The process of building and designing our new home was made easier by Schaeffer Homes guiding us through the process to the very end

Lead Source

Lead Source - I saw their sign on a building site where they were building a home.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - I think we are going to end up with a better home With Schaeffer Family Homes.

Project Manager Professionalism

Project Manager Professionalism - Marcello was our project manager. He was very professional, knowledgeable, he gave us weekly updates on our build. He was very involved and eager to see our home through completion and maintained the highest of standards.

Initially I was very happy with the service that was provided by Schaeffer. Eric was the absolute best and made the build of my new home a breeze. However once the last payment has been received, the service went completely to zero. You are no longer important and it shows. I had multiple major issues with the house within weeks of moving in that required MAJOR construction to fix. It was a nightmare navigating their post build system to get repairs done. Everything falls on the owner to try and "figure it out". Not very happy.

Expertise

Expertise - Each staff member is well versed in their roles. I especially need to call attention to their real estate agent Josh Adams who helped me find the land to build my dream home on. He was able to help me navigate all of the red tape involved with taking raw land and making it into a buildable site. To say this can be overwhelming would be an under statement. His knowledge and expertise was intrical to the entire process. I am forever grateful.

Schedule

Schedule - The house took closer to 12 months to finish as opposed to the planned 7 but I'm not sure if that's a reflection on Schaeffer as opposed to the times and circumstances. Covid effected everything.

Construction Quality

Construction Quality - I am happy with how things turned out. I am living in my new home but there are a few items that still need to be handled but so far Schaeffer has been excellent to work with in getting things done.

Project Manager Professionalism

Project Manager Professionalism - I can not praise Eric anymore than I already have. He is worth his weight in gold. He's extremely knowledgeable and is just an amazing awesome person to work with. I wish I could keep him. 😊

Problem Resolution

Problem Resolution - They have always been receptive if I brought an issue to them. Ashley has always been diligent getting things done for me and if she ever came across something she didn't know she would point me in the direction of someone who did. I can't say enough about how pleasurable it has been to work with her.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Over-all I am extremely satisfied.

Lead Source

Lead Source - Noticed their Model home on Haddonfield Berlin Road

Very likely to recommend, more involvement and customization than other builders we know of. We LOVE our home!

We are pleased with the result of our home and the quality. I have suggested them to a few close friends who are looking around.

We are having a lot of challenges trying to get pricing on simple items such a hood for the kitchen. There is one person that is responsible for getting pricing and when she travels to India everything is on hold until she gets back. While we did some customs upgrades, everything we have done has been done before. Therefore, we believe pricing should have been readily available.
Also the included options are very low grade. For example, the counter top included option is laminate not granite, the included flooring options are sheet vinyl.

The professionalism of the employees and the quality of construction would make me want to recommend Schaefer Homes to a friend.

Customer Suggestion

Customer Suggestion - no

Lead Source

Lead Source - google search

Expertise

Expertise - The team at Schaeffer is on top of the whole process. Everyone we worked with was professional and made sure to explain everything they were doing for our home. There was never a moment I felt like the house was not being managed correctly.

Schedule

Schedule - Everything pretty much aligned with how they envisioned it.

Budget

Budget - They made sure to be mindful of our budget and are always willing to work with you on anything you want to add.

Construction Quality

Construction Quality - After living in our home for a few days now, I can definitely feel the difference in the high quality materials that Schaeffer uses. Marcello our project manager made sure everything was to his and the company's expectation.

Project Manager Professionalism

Project Manager Professionalism - I have mentioned him all over this review and I still feel like its not enough but Marcello was pretty much family during this whole process.

Communication

Communication - Never did we feel out of the loop during the whole process.

I made the right decision to choose Schaffer Family Homes to construct my new home. The team involved that oversaw my project was amazing. Excellent communication, responsiveness, and thoroughness. The workmanship of my new home is very well done. I couldn’t be happier!

I would definitely recommend Schaeffer Family Homes for their expertise in making our home a very beautiful one. They did a very good job completing the home in the least amount of time expected.

Sales Attentiveness

Sales Attentiveness - Ashley was very knowledgeable and accommodating and very detailed throughout the building process

Understand Building Process

Understand Building Process - They keep us up to date with the developments and what is going on with our construction

Professional & Organized

Professional & Organized - Schaeffer itself is organized. They even have timetables and schedules for each client

Salesperson Accessibility

Salesperson Accessibility - She is always easy to reach thru email. Very understanding and super nice

Salesperson Professionalism

Salesperson Professionalism - She was very professional and knowledgeable with details

Design Center & Selections

Design Center & Selections - They offer a lot of great selections with reasonable prices. They also give inputs and suggestions to help you decide

Lead Source

Lead Source - Website

Lead Source

Lead Source - I saw them one day when I was on the internet.

So i’m love with our new home. It came out even better than we imagined!

I was overall pleased with the process of building a home. After one year of living here, it seems that we made the right choice. Thank you.

Sales Attentiveness

Sales Attentiveness - Ashley is a terrific representative, professional, knowledgeable and courteous.

Understand Building Process

Understand Building Process - Plenty of literature is provided to outline the process

Lead Source

Lead Source - Internet search after investigating modular homes and some other local builders

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Schaeffer's land specialist is a pro

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Ashley, Josh and Gail are all very good at their jobs.

Communication lacking; issues with home not resolved

Very much so. We vetted Schaeffer homes and compared them with other local builders. Schaeffer puts quality and customer service above all the rest. Schaeffer brings a very human element to a purchase so large. They consistently put themselves in the position of the customer. Lovely home builder to work with. No regrets whatsoever.

Lead Source

Lead Source - Internet and current projects in the area

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - So far so good. Land acquisition specialist Josh Adams has maintained a clear line of communication throughout the land purchase and Ashley Fortunato provides thoughtful guidance in the design center. No complaints at all.

Value

Value - In today's market, I guess I received a fair value for my money.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Schaeffer Family Homes met all my expectations. They fell behind on some, but it would be nitpicking. For the most part, they followed through.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Overall, I think Schaeffer Family Homes is a great company. Depending on what someone is looking for, I would recommend them, depending on who is asking. For the most part, I think they did a good job.

Our building manager didn't manage much of what happened in our home. Our second floor hallway bathroom is off-level. The floor dips as you approach the vanity and my daughter stumbles every time she walks near that area. We also requested under-cabinet lighting to be installed during our selection meetings with the design team. We were recommended to just install prewiring and once moved in can easily install the lighting ourselves. This is not the case- an electrician quoted us an additional $1500 on top of what we already paid for this to be done.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - The process has been seamless thus far, all questions answered in a timely fashion always accessible via email, phone and text.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Eric and Mark. They both were great!

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Would love to hire Schaeffer to finish my basement.

Customer Suggestion

Customer Suggestion - No. I am happy with our process those far.

I'm unsure right now because construction hasn't begun.

Lead Source

Lead Source - They are in the area where we are, and we did a home internet search of builders, and they came up as a builder.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Primarily, it has been positive. There have been hiccups, and they were resolved. We have not broken ground yet, but so far, the process has been good.

VERY GOOD staff, assistance , With all explanation s , highly recommend, .

Lead Source

Lead Source - Someone from Virtua health

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - VERY PROFESSIONAL and helpful, friendly staff, admire their experience , patience and recommendations in all the planning,.

The quality of their work is TOP notch, but even better, they have a great staff. I am thoroughly impressed with their staff, the quality of their work, and their attention to detail.

Lead Source

Lead Source - Redfin

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Any questions and concerns were promptly addressed.

Lead Source

Lead Source - We found them through a real estate listing online.

Project Manager Professionalism

Project Manager Professionalism - We loved Eric! He was great, responded to questions & concerns, and was really friendly. We would love to work with him in the future.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - They didn't fall short of our expectations. There were some materials that just weren't available due to supply chain issues, but that wasn't on Schaeffer.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - It was nice to see some smaller details in the house, such as baseboard seating in the recreation room area. The whole house met and exceeded our expectations

Customer Suggestion

Customer Suggestion - We would suggest adding the option to not include laundry doors. With the size of the washer and dryer that we have, we had to actually take the doors down.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - All the people from the company were good to deal with.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - Everything was good.

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - I like the kitchen and my bathroom the most.

Clean & Safe

Clean & Safe - As good as it could be. They had a couple of dumpsters that they put trash in.

Use Mortgage Company

Use Mortgage Company - I did use the one they recommended, Fulton Bank.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - No, I got everything I wanted.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Everything is what it should've been. It was all done with quality workmanship.

Customer Suggestion

Customer Suggestion - No, the subcontractors did most of the work, and they were all good. They made everything up and on time. I didn't have to do anything, they did it all! It was all good. I didn't see anything that could've been done differently.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - They're nice people, they became like family! I don't have any problems with them. They did a nice concrete walk out, everything was good! I got what I wanted, and they gave it to me. I knew what the mortgage price was going to be. If I didn't do something, they deducted it and adjusted everything.

Still trying to get issues resolved a year after moving in.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - To this point in the process, I have nothing but good things to say about Schaeffer.

Design Center & Selections

Design Center & Selections - Even though we had to make it work in a very unprecented way because of pandemic Christie did a great job

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Christie was great during the design period and even during difficult times she addressed everything that we needed accomplished with utmost respect and convenience.

Lead Source

Lead Source - Google

Lead Source

Lead Source - Friend

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - I'd like to recognize Eric Morris.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - Schaeffer Family Homes didn't fall short of my expectations. Everything was in good condition.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Schaeffer Family Homes met or exceeded my expectations in all areas. Everything was exceptional. They did it perfectly well.

Subcontractor Concerns

Subcontractor Concerns - No, there weren't any particular subcontractors I wasn't pleased with. They did excellent. There was a leak on the roof due to the bad snow storm we had. We called, and they came right away to resolve it. Overall, they did well.

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - The features I like the most in the home are the living room, the dining room, family room, and everything on the first floor.

Product Performance

Product Performance - There were no performance concerns. Everything is okay and in good condition.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Overall, they did a good a job. The house is very solid. I'm really pleased.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - You could see the quality of materials used compared to others

Project Manager Professionalism

Project Manager Professionalism - Eric was amazing! He is extremely knowledgeable and professional. He was also very responsive and friendly.

I would not recommend Schaeffer Family Homes to anyone.

Overall we are happy with the quality of our home. There were some frustrating challenges throughout the process, some out of Schaeffer’s control.

Top notch all the way - Schaeffer Homes offers a great custom home experience.

Lead Source

Lead Source - Our real estate agent Sam Goodwin connected us with Schaeffer.

From start to finish they were all great. Never tried to sell us anything extra we didn’t need. Christie gave a lot of ideas that we liked. Ashley was great also keeping us informed, josh with the land was great letting us know things we had no idea about. Gail has been a great person getting the paperwork for us. I would definitely recommend Schaeffer homes to build your home. With all the obstacles with covid they came through. Everyone was great from start to finish.

Quality of work is poor, communication is terrible. No one cares about the customer experience.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - So far the experience has been great and we thank you so much for everything! We are looking forward to what’s to come!

Everything with my new home was great! Everyone I delt with at Schaeffer Homes was helpful and knowledgable.

Customer Suggestion

Customer Suggestion - No, everything has been well organized so far.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Gail Hopkins was very helpful and knowledgable.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - My expectations were all met.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - The entire process was explained and all staff members were very attentive. I met with Eric on numerous occasions and he always answered my questions.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - From the beginning when i met with Jason, to the time spent with Gail it was seamless. Ashley and Christie played an important role in keeping me updated on draws and what to expect was going to happen next. I cant say enough about Eric and his willingness to help and answer all questions and would meet with me and my mom whenever we wanted to meet.

Warranty

Warranty - All of the repairs needed were completed in a timely manner and done when it was convenient for me.

Original Design

Original Design - My new home is perfect for me, I love it!

Energy Importance

Energy Importance - I am thrilled about how low my utility bills are.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Gail Hopkins was very helpful with helping me choose things for my home and helpful with questions I had throughout the building process. Eric Mooris was also helpful with answering questions and keeping me informed during construction.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - None

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - I like how well the home is insulated.

Subcontractor Concerns

Subcontractor Concerns - No

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - The insulation, size & number of closets, and the layout of the house.

Product Performance

Product Performance - No concerns

Awesome experience! Love this house. If I had to do it over, I would definitely go back to Schaeffer Family Homes!

Easier Than Expected

Easier Than Expected - The whole process was so wonderful. You turned a horrible tragedy into a new life for my girls and I.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Just the time frame alone...The old house was torn down in February and I had my keys to the new house in August

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - I love the entire house

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Everyone was wonderful. I remember the first day the house was being framed I was utterly amazed that the guys brought a microwave to the site so no one had to leave for lunch...it was awesome.

Lead Source

Lead Source - We live in the same development as the new community. Saw the signs on the road and lived in a Schaeffer property that we loved.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - My brother bought a home from a different builder in another town. When I describe my current experience, he was amazed at the detail Schaeffer has provided. His builder wasn't even close to the quality and detail that has been provided to me. Schaeffer always swiftly responds to any questions or concerns that I have and I feel that they have a strong handle on the entire process. I've been kept in the loop often and when needed. I rarely had to reach out for questions. They always seem to contact me first! So, far SO GREAT! THANKS! This is a family's biggest purchase investment in their lives, and Schaeffer seems to embrace that by constantly reducing any anxiety during the process. We're SUPER excited for completion!!!

Energy Importance

Energy Importance - The electric and gas bills were only SLIGHTLY higher than my old townhome with 1/2 of the square footage!

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Eric Morris just wants the client to be happy, sometimes to a fault. He'll do what it takes, within his power, to ensure satisfaction.

Areas For Improvement

Areas For Improvement - This is a difficult time for the construction industry and I empathize. More proactive communication to the buyers about the ever changing trade would be my only advice. Sometimes, the buyer is left to "guess" on a certain concern (i.e. updates on construction progress, and any reason for delays in post-closing repairs, etc.) in consequence to the builder's lack of forward communication. Usually that "guess" lands on blame to the construction company.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - You built my dream-home. Everything was handled with the utmost respect by all of the staff. When asked for advice, you gave it, and when we wanted to make certain changes, you obliged. Once we're ready, I will be contacting you to help me with a shore house build!

Subcontractor Concerns

Subcontractor Concerns - No. All were to my satisfaction!

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - We love the layout. In our model, we discovered that there is a HUGE benefit of having the master bedroom on it's own level. Great privacy! The rec room separated by the basement is also a huge win. You can decorate in 2 different themes (Playroom and a movie theater). I love the upper level look out over the family room. We can keep our ears out for the kids easily. You can really make the Phoenix layout ANYTHING you want!

Product Performance

Product Performance - No concerns.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - We bought a home in an unprecedented time of CoVid lockdowns, material shortage, worker shortage, material price increases, etc.. Schaeffer handled all of these challenges flawlessly and they NEVER tried to pass anything to us. We closed earlier than expected with the quality and workmanship they promised. VERY HAPPY!

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - In most areas, they met or exceeded my expectations.

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - This is a hard question to answer. I like the spaciousness of my home and the energy efficiency.

Product Performance

Product Performance - Nothing major, minor things Schaeffer homes took care of.

Professional, quick follow up to all questions!

Design Center & Selections

Design Center & Selections - Christie has been awesome to work with!

Lead Source

Lead Source - Online Search

Schaeffer Family Homes customer isn't that good after they take your money.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Your painters and dry wall guys are terrific plus they could do it in such record time.

Lead Source

Lead Source - We found them through an online search.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - It's great and exciting.

Schaeffer is more interested in building a nice looking house at a good price than they are in true customer service. I would gladly pay more money to another company that places more value on customer satisfaction.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Reena Scheffer was outstanding. She had an excellent sense of design and she is responsive to customer feedback

Everyone in the Schaeffer Family has been courteous, very supportive in helping us make choices to fit our unique family’s needs, easy to reach and quick to respond to our questions.

Lead Source

Lead Source - From very satisfied clients

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Everyone we spoke with is friendly, supportive and very skilled.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - The initial design of my house layout met my expectations.

The ability to go into the model home was so very helpful. To see ideas for the rooms we are planning was great.
Working with Christie and Jason, we’re not feeling any sort of pressure, they are encouraging but keep us in the reality of what can be done. Their honesty about time lines especially in this pandemic is most appreciated.

Overall, I think Shaeffer Family Homes designs, produces and maintains a good product with friendly staff and good intentions. I think somewhere between the first sit down with the design team and where we are now, there seems to be a disconnect between what they sold us and the product we actually received.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - excellent communications

I work in real estate and work with many builders selling custom homes as well as spec homes. We found Schaeffer because of other projects they were working on in our area. Our decision to go with them was based on other client’s reviews and also the fact that this was not a small outfit. There is something to be said for a company with longevity and that has the personnel along with the oversight to ensure accountability and quality.

From start to finish it has been a great experience. To begin with, the decision making, planning, and selection process is very organized and enjoyable. Christie Redner deserves a lot of credit (especially for her patience) in helping us go through that detailed assignment. It’s with much thanks to Christie that we ended up in a home that absolutely love. If not for her we would not be in the beautiful and customized Newport we are now raising our family in. Initially we were fixated on a modular home due to speed of delivery, but she kept encouraging us to consider stick built because we would receive much more bang for our buck. When delivery for a modular became more delayed and costs increased, she went out of her way to open up another Newport home that was under construction so we could get a feel for the floorplan. Thank God she did. We immediately fell in love with the house and often tell ourselves it was a huge blessing to have that experience with Christie. Thank you Christie! (Also Schaeffer/Christie were great about customizations and we’re helpful with putting together design changes/customizations we wanted).

Schaeffer has a great design center which makes selecting finishes and efficient process. Christie knows her stuff and was a huge help in making recommendations and considering items we may not have had the forethought to prioritize. This is one of the important details that separates Schaeffer from other smaller builders.

As the General Contractor Schaeffer also does all of the permit applications which is a huge help.

Construction went smoothly. Eric did a great job managing the project and also is an incredibly patient and kind person.

Jason Schaffer, the owner, was also pleasant and receptive. He was involved when he needed to be and demonstrated that he is hands on and keeps everyone accountable.

In conclusion, we love our house and could not be happier. We wake up every morning in awe of the beautiful home that Schaeffer built for our family.

You can’t expect perfection from any builder, trust me. But you should expect professionalism, accountability, quality, and follow up. Schaeffer delivered on all of them.

Sales Attentiveness

Sales Attentiveness - Christie was great.

Design Center & Selections

Design Center & Selections - It was as easy as it could be.

Construction Quality

Construction Quality - Construction quality of the crawlspace is head and shoulders above other area builders. This was super important to us, and it’s included in their base cost!

Warranty

Warranty - They’re organized, and Gail gets the job done. Keep in mind when dealing with subcontractors you’re more at their mercy than Schaeffer when it comes to scheduling.

Original Design

Original Design - We love our house. Also Schaeffer was great and flexible with customizations we wanted

Energy Importance

Energy Importance - They build energy star homes, what more can be said? We love that the homes are DESIGNED and intended to be efficient as a core tenet to how Schaeffer builds ALL of their homes.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Christie and Eric.

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - The redesigned great room/kitchen. The tall ceilings. Master suite. We love it all, really.

Schedule

Schedule - They did the best they could with the circumstances of the pandemic.

Easier Than Expected

Easier Than Expected - I definitely agree with this. I was deployed overseas during the build, and the communication was good. The design process was really smooth because everything could be found in their design center.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Gail was really helpful with the permitting issues. Christie was also great.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - The design and permitting processes exceeded my expectations regarding timeline and adaptability.

Favorite Home Feature

Favorite Home Feature - I like the fact that it's energy efficient, and I like the upstairs office. We also like the kitchen.

Product Performance

Product Performance - The only issue I had was with the door, but that issue was already taken care of.