My husband and I decided to build with Compass Homes and signed February of 2021 and moved in late October of 2022. To say that the process was a nightmare would be a compliment. When looking for a contractor to build on our land the bid from Compass Homes was significantly cheaper than other contractors we spoke to. Now I know that should have been a red flag. This was our first time building so we didn't have anything to compare it to. We’re also very easy going and don’t normally complain. I did ask about the bad reviews I had read and was told by a compass homes employee “Well, you can’t please everyone.” Now I would ask, but can you please anyone? I have been in contact with several people that have built and are building with compass homes. I have not heard anything good from any of them. They bully their clients into giving them astronomical amounts of additional funds with little to no explanation. When they realized that tactic wasn’t going to work with me they attempted to lock us out of our home the day we got the certificate of occupancy. We were told in the beginning that our house would take 6-8 months, then after signing it was 8-10 months, the final timeline was a total of 462 days from footers being poured. Almost double what was stated in our contract. If you’re reading this and thinking that time isn’t a big deal, quality was even worse. We find something almost every day that we have to fix or hire someone to fix. Our brick fireplace wasn’t installed using brick ties so it is falling off the wall. It also looks awful along with most things I have had to fix myself. My husband says it’s like we bought an expensive, brand new, fixer upper. If you would like more details please feel free to reach out. If you search #compasshomes on Facebook you can find other posts I have made. If you’re already in the process of building with Compass Homes, I am so sorry for what you’re going through. If you’re thinking about building with them, please heed my warning and choose a different builder. If I can help one person not make the mistake I did it will make writing this review worth it.

It should never take this long to have this project complete. No consistency. Poor construction for what we would expect. Nice people but I would not recommend Compass to build a home for a friend. We ended up re-doing or doing things ourselves rather than relying on any construction from the contractors.

The house still is not completed after 2 years. We have moved in and are struggling to get people here to complete the work.

BEST THING SO FAR

BEST THING SO FAR - Great people to work with

Schedule has doubled. Other Compass homes have started and been closed while no one shows up to work on ours. Constant setbacks due to poor communication within the company and company to subs. Miserable experience.

I am so please that Compass is able to stay on schedule due to bringing plumbing, hvac, etc. in house! Now to get the city inspector to come in a timely fashion!

At this point, we are 100% satisfied with Compass Homes Alabama. I have recommended Compass to two friends who will be moving to Alabama within the next year and plan to build.

not so far

I already have.

We have been very satisfied with our dealings with Compass Homes Alabama. Communication and preparation have been excellent, and we are pleased with materials and workmanship so far. Our home is only partially completed (land prep, slab, framing, roofing, wiring, roughed in plumbing), but we fully expect to be able to give 5 stars to the completed project.

Stay away from Compass Homes. Signed contract in December 2018 to have house built in 180 days, didn’t get house until November 2019 without doing final walkthrough with Ryan because he stormed off because so many things were not done. We had to hire a home inspector to document all the defects. The house wasn’t built to proper elevation so water pools on the driveway, sidewalk and front yard. The shutters are the wrong size and one set is missing. The driveway is 7 inches higher than the road so cars can’t drive onto the driveway. The front porch was supposed to have steps but because the house wasn’t built to proper elevation they couldn’t put them on, this was done without our approval. The back porch steps were made using interior nails and fell apart so we had to replace them. The flooring we paid extra for was installed improperly, floor was installed from stud to stud so it couldn’t expand so it buckled and was ruined. Ryan put the kitchen island on the flooring that also contributed to ruining the flooring as verified by a state licensed flooring inspector. The HVAC system didn’t work for the first month we lived in the house so we had to heat with space heaters. The dryer vent still doesn’t vent. Several trim pieces were installed broken. When we had the new flooring installed we found a hole in the office floor that went to the outside. There are other defects but you get the idea. If you want to see pictures email retiredarmydad@gmail.com and I will provide pictures to prove. Compass Homes said they won’t fix anything until I take down negative reviews so that proves they know they did a poor job.

Work is not complete and has barely started.

Communication

Communication - Communication has been good so far.

Professional & Organized

Professional & Organized - Contract clear and understandable. Callie was organized and efficient.

Scope of Work

Scope of Work - Contract and terms very clear

We have been disappointed in the way things have been happening over the last 2 months. Communication has decreased significantly and we have to continuously ask for updates instead of the Builder app being updated. The biggest disappointment is the basement. We’ve had water in the basement for over 3 months. We’ve pointed it out multiple times and it’s been brushed off each time. It wasn’t taken seriously until we said we wouldn’t close with it being wet. But even still, nothing has been done in the last month after that conversation or at least what we’ve been told after we followed up. We only get “we’re working on it” instead of actual information. We do not have any faith in the quality or longevity of our basement. With the end of the build getting closer, we get more concerned about what the end product will be like. We are very disappointed. Unless things improve, we would not recommend Compass to friends. This is hard for us to say because we love the way our house is looking but the issues are speaking louder at this point.

Problem Resolution

Problem Resolution - Same as above, design center was a struggle but the construction process has been outstanding. Problems were addressed and resolved in a timely manner. I appreciate the team letting us know when problems are faced and how they plan to resolve it. It gives us faith in the process knowing there is transparency.

Professional & Organized

Professional & Organized - The team has always been wonderfully professional and organized.

Value

Value - The quality of the build so far (into framing) has been outstanding. Some of the design center items were out of budget even though they seemed to be standard. I recommend considering this in the future. Maybe show examples of how much budget gets you what. Overall, I think we are getting a fair and reasonable value for our money.

Sales Knowledge

Sales Knowledge - Ryan and Heather were extremely helpful during the sales process. Heather is a superstar! She made us feel important and always found the answer to our questions. She responded quickly every time and went above and beyond throughout the process. Ryan has also been excellent at answering our questions and making sure we understand the process.

BEST THING SO FAR

BEST THING SO FAR - Heather, because she always went above and beyond. And the construction team! They have done excellent work at creating our home and the quality is outstanding so far.

The staff has been very polite and responsive to our requests and questions. A real pleasure to work with.

Communication

Communication - The interactive process of choosing a floorpan and finishings required a lot of communication. The staff had a great system of capturing our design choices. They took great care to make sure they have the design right.

Professional & Organized

Professional & Organized - We are in the design process. The interactive process of choosing a floorpan and finishings required a lot of communication. The staff had a great system of capturing our design choices. They took great care to make sure they have the design right.

BEST THING SO FAR

BEST THING SO FAR - The people we have worked with have been professional and caring. Truly feels like you are being welcomed into their family.

I have co-workers monitoring my experience before making a decision to choose Compass to build their dream home.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Our home has progressed through the framing stage and is almost ready for sheetrock. The outside of the home looks amazing with the choices we made. We couldn't be happier!

BEST THING SO FAR

BEST THING SO FAR - Courteous and professional staff. Very accessible during planning and design phase.

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Our experience with Compass Homes has been great. They have went above and beyond our expectations. Any problem that we ran into they were great to immediately get it resolved . Would recommend to anyone looking for a smooth home building process.

Recognized Excellence

Recognized Excellence - Ryan was awesome to work with—always very knowledgeable and friendly and helpful. Super guy! Aaron also did a great job of breaking down & documenting the payments & bills. David was a terrific day-to-day person who worked very hard to get everything done, and done well, and was also very nice, helpful & informative. Outstanding team.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Terrific job of helping us build our dream garage! They were very patient with our lack-of-building knowledge, and helped us learn and make a better product as we went. Very satisfied (and pleased) with their willingness to work with customer on custom building. Thank you!

FAVORITE PART OF NEW HOME

FAVORITE PART OF NEW HOME - Is just what we wanted and dreamt about. Thank you, Compass Homes!

Additional Comments

Additional Comments - Highly recommended and would definitely call again for future building needs!

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - I have a lovely quality home, but I suppose the best part was how good Compass Homes Alabama was to work with. If any issue did come up it was handled promptly and professionally.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - The communication was good and the customization was phenomenal. They did everything how we wanted.

They built a beautiful house for a fair price. They were flexible enough to meet all my needs.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - The build quqlity is excellent and I truly love the home. It was a tough site to build on and they were able to implement all the custom feature I wanted.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - Quality of the home. Foam insulation is amazing. Stamped concrete patios are excellent. Cabinetry is exceptional. Flooring is excellent.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - I was satisfied overall with everything.

Areas Of Satisfaction

Areas Of Satisfaction - They kept the price in line and that is what I wanted.