Menu
Login
Ashton Woods Homes has misrepresented their product to us and other homeowners in the Thornhill subdivision in Orlando Florida since its inception one year ago. The company advertised the neighborhood as a high-end community featuring homes with a very high level of finish. After we bought our home we were informed that the home prices were going to be lowered and the finish level in all homes going forward would not be as nice as our home. The developer would not let us cancel our contract although they decided to change the look and feel of the entire community.
Our home took much longer to finish than we were told because the Ashton Woods design center kept dragging their feet when it came to picking out our options and getting us pricing. In fact, after we locked in our option pricing and signed off on it, they tried to raise the prices of some of our options because they made an error.
Once we moved in, our home had 50 punch list items. The builder has taken forever to get them fixed and has refused to fix the most important problem; our wood floors. The floors were installed as floating floors when we specifically requested the floors be glued down. Now that we are in the house, the floors move all over and have too much give to them. Ashton Woods says that they will not address this issue.
If anyone is thinking of working with Ashton Woods Homes I would strongly suggest they think twice. Ashton Woods Homes misrepresents their product from the beginning, they try to switch pricing on you after your contract has been signed and their construction quality is sub par at best.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I was told by a realtor to look into a community being built by Ashton Woods in Chandler AZ. I toured the model homes and fell in love with everything from the floor plan to the beautiful details throughout the home. The model was advertised for $450, 000. I was ready to move in until I started asking questions. I wanted to know how much money was invested to upgrade the model. I was told over 400, 000. Once I began asking specific questions about each upgrade, the home I would be able to afford would look nothing like the inside of the home I had looked at. Many of the upgrades were not even available to purchase, they were just added to make the home show perfectly. I felt so deceived. I understand having upgrades in a model, but showing a home almost one million dollars when I was looking for one as advertised for $450, 000 was like showing me a Mercedes then giving me a Ford Focus. That method of advertising alone said volumes about the values and ethics of the company and I choose not purchase anything from this company.
My wife, and I, purchased a home from Ashton Woods, in Woodstock Knoll GA . Just like Jack, and Diane, (19/29/2014) we are totally disgusted with the company. We tried to contact them numerous times. We've even tried the president of the company, still no response . They are pitiful, all of them . So if your buying, or thinking of buying, save yourself the grief, DON'T .
I am looking to see if there will be any comments for Ashton Woods, Harris Branch, Austin. I love the model home and everything looks to be built high quality. After seeing these comments, I'm going to reconsider. One thing that has bothered me is the poor customer service. I realize this is a seller's market but I had to keep going back to get information from the salesperson as he was always busy. They really should have more than one person in the office. Also, they are only willing to give $7500 in upgrades, which may cover my cabinet upgrade only! They had no list of options which could easily raise the price 30-40K. Sounds like you sign a contract and then get hit with the upgrades. Buying a house a major investment and most people need someone there every step of the way. Very unprofessional, unlike when I bought my house from Centex. Centex wouldn't stop bothering me which I liked! Communication is key! I am glad I saw this complaint board! I think I am going to pass!
We are building in Vistancia, Dripping Springs, TX. We signed our contract in February 2015, and only got cabinets this last week. We probably won't even close until January 2016. The whole process has been a nightmare. They drastically overcharge in the design center, and had to fight them to get them to re-evaluate some of their prices. They claim to do custom work, but everything you have them price out is at least 3x's what you would pay just going to a big box store to buy. We are doing a lot of the work ourselves after we close. As for the build process. Each stage has been horrible. The trades that they hire out do not follow the plans, and I have no idea what the project manager for Ashton Woods even does. Every single stage has had problems. They didn't put in our floor plug before pouring the foundation, the water pipes weren't even where walls were supposed to be. The plumbed our water softener a foot into our master closet instead of the wall between the closet and the garage. As for framing, they completely botched the area where our stairs go up to the gameroom. We had to fight and fight to get them to change what they had actually framed to what the contract showed needed to be done. Only after showing the project manager a photo of one of the other houses on the street did he actually believe us and take any effort to get the framing fixed. Electrical was a mess. They didn't put things where the plans showed, nor did they read the plans for special requests that we paid for, like dedicated outlets. We just got our cabinets, and discovered a wall was too short making the cabinet stick out past one of our architectural arches. The builder continued to fight with us saying that sometimes things are framed different than the plans. The cabinet doesn't fit. How is this not an issue? The cabinet guys even installed some of the cabinets crooked. There is no quality control. We wish we would have never picked Ashton Woods. No one follows the plans, and the work is so sub par.
I would NOT recommend Ashton Woods to anyone based on my personal experience. There were delays every single week and very poor communication. When I relayed my concerns I thought they acted very unprofessionally, especially when they told me "Just imagine how the guy down the street feels." (The "guy down the street" was even more behind than we were.)
I dropped Ashton Woods and opted for a quality local builder, which is one of the best decisions I've ever made.
We were supposed to buy an Ashton Woods home in Orlando in 2014. We put a $15K down-payment. We lived in Jacksonville at the time. When the employment offer my wife had changed and it was obvious that things would be delayed Ashton Woods did not hesitate to inform us that we had lost our deposit. After a lot of negotiations we were basically forced to buy into another Ashton Woods community because they had already sold our house. This new house we bought from them was full of issues, major and small. Because I am an engineer (and, I'll admit, I was pretty irritated by the way we were treated) I made sure I did not leave a stone "unturned" and discovered a zillion issues. They are not a quality builder, for sure. I discovered electrical wiring issues with the water heater, the alarm system and wall outlets. I had sewer gas into the house because of a cracked p-trap. When they attempted to fix this problem they flooded the first floor of the house. I had cracked tiles because of foundation issues. I consider shower doors not closing, crappy tile, paint, grout work as minor issues. Now that our house is out of the 1 year warranty they will not address the issues, even those that they had attempted to fix as recently as a couple of months ago and they obviously failed miserably. I definitely do not recommend them but if you must then check their homeowners associations that they start in their new developments because that is another can of worms. Good luck with your purchase!
I almost bought an Ashton Woods home in Sarasota last year. The floor plan was perfect for me and lake lots were available at a fair premium. I have bought several new homes and know you need to add 10-20% to the base price to upgrade it nicely in addition to the lot premium.. There are only a few builders that offer "everything included", usually meaning every home in the neighborhood gets the same tile, granite, cabinets etc. and you don't get to choose a single color or upgrade. I always ask the builder for the printed upgrade list with fees, and then walk through to find out what are the standard features and then take a trip to the builders design center before signing on the dotted line. I want to know what the house will really cost, and which upgrades I should do upfront and what should wait until after I move in. I found AW's prices to be inline with other builders in the area. They were charging more for some items and less for others.
I walked away from AW due to several factors. Reason #1 was location, although conveniently located to work, shopping and downtown ... the surroundings were not desirable ( older rundown surrounding neighborhoods, mystery vacant land and retail backing to some of the lots). I would have chosen one of interior lake lots, but had concerns about resale price. They were not offering any bargains to compensate. #2 the salesperson in the office. I didn't trust the guy at all. A simple direct question got a 15 minute response that never or partially answered the question I asked in the first place. I felt like I was dealing with a well dressed, well spoken, used car salesman. I visited a second Ashton Woods community in the Tampa area to look at a specific model, where I met another former used car salesman with a real estate licence . I almost overlooked my concerns listed in number #1 because I loved one of their floor plans and the thought of being 5 minutes from work, the mall, and 10-15 to downtown would have been worth the trade offs. However, the fact that the company needs to hire realtors with the personality of a former used car salesman says a lot about the builders business tactics.
People,
Production (aka Tract) builders generally provide code-minimum build quality. Cost doesn't matter because that is largely driven by lot size and location. A good indicator of build quality is whether or not the house is located in a gated community. Buyers think "safety" when they see gates. Builders like gated communities because it's considered "private" in the eyes of the county. This means a builder can make the streets narrower, the driveways shorter, and can build the homes closer to each other. This enables to builder to maximize the number of homes they can build in the community.
If you want a better built house in the Southeastern US then stay away from production builders and instead build smaller.
Please think twice before building with Ashton Woods in Texas. They have wonderful sales staff, but the senior management could care less about the customer. Their products are sub-par. They hold themselves out to be more than they are. The are not semi-custom. They are straight production. Their design center staff are not trained and will have you picking selections for your bathroom that will not even work in wet areas. STAY AWAY! Save yourself money and time.
The following is my opinion. I have never dealt with a builder that has so little respect for the customer. They are not rational at all and only care about the dollar. They make things up to satisfy their arguments for their mistakes. The sales team is fine, it is just local upper management that I found unacceptable to say the least, condescending and disrespectful. I bought an Ashton Woods home in Texas and will remain anonymous as I want my warranty items fixed. Problems started during construction. There was one project manager for the entire neighborhood. I had to inspect my home every other day and let him know what the problems were. They are not even near custom! The quality of interior finish out is terrible and no one seems to care! I have so many warranty issues, I don't have the time to deal with. They claim to have energy efficient homes although their AC system doesn't even meet the city standard as energy efficient. I read the reviews on here before I bought the house. I thought they were limited to Florida and Georgia. LISTEN to the reviews. If I had to do it again, I would walk away, seriously. Ashton Woods quality is comparable to that of a KB home. The only positive thing I have to say is that they respond well to warranty issues but there are just so many. I am having to redo a lot of interior finish work. Sub contractors don't follow plans. If you still decide to buy, do not put any money down for upgrades. Use what upgrade money they give you for cabinets and counters. They charge so much for upgrades, you can have a contractor come in later for the same price or cheaper and actually install the material properly. My advice is to stay away!
Agree with this 100%. They use the absolute cheapest materials and contractors I’ve ever seen. Every other builder I’ve worked with had a certain quality standard, not Ashton woods.
I am currently building an Ashton Woods home here in North Dallas (McKinney). The issues started the minute they leveled the lot and prepared for the foundation to be poured. I started to notice alcohol cans and bottles throughout the lot and trash being buried at various points. Once the foundation was poured I stopped by again and noticed over 48 beer cans on the lot, in the concrete, buried in the dirt and hidden in wood piles. Ashton Woods has done nothing but make excuses and more excuses for the workers actions. Further, the slab is not level and is in need of repairs as it was not done correctly the first time. The operations manager blamed this on the sub-contractors but would not provide any recourse for their actions. Apparently it's an anything goes environment.
To make matters worse I visited the other homes under construction and noticed the same thing, alcohol is everywhere. Thinking that it was just this particular builder and development I visited another McKinney, TX development and the same issue was seen. The workers have a systemic problem with drinking on the job site. This company puts everyone involved at risk and does not enforce the law. Be very very cautious!
That is par for the course in the trades industry. Same thing was evident in a home I built by a local builder in NJ in 2007. If I were you I would not accept delivery of the home until the foundation is repaired. Contact a lawyer if you need to get your deposit back.
I am considering an Ashton Woods home in Texas. I have read these reviews as well as ones for other builders. What I find is the same type of reviews for all builders leading me to believe that there isn't a builder around that can build a solid house. I think we all know that the companies are trying to maximize their profits and build them as fast as they can. Like any purchase, whether it is a car, a service etc., there will be "lemons", especially when houses are built so rapidly. Has anyone had any experience with these builders in Texas and how do they compare in quality and upgrades with other builders, say like Lennar Homes?
I’ve worked with many other builders all around the country and have never had the kind of problems I’ve experienced with Ashton woods on all levels. Not even close. But especially the actual quality of what I’m paying for.
prospective home buyers should be aware of how much care they need to exercise regarding any yard work from AW when buying home. AW will not inform you how they will finish the yard, no session during design studio visits on this topic and they do such a bad job and will simply hold you to contract. since yard is typically one of the last items that is finished a home buyer has not much time to react. every warranty request will be denied and home owner will be treated like pest. please make sure you completely review the yard design and understand what you are getting into. Don't trust them to look at things from owner perspective. They are not a luxury home builder by anystretch.
We bought a home last year from Ashton woods. Big mistake. Unbelievably unethical in their practices and use every shortcut possible to give you the absolute cheapest quality house at their overinflated prices. I call their business and operations a scam and will never buy with them again and will honestly tell everyone I know about the terrible experience we’ve had with them.
Our privacy fence on one side never had a corner post and therefore blows over because it’s not nailed to anything. The ground corner post is missing. Would you please have the fence installer come and fix. Also one entire section is bent over. Shabby workmanship on new wood fence.