Smith Custom Homes

PLEASE READ. DO NOT USE SMITH CUSTOM HOMES! WE TERMINATED CONTRACT & SHARE OUR STORY SO NO OTHER FAMILY HAS SAME EXPERIENCE. SCH used bait & switch tactics & misrepresentation to sell what they couldn't deliver. We signed in 7/22, and as of 8/23, still hadn't broken ground. SCH made promises & was unable to meet any of them, to the point that our loan was 2 months from being pulled due to NO evidence of construction. We expect SCH may respond w/ excuses & attempt to refute our claims, but we have texts, & email that defend our position. Since contracting, they're are other posts w/ same experiences. READ ON before making a decision w/ this builder: 1. We looked forward to working w/ SCH following their "Pathway to Your Dream Home" orientation session. SCH promised to quote use great attention to quality, value, & customer satisfaction. However, within 3mths of contracting, we saw red flags. SCH promoted a team of a designer, concierge, & project manager who would support every step of the way. A month in, our concierge left & we would cycle through 6 others within 10mths, all of whom SCH explained as having poor communication skills or poor follow-up w/ clients. We began to question SCH's ability to hire quality employees. THEN suddenly, the admin assistant & project manager were gone, and by the end, SCH was acting as concierge , designer, and project manager. 2. It took 9mths to get stamped plans, w/ SCH repeatedly saying it was the architect's fault & giving excuses for the delays. 3. We were given a checklist of items that had to be completed (select countertops, cabinets, garage/front doors, etc.). To our dismay, we experienced that SCH had no established vendors who would work with them. We spent many hours w/ vendors making window, door, and interior selections, only to realize that quotes would never be returned and SCH would have us trying multiple other vendors. Once again, SCH made excuses as to why we had to change or why the process was delayed. In our frustration, we sought out vendor ourselves, just to keep the process moving. 4. Most troubling, as the financial aspect were haunting. When we contracted, we were told we would have an accounting of expenses and assumed our deposit (in excess of $100k) would be used to pay for materials in our home. After 13mths in this agonizing relationship, the only thing we have to show for our time are completed plans that we cannot own & a permitting process that was 95% complete, which ironically seemed to move faster after we notified SCH that the lender was threatening to pull our loan due to no evidence of construction. 5. After seeing there was no ability to deliver in a reasonable and a timely manner, we requested to end our relationship amicably. Recognizing that SCH incurred cost, we wanted to be fair and only requested 1/2 our deposit, given there was NO construction or deliverables other than home plans, and no accounting of monies spent. We tried to negotiate terms that would lead both parties on the best path forward. Had SCH been willing to return 1/2 of our deposit, he could have redeemed himself by doing the right thing. And said, he kept our entire deposit and took an innocent intention of us wanting amicable separation and twisted it into something as ugly as accusing us of extortion after we said we would share our experience so this couldn't happen to others. Given that we gave SCH over $100K of our life savings and received NOTHING of value, we're shocked at how we could be accused of extortion. 6. SCH purports to be a CHRISTIAN company and SCH includes a bible verse in his signature line. Do not let this fool you. In working with him, we felt he was too emotional and simply not professional. As a previous posting mentioned, consider yourself warned. Review multiple sites including posting by prior employees. Research county court records. There are common themes........