Highland Homes Reviews

This has been one of the worst home building experiences I’ve ever had or heard of. Nothing but issues all around and it’s taking weeks to get resolutions. When one thing is fixed, something else comes up. I don’t understand how this company is rated “high” when I’ve had nothing but problems. Home was poorly crafted and rushed to be completed.

We were excited to build a new home. But when we moved in, there were several items that were not completed. The house was not cleaned at all except for the carpets which had mud stains. They should have not been stained by workers. We had to clean the garage, which was filthy, and the attic was supposed to be straightened but not done. We pointed out that there was paint on the floor but that was not cleaned moving into the house. We had to do all that work that should have been done before we moved. The driveway was covered in oil paint from the house next door. The workers should be informed that these are expensive properties and care should be used while working on house to prevent damage. They do not take care when doing their job like getting paint on the new flooring. Also, our property should have been power washed before closing. We had our work-through and taped "bad" spots on the walls, but they did not fix until over a week later. Several pieces of the tape fell off, so they ended up not being fix. In fact, some of the items we pointed out were not finished the day before closing. We pointed out stuff before closing that needed to be done (and said was done) but later found out it was not done. After closing, we let the contractor know some problem issues. We had pointed out before closing, 2 bushes were dead, so they needed to be replaced when the water ban was lifted. These were eventually replaced but think that the landscaping should have been watered or not put in until water ban was lifted. We had several issues that had to be fixed. Our vanity lights were not installed before moving in. The lights came in and under the LED lights, the wall was not painted and textured, which we asked if it was done so the lights could be installed when they came in. It was an additional 2 weeks before the wall was fixed so the lights could be installed. We had to fight to finish the bad paint job. We were told we had been given the opportunity to QC the house, so it was our problem. We are paying 700,000 for a house and think that the builders should QC their homes. We pointed out that they did not paint house right after we QC'd and tape came off. They had sent painters, but we were not informed they were coming. They ran in, slapped some paint on, and ran out. We did not have chance to point out spots they missed. After bringing up our point, new painters came out and they did an excellent job. We also had an issue we pointed out before closing that was not addressed until a month plus later. There was a piece of trim in the master bathroom the was not finished. It cutoff at a very sharp angle. We asked that to be fixed but it took long time to get addressed. There were many minor issues. Some took a long time to get addressed after bringing them up, so I ended up entering warranty issues so that they could be addressed. After that, things got addressed and there are no outstanding issues. As far as what we requested, we ordered a lighting package, but it was discontinued. The new lighting came with a single pendant light. We wanted three pendant lights so builder ordered pendants from another lighting package that had 3 pendants. We are very happy with those pendant lights. But we were supposed to have an extra outlet in the garage between the two garage doors, but it was put in the back of the garage where we cannot use it. It was supposed to be near the front so we can use power tools to work on projects. Lastly, the quality of construction is poor. Being that we are from a strong union state, our standards may be higher than here. The fence is new but most of the nails are not nailed into the studs and will need to be re-nailed. The windows are not even. House seems like it was "eye-balled" instead of making sure it was level and plumb. We are happy with our floor plan and our design choices. But we would probably not recommend Highland Homes since their quality of work is low and they do not turn over a clean house. ... More

We had heard only good things about Highland, so we were excited about our new home purchase. However, we've had nothing but issues with the house since closing. We've had at least 6 work orders for repairs on items that were not installed correctly, already broken, or just plain shoddy craftsmanship. Flooring that's come apart, cracked tile and leaking in the showers, carpet that is not nailed down and is exposing wood underneath, dishwasher with no proper padding or insulation, uneven walls and baseboards throughout, bent air vents, broken window latches, uneven flooring with lumps throughout the carpeted areas. We find new items each day. It is clear now that the house was built as quickly as possible, with little to no attention to the details that make buying a new home so rewarding. I don't think we would ever purchase a Highland home again knowing what we know now. Cheap labor + fast build + poor products in the home = a really disappointed buyer who now has to keep pouring money into an already expensive home. Really not the experience we were so hopeful for. ... More

Too many issues not built for durability. Lots of issues with sheet rock finish, trim finish, leve 1 quartz had finish issues, door handles keeps poping out, concrete finish is sub par. Overall thry just using the brand and contractors they used to built homes is not doing good job

It was really great experience working with sales team while building my home. They were very cooperative throughout the process. Though there were minor issues closing done with the trust to complete rest within couple of weeks or so. But its almost 2 months and i have to chase down builder to get things done. I did not move in until 1.5 months post closing and already seen wood flooring sliding, cabinets paint rushed, bay window sitting area having no support so cracking, garage entry door making noise etc and broken window nets from day 1. Have had new build homes from Landon and Megatel in the past but never had this experience. It's frustrating to see these issues as soon as you move in and speaks for quality. ... More

STAY AWAY!!!! Terrible quality and items will not be completed with warranty.

It wasn’t a pleasant experience we were told constantly about the highland touch we came every 2 weeks to see progress and any issues. We sent pictures emails alot of issues weren’t addressed properly. When we closed we still had several issues and we were told they’d be taken care of 4 months later still all issues not resolved we were the last house painted by the crew that was fired. In the last 4 months we have had a multitude of contractors in and out of our home ( if they show up ) Still going through issues. Beware the promises of the highland touch, I take reviews very seriously and rarely give a bad one ... More

This is the first home we have ever built. The process was less stressful than others warned us it would be. Highland Homes finished the house ahead of schedule, however not everything was complete. After walking through the house with the construction manager, we had developed a list of issues that needed to be finished. The construction manager signed a contract to have the issues completed within 14 days. It has now been 7 weeks and only half the original list is complete and we have made a completely new list of issues we have noticed. We were also told in writing we would have traditional mailboxes and Highland did build them. Apparently they did not have approval from the USPS which wanted community style cluster mailboxes for the 19 homes being built. USPS has refused to deliver our mail for 7 weeks now because of it. We have to drive 20 minutes each direction to the post office to wait in line for another 20 minutes to receive our mail. Highland has stopped updating on this issue or any of the problems with our new home. ... More

From the job site constantly looking like a landfill and there never being less than a dozen empty beer bottles and / or cans inside the house alone to the shoddy workmanship of every facet of the construction of the home and Construction Managers being forced to close on homes that are not even ready, this has been one of the worst experiences of our life. We have been in our home for 2 months and we’re still trying to get the original punch list items completed. The longer we live in the house, the more things wrong we find. Every contractor sent out to repair something damages at least 2 other things that, then, need to be repaired. It’s a never-ending circus. Even at this point, if we could get our money back and walk away, we would do it without hesitation. We picked Highland because of the reputation for quality. That is a thing of the past. Don’t be mistaken by the quality of the model homes. Your home won’t look like that. Just like pictures on a fast food menu. Contractors take zero pride in their work and display absolutely no common sense whatsoever. A pre-owned home would take less work to make right than this brand new home is taking. Instead of being happy that, after an 8-month wait to move into our beautiful, brand new home and being able to settle in and get on with a normal life, we’re disappointed beyond belief at the entire process and, almost can’t stand the house now because it is nothing but a source of never-ending stress. As mentioned, we’d still walk away if we could get our money back. ... More

Our closing date was pushed by a month. When we moved in, there were tons of items that needed to be fixed. It's been almost 2 months we have moved in and there is always something to fix.

Very difficult process working with Highland. Both closing and builder repairs have been a bad experience - based largely on promises from Highland that they inevitably break (sometimes almost immediately). Setting up closing went well, but the morning of closing I was told the home wasn’t actually finished. I should have seen this big red flag. I went back and forth for a few hours trying to get them to delay the closing for their failure to complete the home on time - but I was promised that everything would be completed within 48 hours of closing. Based on the relatively short list of remaining items they were willing to admit to, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and closed. Mistake on my part - do NOT close with Highland until you are fully satisfied with the condition of your home! Getting them to finish everything else after they have your money is like pulling teeth. Once we finally arrived at the home, we were immediately shocked to see the walls were not painted with the color and quality of paint that was listed in our spec sheet. When we pointed this out to the builder representative, he just didn’t believe us and promised us that the paint was the right color and quality. Clearly, to anyone experienced with interior paint, you can tell from the feel that the paint is not correct. And it should be obvious to anyone that the color is wrong. He promised he would look into it anyway, and he has failed to follow-up after 2+ months. There has been a similar trend with many other items in the home (faulty dishwasher, grout repair n the master bath, replacing a piece of damaged ceiling where a can light was drilled in the wrong location, installing missing pieces of trim, repairing damage to the marble countertops, adjustments to cabinets and drawers, and much more!). After promising us they could easily and quickly fix these items in a matter of weeks, it took more than 2 weeks to even get them to repair one item. If I was to leave my representative alone to figure out everything that needs to be completed, nothing would be done! And often the only response I get from him is “we’ll get right on that, I’ll have someone come out tomorrow,” and three weeks later we’re still waiting for someone to come out. If you do go with Highland, you will HAVE to contact your builder rep multiple times a day for the first month or two, otherwise nothing will get done! And talking to his supervisor wasn’t much different. I was told by the supervisor that he wasn’t aware there were any issues and that we’ll just have to “hit reset” on everything, start fresh, and everything will get back on track. No surprise here - that was also a clever way to shut me up for a week or so and get me off their back. NOT good customer service. And that doesn’t even go into the poor build quality. It’s obviously one of those houses/communities that must be put up as quickly as possible without regard to quality (but you still pay a premium for it). In addition to a terrible paint job, the interior trim (baseboards, door and window casings) is absolutely terrible. For example - very rough joinery that is held together with caulk. It’s bad work and it’s in obvious locations throughout the home. The landscaping was clearly just thrown together in about an hour or two. It doesn’t seem they even prepared or leveled the land underneath the sod - it remains extremely lumpy and difficult to mow. There were even large gaps between sections of sod that were too large for the grass to fill-in naturally. I think we will one day be somewhat satisfied with our home, but it will take a lot of work and out-of-pocket expense on our end to get it there. If you choose Highland, be prepared for that, and stay on top of the builder daily to ensure things are completed correctly and on time. Without constant pressure, they will do it as cheaply as possible, probably still wrong, whenever they can get around to it. Good luck! ... More

Closed the house with a lot of defects. They promised to fix but take them forever.

Adam was very good and helpful during buying process. We loved the location of house, however, finishing and detailing is not good. We bought a house in end of October and they installed wrong bathroom wall tiles. Zack has been helping for construction management. We tole him that this is not the tile that we ordered. After that we did follow up 4 to 5 times and every time he would say he would find out and then never got back to us. We still don’t have correct tile in our master bathroom for which we already paid. Our one of bathroom cabinet is still needs to be changed.

I’ll start with the good. Ethan, the sales manager was awesome. He seemed to care, took the time to answer questions and even sent us updated pictures. Hank, the loan officer was very helpful and informative and answered all of our questions. Now for the bad. We had 3 different construction mangers. So things were missed every time there was a change in personnel. There is such a lack of communication. Tradesmen just show up unannounced and whenever they want. The affidavit when we moved in was “to take only two weeks” is still not done 4 months later. We still don’t have the official affidavit copy that we have asked for several times. The craftsmanship is not good and it doesn’t even seem like they care. When they come and “fix” something, it’s not fixed, it just “looks” better, but not properly done, and then something else gets messed up and we start the process all over again. Tradesmen just randomly show up unannounced, but when there is a scheduled time, they don’t show up at all. So much of my time has been wasted by tradesman that can’t get the job done. We had so many issues with the tile work, cabinets, painters, brick issues and so much more. I can never get the construction manager to give me an answer, let alone support for the fixes that need to be made. I have to continue to just randomly email to get something done that was on our affidavit. The saddest part, is that I would never refer this builder to someone else. This was supposed to be our forever home, I feel they have taken that away from me and don’t even care. I can’t even been to describe the level of frustration and saddened we have felt over this. We feel like no one cares about what the end product should be or what it has made us have to do to get things done. ... More

I do not know if I have enough room. 1. Fireplace was not put in correctly and whoever put it in bent some things so it looked like it was in correctly. 2. Tile is cracked and covered up with paint to look as if not cracked. 3. Side of house was not finished and had a hole in it (we had to fix it) 4 We paid for an extended patio (16,000$) and they did not brick in the back! It looks so cheap it is embarrassing to have people over. 5. Light fixture in entrance looked like the one we ordered but it was a much smaller version and have yet to get the one we ordered (was this done on purpose thinking we would not see the difference?) 6. Guttering in the back of the house...well there is none and when it rains, the rain makes a big hole in the yard. 7. The black fireplace tile was done incorrectly and it is off center. 8. Paint missing on the inside and outside of the house and no one will give us the name of the paint so we can get it and fix it ourselves. 9. No one will give us a manual and you cannot find one online to "fix" our air conditioner/heater so that we might adjust the temperature. I want to add that Don and Linda are great... ... More

to resolve issues it take a decade.. i have bought my home in July.. and still there are things that needs to be completed. the labor used is not very good by this company. they are not very detail oriented.

This is my first time with highlands and I am very disappointed on the amount of issues I am having with a NEW home. Feels like a used home.

Since moving in, I have had issues with electrical components such as the dryer outlet and breakers. I have submitted multiple requests to apply my warranty on these issues, but I have not received assistance. This has not been an enjoyable experience.

Do not close without having your punch list addressed and completed. I was trusting that the punch list items would be addressed in a timely manner after closing and that was far from the case. I have emailed Highland Homes and have received no response to my issues. I am at the point where I am willing to pay out of pocket to fix my new home, Sad state of affairs.

Do not purchase a home without the actual homebuyer approving the overall process and closing.

First 2 weeks had good response as to items that need attention. The last 6 weeks response was good from contractors that Highland Homes contacted, but not from Highland Homes as to items that would be handled directly by Highland Homes.

Check every detail of the house before buying.....

Not off to a good start...

I paid the full price for the home, including all items that were supposed to be included in the price. However, many things were not installed, such as fans and lights. The fence planning was completely mishandled, and the retaining wall was either not built or left incomplete. Additionally, I found several issues with the AC, drainage, tiles, doors, and more. I'm very dissatisfied with the price, especially since it's over $100k higher than homes in other communities built by the same builder within Dallas city. I can no longer trust the statements made by the salesperson. Let me know if you'd like further adjustments! ... More

Well there were many excuses. Change of builders, weather, rushing/more time, etc. They literally built my garage in the wrong spot and then messed up the island. Luckily we caught the island in time to fix it. But I now have a garage that is not functioning the way I needed it to be. The tile for backsplash was awful. There are holes and missing paint throughout the house. Fixtures were the wrong color. The quality assurance didn’t happen. Literally no one walked the house and tried to fix anything before we showed up they just built it and let us move in. We had a leak in the bathroom the first week. Not sure if they thought they could do a crap job because we weren’t in town to watch their every move but they are having to pay for it now. And it’s super frustrating to be living in construction, when it was supposed to be completed. Thea was knowledgeable and responsive and if she didn’t know she tried to find out asap. ... More