Southern Homes of Polk County
Reviews and Complaints

My encounter with Southern Homes of Polk County was a saga of deceit, incompetence, and disappointment that unfolded over several agonizing months. From the moment we stepped into their sales office, Catherine Serrano, their representative, spun a web of lies and half-truths that ultimately led to a disastrous home-buying experience.

At the outset, Catherine dangled enticing options before us, only to snatch them away later with the excuse of unavailability—a classic bait-and-switch tactic that left us feeling cheated and betrayed. Despite assurances to the contrary, she conveniently "forgot" to include crucial upgrades like additional outlets and a rear door in the contract, leaving us to foot the bill for essentials we thought were covered.

But Catherine's deception didn't stop there. In a blatant violation of our rights as consumers, she insisted that we use Southern Homes' preferred lender, brushing aside our choice of mortgage provider with flimsy excuses. Her disregard for transparency and fair dealing bordered on the illegal, casting a shadow of doubt over the entire transaction.

Throughout the construction process, Catherine's promises dissolved into thin air, replaced by a fog of misinformation and false assurances. She continually misled us about timelines and progress, leaving us in the dark and scrambling to make sense of the chaos unfolding around us.

When we dared to voice our concerns to the company, our grievances were met with disdain and condescension from David Murphy, who seemed more interested in scolding us than addressing our legitimate grievances. His dismissive attitude only served to compound our frustration and disillusionment with Southern Homes.

Our assigned builder, Trenton, was no better. Despite promises of a pre-building meeting, he failed to materialize until weeks into the construction process, leaving us to wonder whether anyone at Southern Homes took our concerns seriously. Luckily Trenton was replaced with a new builder Carson who was an absolute professional. If Southern Homes had more of him and less Catherine’s/Trentons they’d be a better company

And then there was the quality of their workmanship—or lack thereof. It was evident from the outset that corners were being cut at every opportunity, with unnecessary holes drilled into walls and patched with shoddy foam insulation—a recipe for future bug infestations and water leaks. The subcontractors they employed seemed clueless, resulting in crooked bathroom tiles, malfunctioning pocket doors, and sloppy caulking that did little to conceal their incompetence.

Even the exterior of the house bore the scars of Southern Homes' negligence, with jagged cuts marring the once-pristine facade. And when it came time to install our upgraded cabinets and vent hood, the results were nothing short of disastrous. The vent hood was installed crookedly and covered up with a haphazardly constructed wooden box, rendering the entire cabinet useless—a far cry from the sleek, modern look we had envisioned.

To add insult to injury, we were promised top-of-the-line Samsung appliances in our contract but received subpar Frigidaire ones instead—a glaring example of Southern Homes' disregard for their customers' needs and preferences.

In conclusion, my experience with Southern Homes of Polk County was nothing short of a nightmare. From deceitful sales tactics to shoddy workmanship and subpar customer service, they epitomize everything that's wrong with the homebuilding industry. Save yourself the heartache and steer clear of this company at all costs.

I've been waitin' 6 months and my house ain't even started yet. I can't get no answer or clear date from nobody in this company. I regret gettin' involved with this builder. This is my first home and the experience has been awful. I wouldn't recommend this company at all.

I bought a spec house that they had already completed, didn't have a very good experience with that at all. There were a lot of things wrong (Cracked Master Tub, thin scratch in medicine cabinet mirror etc) and they just give the answer that if they were noticed at the walk through before closing its not under warranty. This company is terrible about standing behind their work because they sub out everything. If you do buy a house from them, make sure you go over everything with a magnifying glass before you sign off. Once you sign those papers you might as well be on your own. If I had it to do all over again...I would never buy from Southern Homes!

Southern Homes of Polk County, Inc. messed up big time by leaving the Styrofoam under the AC system in my attic. Can you believe it? My neighbor even told me that his roof got messed up because of the same issue. So, I decided to check my own attic, and guess what? I found the exact same problem. It's just plain wrong to handle things this way.

Garage door broke with a big bang and they didn't fix it with new parts. They just left the damaged parts as they were. The garage door broke again within a week and they didn't fix it properly. The work they did was unacceptable and their workers seemed unqualified. They didn't use new parts and just left the damaged parts as they were. They abandoned the job without completing it. I had to wait a whole week for them to come and visit the job site.

The management team never talks to me, even though I've tried calling multiple times. I even went to their office twice, but they just kicked me out, even though I'm spending around $300,000. It feels like they discriminate against me because I'm disabled and a veteran with a 100% service connection. The secretary says they won't talk to me. I'm stuck and it seems like they're trying to make it seem like I'm the one refusing to cooperate, so they can take my house and keep $40,000 of my money. I wrote a letter to get a response, but all I get is the sales team and builder. Here's a PDF of the letter I wrote.

Warranty request not resolved. A/C not cooling. Sub-contractor came and said it was fine. There is a 15 degree difference in rooms. After talking with the guy, he said the problem wasn't his, it was installed using Southern Homes design and only Southern Homes could approve the repair. When we contacted Southern Homes, they sent us back to the Sub-contractors. I know what's wrong and how to fix it, but the Sub-contractor keeps saying it's a Southern Home problem and leaves. The A/C unit will burn out and need to be replaced if it isn't fixed. I don't have $10,000 to spend on such a simple fix. Southern Homes makes excuses until your warranty expires, then it's not their problem. It's an easy fix. I want it repaired.

We bought our home from Southern Homes in September, right after they finished building it. The house was what they call a "spec" home, so we didn't have any say in its features. When it rained for the first time after we moved in, we noticed water coming into the inside tracks of the 8-ft sliding glass doors at the back. We reached out to the builder, and they sent the installer to check it out. He said everything was fine, but he still put some caulk down, just in case. Now, we're in the process of replacing the sliding doors, and our contractor showed us that the bottom track was completely soaked and covered in a slimy, moldy mess of caulk and who knows what else. The building inspector suggested spraying it with bleach to kill the mold and advised us to contact the VA since I have a VA-guaranteed loan on the house. What we really want from Southern Homes is some sort of financial compensation for all the work we have to do to fix their poor craftsmanship.

We bought a home from Southern Homes. We signed the building contract in October and closed in May. I expressed concerns about a civil matter involving the property at our build con meeting in December. I was worried that our rear neighbors' fence was on our property. David *** told us it wasn't and that if it was, he would handle it personally. In December, when we went to build a fence, the fence builder found the rear property pins that the surveyor had not located. The property started and ended two feet further south in the backyard than we were told. The rear pin was also inside the rear neighbors' fence. Code enforcement says this is a civil matter that we inherited when we bought the property from Southern Homes. Southern Homes hasn't responded to any of our attempts to reach out to them and have them handle the issue. Now we have to consult a lawyer to handle an issue that Southern Homes should have dealt with before they sold it to us.

I got a 1 year warranty on my new house from Southern Homes of Polk County, Inc. They ain't honoring my claim for their messed up work. I bought this new house from them in August and they gave me a warranty for a year to fix any problems inside. I reported a claim on their website a few months ago like they asked. So, this contractor came to my place to change the face plate on my cabinets 'cause it's all bent. But guess what? The plate he brought was cut wrong, just like the other one, and it was bent too. The contractor told me it's 'cause of the piece Southern Homes put on the cabinets. Me and the contractor took pictures of the cabinets and sent 'em to Southern Homes. Then, on June 16, I got a text sayin' they're closin' my claim 'cause I didn't let 'em caulk the messed up stuff instead of fixin' it right. I paid these guys almost $400k for this house that ain't even a year old yet, and all I want is for 'em to stick to the contract and warranty. The text also says the contractor changed the face plate, but that ain't true 'cause the one he got was cut wrong.

First things first, my sprinkler heads were installed and pointed in stupid directions, including spraying the house and the windows of my new home, which caused a leak through the window somehow (see pics below). Next, my sliding back door won't lock, and I've been waiting for someone to come fix this issue, as it's yet another unsafe problem. Third, my AC has stopped working three times in one week, and this is the third week I've been in the home, so let me give you a rundown of this AC problem... The first time it went out, they said, "Hey, you have to get a wet vac and unclog your drain line." Keep in mind, I just had this home built and just moved in. However, the first time, they did have someone come out and do it for me. On 7/10/2022, two days after they supposedly drained the line, it stopped working again, but this time on a Sunday. I called the AC company, as everything is still under warranty, but no one returns the call and no one comes out. After sweating all day and all night, here comes a knock at my door at 8:30 am on 7/11. The AC techs arrived and stated they don't work on Sundays! Okay, so now they took care of the problem, and again they tell me my drain wasn't working properly, but it's fixed now, they can assure me! After speaking to their warranty team manager, I was basically told that if the AC goes out after hours or when the guys aren't working, I just have to deal with the heat! They can't tell the AC company when to work! So here I sit in the heat again at 12:06 am on 7/12 because my AC has gone out once again! I've called, even though they stated no one would come out after hours, and I've written up a service request! Please, please never buy from Southern Homes! They sell you the home, then basically tell you to kiss their behinds! Not professional.

We bought a new house from Southern Homes of Polk County in August . We checked out a model home called the "Manchester" floor plan a few times. We talked about and saw where they would put the attic access points in the new house. We took pictures of the access points in the garage and the one in the owner's suite closet. They also have pictures of the same access points on their website. They put one access point in the garage, but there's an air conditioner pipe blocking the way to the attic. We paid extra for a ladder to be installed so we could service the AC unit and use the extra storage space in the garage attic. But the ladder was installed in the wrong direction, so we can't safely service the AC unit or put anything in the attic because of the pipe. Southern Homes said this is an acceptable access point according to the code. The second access point is in the middle of a bedroom ceiling, not in a closet or the right room. We noticed this and told the construction management right away. They said they would "look into it," but then said they can't or won't move the access point after multiple conversations. We have six closets, two of them in the owner's suite, but they said none of these areas can have the access point for various reasons without giving specifics. We have problems with the garage access point being unsafe, but Southern Homes says it's okay. And they won't put the second access point in a better place because of supposed hazards. It feels like they tricked us. We also had to fight for other things we paid for that they didn't follow through on. The first picture shows the placement issue, and pictures 2-5 are what they advertise.

I got 2 complaints 'bout credit at closin' and a problem with the toilet in the bathroom. We closed on our home in 2019 and went back and forth with Southern Homes 'bout a credit that was supposed to be given at closin'. We had emails from the sales rep and Southern Homes made every excuse as to why they weren't gonna pay the credit like they promised. Recently, I made a service request to Southern Homes 'cause we got an issue with our toilet that we think is their fault when they built the home. We paid extra to have a shower instead of a tub in our hall bathroom. Durin' the buildin' process, my husband noticed they were puttin' in a tub instead of the shower we paid for. Instead of Southern Homes havin' the contractor fix it properly, they just patched it up. The toilet is like 2 inches away from the shower. When you sit on the toilet, your legs are actually in the shower and the back of the toilet tank is partly in the shower. There's no way to get between the shower and the toilet 'cause they're so close. We waited to reach out 'cause we weren't sure if they would fix it since we'd been in the home for over a year. We tried to fix the issue ourselves, but after talkin' to a rep from Southern Homes, they told us to put in a service request 'cause they might fix it. We sent pictures to Trenton and he said the toilets had to pass inspection when the home was built. My husband also sent pictures showin' how close the toilet is to the shower and Trenton texted sayin' he'd come take a look. When he came, he told my husband they could have the plumber come out and install a toilet flange to move the toilet 'bout 3 inches away from the shower. But then, a few days later, he texts my husband sayin' we gotta pay for the plumber and the parts if the flange ain't already there. I tried callin' Trenton 'bout this, but he ain't answerin'. I think Southern Homes is a rip off and once you sign the contract, they do whatever they can to avoid fixin' any problems with your home. They use the cheapest materials even though customers pay a lot for their homes. We closed on our home in September and we've had lots of issues with the AC. The contractor wouldn't come out when we complained. The floorin' contractor had to replace a big area of the floor within the first year 'cause it was liftin', and it took months to get it fixed. Several cabinets in the home have also broken. I'm really unhappy, especially considerin' how much we paid for our home. We took pictures of the model home and the toilet ain't nearly as close as ours.

Southern Homes is keeping $2,100 of our security deposit that should be returned. When we signed our contract in February, we made it very clear that we hadn't listed our home for sale yet and that we were concerned with it selling in time to meet the contract deadline. We were told repeatedly that we would only lose $400 of our $2,500 deposit if we canceled for ANY reason before the home was released to construction. This was the only reason we felt comfortable signing the contract. With COVID and the resulting social distancing limitations, our home didn't sell as quickly as we anticipated. We ended up looking for another home as we had to have somewhere to live when our home did sell. Southern Homes had increased the base price of the home we were gonna purchase and if we did need to extend our contract, it would no longer be within our price range, so we had to find another home. We were reassured again when speaking with our agent, Megan, in early April, that we would only lose $400 of our deposit if we didn't continue with construction. Megan left the company and we let our new agent know of our decision and she submitted the request for our deposit to be returned and advised that a committee handled making the decision and we should have an answer in 6 weeks. 6 weeks later, I reached out because I hadn't heard anything. I was informed that we wouldn't receive our deposit "Presumably, because of the amount of time and work that has gone into processing the contract by the time it was cancelled". Megan was unable to provide any insight on what that meant, instead changing the reason to "The issue is that that is not the reason you cancelled your contract, rather it was because you opted to purchase a resale." So it seems as though the company was punishing us for not purchasing one of their homes. This reason was not listed in the contract as a reason for the deposit to be withheld, so I referred to a sales manager for clarification. Upon speaking to the sales manager, Ernie, I was advised that because my previous home sold within the contract's deadline, we wouldn't be refunded. We had already opted to cancel our contract at that point, so I'm not sure why this was relevant. When I requested for him to send me the portion of the contract that lists that as a reason for them to keep the entire security deposit, I was given yet another reason as to why we wouldn't receive our deposit back. He highlighted this portion of the contract "Buyer's intentional failure to obtain a Mortgage Loan Commitment". The entire verbiage of the portion of the contract he referenced is as follows: "Subject to FHA, USDA, VA other applicable regulations, buyer understands and agrees that on the effective date of this agreement $400 of the security deposit and/or down payment is nonrefundable and that has been used by the seller for the processing of the buyers contract and plan specifications associated with the preparation of the buyers file. At the time a lender issues a mortgage loan commitment or, in the case of a cash buyer the home has been released to construction, the entire security deposit and/or down payment is nonrefundable it will be retained by the seller if the buyer canceled this agreement for any reason including without limitations, buyers intentional failure to obtain a mortgage loan commitment or failure to provide them with information required to issue a mortgage loan commitment." Ernie appears to be taking only a portion of this contract and using it to fit his decision to keep the entire deposit. The contract states "At the time a lender issues a mortgage loan commitment or, in the case of a cash buyer the home has been released to construction, the entire security deposit and/or down payment is nonrefundable it'll be retained by the seller if the buyer canceled this agreement for any reason including with all limitation, buyers intentional failure to obtain a mortgage loan commitment or failure to provide them with information required to issue a mortgage loan commitment."