Orleans Home Builders

My wife and I began our process of building a new home with Orleans in February 2012 and it's now February 2013 and we are still waiting for our house to be completed. After we selected the model home we wished to build, we began the process of selecting our interior design options. Just prior to making our final selections, we were told the kitchen option we wanted to select was no longer an available option nor was it ever an available option despite being told it was an available option. We were also provided several forms of written documentation that stated the kitchen option we wanted was an available option. The explanation provided to us and I quote,"We're sorry but we made an oops." As a result, Orleans offered to refund the money we had already given them or select a different model home with the available kitchen option we wanted. My wife and I decided to select another model because we really liked the area, the neighborhood, and the schools. After selecting another model and our interior design options, we were told we had to select another building lot because Orleans had already spent approximately $6000 in site plans and architectural work and they were not going to waste the money they had already spent. We decided to select another building lot and the process continued. Our original estimated settlement date was supposed to be December 2012, however, work on our home did not begin until mid November 2012 with the foundation being dug. At that time, we were told our new estimated settlement date would be late February 2013 to early March 2013. Framing on our house began in the middle of December 2012 and then came to an abrupt halt. The company Orleans contracted the framing to was short on workers so they placed an ad on Craigs List which was answered by a work crew from Georgia. They arrived in a converted school bus and began framing but they disappeared the first week of January 2013. But while they were there, they decided to camp in the school bus on our lot with a nightly bonfire before being removed from the local police. It turns out the company that placed the ad on Craigs List did not pay them so they left. As a result, our home sat with no work taking place for three weeks before Orleans corrected the problem. It's now mid February 2013 and finally work seems to be moving at a consistent pace with our new estimated settlement date being mid to late April 2013. On top of all the above issues, it has been next to impossible to get straight answers or answers at all to concerns. If my wife and I had known what a headache this process would be with Orleans, we would have never built a home with them. To say the least, there is no way I would recommend this company to anyone.

They were terrible. They were still doing things when I moved in. They painted with sawdust allover the place and it got in the paint and I had to have my home repainted. The walls aren't straight upstairs and the closet doors want close properly. The entire complex was built over a trash bump. There was still debris all over the place from the dump and Orleans Home Builders had to come back and clean it up.