We built with Paramount and we had the worst experience. It took forever and the overall quality and finishes are very poor. Turnover is very high, so nobody owns your project. Their customer service is terrible and the owner Rob is the worst of all, takes no responsibility and doesn’t care.
Avoid them at all cost.

Be careful to read all the specs with the cheaper builders like Douglas and Paramount and get a copy of their warranty. I think once you look at all that you will see why they cost less. I was warned by a realtor about both

I'm currently building a house and I considered both Paramount and Douglas. From my research, they use cheap materials wherever possible (e.g., doors, windows, type of insulation, exterior sheathing, etc). Neither Paramount nor Douglas are truly "custom." While you may be able to do some design aspects, you are largely locked into their suppliers, etc. To get at the cheaper price points that they quote, the material quality will be less. I have spoken with industry suppliers who either do not like working with--or have cut ties with--Paramount and Douglas because of their approaches.

If you want to go with a real custom builder (e.g., someone like Carter/Rivers Edge, Sandy Spring, Meridian, etc.), it will cost a bit more. But you'll actually get to select everything you want.

At the end of the day, though, the homes built by Paramount and Douglas aren't going to fall down. They are a relatively budget way to get a "custom-ish" house at a cheaper price point.

I'd tend to hire an architect, bid the house out, and see what you get. But that is more expensive than either Paramount or Douglas.

Anonymous wrote:OP, not sure who you are going with - but I would stay away from both of those! They are both not good quality. Try Chris Conlan or Carter.

How do you know and can you give specific reasons for you saying that? Just saying they are not good quality means nothing without evidence to back it up. You had a house built by them and it fell apart? How do you even know this to say it?

OP, not sure who you are going with - but I would stay away from both of those! They are both not good quality. Try Chris Conlan or Carter.

Anonymous wrote:When we were looking my agent strongly cautioned against Paramount. Douglas is fine but they leave a bad taste in my mouth. Every 3 months I get a letter from them wanting to buy my now house to knock it down. Predatory through and through.

We own a house built by Douglas and we also receive those letters!

Anonymous wrote:When we were looking my agent strongly cautioned against Paramount. Douglas is fine but they leave a bad taste in my mouth. Every 3 months I get a letter from them wanting to buy my now house to knock it down. Predatory through and through.

I get the same letter from Paramount as well as Douglas. They just buy a list of every homeowner in Bethesda (it's public record) and mass mail them. Our house is assessed at about $3mln and was built less than 10 years ago. It's not worth tearing down.

Oh also, Douglas is not a custom builder. They have set plans and though you could customize finishes they won’t work with you on layouts or the overall design. They build spec homes.

When we were looking my agent strongly cautioned against Paramount. Douglas is fine but they leave a bad taste in my mouth. Every 3 months I get a letter from them wanting to buy my now house to knock it down. Predatory through and through.

OP here...last poster, is the thread you mentioned specific to douglas and Paramount or something else? I word searched those and didn't find much. Thanks!

PP's experience isn't precisely the information you are seeking. It is very different to build from scratch with a builder than it is to come in at the end and purchase a house already built. There's been at least one recent thread that should be more helpful for you, OP.

I have a Douglas home. We weren't involved in the personalization; we bought once it went on the market. But we love the house and all of its special details. The quality is great and the customer service with the company just can't be beat. Doug and his team are amazing. Several years later, when we have questions about anything, we get instantaneous responses from Doug or someone else on his team. Highly, highly recommend. We met with Paramount earlier in our house-hunting, and we had a less-than-stellar impression. Nothing specific, just a little off.

OP here. Thanks! Would love if anyone could share experiences good or bad with either company.

Paramount is a big production, for better or worse. Pick from their list of plans, tweak slightly, and they go to work.

Hello! We are considering tearing down and rebuilding our house (started down the remodel route but costs are approaching a rebuild). Has anyone built with or bought a house from Paramount Construction or Douglas homes? We see a lot in our area (Montgomery Co, MD) but can't find many reviews.

Thanks much!