Highland Custom Homes

The owners of Highland Custom Homes (HCH) are very nice men with good hearts. We chose them to build our home in July of 2015 because our research told us they would be an outstanding home builder. Unfortunately, that was not our experience. Our project took over 17 months to build vs. an estimated 9 months at the start of the project. We finally moved in at the end of March 2017. It is now the end of August 2019 and they have still not completed the punch list. After finding the project immediately going severely over budget on items where there is no homeowner discretion (lumber, sheet rock, excavation, etc.) we discovered that HCH bid our house without securing bids from most of their sub-contractors. They pulled their numbers as guesses based on historical pricing/costs. I actually specifically questioned two items on their bid because they were so much lower than the bids of the other two builders who we considered for our project. In both instances the builder expressed confidence in the number but ended up billing us significantly more (which was our original worry). Our back deck ended up costing three times more than the suspect budget that they confirmed. Additionally, we discovered that they failed to include very specific plan-specified items in their bid, indicating that they never really looked closely at the actual plans. They began building our project using an old set of plans which after we discovered the issue several months into construction, necessitated massive rework and caused months-long delays. (To their credit, they paid for the replacement trusses, concrete demolition, and setting of helical piers to replace misplaced footings.) We found them to be terrible at communication during the entire project. They promised regular pictures of the project to keep us abreast of progress (I travel for work) but posted no images after April of 2016. They did not use their highly-touted project management website (BuilderTrend) despite using it as a selling point when courting us. Their project superintendent was overwhelmed with supervising many projects simultaneously, including two Parade homes. I communicated with the owners incessantly about his incompetence and they continued to express unwavering confidence in his abilities while failing to give him additional training or support until they finally let him go towards the end of our project. Since we moved in, 29 months ago, we have had few proactive emails from the builder and zero pattern of regular updates on progress. They would respond to our emails, but would go months without communicating status on the numerous items in need of completion/repair. Their sub-contractors have repeatedly told us they were coming to complete work at specific times on specific days and then failed to show up without so much as a phone call or text. In several instances they came to complete punch list items and would leave having done only part of the work (never to return) or they performed work that then necessitated even more rework! They sent us draw requests reflecting inaccurate information and, in several instances, forwarded us invoices from sub-contractors who were requesting payment for their full services even though they had not completed the work. In the case of the electrician, they forwarded his invoice for the full amount after only the rough electrical was completed. After questioning their project superintendent about these invoices, he admitted that he was too busy to look them over before passing them on to their part-time accountant who then forwarded them to us. I could go on and on about the problems we have experienced, but it should be clear why I gave two stars. If they weren’t such nice people, I would have given one star.

We have been supplying Highland Custom homes for several years. Their commitment to their customers and to the quality of their homes are second to none.

We were looking for a custom home builder in Utah and Highland Custom Homes was actually recommended to us by another builder. We looked at three different companies in the area, but decided on Highland Custom Homes. Why? Well, we found the three owners to be professional, experienced, and all around nice to work with. Though they had other clients, they were able to give us very personalized attention and we never had a problem contacting them. We actually started the building process while we lived in Europe and they provided us with photos and regular updates. The three owners made a great team and their strengths complimented each other. Everyone I spoke to, and I mean everyone, told me that their building process was a nightmare. Although there were issues (I don't think it ever goes 100% trouble free), Highland provided great customer service and we felt they were always on our side. The experience certainly was far from being a "nightmare". If I had any advice to give, I would say to give the build a good time cushion as delays can happen (no matter who you build with) and make sure that everything is done before you move in. We pushed to move in by a certain date and it was difficult to get some of the sub-contractors in to do small jobs once the home is occupied. These left over jobs proved frustrating over time. Also, be sure you know what you want as changes can be time consuming and sometimes costly (although I have to say that the builder was more than fair on several occasions). Overall it was a great experience. We continue to have a good relationship with Highland Custom Homes and would build with them again in a heartbeat!