The Drees Company

I have bought a house from Drees as Ambleside Meadow, Mason and their services are very poor, You keep on calling them for addressing issues, and the moment you report any issue, every single person in Drees, will say " Not all houses are the same" and I say, you make houses different , but do not degrade your quality, if you have to make different, do it, but maintain the quality, which is acceptable and respects customers money. They do not bother about even security hazard things, Based on my overall experience, it seems, Drees is run by contractors and the Drees employees and management has no control or guidelines over/on contractors and contractors are not muck skilled, they try to do things fast and messed up the things, they always compromise with their services, I am seriously frustrated, will not recommend this, because of poor management and client’s respect.

Purchased new home from Drees in 2006. Had multiple roof issues. Drees would come and patch the roof instead of figuring out what the cause of our issues were. It took 5 years for the roof issue to be resolved. Upper management blamed the roof issues on the placement of our home on the property. No other house in the development facing the same way had any roof issues. That comment was directed to us by the Vice President who believed he was speaking to incompetent home buyers. Footer tiles were installed incorrectly causing a flooded basement. We ultimately had to hire a consultant to oversee Drees and threaten a law suit before Drees fixed any problems. It was not lower management that did not want to make things right. It started at the top. A letter was written to headquarters and no response was received. The local branch of Drees headed by a Vice President insulted our intelligence and denied any wrongdoing by Drees. We incurred approximately an additional $40,000 in expenses for excavating, plumbers, roofing experts, mold remediation and a contracting consultant for a new home. Never again would I purchase any home from Drees and would not recommend them to friends and/or family.

My family closed on our newly constructed house in September 2011. What was supposed to be a positive experience, building our own house with Drees, has instead been one of disappointment and regret. It seemed like every issue and problem we brought up through the whole process was met with an endless list of excuses and lies. To sum the story up even though we have a long list of smaller problems, we have one main issue which is most concerning. Drees failed to dig the foundation deep enough, an issue which the excavator admitted. We selected our lot because it was flat with the intent to use the backyard for entertaining. After the house was completed, the grade has become far steeper than it needs to be for proper drainage. The house sits visibly higher than any other house on the street. The problem started when the foundation was poured. I mentioned to the builder that the house seemed to be sitting a lot higher than any of the other houses. The builder told us at the time that this is normal, he had the foundation set high on purpose and that it would look right once the house is completed. Later while my family was at the site taking pictures, the excavator admitted that a mistake was made when digging. They had dug for the typical basement height rather than an agreed basement upgrade which raised the ceiling height. As a result they were forced to try and make up the height difference above ground. This caused the house sit sit higher, as well as the back patio. They took to slope off the patio which is now about a foot higher than it should be. This error with the foundation and the resulting slope eliminates the ability to use my backyard for the games and activities i had intended when i purchased a flat lot. We have given the warranty representative and Drees management numerous opportunities to correct this situation but they refuse to make it right. Even with the excavator admitting there was a problem and with very clear before and after photos. They continue to disrespect us, give us excuses, and lies.

They had hardly any supervisory oversight over the subcontractors, or if they did, they were not careful about the quality in building their homes. The price was a bit high for the time period. A lot of the things that needed to be done like repairing a leak in the dining room and giving the sink and a door jamb the proper angle.

WE'VE MET WITH THE WARRANTY MAN, AND WE'LL SEE WHAT GETS FIXED, AND I'LL AMEND THIS REPORT. I AM ALARMED TO SPEND NEARLY HALF A MILLION DOLLARS ON A HOME AND NOT BE ABLE TO COOK, NOT TO BE ABLE TO USE THE KITCHEN COUNTER AT ALL. (THOSE THINGS WILL not BE FIXED BY ZARING/DREES.) AFTER I MOVED IN, I FOUND A LIST OF 150 THINGS THAT THE ZARING INSPECTOR FOUND WRONG WITH THE HOUSE AND DID NOT DISCLOSE TO ME. IT IS NOT SETTLED YET, AND SOMETHINGS MAY BE FIXED. I WILL AMEND THIS REPORT, ESPECIALLY IF RESPONSE AND ACTIONS ARE REPARATIVE.

From start to finish the process was handled by friendly, competent and helpful people. I feel we were able to buy a quality new home for a fair price from a respected builder. The warranty is for one year, and the response to any routine problems has been excellent. I would definitely build through Drees again.

VERY PROFESSIONAL! FROM START TO FINISH THEY EXPLAINED EVERYTHING TO US. GREAT TO WORK WITH. HIGH QUALITY. DEPENDABLE, FLEXIBLE, PLENTY OF OPTIONS, AND GREAT COMMUNITIES. FOLLOW UP IS EXCEPTIONAL. SALES PROFESSIONALS.

THE GENERAL CONTRACTOR WAS VERY HELPFUL, AND WENT OUT OF HIS WAY ON OUR BEHALF. THE DESIGN CENTER DID NOT MAKE AS POSITIVE AN IMPRESSION, AND THEIR STAFF DID NOT SEEM AS KNOWLEDGEABLE OR EXPERIENCED AS I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED.