Highland Homes Reviews

Construction quality is not up to the mark. Not sure if they actually do those quality checks they say they so. You find several problems after their quality check. There were several items being worked on even after closing and have several issues still bein worked on which were reported. It also seems they treat customers differently, some get good attention and some don't. Cleanliness is not their thing... They feel some dirty items are ok when they hand over the home. They own lender company will put you on a higher interest rate even when you give counter offer you received from others. In my case the difference was 1 full percentage. They know you will still close with them for the 'incentive' and easiness of the process as they want you of delays if you go with other lender. ... More

I am writing to you as a very concerned homebuyer. We recently built a house in Jordan Ranch with Highland Homes. While we expected the home buying process to be difficult, we have had quite an unpleasant experience with Highland Homes. From the get-go, there has been significant miscommunication and quality control issues. There have been many emails sent to our salesperson, our contractor and our project manager regarding issues, most recently being the unfinished nature of the house even after closing. There were multiple issues that were to be resolved before closing but were not. All of them are in writing, either through text message or email. These examples can be provided if necessary. We were assured at closing that these items would be completed the following week as we had let our salesperson and contractor know that we would be moving in approximately 2 weeks from signing our closing documents. The following week came, and the items were not completed. The next week came, and even after reminding everyone that we would be moving in later that week, the items were still not completed. We have now been here for about 4 weeks and the items have not all been completed, and we are finding more problems around the house - door knobs not being tightened appropriately and falling off, paint splatter, light bulb covers falling from the ceiling are just to name a few. My wife is at the end of her pregnancy and instead of being able to unpack our boxes and get the house ready for the baby, she is babysitting tradesmen and cleaning up after them as they come and go. She stayed home for the whole day on Friday 6/7, 6/14, and 6/21. We have to put a hard stop on anymore major repairs on the house because we need to get the house prepared for the baby. This was discussed with our contractor. On Saturday 6/8, painters were supposed to arrive at 7am and finish their job. I woke up and waited for them. No one showed up, and we were not notified until 9-10am. Things happen but this is the most recent incident of disrespect for our time and frankly this has happened way too much. I then had to stay at home for multiple hours on Sunday 6/9 while the painter came to complete his work. I am extremely tired and frustrated with the poor communication, the lack of professionalism, and lack of attention to detail with our housing project. I do appreciate Chuck coming to our house on Thursday 6/6 to evaluate our concerns. But the fact that everything was not finished on Friday and the painters did not show up the following day are just icing on the cake. Because of the cost of our time, the inability to unpack our things, the lack of professionalism, and poor communication, I would like to be reimbursed by Highland Homes. With everything that has gone on throughout the build and most recently, I think that 2 months’ worth of mortgage payments is fair. I do not believe this is asking too much and am happy to chat about it further. At this time, I cannot recommend Highland Homes as a builder to anyone that inquires. Our house cost us over $725,000, but I do not feel that the craftsmanship, communication, and professionalism was up to the standards that Highland Homes claims to deliver. Thank you for reading this message and evaluating our situation. ... More

Craftsmanship is poor. Quality of build is poor. Contractors are sloppy, framing not straight or flush and bowed requiring heavy warranty work. Walls not fully painted even after final walk through. Flooring scratched. Highland homes full of excuses; example two cabinet drawers touch when fully opened and the response provided was “both drawers shouldn’t be open together”. Unacceptable excuses to get the job completed correctly.

The experience overall was very stressful, and it didn’t need to be. There was a lack of communication; questions never answered, problems not addressed in a timely fashion that would have saved Highland time and money, and would have given us an enjoyable experience. The quality of materials used and craftsmanship of the installation of the materials was mostly poor. Very disappointing in such careless, lack of pride for their trade and other trades. Most tradesmen didn’t know their craft. Nor did they respect the home of the future buyer or us the buyer. An example would be wood trim and cabinetry warped, still finding counter top dings (that is now not covered in warranty), uneven walls, and not all the warped wood was removed and replaced. I would tell a new buyer to document everything, take lots of pictures, hire your own inspector before close and before your year is up while you are still in warranty. Going forward it is questionable if I would buy a highland home. Maybe…with the right building team. ... More

Very unsatisfied with the responsiveness of our contractor at Veramendi location. Many of the same issues were brought up multiple times with clear communication on our end regarding quality of workmanship and incomplete work. The contractor would make excuses and often times would not even be aware that the various tradesmen never showed up to complete work. Disappointed to see on our final walkthrough that several of these issues still remained unresolved. Weeks after moving in we are still trying to complete the list and take time off from our busy schedules to be available for the work to be completed or re-done correctly. Frustrating. ... More

I will leave it very short and simple. If Highland really cares, they will reach out to me for details. It is a VERY GOOD thing they had a pandemic to blame for each and every failure that came to pass on this build. In my opinion, it is only about making money for them with no care to the buyer and it is built into the contract to ensure that. If you chose to buy from Highland, invest in personal lubricant stock first.

I closed and moved in before all items on the punch out list were completed and responsiveness to my issues took a very long time to coordinate and finish.

House was to be completed in September 21, it was “finished” in January 22 to Highlands standards at which time they gave us the option of moving in or forfeiting the money we had put down and paid for upgrades and losing the property. So many things were still not done correctly but we moved in with the promise they would be fixed timely and to our satisfaction. Five months later, they haven’t fixed more than half the issues and haven’t responded to our communication attempts. Would definitely not recommend to anyone.

Based on a previous Highland Home we owned we sought out their homes as we felt they were a reputable builder and they stood for quality. They have been responsive to replacing items damaged or broken since we moved in but overall it hasn't been a pleasant experience. During our pre closing walk throughs we pointed out damage to trim, lack of finish quality, fact that sandpaper had not been used on trim board, gaps between trim and flooring as well as the overall finish paint quality on painted cabinets and doors. Minimal effort was put into making it right and it was as if this was just the way it is, take it or leave it. Ultimately we took it as it was the location we wanted and the homes were selling quick. After moving in we hired a private painting crew to repaint the doors and trim to a more satisfactory condition spending another $9500 on trim paint repairs alone. ... More

We specifically told the Highland Home Representatives, unlike others we were in no rush for the home but rather wanted quality work and material used in the process verses speed in trying to move into the home. What we got was very poor quality work that required us to bring in a third party inspector and maintain a detailed list of issues that required no less than four internal inspections by us and continueing to maintain and demand the list be addressed in order to get through the buying process. You have zero quality control in your process and only look to push the home out in hopes of the naive buyer just taking the home. A perfect example was that we were told to come do a final orientation/inspection only to find that insulation was missing throughout the ceiling and so many other deficiencies that I had to call the Highland representative to ask her to come to the home so I could show her the pages of quality issues with home that they were pushing us to close on. It was also very clear that steps were performed out of place, which caused additional delays and costs to your companies. Blame it on the sub's is a common statement, yet these subs were hired by your company and no-one validated or inspected their work. Only because our insistence, did these issues get addressed. This required me to assign one of my employees to site in the home and ensure that the issues were validated as completed, given the lack of confidence at this point in the building process. Keep in mind, I made it clear we wanted a quality product and was willing to except delays (given we were in the middle of the Pandemic), yet we were pushed to accept a sub-par home for half a million dollars. We finally got things done correctly but it required way to much effort on our part in the building process, and surely would not lead us to recommend your company to any others. Your company lacks defined processes and a real quality control system. I own a company that does work for the Government, and use a detailed quality control system on the services we provide. Your company desperately needs a formal Quality Control Process, that is outside that of the superintendent, who appears to be overwhelmed. My hope is that you gain some insight into your process with real feedback, but I believe you will just continue your existing ways, which can only survive in times when competition does not really exist. You need a real Quality Control System that tracks and reports on all work performed. Good Luck ... More

After owning a Highland home ten years ago and having an incredible experience, we were excited to build another Highland after moving back to Texas. Unfortunately we encountered a nightmare with being assigned multiple builders, mistake upon mistake with workmanship and materials, and having to get upper management involved to actually get our build finished. I know it’s a tough market now, but I would not buy a Highland home again.

Poor paint quality, poor trim work, poor wall texture, bad cabinets. Moved in after 15 month wait, and still incomplete. It's a beautiful plan and a very nice area. Just, quality, from a highly expensive builder. Expectations are low.

-Lack of updates/ inaccurate and incorrect updates throughout the entire home building experience. -Constant follow-ups to inform the builder of the inaccuracies provided. -Treated disrespectfully and blown off. -Pointed out several issues prior to move-in that I was assured would be taken care of. (They weren’t when I moved in and I received no communications. I had to escalate and inform the necessary individuals of what the issues were and escalations continue.) -Issues with the AC leaking and a Gas Leak happened during first few weeks of move in. -Continued issues outstanding to date and the amount of follow-up/time spent on issues that should have been done correctly is mind boggling. -Many individuals within the same neighborhood have the same exact experiences and concerns -Horrible workmanship with no one double checking that things were done correctly. -Issues included on inspection report prior to move -in weren’t taken care of before I moved in. These remain outstanding. -Continue to find items that have failed to be done correctly regularly. Face value, it is a beautiful home. However, when you do your due diligence you find that the workmanship and information you have been provided fails to be accurate. Be ready for a fight for what is right and many many hours of your personal time invested having to work through items that should have been done correctly the first time. ... More

Relocating from out of state meant we needed stronger and faster response on queries we had about the home, statuses, changes/modifications, etc. Buying process was difficult, too much confusion between Highlands (due to a lack of prompt communication), their chosen Title Company and our bank (a major credit union); this was quite a stressful situation on top of our relocation. Title company apparently made a last minute mistake on a closing doc, and we almost missed getting keys to the house on time. Literally had to sit in their offices until they corrected the issue, and they were close to closing for the day. Highlands takes the blame on that because they chose them to run Title; perhaps Highlands should look into a better title company. Moving in was rushed (lots of outstanding problems the day we took keys). Several warranty issues and “blue-tape items” persist even to this day, about 90 days after move-in. Highlands wouldn’t help with any repairs due to the winter storm. Ice Dam or other roofing issue caused interior leak on the house (60 days after moving in). Ice Dams could be caused by poor attic insulation, but despite this, Highlands won’t help or warranty the problem. Really poor experience given we just moved in here. I understand the severity of the winter storm, but we should not be experiencing ice dam problems or roofing issues 60 days after we took keys. Not acceptable. We intend on writing their corporate offices. For what we paid for the home, I definitely expect more. Almost 90 days living here and I still don’t have basic items (“paint kit”, etc) when buying a new home, and several issues are still outstanding warranty-wise. The one thing they did do well during construction was the additions we asked for. Those were well executed (water softener line, and other electrical). That said, it doesn’t make up for the rest of the experience we went through, and I can’t say my wife or I are happy with Highlands (quite upset overall actually). For being so well-reviewed and rated, we are perplexed. ... More

No internet. Asked them to come out to fix things wrong once I noticed things not right and they have ignored me once I closed. Yet they said contact us we are always here

I canceled contract with Lennar to go with Highland Homes and I regretted it! Sales person was very aggressive and all over. Wasn't even there for closing or call to see how everything went. Not attention to detail nor concern with my needs. Always pushing my concern or additional work to outside source that is clearly a conflict of interest. Home quality is not there, I paid additional cost to update my kitchen cabinets and let's say the workmanship is terrible. Landscaping work is terrible! Have ask them to repair and still no change after three months.

The home is beautiful and we love our lot. The actual experience has been really poor. From a list of items that still have not been addressed since move in (8/2/19), to $1500 water bills, to no mailbox keys for 6 weeks and misspelling of our last name on a "gift" from the builder. I would say that, if given the chance again we would not move forward with Highland Homes.

Paint is everywhere, cracked tiles in the bathroom that still haven't been fixed. Leaking water line that they haven't come back to fix either. Will not buy another home from them.

Be sure to summarize every communication in writing point by point after each meeting as to your understanding and have them respond their agreement. Their people appear to forget easily. Not all their contractors are the best. Don't rely on their inspectors. Hire your own. We did like the floorplan and the location but we came close to walking away from the contract a few times.

Enormous demand for new homes has created an environment where subcontractors hire semi-trained or even untrained workers (on the job training). Their work is many times simply sloppy and sometimes unbelievably bad. The Highland supervisors ensure that work is performed to code, but that does not mean work is high quality. A new buyer must constantly question things that do not look "normal", and get them fixed before closing. i.e Highland "cheaped out" and did not put in foundation drip lines on the automatic sprinkler system; this should be standard on your new Texas home. Make sure wood trim is cut with tools, not box knives. Make sure the cheap kitchen appliances are upgraded, because Highland uses low-level kitchen appliances. Make sure the yard is graded correctly to prevent large puddles and mud holes, especially if you have children playing back there. Make sure you purchase 3-way switches for all areas where there s entry from two separate directions. Make sure you use the Highland warranty system to fix all the poor workmanship because you only have 1 year to get it fixed - some folks had been working for many months to get items fixed, nothing occurred until the continuous use of the online warranty system was the only way to finally get things fixed (again, because the building managers seemed to be too busy to remember the small stuff). Remember that sheetrock errors are MUCH easier to fix before the paint is applied. With that said, you should always get the builder to fix texture and paint errors at any stage of the game - but it is most effective before closing on your home. Highland is MUCH more responsive before closing than after closing (again, to busy for small stuff). Finally, get some help from some building experts to help you find all the errors before closing time. ... More

Just move in around 90 days and I changed 8 of ceiling light!!! Painting is bad, we just find out inside and bottom of kitchen cabinet there a lot of exposing nails. The floor of 3 out of 5 rooms are not evenly...hopefully that’s all.

Be upfront with the buyer and let them know exactly what they are getting. Do not blame or penalize the buyer for a mistake Highland made. Have real sample of building materials in one location so the buyer will not have to pick materials from a picture ina 3 ring binder. Finally make sure that the Highland team in the area you’re selling home has the knowledge , experience, and customer service skills to sell your homes.

Poor painting. Back yard has a river running through it. Poor quality of tile. No attention to detail.

This is my first time purchasing a new build so I have nothing to compare my experiences to. This was a forced move for work so not a lot of time to shop around. Highland came highly recommend from my realtor. I looked at 2 Highland homes and on its face I really like them. Completed my "blue tape" walk through (took a vacation day and drove 10 hrs total) where I marked things that needed repaired before closing. I attempted to go over things with a fine toothed comb but it's a lot to look at in a short amount of time. I came back the next week for closing and was assured by the builder all of my stuff was repaired. I arrive at the house and noticed 90% of the things I marked were not fixed, though the blue tape was now removed. I was not a happy camper. What other things did they cover up? I made my concerns known and a few of the bosses arrived and began helping fix items. They assured me multiple people had walked through my house several times, but they must've walked through with their eyes closed to miss all the glaring issues. Things ranged from screws in the door hinges not screwed in, paint splatter all over the laminate flooring, trim not complete nor painted, grout all over the tile, laminate damaged, outlets not installed correctly, and sink leaking (though i was told it was fixed already, yet under the cabinet was still wet). Yes they are willing to fix it. Thankfully you get a bumper to bumper warranty for the first year because you'll need it. After a week of being in the home 5 tiles cracked in the bathroom and a warranty claim was made. I get angry every day knowing what I paid for the house and looking and the poor craftsmanship throughout the house. I will not be a repeat customer! ... More

Thoroughly walk through every single nook and cranny of your house as the walk through they push so fast as if they know things are missed. I have mortar missing at the top of my brick that connects to the roof that the builder should have caught not me. I find it very difficult to understand how the house next to me doesn’t have that issue but mine does and they use the same contractors. They don’t do caulking after you sign off on the house. Electrical voltage issues with the doorbells are a known issue and they are aware but not giving grade a transformers to fix the issue where it seems to be a monthly problem and it’s only been two and half months in the home. Make sure the wood is nailed down properly if you have upstairs otherwise you’ll be screwed. Not sure why so many issues that I have to call out if the project manager and his boss should be doing a detailed walk through before you do as they inform you. I wanted to love this house and used this builder because I thought they were better at everything compared to my previous builder but sad to say my previous house seems like it was built with better quality materials. I shouldn’t be able to sit in the master toilet and hear in the room next to me let alone have a conversation with the person in that room that can be heard clearly through the walls. A crack found on my secondary bathroom tile and it was pointed out for replacement of the tile instead they sent someone to put some paint or material that’s cheap on it that came up within 3 weeks of it being put down. The flood lights don’t get them, they are cheap for the price you pay you can get better quality getting a ring one on your own. I have to hire pest control to get rid of wasps that got in my attic/ roof of the house due to missing mortar in the front and sides of my house that connects to the wood because it was left open which I had to seal the front however cannot do the rest of the house as it requires a large ladder so now after being here 2 and a half months I have to come out of pocket to fix. Do better if you claim to be America’s best builder. I hope you rectify the issues with the doorbells and the mortar missing around the top of the house. Outside of this the house looks nice however with small mortar missing around the top of the house I’m nervous what the house will look and feel like in 2-5 years. Proceed with caution and if you can make sure you and your realtor come out every week to do a detailed walk through. I did but didn’t have the realtor do it and pointed out what I could when I wasn’t rushed by them talking nice and educating but moving swiftly ends up in lack of love for what you pay an arm / leg for when it’s not fixed within the first year. If I damage it I can see not fixing but how do you damage brick lol. ... More