Shea Homes Reviews

With the exception of our outstanding Sales Rep, Amy, this home purchase experience was very stressful and frustrating. The production team lacked follow through and adequate communication. The Sales leadership is difficult to work with. Despite all of this, our warranty team is responsive, and we are pleased with the overall build quality of our home. We enjoy living in such an active community.

Sales office was fantastic. My review would have been much better however, the poor quality control of flooring company that Shea contracts with (Primera) and the unwillingness to correct the issues properly lead me to give the poor review. I am very disappointed that Shea isn’t taking ownership of the issue and making their subcontractors fix correctly and in a timely manner. My next step is to report to AZ ROC if this isn’t remedied soon.

I would have appreciated a more comprehensive explanation of exactly what items were going to be put into the house, For example, the tub in the second bathroom is not quality and some of the workmanship in the house is sloppy.

The Trilogy Sunstone community is exceptional. Melba my salesperson, Denise in Design, Katie in sales, and Theresa in Warranty are all above and beyond. The reason for the poor review is that on the construction end of it, I am totally disappointed. Poor workmanship, horrible attitutude by the trades, sloppy workmanship with little or no care for a solid product. Lots of issues with the build. I would still recommend buying and living here, just expect a lot of frustration on the build end.

Until you move in, you wouldn't realize that the home that you are getting is not the same that you expected or promised. There are descripencies. 1. Prices have been increased for all models and that's because of merket on inflation. However you won't get the same things that your neighbors might have got for same elevation and plans. 2. Garage walls are literally foam, while some models have stronger and smoother garage walls. If your kid kicks ball inside garage, they will break. You won't have access to garages in model homes and this will not be included anywhere in contract and in design studio to chose what you want. 3. Laundry room is literally like apartment. In model homes, you will see cupboards, but you won't get that in home. This will not be discussed during design studio and you will not have a clue until you move in. 4. While handing over the keys, they won't listen to you and won't let you talk. They only bother to get rid of home. 5. Yes, they do offer 1 year warranty that is to cover cracks etc. May be builders are bounded by law to do this which I am unaware of. All they do is repaint things and hit nails. Ofcourse, some small electrical work. 6. Solar is another thing where you will not have more options. 3.5KW panels doesn't cover much and this is just because of california law they go with minimum capacity I think. I wish we should get more options here. Overall, it's not unpleasant experience and it's not pleasant either. You will get a home, but not good feel due to these small compromises. ... More

That there is no mail delivery and you will have to drive to the post office to pick up your mail. No answers when we'll have delivery.

it took 2 months to get basic things like the front doorbell working. sales said could park in driveway. This does not work and HOA fines us.

After going through the entire experience, we’ve realized very quickly that if it wasn’t for the sales staff, we would have walked away. It started with the design studio session, we were told to be prepared which meant going through Shea design studio software (via computer) which had a 3D model of our home and allowed us to select our materials (flooring/ countertops/ cabinets etc.). My wife and I spent 2 weekends going through software and designing what we felt was our perfect house, only to show up to our design studio (in person) session to find out our Shea representative didn’t even review prior to our appointment. Thankfully my wife brought her computer which we had to get out and open up the Shea design studio software to show the Shea representative our selections. After spending an hour or so going through the model we spent hours building, we were told that 90% of our selections are no longer available - Are you kidding me? The design studio session was a one time only, 4hr block, and we just wasted an hour or so of our 4hr block to learn all the pre-work we’ve done was completely useless. Since we had to start from scratch, I advised the Shea representative to get comfy because we will be there until closing time only to be told that we only had less then 3hrs to make our choices. I immediately requested to speak to a supervisor, after a few minutes of going back and fourth, the Shea representative called her supervisor and got approvals to spend and extra hour with us but also allow us to have a second 4hr session. This was great news, however the dog fight to get to that point was complete nonsense. To add to a day that was supposed to be fun, during our design studio session, the Shea representative thought it was ok to show us examples on her computer (flooring, countertops, cabinets) vs product examples I could see and touch in person. We were told by the Shea representative that she hurt her back and was moving slowly, which I sympathize, but I told her to show me where the product is and I will carry it all but without seeing it in person we’re not making any decisions. During the final walk through, my wife and I were talked down to and belittled from the construction superintendent and we were told countless times - ‘trust us, warranties team has a huge bucket of money and will take care of everything’. The issue with this, during our final walk through, which was specifically scheduled +2 weeks before final signing/ closing, it was explained to my wife and I that we are there to point out any inefficiencies and that we wanted to identify now so it can be fixed for the final signing/ closing. Well, during this walk, we were repeatedly told to not worry about inefficiencies we’ve identified and constantly told we’re being too picky and this isn’t a ‘custom home’. Fast forward 2 weeks to final signing/ closing and wouldn’t you know it, not 1 issue we identified was addressed. Not only were the issues not addressed, as I walked in I was immediately given an iPad to sign stating all issues have been resolved. I asked to walk the house prior to signing and was greeted with attitude by the field superintendent, which immediately changed my attitude. After reluctantly walking the house with me, I pointed out inefficiencies we had reviewed 2 weeks prior and asked why these weren’t taken care of, only to be given attitude and told ‘this is no longer a conversation, your to needy/ picky and we’re not fixing and this is warranties issue now’. WHY would you not want to address all and any issues prior to the home owner moving in??? After I move in, I don’t want you back as much as you don’t want to have to return to fix an issue that was clearly identified in a timely manner. During the entire build process, I can’t begin to count the amount of times we were told about the warranties team and their responsibility and that Shea wants a happy home buyer. This was great until we actually have to go through the process now, again I go back to final walk through and taken 4hrs out of my day to walk our house to help review the build and support identifying inefficiencies only to learn none were taken care of prior to closing. Now we have to go back and walk our entire house again with warranties and do it all over again? But now warranties team tells us about all these ‘rules’ that must be followed in order to identify if Shea is responsible of fixing or if it’s on us. ARE YOU SERIOUS? Top it off, as we point out the exact same inefficiencies with the warranties team, we are now questioned if we created the issue or if it was actually during construction. As if things couldn’t get worse, the title company that is Shea preferred, had a security breach the Friday before the week of our closing. Outside of our bank reaching out, the only person who stepped up to let us know what was happening was a Shea sales representative and continued to support us by keeping us informed. Meanwhile, we still had our final/ closing scheduled which we proceeded with. Outside of the other issues that transpired during the closing walk, I was also treated like I was the reason there was a security breach at sheas preferred title company and told by the field superintendent that he wasn’t obligated to give me my keys. Seriously? Again, I had nothing to do with the security breach and my wife and I were the only ones reaching out to all parties to get updates and asking for next steps and out our entire lives on hold to make sure we were available only to be treated like that. We spent a lot of money on this home, we’ve done a lot of research on builders and truly believed Shea was the right fit for us but we question if we made the right decision spending the extra money for the customer service that doesn’t seem to line up and was preached to us constantly. Again, the sales team was top notch and seemed to be the only Shea team members who actually had our backs as the home buyers. ... More

The feeling is like buying an unfinished home. A linen closet, but no shelves or doors, a kitchen sink is only included if you select from the chepest counter top, pay additional for light wiring in the ceiling but no light bulb is included, etc. The backyard is not your choice but the HOA approved choice. Like it or not.

Way too many problems with the home. Poor workmanship overall.

Had quite a few issues. In the cases of simple little problems where the builder can shove the repair off to their subcontractors (doesn’t cost the builder anything) they get right on it however, for the more difficult items the builder either doesn’t respond (probably hoping you’ll go away) or flat out refuses. I shudder to think of what will happen if any real warranty issues come up.

Our sales experience was very good. Our sales person Ted was very helpful in helping us make decisions but wasn’t pushy. The Trilogy house designs are very well laid out. Construction, however, was a disaster. 22 months to build, constant oversight of quality needed due to lack of construction supervision. Poor quality of most trades, not corrected by construction supervisor. Very slow or nonexistent response to problems noted during construction. Now the warranty people are trying to fix a bunch of items left over due to the inattention of the construction supervisor. In summary, great design and sales which were then ruined by an incompetent construction process. ... More

not working lighting with found not to code electrical wiring, attic light left on, backwards install door locks, 2-inch crowned tile in living room, ongoing not fixed broken irrigation box with box lid not secured, Heating and Air drainage issues, 2 inch crowned bottom frame of kitchen island.

Ensure to take your time during the walk-thru process prior closing to your house. We had a major option that was missing after closing, We could’ve not close if only I caught it during the walk-thru. Other than that we keep finding faulty items all over the house. The warranty reps been taking care some of them so far. To compare it to the other new construction home I bought 18 years ago, this has so many issues.

There is no storage is this house in the laundry room or room to place linen and bedding. The bathroom needs more drawers under the bathroom counter.

During the build process, Shea Homes changed my field manager multiple times for company reasons, not because the employee left the company. This practice delayed completion of the home. The final manager assigned had little to no project-management experience and did a poor job at quality assurance. I have a long list of items that need to be repaired or replaced. Thankfully, the home is under a one-year warranty.

We have been very disappointed on the quality of workmanship on a home from Shea that has been so highly regarded. We have been in our home for almost 5 months and they are still trying to take care of our 1 month warranty work. When a homeowner points out poor quality of work, it should be taken care of, not argued about.

Sales team was great up until I dropped of the deposit check, and then communication was sparse. They neglected to tell me what was in the model homes but not in my unit, and no option for any changes or additions before drywall went up. They are slow to fix problems and some of the problems have returned. Other problems were 'within tolerance' and not fixed. The location is excellent, but feels overpriced for what you get (no yard here and very high HOA dues.) It's fine, but probably not the best choice for me - was hoping for more than just 'fine.'

The experience up to the closing was great, but once you sign your name on the dotted line, good luck getting anything done. The warranty department is like pulling your own teeth, they have a lot of excuses for any problems you bring up, after you move in you’ll start finding issues with the poor workmanship.

HVAC seems to be poorly installed. Multiple issues in first couple months in the home. Walls cut open everywhere, mold from condensation.

Sales team was very friendly and knowledgeable. They made the purchasing process fairly easy. Our issues started toward the end of the construction process: inconsistent quality control, pipes that were hanging 12 inches lower than they should have been in the basement, and a water heater that needed to be moved 3 different times. It was difficult to get concerns addressed throughout construction and during the final walkthroughs. We kept being told “well, it was built to our standards.” If that’s truly the case, Shea Homes needs to re-examine its standards. The goal was clearly to build our home as quickly as possible without much attention to detail. We were hoping for a much more positive experience after the great service we received from the sales team. ... More

It started out great and then was just average overall. I would most likely not purchase through Shea if I were to do it all over again.

My after action review will be forthcoming as there are many facets in grading this experience. Major issue is that it took way too long to complete construction from out Aug 2021 purchase date (we moved in May 2023) and that Shea did not accept that we were not available the last 2 weeks of Apr 2023 per my Jan 6, 2023 telcon with project mgr #2…always a moving completion date. Finally, when inspected after completion, it was not cleaned per Shea model…it was a rush job to get to close escrow date. Disappointing.

Need to be more responsive and follow up doing/completing what is supposed to be done

The experience we had was what I'd call, "just ok". In todays world and economy, striving for "Raving Fans" is critical (google the book RF). It was clear, it's about the money and the customer is simply granted lip service. I don't need to revisit things like construction delays, we all know about those. However, getting the home closed so the money can be put in the bank is way too aggressive and simply a poor way to do business. There were "promises" made and not kept. Thats why people use the term, I was lied to. Sorry, that's just fact. Your VP (Brian) did not like it at all when I used that term. I should have stuck to my guns in that conversation and emphasize my point better. I was lied to on one occasion. It was a big lie and it cost ME money as a result. As well, it's just bad business to complete something like a home which is a big investment for the home buyer, just to have to correct a large list of things after the fact. Clearly 2 different profit and loss centers. As for the good? We worked with a few wonderful people who we believe did their best. Ok, no last names but Deanna, Scott and Richard were wonderful. Hopefully Shea recognizes them as helpful in what were some significant, problematic situation. As for me, I'm going to be all in on this project to the tune of around $1.05M. Thats a lot of money to me. I wish I did feel better about it than I actually do. ... More