I believe the poster meant the specific house names - not Schumacher, They have models called Olivia, Abigail, Beverly...... Pretty thin reason for not using a builder but in the end probably saved themselves a lot of headaches!

Ohhhhh. Thank YOU!
I do wonder what the Schumacher's would think of this couple deciding not to build with them mainly due to their favorite(Schumacher) home design labeled with the name of the fiance's ex girlfriend. Hahahaha.

My wife and I have been going back and forth about custom builders in Northeast Ohio (we will be moving back from Boston in roughly 2.5 years) and are having a conversation with Schumacher on Monday. We've spoken with many custom builders, but quotes of $300/sf are turning what we thought was a big budget into a lot of compromises. Schumacher is appealing to us because they have a solid reputation in NEO (where they got their start) and it seems like we'll get a lot more value, even after moving floor plans around and upgrading. However, it seems that there's not a lot of consideration on who they hire as subcontractors.

Does anyone here have specific experience with them in Northeast Ohio? Has anyone ultimately built with a different builder that was quality and not $300/sf? Thanks in advance, I'm new to Houzz but feel like I've been drowning in this process for years.

Schumacher builds custom homes? I would look for a reputable local builder for a custom home, definitely not a builder who regularly builds tract homes

As mentioned in my previous post, we have contacted several local builders and with their $300/sf costs we have been quoted, we are looking into all other options. In NEO, Schumacher has always had a really great reputation (I think because they started here). So I’m hoping someone from NEO has had experiences with them that they can share. I realize that they charge upgrades and aren’t as custom as hiring an architect, just looking for any feedback someone might have from NEO.

@Nathan Mellor

A $300/sqft home just to live in for 2.5 years? Others can correct me if I'm wrong, but building a custom home is usually done because you're in it for the long haul. Certainly you can find a nice property that you can move into asap for well under 300 a foot. We built a nice modest home (2k sq ft) for a hair over 100 a foot back 6-7 years ago. I know prices are higher now, but not THAT much higher. What's stopping you from purchasing pre-existing...or heck, even renting if you know you're leaving in a couple years? Just curious. BTW we used TK Constructors but not sure if they're up in NEO. We are SWO.

@Nathan Mellor
I live in North Central Ohio and grew up in Northeast Ohio and still have family there. We built a home 3 years ago from a custom builder for less than half of what you are getting quotes. I know prices have gone up quite a bit but I’m shocked if it is truly that much. Anyway, back to your question about Schumacher in NEO. They do not have what I would call a good reputation. They are considered builder basic around here. A lot of people use them to build a “starter” home and regret it very much afterwards. I have yet to meet a person who has built with them around here who would do it again. They are lumped into the same category as Wayne and Ryan around here so I’m not sure if it is then telling you they have a good reputation or where you are getting your information from.

Sorry if I stated it confusingly. We currently live in Boston and are planning to move back to NEO in 2.5 years and build our “forever home”. So it’s definitely something we’re building for the long haul!

@Amber - who did you guys use? We really don’t want to sacrifice quality, but the thought of having to pour nearly a million dollars into a 3,000 sf house is just way too much for us. My mother-in-law has known a handful of people who have built Schumacher and had no complaints, but they definitely aren’t doing anything very custom. Arthur Rutenberg built a new development near where we want to be, and It looks like Zollinger Builders is that affiliate. We’re going to talk to them because it looks like they’re around $200-230 sf based on their higher end model.

We’d love any recommendations. We’ve spoken to more than ten builders and they all seem either too expensive or too cookie cutter/cheap.

@Nathan Mellor

Did you edit your "moving to Boston" comment or did I really read it so poorly that I had it completely backwards in my head. Very strange how the brain works.

A million bucks to live in NE Ohio. That's gotta be the dumbest thing I've heard today. I'm from Cleveland suburbs originally (Go all CLE sports!) but no way in hell would I pay that much to live there. Unless it's a nice house directly on Lake Erie...maybe.

I wouldn't spend over 200 a foot, even on a forever home. I also wouldn't build a 3k sq ft house ( unless you're counting the basement in that figure). Too big, too much to clean, especially after the kids are gone... Good luck to you though, I love to help out my fellow buckeyes but in this case, I have no experience with NEO builders. I hope you find a good one! (i.e. not schumacher)

@Nathan
We used Sommers and Swartzentruber (send me a private message if you want more details about the good vs bad in our build). No builder is perfect but if you are planning a forever home, look for small builder that only built a dozen or so houses a year. Also, I would suggest looking at builders who build custom plans and not just stock plans. There are many builders around here who work with local architects to create a custom plan in your budget.

We dodged that bullet- We were amped to finally get to Schumacher's pre-con - It took us a little over 3 years- mostly us dragging our feet (THANK GOD for blessings in disguise) I should mention that the location we were building with is over 3 hours one way drive from our current home- so we have to take off work, arrange pet care and really plan the visit)

ONE DAY BEFORE our pre-con meeting, we received an E-mail from the coordinator (subject line 'FU' lol) stating that our builder would not attend the pre-construction meeting. WHAT? Who would ever go to the most important meeting of the process without the master of ceremonies present? CRAZY.

We asked to move the meeting to a day when our builder would be available and the GM wrote a very angry, terse email that if we did not sign tomorrow he would increase the prices. (we now KNOW their upgrades are extremely bloated costs-just FYI)

Also, they increased the lot prep cost From $29 to $109k just the week before - AFTER they did 2 lot visits to confirm slope, basement and placement! WHAT in the world??

WAIT....it gets better- as with other comments- EVERYTHING- and I mean EVERYTHING is a bloated overpriced upgrade- if you don't chose all their builder grade crappy finishes plan on at least tripling the base cost of the home And their upgrades are very limited in selection compared to other custom builders- AND remember- this is on YOUR LOT that you already purchased and paid for!!!! ADD that onto the overall cost of your new home- you may be way over priced for your appraisal.

So all in- a home with a base price at $269000 cost at least $620000 on our own lot! without formal exterior landscaping, driveway, decks and hardscaping! And we weren't building an exotic home- CRAZY!?! remember if you have a mortgage- you have to appraise correctly.

So-We declined the meeting, & asked for our deposit to be returned (part of their routine)- they sent 50% back promptly with no explanation of why we did not receive the entire amount back- even though we were told multiple times we would get the entire deposit back before pre-con. (found out we paid a higher deposit than other people!) tricky.

A mans word is his bond.

We are so glad that we walked away. We immediately reached out to several builders near our property, and we picked a true custom builder.

We are currently under contract and his firm is a true residential custom design/build. They build less than 10 new homes a year. Quality exudes in their work- we talked with several home owners who built with them, and toured several homes- they were top quality. We feel like their priority-we are building a really nice home- with a better floorplan and amenities than the Schumacher home we picked!

Best of all....we are getting a complete home -landscaping, hardscaping, driveway and decks for UNDER the Schumacher proposal. And the finishes are GORGEOUS. EXACTLY what our vision has been. I am happy-it will take a total of 10 months to build our dream home-but in the end we will have a well built home- and our builder and his team are so professional and great to work with. Lesson- do the homework (pun intended) Know when to walk away, know when to RUN. Understand the whole reason Schumacher exists- it is not about the customer I can tell you that. Make sure you talk with several builders- in the end, if you still go with Schumacher-I hope you enjoy your home, and have a better experience than we did.

We canceled our initial conversation with them. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. After talking to a few more builders yesterday, there are some very reputable builders who told us they could absolutely build what we are looking for within our budget (save for potentially some landscaping). One of them even lives in the same development we want to build in, so if anything goes terribly wrong, I can just go knock on his door! Haha

Hi Nathan, wondering who you ended up talking to that came in under budget? My husband and I are in the same process. Spoke to 5 builders, two who are truly custom, along with Schumacher who we were considering until reading this thread. We live in NE Ohio, too.

Hey Smyork. We’ve been continuing to talk to builders and have pretty much narrowed it down to Bridgeport Custom Homes (out of Medina) and JE Moran Builders (out of Barberton). I wouldn’t say they’re under budget, per se, but have been knowledgeable in how we can build what we want within our budget. If you haven’t talked to them, I’d definitely say it’s worth a conversation.

@Nathan Mellor Hi! Since no one really answered your question...i will say yes. i built with Schumacher in 2006 in Ashtabula County, OH and it went GREAT!! We contracted through the Ravenna, OH office. I am looking to build again in Erie County, PA and am reading all of these terrible reviews of Schumacher and honestly cannot believe what I am reading and wonder if they really tanked their company in 14 years. The ONLY issue I had building my house in 2006 was they put the window above my whirlpool tub the wrong direction but i caught it during framing and they fixed it the next day so no harm done. The house (The Wilmington II which they no longer build) is stunning. Just thought i'd share my experience...

I'm also under contract with Schumacher and after the lot walk-thru the site work is now going to be $25-30k more than we were originally quoted. I've been talking to another local reputable builder and they said with Schumacher this will be only the beginning of many price increases, as they said most of their business come from people already with Schumacher. After this occurred and reading these comments, I think I've made my decision. Thanks.

Speaking of price increases, how about lumber! I saw that a standard 2x4 is now 6 dollars at my Lowes. $6!! That's over double what is was a few years ago. I feel for anyone who is about to build a house right now.

@Roger Dodger our builder told us he’s making bids now that are 40% higher than they would have been in January. Crazy.

Dang, I wanted to build a pole barn this fall too. Guess I'll wait for lower prices. Wife won't be happy.

Hey all, in the same situation as many here. My wife and I are looking at building a house on or lot, and we've talked to a custom builder and Schumacher. Obviously Schumacher is promising more space and high quality construction at a similar price (about 2.5x as much deck/porch, and about 900 sqft of additional finished space, at about $10,000 more cost compared to the custom builder). But reading all of this, it feels like whatever money we give to Schumacher would be wasted.

So I wanted to see if anyone has recent (last 3 years) experience with Schumacher in the Triangle area of NC. We already have 'finished' the initial sales part, and paid our $1,000 deposit, but we haven't had any of the design meetings or anything else. We've added a bunch of stuff, and we're already way over the base price based on our decisions, so we understand and are fine with that. But there are a bunch of allowances still (lot prep, a basement, some engineering questions, etc.), and I can imagine that the price could still skyrocket. But mostly I'm worried about the build quality, because I have no interest is paying a lot of money for poor quality.

Any input appreciated!

I’m in Virginia and worked with the Greensboro office location. I love my house. It was about 60% over the published price with the upgrades we added. Yes, allowances for site prep went over budget. Grading was the worst overage. Yes, there were many issues to address along the way, but the vast majority were not financially impacting. I approached the process with a teamwork attitude and ensured very frequent communications and walk throughs. Finding issues early makes them easier to address obviously. Some issues are “errors”, some are unforeseen challenges you need to work together to solve, some are simply a change in preference when seeing it come together in real life. I found my Schumacher personal builder and the trades to be very amenable to achieving my multiple requests. I treated everyone with respect and extra care (coffee on cold days, cold drinks on hot days, snacks). I complimented their good work and asked for them to address areas I thought could be better. I even stained my own columns to help the guys out one day. When you build there will always be issues to address. When you catch things early, they are very often a simple fix. For instance, the framing (which was correct and done to plan btw) for the 2nd floor bonus area pillars seemed off set and not centered with the first floor supports. My personal builder with Schumacher actually pointed it out. The framers were still on site and easily made a change to center the columns. If this was noticed AFTER the framers left, or worse yet after dry wall... well, it would probably have been a change order and added expense. None of this is unique to Schumacher. Building/buying a home is one of the single largest expenses/investments you will make. Regardless of who you choose, you will be well served to be very engaged. Was it frustrating to deal with a corporate builder sometimes? Yes. Did it help to have a corporate builder’s strength many times? Yes.
Added note: I had two local builders bid on my project. I selected and started with one of the local builders that has great references. The local builder started on an outbuilding for us while we finalized the house plans and finishes. Same exact specs and finishes and the local builder bid 40% more than Schumacher, months longer projected completion. I am extremely satisfied that I made the right decision.
Best wishes on your home building journey!!

Johns Creek, That looks spectacular. Congrats!

Any Homes built out of the Raleigh/Benson office. I too am looking to build with Schumacher. I am looking at building the Fieldcrest plan, its very similar to the the Olivia plan but has more square footage. Was wondering if anybody has any photos of the Fieldcrest or could talk more about their experience from the Raleigh/Benson office.

I sold my Schumacher house this year and have never been so happy to be rid of what was my ideal floor plan home. We built in Western NC and had problems from day one... and yeah, building will have problems, but these were insane. Nobody in my neighborhood could believe the amount of issues that would happen, or the amount of delays (and not because of weather, but because they weren’t showing up or they would order the wrong materials and set us back over a month). Much better options out there for sure.

Thanks Jack for your response. I am definitely taking all the warnings/complaints into consideration.

If you're building a custom home, find a custom builder, not a production builder.

As cpartist states find a custom builder. tract home builders are set up for production and many struggle with that let alone customization and the inherent issues that brings up.

@Christina Oh wow. What office did you build from? Was there any kind of plan of action to resolve the issues for you?

@Miriam Little

Run from Schumacher. Find a good custom builder.

@Miriam Little ....are you working with the Benson office?.....my wife and I are dealing with them now...we are still playing with options to make sure we get what we need...and see if we can fit what we want in our budget....we are looking at the Charleston II

@pesuazo Hi, yes and no. I'm in the very beginning stages of my build. I just got back that my land passed the perc test and I still need to get other stuff done like surveying etc as this land will need to be deeded over to me. But I've gone to the Benson location a couple of times and fell in love with the Olivia but it doesn't fit my needs as I would need a 4 bedroom instead of a 3. So I'm thinking of the Fieldcrest. I've heard bad reviews among several sources but the facebook page seems to get a lot of traction and happy customers, so I'm truly torn. I love their floorplans. Another builder that I am also working with just to compare apples to apples is Americas Home Place. How has your experience been so far with Schumacher? I feel like when I went to speak with someone they were very knowledgeable. The only thing about them is that they are very busy. I feel like I dont get as much feedback as I do with AHP.

@Miriam Little...we also looked at the Fieldcrest and the Olivia II (similar floor plans) .........as we need 2 bedrooms in the first floor....but decided to go with a ranch style home and have everything on 1 floor (Charleston II), it has the same starting price point as the Fieldcrest (a little less sq ft, but I know building a second floor is cheaper than building a wider foundation and house) so far the guys at Benson have been very good and attentive.....I inquire heavily on the contractors and subcontractors they use locally and have received good feedback (from what I am gathering, at least in JoCo, most of the subcontracted work is also used by local home builders with good reputation).....however, I have not found anyone who also built in the area with Schumacher to get their feedback....I may inquire in our next meeting with them....I am the kind of person that actually shows up at a construction site and looks around (like I did with several local builders).....as I stated in another post, you (and I) read horror stories as well as great stories.....I guess it all depends on what contractor and/or subcontractors are used.....BTW, our land passed the perc test in 2 areas (where I wanted the leach field as well as the repair field).

Thanks for letting me know, it looks like you're ahead of me. Please keep me updated on your experience and who you decide to work with. Also, will you be using Schumacher contractors to do the clearing of your land? If not please let me know who you've worked with. I'm new to all this as I've never built before.

I will let you know....as a matter of fact...I reached out to excavating/grading companies long before I reached out to any builder.....I keep those quotes in my pocket until I hear from their contractors....I had planned to pay that out of pocket anyway, hence I will wait for that last quote...;-)......the same thing with septic system installers....I got those as well, and plan to pay out of pocket as well

@pesuazo @Miriam Little - we're in Raleigh (new from TX) and we didn't know that 1-story homes are practically impossible to find resale or new build. This is what drew me to either Schumacher or Drees. We need land but there are a few options in the Triangle. We're not picky when it comes to floor plans or design and I found a few Schumacher plans I like. It's been a month since you last posted - anything new about your experience?

It still surprises me with all the horrible experiences in this thread, people are still considering building with Schumacher....

@carra - Statistically more people are likely to report negative experiences rather than positive ones because the negative ones are more salient thus more likely to be recalled rather than a positive experience. For me to effectively evaluate a review there has to be context: what was your homeownership, building experience before using Schumacher? Did you set yourself up for reality or a dream? What criteria did you use to select Schumacher and how were those criteria violated during the process? The reason why some of us choose a semi-custom builder: 1) cost: we can't afford a true custom home 2) floorplan: we have to have a 1-story home and tract builders (here in Raleigh) rarely build them 3) we want some space and trees but tract homes are clear cut (here in Raleigh) and 4) time: we can't spend the rest of our lives in a rental (we're new here) waiting for the elusive 1-story resale or finding a lot and perfect home builder. Overall each family has its unique considerations when making our home building/purchasing decisions and many won't align with your opinion. You had a bad experience (sorry) but not everyone on here has and not everyone on Yelp (locally Schumacher has a 4.5 star/51 reviews - that's compelling to me) or other review sites has either. Frankly, your desire that no one chooses them is the reason why negative reviews are hard to consume; they're not informative but revenge-seeking for a bad experience.

@Jen K....We are getting closer to the pre-construction meeting......wife is still designing and selecting stuff.....the experience with Schumacher has been good so far...they have been patient with our requests....at this point it looks like the pre-con will be at the end of this month.....we already did the lot walk-through...... @carra ...."all the horrible experiences in this thread"....if anyone makes decisions based on "one thread in the internet", I feel sorry for them.......

Oh, it's more than this thread. Just researching the company should be enough to give someone pause. I'm very glad we changed our mind before signing the contract. I know we dodged a bullet after someone else in the neighborhood used them. It's now the only builder banned from building in our neighborhood.

"Confirmation bias, the tendency to process information by looking for, or interpreting, information that is consistent with one's existing beliefs, while ignoring information that contradicts such beliefs"

@pesuazo, I have to agree with @carra. We built a home with them. What a nightmare. To respond to @jen K...My wife and I have both owned homes before. I have worked on a dozen home builds over the years. Nothing compares to the terrible experience we had with them. They put the house at the wrong angle (without consulting us) and ruined the whole front view. They put the roof on wrong (had to replace it). They left spackle all over the floor before carpeting that there were massive bumps everywhere (the carpet had to be pulled out and removed). They put the wrong siding on the house. After 4 visits with them to get the driveway lined up right, they still poured it wrong and smaller than what we agreed on making it impossible to have 2 cars next to one another. They put multiple doors in the wrong spot. Instead of removing the trees before the build (like we agreed to) they removed them after the house was done and dropped one on the house. Etc etc etc. What you have to understand is that they sub out basically all the work. It's not "their" builders. So you never know what you're going to get in terms of consistency of quality. You're gambling with them. I didn't believe the other people in town about the issues, and boy do I wish I had. We too had a great experience with our designer and pre-build, but from there everything was a nightmare. My house became the joke of the neighborhood. Just something to think about.

I understand and I am sorry for your experience....but how about the great reviews about them?.......should I ignore all the good ones?...and just make a decision on the bad ones?........even in this thread there are 2 good reviews (should I ignore them?)......finally, did you build in the Raleigh area?...

@pesuazo LOL I'm very familiar with what confirmation bias is, thanks. Maybe it's you who are looking to confirm your bias because you want to build with them? ;)

Build with them if you want to, no one is stopping you. It's your money. My husband and I got all the way to having an appointment to sign the contract and just weren't happy with many of the things in the contract and started to get cold feet. That prompted us to do some deeper research and we didn't like what we found (and I'm not talking about only these forums). Then, when they did build in our neighborhood and we saw first hand what a build with them was like, we were happy to have not gone that route as what we had found in our research was simply played out before our eyes.

We didn't build in the Raleigh area. We are on the other side of the state.

Build in the winter - when all the GOOD subs are at your builder's disposal. We didn't know it at the time, but we lucked out in that way. Our builder (not Schumaker, but similar) was able to use all their best subs and our experience was nearly flawless.

@carra ..... there you go, I keep asking if I should ignore the good reviews...no one wants to even acknowledge the good reviews......talking about Confirmation bias...."ignore what contradicts my beliefs"

@Roger good point. Interesting consideration.

@pesuazo My recommendation is READ THE CONTRACT. We went through the design phase and were very happy but the contract is completely one sided (in favor of the builder) and we baled at that point. You can read all the reviews you want and choose to ignore the negatives if you wish but do not sign a contract that you don't understand or are not happy with. Good luck.

I take both the negative and positives in consideration......that is the point I have been trying to drive...I do not go by "Only the negative reviews count...ignore the positives"....I am sure all the people with the positive reviews also signed the same contract....However, thank you for the advice, I was planning to take the contract to my attorney...he should be able to tell me if the language is standard for this kind of project...or if there is something completely off.....

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED...... RUN AWAY. Let any reputable attorney review the contract and they will advise you to not sign under any circumstance. Our dream home was ruined by Schumacher Homes of NC, Inc. (Asheville) who turned ours and many others home-build into a nightmare.. It also appears now the corporate office is of the same caliber as the Asheville, NC and Greenville, SC offices and do not stand behind anything at all.

Deep in the contract your are giving up your right to court even in cases of fraud, negligence, incompetence, etc. In our case not one of our many "Builders", it turns out that is only a title on their business cards. Not one of them held a general contractors license.

Further not one person from Schumacher with a contractors license stepped foot on our build project. We still have multiple code violations that were covered up and hid from local spot inspections over a year after closing with them. Deep in the contract as you are all excited to sign papers and start the process all excited they will say something like "you are welcome to read it but this is all the normal legal mumbo jumbo" where if you sign you are forfeiting your right to every use the court system to sue them and must use their arbitration when things go south; There is also a claim you owe them $5000 for every social media post if you start arbitration. Too much to list as far as why to run but let me just say nothing you are promised comes true. They advertise every home comes with Cherry or Maple Cabinetry. Wrong its boxed composite cabinets (chipboard), just one example of false advertising. No tradesman, only the equivalent of day laborers or a middle school shop class and no onsite supervision. Just take a look at the photos below in which an investigation and hearing by the NC Board of Licensing for General Contractors found probable cause for their disciplinary hearing in North Carolina after a preponderance of evidence regarding NCGS 87-11(a). They took our life savings and left us with needing to replace almost all the sheetrock, shingles, re-hang 9+ doors in the home that will not close or latch due to being so cockeyed they are missing the strike plate, replace all gutters and add downspouts, insufficient hvac leaving us with 70+ percent humidity requiring hvac systems to be swapped out, all new molding, spa showers torn out and re-done due to not using moisture rated sheetrock and tile left more than an 1/8" of water standing in the showers, rock falling off the front of the house, spray foam insulation in the attic missing completely in areas. Foundation issues requiring stabilization. Too much to list it all. We have found several other victims of their scam. They also lied to appraiser to falsely elevate the appraisal value. Nightmare is too kind of a word for what they have put us through. We can't trust them in our home which is why we had to file the complaint with the State. Can't take them to court because of the contract. Current estimates exceed $160K to make us whole again and give us what our contract called for. If you built with them do yourself a favor and hire a private home inspector ASAP. Check the bbb.org website and ignore their BBB Rating (which is based solely on how fast and well they respond to complaints with the BBB) read the reviews and complaints from actual customers and the stories. The BBB requires a 1 start rating just like google to be able to review or complain so thats why they have a 1 start rating. The State's investigator found even more code violations that the private home inspector didn't catch. We have other Schumacher victims who signed on to our complaint with similar stories and experiences in the Western North Carolina Area. The notice below should indicate how bad this builder really is. YouTube Channel coming soon with more victims experiences to help warn others. Also check out employee reviews on Indeed to see what most of their own employees think. Nowhere close to being built on time and months passed with no response or contact. We have other Schumacher victims who signed on to our complaint with similar stories and experiences in the Western North Carolina Area. The notice below should indicate how bad this builder really is. YouTube Channel coming soon for ours and other Schumacher Homes Victims Videos.

We are building their deepheaven model in sc biggest mistake of life Spending close to million dollar and craftsmanship is worse then local cookie cutter houses. Subs are all same working like mules underpaid by schumscher so they really don’t care as they are not building their own home. Cheating, lies and scams are at their new level With schumscher. Paul should be ashamed of him and I m sure his parents are for running this mule company. I paid for plumb in rough ins for basement about 13K and now have to pay another 5 k to plumber directing to do roughins on top. contract is very one sided by the time you realize it’s too late. their quality is just horrible. run while you can from this scammer. If you have question please contact directly. anyone is welcome to come visit my house and look at contract so you know what I am talking about. Save headache and money. Stay away from unethical immoral people who only cares for 18% of their profit and then charges you for plumb ins 7 times more then what they paid to subs. And you have to pay about 5 K for job that you already paid. This is just one of many example During this nightmare with Schumacher.