Evergreene Homes

[Anonymous]

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/0c7f49cb-b0f4-4929-a4ca-74848e7a4f23

[Anonymous]

The WORST Company I have ever encountered. They are just a bunch of crooks! Do not build a home with EVERGREENE. They lie to your face and drop the ball and expect you to pay for their mistakes. I would over look their horrible customer services if they build quality homes, but their engineers are incompetent and the project managers have zero oversight on the work the subs are doing. RUN AWAY FROM EVERGREENE. The last two years has been pure hell for our family.

[Anonymous]

We just completed constructing with Evergreene and it was smooth sailing throughout. As with any complex project, expect bumps but they are very responsive and will do things to keep you happy if they can. The pricing is transparent and it is in your control. All of the pricing is visible even before you sign the contract - spend the time to go over the sample contract and the options report. Some options cost more than what you think it should and the reverse is true as well more often than you think. You can have a fun game with spreadsheets if you like.

Set your expectations right and you will be fine. Research and make sure that you are comfortable with a "production" builder. Their sweet spot is in constructing as fast as possible their standard plans. We started much later than 4 others being constructed in our neighborhood and finished at least one or two months ahead of the next one we think is farthest along. They will move walls etc but the farther you get away from the original plan, the more delays you can expect.

At the end of the day, it is your house. Spend the time to make sure if is being constructed to your liking and work with the project manager when you notice things. It is likely to be too late if you show up for final walk through (or pre drywall meeting) without paying any attention as things moved along and expect that everything is perfect.

Our experience has been that we got a product at a great initial quality in a zip code where brand new spec builds cost at least 200-300K more. Only time will tell how it holds up but the home inspector said it was much better initial quality with more attention to detail than usual.

[Anonymous]

We are currently building a home with Evergreene. Given a choice I should have paid more attention to the reviews on this site. Evergreene makes their money by constructing a home as quickly as possible and churning out 200+ homes a year. They do not listen to any input from the buyer. They are very rigid and I can only caution you to make sure you have everything documented and requested before you sign. Changes after they have your money and contract are almost non existent. The trades they are using are not craftsman and little supervision is given over the quality of the work performed. Communication is non existent. Calls and emails are often ignored with the hope that you will eventually give up from asking any questions. As the construction progresses you may see things that were not in the contract but should be addressed. They are not at all flexible. They build to the code but the work isn’t the best. Given the skill level of the workers more direct supervision is required to get a better quality product. Given a choice and based on my experience to date, I would not buy from Evergreene. There is not a good mutual working relationship between the buyer and builder. I think they could be a quality organization, but the production people executing the plan could care less about you. As other reviews have indicated I would be very cautious of selecting them to build your dream home. They are strictly a production builder, more dollar focused and not customer oriented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are currently building a home with Evergreene. Given a choice I should have paid more attention to the reviews on this site. Evergreene makes their money by constructing a home as quickly as possible and churning out 200+ homes a year. They do not listen to any input from the buyer. They are very rigid and I can only caution you to make sure you have everything documented and requested before you sign. Changes after they have your money and contract are almost non existent. The trades they are using are not craftsman and little supervision is given over the quality of the work performed. Communication is non existent. Calls and emails are often ignored with the hope that you will eventually give up from asking any questions. As the construction progresses you may see things that were not in the contract but should be addressed. They are not at all flexible. They build to the code but the work isn’t the best. Given the skill level of the workers more direct supervision is required to get a better quality product. Given a choice and based on my experience to date, I would not buy from Evergreene. There is not a good mutual working relationship between the buyer and builder. I think they could be a quality organization, but the production people executing the plan could care less about you. As other reviews have indicated I would be very cautious of selecting them to build your dream home. They are strictly a production builder, more dollar focused and not customer oriented.

Building contractor here. Telltale sign of a bad, low quality builder is the type of home wrap they use. Industry standard is Tyvek or Typar. Home wrap like many other infrastructure components are covered up, mostly to never be seen again. Builders who are ultra cheap cut things like this - they know they can get away with it. Heck, most home buyers don’t even know the purpose of home wrap!!! It served an important function as key component of the building envelope. When I drive around I can spot Evergreen Homes a mile away - they use the cheapest home wrap available! Looks like cheap plastic of some sort. In fact, I’m willing to bet their lumber supplier just gives it to them for free!!! People think they are getting a deal but you really only get what you pay for - cheaply constructed dwelling guaranteed to fall apart after the shiny finish wears off.

[Anonymous]

Contractor above. Forgot to add Tyvek or Typar with proper taping/sealing materials costs approximately $3k to $4k for typical home - just materials. This is how much these builders save by downloading this component.

[Anonymous]

Aren’t some (or at least one) of the Evergreene homes on Washington Blvd across from Lacey Woods park for sale.

Those houses have only been there 3-4 years and several have already changed hands. I would go see one in person if you can to see how it has settled and is holding up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Being behind schedule is par for the course with building new house. This will happen with any builder if it upsets you this much you should probably buy a spec house.

DO you work for Evergreene? LOL

Different poster, but every renovation in my Arlington neighborhood goes 2-6mo past the initial schedule.

[Anonymous]

Overall we had a good experience with Evergreene. It’s the only new house we’ve bought so I can’t compare them to other builders. There were some bumps along the way but that’s likely the case with all builders. A lot may depend on who the project manager is. I’m replying mainly to say (in response to the comment above) that I checked photos of our house during construction and the house wrap was Tyvek.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren’t some (or at least one) of the Evergreene homes on Washington Blvd across from Lacey Woods park for sale.

Those houses have only been there 3-4 years and several have already changed hands. I would go see one in person if you can to see how it has settled and is holding up.

Those homes price the real estate adage. Just because you can buy it, doesn’t mean you can sell it.

Those houses are turned dated and shabby after a few years. Compare them to the two houses that Dave Springberg built in 14th St that are older but have retained their looks and value.

[Anonymous]

We built with Evergreene about a year and half ago, and did experience some hiccups during construction process that required us to write some strongly worded e-mails and several follow ups. I was very frustrated by their lack of response, and since we made some custom changes, they'd fall back on their "Well it's a 'prototype'" argument. They were stubborn, but eventually folded to every one of our demands. These were things that weren't done IAW building plans that we wanted fixed. We knew going into it that we were using a mid-level builder, so compromises had to be made (like they'll only install certain tile stacked not staggered!?!)

Regardless, we've been in the house for over a year, and during the pandemic no less, so we've spent A LOT of time in it, and we're happy with the finished product. We've had no major issues, and everything encountered during the first year warranty period was addressed promptly. We still recommend them to those looking in a similar price bracket, but always disclose the head aches we encountered. I've heard that some of their project managers are exceptionally bad (tends to work mostly on sites in Vienna), but we lucked out with ours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are currently building a home with Evergreene. Given a choice I should have paid more attention to the reviews on this site. Evergreene makes their money by constructing a home as quickly as possible and churning out 200+ homes a year. They do not listen to any input from the buyer. They are very rigid and I can only caution you to make sure you have everything documented and requested before you sign. Changes after they have your money and contract are almost non existent. The trades they are using are not craftsman and little supervision is given over the quality of the work performed. Communication is non existent. Calls and emails are often ignored with the hope that you will eventually give up from asking any questions. As the construction progresses you may see things that were not in the contract but should be addressed. They are not at all flexible. They build to the code but the work isn’t the best. Given the skill level of the workers more direct supervision is required to get a better quality product. Given a choice and based on my experience to date, I would not buy from Evergreene. There is not a good mutual working relationship between the buyer and builder. I think they could be a quality organization, but the production people executing the plan could care less about you. As other reviews have indicated I would be very cautious of selecting them to build your dream home. They are strictly a production builder, more dollar focused and not customer oriented.

Care to share some examples of quality issues you have noticed?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overall we had a good experience with Evergreene. It’s the only new house we’ve bought so I can’t compare them to other builders. There were some bumps along the way but that’s likely the case with all builders. A lot may depend on who the project manager is. I’m replying mainly to say (in response to the comment above) that I checked photos of our house during construction and the house wrap was Tyvek.

There are 3 Evergreen homes currently under construction in my Vienna neighborhood. No Tyvek. Just some white no brand house wrap on all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Overall we had a good experience with Evergreene. It’s the only new house we’ve bought so I can’t compare them to other builders. There were some bumps along the way but that’s likely the case with all builders. A lot may depend on who the project manager is. I’m replying mainly to say (in response to the comment above) that I checked photos of our house during construction and the house wrap was Tyvek.

We built with Evergreene and ours was Tyvek too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Overall we had a good experience with Evergreene. It’s the only new house we’ve bought so I can’t compare them to other builders. There were some bumps along the way but that’s likely the case with all builders. A lot may depend on who the project manager is. I’m replying mainly to say (in response to the comment above) that I checked photos of our house during construction and the house wrap was Tyvek.

There are 3 Evergreen homes currently under construction in my Vienna neighborhood. No Tyvek. Just some white no brand house wrap on all of them.

Interesting observation but I don’t think this is reflects what Evergreene did with our 2019 home build. Our Evergreene home had ZIP system (which has an even better warranty that Tyvek.)