.

Drees was very considerate to make the closing date as per my need. The building process was very transparent and received timely updates.

Disappointed that no changes could be made even tho the carpet was not in. Buyer pulled carpet and replaced it before moving in. Selections were all done “on the cheap” ...Low grade carpet, no hardware on the cabinets, no stationary tub, or rough-in for one, no window sills. Who builds a &250K+ home without these basics? LOTS of issues with high humidity. Had to purchase a dehumidifier to bring humidity levels down Because of high potential for mold. 36” Door to pantry was too deep to walk through walk-in pantry. Buyer installed a louver door after closing...which should have been done before closing. That was a BIG design flaw. The door cost less than $100, to replace and now it works as it should with full access to the pantry. That should have been done by Drees before closing. Basic construction seems okay. It was just all the other stuff that was both costly and annoying to complete after closing. That is why the less than stellar ratings were given. ... More

Fast builder in the city

I bought this home as a Spec home there are few things that I hope that Dress home did better job 1. Painting - Very low quality 2. Internet Ports - There is no Internet ports available in office area. 3. I have been listed this home for rent from 3 months so far not one renter , I am feeling the primary reason because of the way the address is showing wrong in several sites. a. It looks like initially whether it is Drees or Local Post used street 'Trahan Dr' for part of the 'Shrawley Ct' so now google show maps incorrectly and Zillow show it incorrect , Zillow is basically showing that this house is part of North of west field. Drees basically messed up the whole Trahan Dr the physically boards are not matching with the popular sites. 4. There is no way the price of the home justified for Rental income in any means. This is something to consider for your future ventures. At the end of the day people might not make money but everyone wants to balance money I just don't see this happening for this home. ... More

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.

Sales manager, Debra, was very good, helpful in many ways.