Eastbrook Homes

We are a four-time Eastbrook Builder client even when we were first married many years ago we rented an Eastbrook apartment on a beautiful pond. It’s almost 40 years so we would do a Fifth Eastbrook home if and can we get the chance. Eastbrook really does bring up communities Eastbrook has added a lot of value on many levels to the West Michigan Michigan area and they stand the test of time!

We were told by many people not to build with Eastbrook Homes, so our expectations were low. Well, Eastbrook Homes met everyone of those low expectations. We wanted the lot and neighborhood where we built, so we went ahead anyway. It's amazing how the sales agent just ghosted us for 11 months after signing the contract. Her excuse was "I thought someone else at EH was helping you." There were so many huge issues at closing, and I'll describe one that will give the reader a good sense of the overall quality of an EH build. One of our issues is with the quartz countertop in our master bath. There is a seam right down the middle of it, as if two remnants were pushed together. (see pictures) The sales agents response to this was "I will send the building supervisor over to make it look less bad." (that's a direct quote) There is still a seam there 6 weeks after closing and everyone we call just ignores us, or passes it off to someone else, who also ignores us. The wrong lighting and plumbing fixtures were installed, despite the fact that we were upcharged 300% for the ones that we wanted. The wrong color hearthstone was installed, despite the fact the the correct color was on the house specs AND I had a conversation with the building supervisor to ensure the correct color before it was installed. Now the mortar color is different and looks patchy (see picture) The wrong stain color is on the wood post and corbels on the front of the house. (still) We had a one week notice before our closing. ONE. WEEK. Our backs were up against the wall with our condo rental, appliance delivery, furniture delivery, closet organizer install etc. If you chose as Eastbrook build, my advice is to not close until every single one of your issues is resolved, because they have to hold the home loan and when it's their nickel, I think they would move a lot faster. Additionally, the home was not clean. The floors were dirty, the carpet was never covered, even though it was installed 6 weeks before closing and many workers were still in and out. Really do your research, I worked for a builder in CO and many of the 5 star reviews on google and yelp are from real estate agents, subs, family members etc. Make sure you read the reviews from actual homeowners.

BUYER BEWARE. Please heed the reviews. You purchase a new home because you think it will be perfect and free of problems, but not if it is built by Eastbook. After 2 years, my air conditioning unit literally died. Not because of animals (as Eastbrook tried to theorize) but because of shoddy equipment and installation. Eastbrook then blamed the installer, Design Air. I do agree that Design Air is not a company to do business with either. They put in the wrong size HVAC equipment to begin with. And there have been multiple problems with the entre system. Further, the 10 year warranty I am now told is only 4 years?? My unit sat in a warehouse somewhere for a number of years and I guess to use up the warranty. So I am out over $2,000 for a 2 year old compressor. BUT that’s not all, here is a partial list of problems with my house: THEY PUT THE SEPTIC FIELD IN THE WRONG SPOT and thus one of the pipes leading to it failed; they installed 2 oversized hot water heaters incorrectly (I had needed 2 smaller ones and that they be connected in series to satisfy the tub); gas line not installed correctly inside the house;, they forgot to insulate a portion of my attic; HVAC zones installed incorrectly and actually don’t work well (again because of shoddy work and cheap equipment); the my jetted tub sat in a warehouse so long none of the electrical connections worked; the shower fixtures were so old they didn’t work and parts were not even available for them; shower heads installed incorrectly; tub faucet just fell off completely; ceiling fan light hasn’t worked from day 1; some siding had to be replaced; shoddy and misaligned installation of doors and light switches with holes in walls; they didn’t connect the tub drain and the full contents poured into my basement; missing kitchen cabinets; garbage left all over construction site and road (many sharp objects which punctured a tire); it was not cable ready as they forgot to order it, we went months without internet and TV; kitchen counter installed incorrectly and pulled off the wall; one of my favorites is the smoke detectors require different types of batteries (transistor or dd) so when you replace them you have to carry both (there is also one defective one which causes all of them to go off, I am in the process of replacing all with a much better quality); the electrical connection for the stove was installed incorrectly; screens literally fall out of the my large windows and the list goes on… Many of these problems were eventually fixed by Eastbrook, but I was just too afraid to use them for the big items related to electrical, HVAC or gas. Hence, this has been a costly and very disappointing experience to build my dream home with Eastbrook.

Poor workmanship. No communication from builder. Eastbrook is in the business of mass producing homes. If you want an average home at a premium price then EB is perfect for you. Their process is sloppy, their followup is non-existent. Look elsewhere. And our good buddy "Mitch" will followup on any complaints.......he follows up but never fixes the problem. Buy a good quality used home...do not use this company.

We did not have a great building experience with Eastbrook Homes. We were sold the world, but the end product certainly did not live up to the expectations we had and were affirmed could be met. The Sales process was actually decent, helpful and attentive. But after we signed, very little went right. The design process was fairly smooth, albeit rushed. In the end we designed a house we are pretty happy with from that standpoint (changes desired after the design was finished were not met with enthusiasm). Once construction started, the experience deteriorated quickly. The superintendent (they changed halfway through the project) was unconcerned with any issues of quality we had with the build from rough framing through final construction. The workmanship clearly suffers in most areas of the house. Walls are not square and are often noticeably wavy. The tile work is very poor. The materials used to build the house were obviously second rate and the finish materials (moldings, etc.) often extenuate the mistakes of the build. Most significantly, the communication after we signed papers with Eastbrook was horrendous. We certainly felt neglected, our concerns were largely ignored, and minus one phone call from an executive, we get no feeling Eastbrook truly cares about the poor experience we had. We would never build with this company again.

We brought a new spec home from Eastbrook Homes. They stand behind their workmanship. While the sub contractor did not want to resolve the problem we had with our sliding glass door three months after move Eastbrook service department did and resolved the issues with having a crew come in to reset the door, re-do the siding around it and re-paint the trim work. We have been very pleased with our home

Was a good experience. House was finished on-time, on budget, and all the punch list (things to fix) was very short and immediately taken care of. Well done.

My family and I are very happy with our new home! We chose Eastbrook not only for the beautiful designs but for the community they helped create. The house is beautiful and efficient! We moved from a 1500 sq. ft. bungalow to a 2500 sq. ft. two story and our first gas bill was substantially less than our little bungalow. Kudos to them for finishing ahead of schedule. Thank you Eastbrook!

I purchased my condo from Eastbrook Homes and watched the whole construction process. I and my Mechanical Engineer son-in-law were happily surprised at the quality of construction and of the materials used. All of my requested changes were approved and implemented. A couple of the sub-contractors relaxed their quality and Eastbrook brought the deficiencies back in line. They were also extra helpful getting timely warranty work completed on a problem dishwasher. I am also happy with their 30day touch-up paint policy and the 90 day repair policy. My wife is thoroughly happy with our new home. I would strongly recommend Eastbrook Homes to anyone considering a new home.

What we liked about Eastbrook: We liked the ability to do a custom site build versus buying a home in one of their neighborhoods. They had many options to help us begin building prior to selling our house, they allowed us to put down a deposit and they bought the lot and managed the construction loan until we closed. They also helped us sell our former home. They have a wide variety of floor plan offerings and the ability to customize to our needs. We appreciated having a designer at our initial appointment to help us with selections. The build was on time. Our salesman was great, he was an experienced Eastbrook employee and lived in the area so he was very helpful, insightful and responsive. When close fell apart, they offered to lease us the home if needed. Opportunities for Improvement: Communication from the site foreman was poor. We had to stop by daily. House was staked out on the lot and digging commenced without contacting us so we could approve or take pictures. Luckily we caught this in a drive by and were able to stop digging to have house pushed back to align with neighbors but given a review I would have angled if differently to face lake better. Provided weekly updates but they were rarely accurate, struggled to have enough contractors to side, trim and paint. Contractors were sketchy we had things stolen and defaced. Finished work was poor, paint in the carpet, many things are not sanded or painted. We had an ice build up over a bedroom and the paint wiped off my trim during cleaning. The house is not cleaned well at close, The materials laid around so long waiting for contractor availability there was mud on siding/deck that was not power washed off. We are hoping this will be fixed at the 30 day touch-up but it's winter and in scheduling they tell us they'll only do paint, its a long list and cumbersome and time consuming to compile and field repairs for two working parents. There is a $200 change fee any time you change anything. I understand this for some things, but its frustrating because you pick out everything in one or two 3 hour appointments at inception and it's hard to visualize everything that early. We were steered toward using their preferred lender who screwed up our close costing us $12,000 extra. Eastbrook leaned on them to rectify where possible but its not finished yet. If I were to do it again: I would put less trust in the process and the site foreman and be more difficult and insistent in pointing out and demanding things were fixed along the way vs. being told it would be done later. I would do a a clean/inspection prior to close to find all the errors and not close until things were fixed. Given the botched closing and finish work we are having trouble getting excited over the new house.

I found all services provided from the sale to the plan review to the design work was unmatched to any other home building experience I had ever had. Whether you are a first time home builder or a seasoned veteran, the design services and personal Eastbrook provides were unmatched. Once the home construction began, I found Eastbrook employees to be extremely ethical and trustworthy. Chad Showers in particular did a wonderful job handling the minor construction issues I had with empathy and professionalism. I would and have highly recommend Eastbrook homes to anyone I have spoken to who is looking to build their forever home.

Overall, good job by the construction manager Chad Showers and good service from Sales Martha Thomas. They are friendly and really want to do a good job. Improvement opportunity would be the quality control of sub-contractors.