We looked at it. It seemed to be really low end.

In what way? We would be upgrading the drawers, glides, soft close, plywood boxes, etc....The other line carried by the builder is Candlelight, but the rep said there was no way it would fit in my budget, in fact would probably eat up my ENTIRE budget. This seems crazy considering where I live. She said 99% of buyers go with the Homecrest. I have to admit I'm not impressed by the limited door styles and finishes, as well as the lack of a full overlay design (they only have something called "modified full overlay").

I should clarify that I am looking at using a custom home builder to do a total kitchen remodel. My total budget is mid-five figures (in a small town where you can buy a small HOUSE for well under $100000). The homes built by this company list for between $275000-$600000. This is my "forever house" so I certainly want quality products, not something that looks cheap or falls apart!

In what way?

In the way that their local dealer said they were at the bottom of the lines they carried and they mostly sold them to mass market home builders. The display models, which were relegated to a small corner of the store, looked it, too.

FWIW, they were sold by a local dealer that is regarded by many as selling mostly to low end buyers. I'm not trying to be a snob here, I'm just relating the responses we got from a couple of people who are in KD business when they found out we actually went there to look.

Homecrest is one of MasterBrand lines. I'm not sure where they rank in their quality heirarchy, but I'm certain it isn't near the top.

If you search here, you will find a thread with a KD saying they dropped the line because the cost of upgrading Homecrest cabinets to their clients' expected quality levels was higher than just ordering a different brand instead.

Forgot to add this. We spent months looking for cabinets. Prices and quality were all over the place, which mirrored what others have said in the kitchen forum here.

We ended up buying from a 100% custom cabinet builder that doesn't use any particle board whatsover, for about half the price the upper mid-range dealers wanted. Unlike most of the dealers, the price included matching stained interiors.

Cabinets are one area you just have to shop around. The markup for the dealers is insane. It approaches 200%, as far as I can tell.

Our cabinets are scheduled to be delivered Friday. We'll see how we did then.

Thanks-- I went back to the builder's office and they just didn't look like high quality at all. The Candlelights were beatiful in comparison. I had wondered if, with all the upgrades on the Homecrest, I would price myself into Candlelight anyway...

I mentioned to the rep today (different one) that I had a quote from a custom cabinet maker (at about 65% of total budget) and would they install his cabinets if my only options were Homecrest and Candlelight (which are supposed out of my price range) and she said "Oh, well, I wouldn't assume that at all...wait until the measurements are taken etc etc"--perhaps how much they cost depends on who else is in the picture? ;-)

'Cause I'll go with my pricy custom guy (who I love) before I pay MORE for something out a builder showroom.