I’m using VA for the loan so it’s a requirement to have an inspector, but I want to make sure it’s based on the lender. I know I will have to hire one because the VA does the inspection and appraisal at the end. I almost felt like I was going overboard with getting the names of the subcontract companies and reviewing their ratings. Now I’m glad I did and doing research on the few I managed to get.

^millworkman is right on point. Not only are independent inspectors prohibited in the contract but the buyer is restricted too. Toll Bros is a tract builder no matter how often they push their brand as a luxury builder.

At the end of the day, they are a tract builder. People on this site like to rag on tract builds, but for the majority of people those types of houses are the norm for a variety of reasons including cost, convenience, time, etc. Not everyone has the monetary means, time, or knowledge to pursue a custom or older ‘quality’ home.

Like any tract builder, your mileage will vary and there will inevitably be some problems. But in all likelihood you’ll end up with a lovely home that isn’t going to fall down in a stiff wind. Will it have artisanal craftsmanship? No. It will be slapped together in the most cost effective way by sub contractors. But, for the average person of not extravagant means and who isn’t obsessed with authentic bespoke work, the home will be perfectly serviceable.

Instead, try to find out who your warranty point of contact and who your Super will be and see if you like them/the relationship you can build with them. They will be the ones you turn to most when issues inevitably arise. We bought a tract build recently and have had an excellent experience with our warranty Super, so good in fact, we got him a Christmas present. He’s been AMAZING and then very good care of us.

We did not build with Toll as that wasn’t an option at the time, but they are now opening a luxury golf course community near us. There is a definite buzz about it. Mostly due to the lifestyle being sold. On that point, research the management company assuming you have an HOA. You’ll be stuck with them long after the builder leaves. The MC will dictate much of your long term lifestyle in the community, upkeep, maintenance of amenities, etc.

Look into the specific people you will deal with because, as long as the builder has no major red flag issues, the build itself will be ‘fine’.

While this blog is older it has some good info on what it is like to build with Toll:

http://dirttodreamhome.blogspot.com/

I truly appreciate the feedback. My wife and I really like the community so it looks like we are going forward. The sub contractors have solid reviews which is reassuring.

My wife and I really like the community so it looks like we are going forward. The sub contractors have solid reviews which is reassuring.

Do they have solid reviews with Toll brothers or with other builders? Big difference!

Also did you do as suggested and talk to those in the community who have finished building with Toll and have been living in the houses hopefully more than a year?

Harry, I'm also curious if you spoke to people in that neighborhood and what their experience was...we're looking at Toll homes in MD also and wanted to get you honest opinion on the process so far. Appreciate any insights...

Hello Harry and Evan, we are in the same boat. Considering a Toll Brothers house in Maryland. Would love to hear how it's going. Thank you!

So far the experience has been well. We negotiated everything, went the design process and I have not seen anything considered to be a “red” flag. You can truly “customize” a home, (we put a fair share of options), but I’m married and my wife is very picky. That being said, the neighborhood is nice, the residents did not have any complaints from first conversations, and our sales rep allowed us to preview several homes at different build stages. We did not see any major quality issues, but we will have our own inspector go through own home. It’s too costly to not get another opinion.

Thanks Harry. If you don’t mind, can you let me know how negotiations went? I keep hearing they don’t budge on base price or structural upgrades...so what were you able to squeeze out of them? Was it something you mentioned on first visit? Any insight would be appreciated!

Poor Home Construction - Worst Customer Service

In 8+ months (closed on 9/2019), not even a SINGLE issue is resolved successfully. In fact, they started to work on June 5, 2020 on a LONG list of pre-closing issues, and every single item on the list sustained additional damages.

The front door lock does not work, the security panel does not work, get electricuted when turning on/off switches. These 3 items were requeted as URGENT several months ago but no actions have been taken to correct them.

Turning on ONE switch turns on TWO lights.

Front door had several dents and metal rusted (pre-closing), the back door painted with 2 colors on the outside.

Tile flooring is awful (pre-closing) scratches and not leveled, they have made 3 unsuccessful attempts and and each thime it gets worst.

The HVAC system has it's own mind, too many issues.

Kitchen Granite Countertop has scratches/marks all over (pre-closing).

Cooktop Granite Countertop is damaged (pre-closing)

The Master Shower tiles had stains on almost every tiles (pre-closing), several unsuccessful attempts were made prior to closing, they promised to fix and requested to close on 9/2020, someone came in June 2021 to work on it and completely damaged all tiles.

Shower floor has cracks everywhere but nothing has been done to fix it.

Master Shower head is installed so high that requires a stool/ladder to reach, I am 5ft 7 inch.

Front and back doors have daylight coming through, both are pre-closing items.

Entire 2nd floor makes popping noise - all pre-closing.

The Driveway is cracked all the way from one end to the other and has over 1/2 gap, they have refused to replace it.

The front and backyard look terrible and has been like that months before closing, a Google Map would give you a great picture of Poor work.

A portion of side walk has sunken by almost an inch (pre-closing)

They replaced a damaged (pre-closing) garage door panel with another damaged panel, also damaged the panel next to it.

Damaged roof shingles (pre-closing) still not repaired.

The front elevation was changed without our knowledge, also made smaller closet.

THE LIST IS HUGE AND I AM WILLING TO PROVIDE THE ENTIRE LIST IF ANYONE INTERESTED.

The attached photos are part of pre-closing and still outstnading since closing on 9-19-2019, Google review has additionall photos.

The attached photos are part of pre-closing and still outstnading since closing on 9-19-2019.

I’m still in the building phase and so far I do not have any issues. The staff has been good, only issue was the rep doing my interior design was furloughed. Her computer had all of our information, but we luckily kept all copies and notes. We provided it to the next without any problems. The was one entry that needed to be changed, because the sales manager did not put the paperwork. It was a minor issue. I’ve been walking the home weekly and it’s still in the framing stage, with the low voltage being installed this week. I’ll keep you posted on the progress. I’m curious what state you are in Naheed.

Harry - I like to play "What is wrong with this photo?"

2 questions - Is that a PVC DWV pipe or a central vac?

Why is one plumbing line insulated partially? And what material is that - it doesn't look like pex.

David the questions will be answered when I return next round. I was not taking notes on the exact pvc or lines each one supports. All good questions, but I can not give a solid reply without seeing it, or better images.

Hello,
We are considering purchasing a Toll Brothers home in Porter Ranch. It seems like there is more complaints on structure and quality of materials being used for the built. Gated community, access to a good public school and location was a perfect fit long term that made us put a reservation on this home. We still can pull out on this deal. Reading Consumer Affair reviews made me think twice if we should move forward on the purchase. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

Naheed,
Is your Toll Brothers Home in California? Would like to get your list of structural complaints.

Harry we are in the process of negotiations for building the carver elite mpdel

here in Florida

can you give me

any insight

as to negotiations- are they willing to come down in price at all or just negotiate upgrades etc ? Thanks so much!

Heather...following. We are considering purchasing a Toll Bro’s home in Lakewood ranch ,Fl.
We had a Toll Bro’s Condo built in Mi in 2008. We caught a big issue during building as we walked unit ( even tho it wasn’t allowed). Wall was not level in living room & mounding therefore was not level. They fixed it and we really didn’t have any other issues. They came back as promised for “nail pop” repairs in a year.
We have since bought new construction twice with Emarald division of DR Horton. Compared to DR Horton, Toll brothers experience was a dream! We were able to get all the issues fixed with DR Horton but it took commitment & sometimes going up the chain of command with building superintendents. In the end we were very satisfied with the home.
I must agree with another post here. These are not custom builders, but they do offer good design with the ability to customize finishes. So much depends on the sub contractors in the location. Like any major purchase it takes a lot of persistence & oversight but at least these builders ( Toll & DR Horton) are not going out of business & the top management doesn’t want terrible reviews.
In our experience with Toll brothers, ever single small change was far more expensive than needed. Our DR Horton building experience was so much better in that regard. Moving a light switch, or adding one was not even an added expense. DR Horton also included so many things that we would have paid dearly for with Toll.
Good luck, & please update your experience.

Hi Joyce
Thank you for all the info? We are in Lakewood ranch as well- small world. We are looking at the same Toll brothers and gathering info right now. I’m so glad to hear your feedback. We built a house 7 years ago here with Homes by Towne and have been happy with it.
We like the middle model at TB the carver elite. Any other info you have would be great! We have one friend who just bought a spec home in TB but other than that we don’t have any info on TB and how their local contractors are etc. we would definitely take the recommend of having someone inspect the process before we finalize anything.
Thanks again!

My email is hantritt@gmail.com if you can email me any other info 😊

Heather... I emailed you.

Hello all we are actually looking at the toll brothers property in Phoenixvill. We have looked at the reviews and wondered the same. Spoken to the subcontractors Randomly being in the neighborhood. We did express concerns of the reviews we read and they informed us this was around their homebase and bad reviews here is the last thing they want. They also will allow us the luxury of coming to view whenever we’d like, which was something the first builder we worked with didn’t let us. So far the communication has been good and they have been upfront with all materials they use. It has been a much better experience than our first new build with a regional builder.

I am going through one of the worst experiences of my life with Toll Brothers. We signed our contract in 10/2018 and it is 8/2020, nearly 2 years of waiting and multiple delays. We are in the Bay Area and paid a HUGE premium to build this $1.63 million home. We are set to close in less than a few weeks and even our home inspector does not believe the home is complete enough to be inspected. Toll Brothers has been poorly responsive to our concerns and we have needed to work extra hard to ensure that they are doing their jobs. We are expecting our close of escrow will be delayed due to no fault of our own. They put the wrong stone facade on our home and did not start fixing it in over a month. The fit and finish of the home is incredibly sloppy, with exterior paint haphazardly on the trim and even on windows. I could not believe it. We were so wrong to think that this is a "luxury home builder" with "excellent customer service." We received none of this and are simply wanting this nightmare to end as soon as possible.

Im currently building with TB had no problmes. In the framing stages.

What were you able to negotiate with Toll? Did they come down on price? Or was it a few extras thrown in?

Don't use Toll Brothers in Florida. There are Class Action Lawsuits ALL over the place with them. We have the Shottiest Subs in the U.S. right now. Trust me!

Oh no I’m sorry to hear this! What area are you in Florida ?

We were not able to negotiate anything. We ended up closing 1 week after our set closing date and had to move out of our apartment the exact day of the end of our lease. We were about to become homeless. The home was not even done for closing. We just took ownership because we would have nowhere else to live if we said we weren't satisfied with the condition. They're now putting the mess they made on the Warranty Team to have them finish the sloppy trim and interior paint. Also, we still don't have internet! They did not even have any cable company lay down wire. We cannot work from home and are unnecessarily going to the office and increasing our risk of getting COVID. The nightmare continues even 3 weeks post-close.

I am building with Toll Brothers in NC. All was well until they put in the granite countertop for the island. There is a large noticeable crack (fabricator calls it a fissure and has put the wrong color resin in and meshed the bottom of the granite!). The fabricator used a tan resin instead of black
(all veins in this piece are black NOT tan!). Paid 4 levels up on granite option to get this level of granite!!! I want it replaced! so far no budge - but I am not willing to move in/nor am I willing to close until all is acceptable. I too don't have a place to stay - rented apartment until first closing date. looks like I will not close on first closing date. going to stay in extended stay until they make it right! Maybe i just need to find a different home :/. picture shows a small area - but this crack runs about 18" in the most visible place on the countertop

Bak up a little and photo the whole 18"

Also might want to start your own dilemma in "kitchens."

NEVER AGAIN WITH TOLL BROS

we bought at Tolls Masters at Moorpark Country Club. Homes range from 1.1 to 1.6 million dollars. You would think you’d get an excellent home. Not so at all. Look at the BBB reviews and Consumer Reports sites. I am shocked that no State Attorney Generals have filed disputes against this builder. The workmanship is terrible! Cheap! Substandard! We have two tankless water heaters in the attic. Their installers did not tighten the main supply lines to the heaters and as a result the overflow pans filled up. The overflow pipe could not sustain the volume of water. As a result, the water flooded the attic and damaged the ceiling in our great room. Tolls answer, “ so sorry but it’s out of warranty.” WHAT??? This is poor workmanship on YOUR part on a 1.3 million dollar home. I have pictures.

Extremely poor fit and finish, they seem to hire minimum wage unskilled workers who cut corners and they don't care about the finished product. I have included one example of MANY items that we are having to get fixed.

The pic is the top portion of the trim around our sliding doors. They were so lazy they did not bother to caulk the entire length of it, thinking we would not notice. This was found in several areas of the home. Unbelievable. There are so many other examples of this type of poor construction that I won't even bother to go into.

Has anyone built with them in Orlando? I am curious if there are any issues. The few homes we went in to see were impeccable. (Not just the models)

I think it all depends on the subcontractor. If they are good the finished product is good. My experience in Charlotte, NC - the models are impeccable. The private homes - frame and exterior are very good. The finish of tile, flooring, and other final things has been fair to poor. The problems are corrected by Toll Brothers - to the buyers satisfaction.

Hi...great discussions. We are considering TB in LV (Cascina Ranch). High-end homes and obviously the model homes are beautiful but having read through the comments it may seem more like buyer be ware in terms of quality, etc. The other concern is that we will not be local, so visiting the site to inspect the home throughout the process will be difficult and I am afraid I will miss potential issues and get a sub-par product for the price I would be paying $1.3+

Also, they just instituted a 'bidding war' for the lot premiums. Given the demand of homes in LV, they are looking to cash out even more. So if the lot premium is priced at $25k, they have a blind bidding process for all interested parties. You have no idea what the winning bid is and you can be overpaying and have not clue - it is basically up to the consumer to determine how much they are willing to shell out for the lot and TB gets to pick who wins. All without disclosing any of the bids.

The overall process has been very poor and geared toward the seller - no surprise.

Any thoughts on the lot premium blind bidding process - is this even legal for a public company?

I build with Toll Borthers and had a great experience. My advice if you can wait to build and wait for the crazy market conditions to die down a bit you might be better off.

Best of luck

Hi Benjamin ... thanks for your reply...I have seen good and bad experiences...the challenge we have is that we are in CA and property is in Vegas...it is such a hot market and not sure if TB has further plans in the area we are looking at...my concern is if we wait the pricing will continue to rise, etc.....

Please dont build with them i suppose to close but i will not

In

I have about 60 more pictures , save your money

Does anyone have experience buying a Toll Brothers new build in Thornton, CO? We’re considering them but I’ve not seen any reviews of Toll Brothers’ construction and service in Thornton, or in fact, in CO at all.

We are in Aurora Colorado and looking for some feedback about Toll Brothers in this area.

Our estimated closing on a TB house in Aurora, CO is early December. We Signed the contract in oct 2020. We know their homes are overpriced along with the design options are over priced but the lot, house floor plan, community checked all our high priority boxes. We found some mistakes in framing, electrical and tile work but TB has fixed to our satisfaction so far. Overall, we Have found that they have good processes and the TB sales and construction staff have really good communication in this community. Be your own advocate and inspect everything and ask questions. So far so good!

Anonymous in Danbury—I built a Toll Brother home in Danbury, CT in 1999 and so far i had to replace my furnace after ten years because the furnace wasnt level and it burned a hole in the pan which could have started a fire and had to replace two hot water heaters and my guest bathroom tile floor completely came apart and the tile in my master shower wall is uneven and the shower door keeps going off track. My dishwasher stopped working after a few months. The stair railing had very little stain on it and it wore off and the stair railing came loose and all of my floors squeak in every room where there is carpet or linoleum in my kitchen floor my garage floor was not sealed and water comes up from underneath the floor i have an attic fan that I dont know if it is on or off I dont see a switch and had to have it painted because it rusted my slop sink water pipes cold and hot faucets are reversed the cold water comes out of the hot faucet and the hot water comes out of the cold faucet I am sure there are things that I am forgetting i was told that if I thought I got a lemon that I should tell them and I did but no one ever called me back. I should have made a bigger deal about it but I didnt.

Our Toll Bro house in Vegas took 18 months to build,..supply chain issues, and all that. We're very happy with the quality and lack of defects. We were supposed to compile a list of defects for the "one month walkthru" with the customer service rep, and couldn't come up with anything.

Oh, wait! My only issue with Toll Bro's is that the community pool is out of service, and no one knows why. One big reason we bought this house was the pool, and we spent our first hot summer gazing at a locked fence.

Just run away from these fake show off stars. Follows least building codes. Nothing special. save atleast 2-300k with other builders and still get the EXACT same quality house. You will find nothing good here except the name tag built by toll. Quality is atrocious for the price you pay.

@HU-549195078 Hello. Have you closed on your house? I also have many issues with Toll

The worst new home construction we have experienced in 50 years. Dozens of warranty items, obsurdley overpriced options, mismatched cabinet veneers… dont drink the kool-aid. You will regret it.

BUYER BEWARE****** Run the other way! We closed on a Toll Brothers home in NJ after (2) delays in closing, being forced to have our furniture put into storage which necessited (2) costly moves, and thereby being homeless for (6) weeks. Well, that was the good part of the experience thus far!,, The house that was finally delivered was an utter dissapointment. There was dead sod,dead plantings, crooked and bowed walls, non non-functioning A/C on the second story, a premium paint job that was anything but, and oh, by the way, the wrong color. There are cracked floorboards, the wrong fireplace mantle, wrong light fixtures, failed swales in the yard that have now become mosquito birthing grounds! The list goes on. Toll sells and promises premium product at a premium price, yet delivered an unfinished piece of trash. 35 days here and not one thing has been repaired. The Company has become too big too fast to be effecient and are trading off of the reputation earned years ago. Right now the only thing that matters to Toll is driving up shareholder value at the expense of their customers. Check out the annual compensation for their Corporate Officers, then you will understand where the money is going. Save yourself Buyers remorse and run the other way when you are tempted to by from Toll. I wish we did!',

We are looking into buying a Toll house in a 55+ community in Castle Rock, CO and explored the taxes. Toll brothers passed a bond before the property was developed to cover there costs and now the home owners must pay it back! that’s an over 14% tax rate! $7000 per year goes to repay the bond, shouldnt that be included in the overpriced cost of build/lot? Toll brothers are getting paid twice! decided not to go through with the money grabbing machine called Toll.

GREAT DECISION !!!!!! Run away from these theives as fast as you can. We paid over $1MM in a 55+ community in NJ and got robbed!! The build quality is atrocious and (6) weeks into our occupancy are sitting with (70) warranty issues but Toll conviently goes into hiding when asked to perform. They are deceitful thieves, quick tto take your money, but hide when asked to uphold their end of the bargin. The Toll Organization is obsessed with growing shareholder value on the backs of unsuspecting customers!! Shameful!!! Take your money and rum as fast as you can from Toll !!!